Most logical method to advancing advice

[DurzyllBlynt]

Hi all,

First post on the forums so apologies if I misexplain anything. I am at a point now where I feel confident crafting and would like to begin crafting starred crafts at level 60... my dilemma is at this point how best to gear up. I have a full set of carbonweave HQ gear and corresponding accessories (belt is HQ ironworks), current plan is to gather mats to make HQ ironworks HQ main/offhand and ironworks chest for BSM (I have a wonderful friend that mains crafter and is willing to make those items for me) which would hopefully then allow me to make my own main/ offhand for my other classes to increase their stats to make the remaining ironworks gear myself.

Is this a viable way of hitting the optimum gear/stats required to craft 1-4*? Or is there a better way of achieving this? After the initial help from a friend I'd prefer to do the rest of the work myself.

Thanks in advance and also apologies for the long ever so slightly convoluted post.

[Caimie_Tsukino]

Is this a viable way of hitting the optimum gear/stats required to craft 1-4*?

Yeah, it seems fine. Once you have reached the minimal craftsmanship and control for 2* and 3*, you can go ahead and try making crafted mats (like ingots or leathers) as practices.

The making of the i195 tools (3* items) might be slightly trickier, as you gotta beware the fact that there are two different difficulties for 3* items. One type has only 1651 difficulty, the other has 1764 difficulty, and the i195 tools fall into the more difficult category. So make sure you don't underestimate the amount of progress you needed for completion.

4* items have very harsh stats requirement of 995 crafts and 955 control. You will definitely need i195 or i200 tools to reach these stats. With the powers of the Specialists' Soul Crystals, you can reach these stats just by melding your Ironworks gear set, without melding too much on the main/offhand. However, if your class is without a Soul Crystal, then you will need to push a bit more on the melds on the main/offhand tools too. Despite all these harsh requirements for crafts and control, I strongly suggest you maxing out your CP during melds of any gear. Food is absolutely necessary to maximize CP, and the current consensus is either Seafood Stew HQ or Baked Onion Soup HQ. FC buffs on control or craftsmanship can also help. Apart from being harsher on stats, 4* is practically a slightly more difficult version of 3*, and 3* is just a slightly more difficult version of 2*. Once you have incorporated Rath's rotation into your own, you will have no problems with anything.

Also, beware of any elemental aspected items. Your progress for every synthesis is halved. Just be careful.

[Shadygrove]

Two star calls for Crafts 718 Con 695. You should be able to reach that while still mostly in carbonweave. However you meld make sure to cap CPs. And being in so few Ironworks you will want to pentameld everything that isn't carbonweave.

Baked onion soup is easy to HQ, its only L 52. Seafood Stew is one star, Crafts 620, no control requirement, I bet you can make it now.

Blank Soul of the Crafter is a red scrip item, I really have no other use for red scrips so I keep a few on hand. Some go through them like candy....

Get comfortable with Rath's rotation on one and two star crafts before you tackle those three star tools.

Enjoy.

[DurzyllBlynt]

I've specialised in CRP, BSM and ARM... for now at least, I'm collecting red scrips to upgrade those 3 main hands to i200 from the i180 blue scrips/ counterfoil weapons with offhands being HQ high mythrite while I get comfortable crafting with Raths rotation. Chances are I'm not gearing up in the most economical way possible but I don't want to hit the often seen "wall of not understanding crafting". I'm primarily learning to craft for those fancy housing items to pop in my FC house and to help out FC members as I personally think that's something I should be doing as an FC master.ive just this moment finished collecting mats for my lovely friend to make me HQ ironworks chest, BSM and ARM off hands... from there I've decided I'd like to progress on my own merits.

Are there any threads or Web pages that might point me in the direction of materia I should be melding? CP of course but in a little more detail for me to look at.

Really appreciate the replies!

[Caimie_Tsukino]

I've specialised in CRP, BSM and ARM... for now at least, I'm collecting red scrips to upgrade those 3 main hands to i200 from the i180 blue scrips/ counterfoil weapons with offhands being HQ high mythrite while I get comfortable crafting with Raths rotation. Chances are I'm not gearing up in the most economical way possible but I don't want to hit the often seen "wall of not understanding crafting". I'm primarily learning to craft for those fancy housing items to pop in my FC house and to help out FC members as I personally think that's something I should be doing as an FC master.ive just this moment finished collecting mats for my lovely friend to make me HQ ironworks chest, BSM and ARM off hands... from there I've decided I'd like to progress on my own merits.

Are there any threads or Web pages that might point me in the direction of materia I should be melding? CP of course but in a little more detail for me to look at.

Really appreciate the replies!

Way to go! Just remember not to over-burn your materia/cash with melding on the Carbonweave set since it will eventually be replaced by the Ironworks. In some cases, you could get your friend to provide you with more Ironworks gear before you go nuts on the melds, and then make the remaining ironworks yourself once you reach the desired stats.

Melding cap information of the Ironworks can be found on https://www.ffxivguild.com/ff14-arr-...materia-melds/

You don't have to max everything, but you do need to try to max them as much as you can afford. You will need to plan your melds and calculate what your final stats will become, and compensate the last tad bit with food and/or FC buff, in order to reach the stats requirement of 4*. CP maxing is pretty much a must, but they're usually NOT the first materia to go into your gear, because Command and Competence materias are usually more valuable. You should start your melds with the most expensive to the least expensive. So usually, you have to plan your melds so that Control materia go in first, and then maxing out the CP afterwards with advanced melding. Of course, it's not 100% certain as different gear may have different caps, so you have to do your own calculations. For instance, for the Ironwork chest, you could be potentially be starting with Competence V or Command V. You have to decide on that.

Another shortcut to do this, is ask another end-game crafter on your server to show you her/his own melds in the game, and you can compare that with your own designs / calculations. It might help.

[Shadygrove]

....
Are there any threads or Web pages that might point me in the direction of materia I should be melding? CP of course but in a little more detail for me to look at.

Really appreciate the replies!

http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/

[DurzyllBlynt]

Thank you both so much for your answers! Lots to go ahead with... definitely going to be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it! Signature on my own crafts here I come!

[Caimie_Tsukino]

Thank you both so much for your answers! Lots to go ahead with... definitely going to be a challenge but I'm looking forward to it! Signature on my own crafts here I come!

Most importantly, have fun!!!
There will be some failure, but don't let it get to you too badly! Enjoy the excitement through the process and the sense of accomplishment at every checkpoint!