Platform: Win7 64-bit
ISP: TimeWarner Cable
Type of Internet Connection: cable
Date & Time: 24 Aug 2011 between 2:00 and 3:00 AM EST
Frequency: always
Character Name: Janga Maky
Race: Miqo'te
World: Saronia
Class/Skill Rank: CRP 33 & all of my other crafting jobs
Physical Level: 50
Party or Solo: Solo
In-Game Time: 11/2 (approx)
Steps:
  1. Once an element destabilizes and Improvise is available, select it.
  2. Attempt a Standard Synthesis (ideally with the materials in white)
  3. A very high percentage of the time (60-80%) of the time, the synth will blow up on the first or second try--a rate that is worse than random chance and if the same actions were performed without the support of any ability.

I noted this initially in another post, asking other players if they had had the same issue:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...406#post304406

When the material don't blow up after the first or second synthesis attempt, generally Improvise works as advertised. However, the description mentions nothing of higher risk during times of instability, and this elevated frequency of blow-ups effectively makes the ability useless. The "incident" reported for tonight is just a small sample (10 tries), but as the other post points out, this is an ongoing trend with well over 50 uses... yet the failure rate remains abnormally high (60-80%).

If the ability's description needs updated, then so be it. However, if this is a bug and is eventually fixed (possibly while you revamp crafting), please note it in the list of bug fixes. If you do a ninja fix, I may never notice... because at this point, I'm not sure if I'm ever going to use this ability again.

Thanks.