Is it possible to craft Pactmaker's from Perfectionist's without buying anything?

[Pinen]

I have Perfectionist's MH + OH + left side, and HQ Integral right side bringing my stats to 3457/3249/550. My right side is not pentamelded.

I'm just using this as a stepping stone to get to Indigators since I came back from ShB, but it doesn't seem like I can reliably HQ any of the 90 ★★ 35 dur or 70 dur recipes, most of the rotations require higher stats on Teamcraft, and I really really dont want to have to grind and pentameld an intermediate set of gear that I'll discard after the final craft. Normally I'd use HQ mats but that's not a thing anymore.

Most of the food I can't HQ either, is there really no path to the next higher level of gear without buying gear or food on the MB?

[Caimie_Tsukino]

I have Perfectionist's MH + OH + left side, and HQ Integral right side bringing my stats to 3457/3249/550. My right side is not pentamelded.

I'm just using this as a stepping stone to get to Indigators since I came back from ShB, but it doesn't seem like I can reliably HQ any of the 90 ★★ 35 dur or 70 dur recipes, most of the rotations require higher stats on Teamcraft, and I really really dont want to have to grind and pentameld an intermediate set of gear that I'll discard after the final craft. Normally I'd use HQ mats but that's not a thing anymore.

Most of the food I can't HQ either, is there really no path to the next higher level of gear without buying gear or food on the MB?

Dear Pinen,

HQ gathered mat is not a thing anymore, but HQ crafted mat is! So you will still be able to use many pieces of HQ crafted mats to craft your Pactmaker's or Indagator's gear (I think around 4 pieces for left gear and 2 pieces for right gear, but they SCALE UP the quality per HQ mat for the right gear, so you can still end up with a lot of quality with only 2 pieces).

I haven't looked carefully into your stats, but keep in mind that if you're manual crafting, you can make good use of the Good / Excellent conditions to your advantage. So being flexible in rotation is CRITICAL for success. Make sure you have a rotation that can complete the progress, but for quality you can just fill in with HQ mats. Tweak the rotation on the spot to prioritize Precise Touch for IQ stacks or Tricks of the Trade for extra CP. Have your Soul of the Crafter equipped to boost all 3 stats, and to allow access to "Careful Observation" and "Heart and Soul" (make sure to have Crafter's Delineations on hand to use these skills). These 2 skills are very powerful, and will sometimes turn the tides for you in dire situations. Use the strongest food and medicine you have, and ask your FC to provide the Control II (+10 control) or even Control III (+15 control) buff for extra stats if necessary. With so many "help" listed above, you should be able to do it without much problems.

[Shadygrove]

Craftsmanship required for the Indagator's syntheses is 3700. Its hard to get to without spending gil. Or time. Or both.

1, Pentameld everything you can.

2, Do not ignore food and meds. I can make them but mostly if I need them I buy them. Honestly I sell better food than I use. Food and meds are cheaper than gear.

3, There is no disgrace in buying a piece of gear or two to get you "over the hump" but do pentameld it.

Best wishes.

[Jojoya]

You don't need to pentameld everything, though obviously it would make things easier.

I wouldn't even bother making the Pactmaker since you already have the Perfectionist. Use the Perfectionist to make the Indagator. You can get to 3700 Craftsmanship, 3292 Control and 529 CP pretty easily with Materia X in the sockets and minimal overmelding on the accessories. Then add HQ Tsai and HQ Cunning Draught to be set.

With those stats and food/draught, the pre-crafts (including Zoisite/Craftsman's Alkahest) will be at 94% so almost everything will end up HQ.

/ac "Muscle Memory" <wait.3>
/ac Manipulation <wait.2>
/ac Veneration <wait.2>
/ac "Waste Not" <wait.2>
/ac Groundwork <wait.3>
/ac "Basic Synthesis" <wait.3>
/ac "Basic Synthesis" <wait.3>
/ac "Preparatory Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac Manipulation <wait.2>
/ac Innovation <wait.2>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>

/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac Innovation <wait.2>
/ac "Basic Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Standard Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Advanced Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Great Strides" <wait.2>
/ac "Byregot's Blessing" <wait.3>
/ac "Basic Synthesis" <wait.3>


With all pre-crafts HQ, you can get HQ Indagator (still need the HQ Tsai but you can skip the Draught this time). Even if you have to use one NQ pre-craft, you're still far more likely to get HQ Indagator than not.

/ac "Muscle Memory" <wait.3>
/ac Manipulation <wait.2>
/ac Veneration <wait.2>
/ac "Waste Not" <wait.2>
/ac Groundwork <wait.3>
/ac Groundwork <wait.3>
/ac Groundwork <wait.3>
/ac "Careful Synthesis" <wait.3>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac Manipulation <wait.2>
/ac Innovation <wait.2>
/ac "Prudent Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Basic Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Standard Touch" <wait.3>

/ac "Advanced Touch" <wait.3>
/ac Innovation <wait.2>
/ac "Basic Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Standard Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Advanced Touch" <wait.3>
/ac "Byregot's Blessing" <wait.3>
/ac "Basic Synthesis" <wait.3>

It comes down to how much extra effort you're willing to put in. As you improve the stats on your gear, you can decrease the number of steps and/or HQ pre-crafts needed. If you're familiar enough with all your actions, you can skip the macros and make better use of Good/Excellent procs.