A Step-by-Step Guide to 2 Star Crafting by Caimie Tsukino

[Caimie_Tsukino]

Alright you got some good points here, but I'll offer my critique nonetheless.

You can get a lot more hasties in if you use rapid synth. Use ingenuity II + Steady Hand II. 3 out of the 4 rapids must succeed. You only need 3 under IG2, and the fourth rapid must NOT have IG2 at craftsmanship levels above like 730 or so. That'll put you in a position where one more CS2 completes it. At 749 craftsmanship I'm getting 374 progress per rapid under IG2, 220 some without it.

I personally think that unless you're using delineations, maker's mark is a waste of time and CP and you're better off using the skill from CUL that gives you 1/3 progress instantly. Again this is because I use rapid synth and reclaim like it's going out of style.

Sorry, but what you said there puzzles me... "You can get a lot more hasties" using Rapid Syn... Why? From what I can see, you're actually getting fewer with your method.

You're using 4x Rapid Syn (with 3 under Ingen2), and then finishes with a CS II. So Basically, you spent 25 CP on SH II, 32 CP on Ingen2, so total of 57 CP, and then gamble on all those Rapid Syn. Total durab decrease is AT LEAST 50, possibly 60 or even 70.

In my Method 2 (please see my crafting guide Ch49 http://ffxivrealm.com/guides/ff14-ad...e-tsukino.156/), I spend 6 extra CP on MusMem, and that allows me to use only 2x Rapid Syn under Ingen2, and then 1 CS II under Ingen2, and finally finishes with 1 naked CS II. This completion method is already much less risky than yours, so potentially getting more hasties than yours. Total CP consumption is 6+25+32 = 63 CP.

In Rath's rotation (Method 3), you spent 20 CP on Maker's Mark, but 14 is guaranteed to be recovered from Comfort Zone. Thus the entire MaMa phase only cost 6 CP (In fact, I can usually get at least 1 Trick of Trade here, so it's actually +14 CP instead of -6). Durab decrease is ZERO in this phase. Then SH (22 CP) and 2x PBP (2x 15 CP) totaled to 52 CP. Then 3x CS II can finish it, which 2 of the CS can be fitted anywhere in the rotation, giving great flexibility. Assuming the MaMa phase goes well, 50 durab is guaranteed to complete the item, and only 52 CP (possibly only 32 CP) is spent.

So, please tell me, how is Maker's Mark a waste of time and CP? It cost far fewer CP and far fewer durab than your Rapid Syn method. So, naturally resulting more hasties. I think at this point, it's universally confirmed that Maker's Mark is better than MusMem in most cases, with the exception that MaMa+FS requires 1 extra Cross Class slot. And also MusMem is so much faster, and more suitable for macros since it's only 1 line.

Furthermore. I greatly prefer Manipulation to Master's Mend II. Manipulation uses an extra turn for the same return so in effect it only costs 8 more cp than MM2, and the lower cp cost makes it more flexible. Same reason I keep Waste Not on my hotbar.

Well, Manipulation gives 30 extra durab for 88 CP. Master's Mend II gives 60 extra durab for 160 CP. So using 2x Manipulation would mean wasting 16 CP for no particular reason. Is there a valid reason why one should do that?