Understanding Crafting.

[PirateCat]

Caimie Tsukino wrote some pretty in-depth guides a while back that are a good read if you're getting started. The main HW guide is here. It hasn't been updated in a while but for the most part it's still current apart from not going into 3* crafting in particular.

There are basically three paths toward getting endgame gear. (Four if you count just buying i170 gear off the MB outright, but that takes no explanation on how to do so I'm assuming you're not going for that approach.)

1. Obtain the basic level 60 gear set. Use that gear to make the trade-ins needed to obtain red crafting scrips. Turn in those scrips for i180 gear.
- Pros: Minimal gil investment. Relatively small time investment.
- Cons: Takes longer to get the gear than other methods. Your final stats when fully geared will be slightly inferior to the optimum stats you can potentially get with crafted gear and melds. You will still need to do heavy materia melds on some of the gear (accessories/belt) to get to the stat thresholds for 3* crafting.

2. Obtain the basic level 60 gear. Get scrips. Also get gathering scrips. Gather the items you get from gathering favors. Trade these in for the base materials (e.g. purified coke, etc.) Find a friend or someone who is able to easily make the 2* gear and have them make it for you.
- Pros: Quickest way to get started. You don't have to meld to one gear set just to acquire another.
- Cons: Limited by your ability to find someone to make the gear. You will likely need to offer a commission for this.

3. Obtain the basic level 60 gear. Meld materia onto this gear until you have the required stats to do 2* recipes. Follow the remaining steps from option 2, but craft the gear yourself.
- Pros: You can be completely self-sufficient. Having a melded generic gear set lets you be 2* capable on any job without the job-specific gear. Your gear will have your own name on it, if that's important to you.
- Cons: Heavy materia melds are expensive, and doing this for a set of gear you intend to replace can be an unappealing option.

Ariyala is a popular site for planning out meld strats, since it has accurate info on meld caps and an interface where you can play around with what the melds might look like. It's a helpful tool for planning out melds on the final gear as well as on the chimerical stuff if you want to go that route.