[HELP] Rapid Synth, Waste Not II and specialisation.

[Konungarike]

So I've recently gotten all my crafters to 60, and have until now put off updating my rotation to include the post-50 skills. The only one I've taken to using is Precise Touch. I realize Rapid Synth and WN2 are really good skills, but I can't seem to figure out how to use them well. Can I have some advice?

I've also had trouble figuring out specialisation. I've realized that they unlock certain recipes and skills. The skills don't seem obviously amazing to me at first glance, so I'm not sure how to go about deciding what to specialise in. Does specialisation come with stat boosts on top of the skills?

Sorry for taking up your time, and thank you in advance for any help!

[magnanimousCynic]

I like using Rapid Synthesis for furniture, I don't trust it enough for starred recipes. And WNII sees use in Rath's Rotation.

Specialism gives you +20 Craftsmanship/Control and you're kinda right, the skills are underwhelming. :[

[cgbspender]

WN2 is a skill that cuts durability cost by half. While it may not be the case for 70/80 durability recipes, it's particular helpful when you need to make the best use of "touches" and have them buffed by Steady Hand (I or II)



On a 35/40 durability, it's usually Steady Hand > Touch X3 > Master's mend > Touch
What WN1 and WN2 brings you is basically this : WN > Steady Hand > Touch X5 etc

In other words, you reduce the cost of durability (for what looks a high CP-cost, but isn't as simple as that) to fit in more touches (touch +1 in the example above)
There are some durability 80/70 rotations using WN and WN1 as well, fyi.

As for Rapid Synth (RS) , it's really good when it comes to progress. Having RS buffed by Ingenuity I or II will affect progress highly and is super useful for recipes for which you need to reach a very high progress. (such as furniture, as said in the previous post). It can also be used in endgame crafting rotations where the recipes requiere close to 2000 progress.The 50% rate of success for that skill makes it so that you will want to have it buffed under Steady Hand II.

For the specialists, be aware that all crafting classes have the same Specialists skills + a 20 bonus on each stat (except CP). The skills alone aren't of big interest, but you'll get unique recipes, only craftable by specialists after you picked your own.

It's worth it, just for the stats alone.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

WN2 lasts so long, but is not really efficient CP-wise once you "waste" more than one of its charges. Its length actually hurts it in this regard. I use a modified Rath's that uses WN, not WN2. It worked well enough for me that I've crafted 3 complete MNK sets of i250 for my retainers (only 2 of these came out NQ), and complete sets for all my other classes, all HQ. I MUCH prefer Waste Not to Waste Not 2.

Oh, just as an aside, the 35 durability recipes break if you try to WN->SH2->HTx5. You'll have SH2->WN->HTx4, and then find something else to use 10 durability on. Either buff with another SH2, or take an unbuffed HT, or if you need the Progress, a CS2.

Rapid Sythesis, on the other hand, I find incredibly valuable when crafting stuff for daily GC hand ins, and for crafting Red Crafting Scrip hand ins. My usual rotation for these crafts generally goes along the lines of CZ->IQ->SH2->RS->CS2 (replaced with a HT on a few CUL hand ins)->HTx3->SH2->*HT*->MM2->HTx3->SH2->HTx2->GS->Inno->BB->CS2. Good/Excellent I take as Precise Touch if SH2 is up, or Tricks if not. The *HT* denotes the first HT I usually change to BT, though if I've taken a PT earlier than that one stays a HT and the next HT becomes the first BT. Your Progress may differ from mine, there was a point where I was having to get two successful RS's, or worse, one RS and two CS2's, before working on Quality, depending upon recipe and gear.

Specialist Only recipes are SE's tacit admission that the Specialization System did not do what it was supposed to do. It was supposed to equialize the playing field, allow someone without any other crafting classes to compete with someone who has them all leveled up. Unfortunately, it was a complete and utter failure at that goal. It added massive amounts of RNG (and we all knew to try to reduce the RNG) and requires much higher stats and still did not approach the reliability of getting HQ results that having all the classes leveled up does. So, rather than actually make it do what they said they wanted it to do, they locked everyone that was not a Specialist out, putting a time-locked gate on the recipes. Usually, a patch or so after Specialist-Only recipes are introduced, they become unlocked for non-Specialists to do too. This too is actually a failure in achieving their intended purpose, because single class Specialists are still at the same disadvantage compared to Specialists that have leveled all crafting classes, AND because locking non-Specialists out means there is no competition between the two, so they literally still cannot compete.

Its the unlocking, however, that gets me to say "ignore the Specialist stone stats". When they unlock the recipes, unless you wish to change Specializations (just as you have to when they are locked) just to craft something else, you will need gear that permits you to reach the stat requirements without the 20 craft, 20 control provided by the stone, because more than half of your classes won't have the stone. Its definitely doable.