Crafting, macros and you!

[Nix]

Hello everyone~ I've been fielding a lot of questions in my linkshell about the most effective way to level crafts; so far I have 5 at cap and I haven't quite lost my mind yet, but I'm getting there... XD

I was asked about crafting macros once and I was curious so I decided to see if I could make some; and much to my delight I found that you can, and here's where this little guide comes in.

**** Pre-warning: This is not botting, this is not even fully autonomous, you do have to sit, and pay attention and babysit it at all times. In no way do I endorse botting, cheats or anything of the sort. This guide is merely here to get your button presses per craft from 15+ to around 2 per grind synth. If you are looking for something fully autonomous, you won't find it here and you should feel bad >:O****

My main problem with crafting is that it was easy for me to hit the wrong skill and completely screw my rhythm up; this is not a fault with the system however, it is my own fault for being too easily distracted... and now with a couple of well thought out macros I can overcome that.

You need to write the macros on a per-synth basis; this is only suitable for grinding out xp, so if you've got like 400 batches of megapotions to make, it's going to cut down your time a little and make it a bit easier. If you're trying to HQ a specific item, then it is best that you complete the synth manually.

The timing of macros is key:
/wait 2 between buffs
/wait 3 between synthesis actions (touches, synthesis etc)

Key skills:
Careful synthesis: WVR 15 = Increses progress, Success rate 100%. (The lv50 version has an efficiency of 120% which is really nice, but this takes out the 'chance' aspect of progression.

Hasty Touch: CUL 15 = Has a 50% chance to increase Quality without spending CP

Waste Not: LTW 15 = Reduces Durability loss by 50% for the next 4 steps (the lv 50 version will reduce durability loss for the next 8 steps, which is pretty darn sweet).

Great Strides: Any craft - Lv21 = Doubles the effects of the next 'touch' action

Inner Quiet: Any craft - Lv11 = Grants a bonus to control with every increase in quality. (This is really nice for boosting the quality of your items, and quality = more xp!)


Now for the macro: ***Make a note of exactly everything you do and the order you do it in. This will become your macro ***

The order I buff in is:
Inner quiet > Great Strides > Waste not. This will make sure you get the absolute max out of Waste Not because it goes on a per-step basis and every action you take = 1 step.

You'll now want to use your best 'touch' action, which will be either basic, standard or advanced touch depending on your level and CP remaining.

Next:
Use Careful synthesis (I or II) and count how many times it gets you to 'near' completion. You want to stop progress 1 action short of completing.

Then:
Use hasty touch until you have durability left for one action, and to finish off, use Careful synthesis to net 100% completion.

Now's time to write it up: you'll need a minimum of two macros. ALL crafting actions are written in this format: /ac "Action Name" <me>

Your Macro should look something like this:

/ac "Inner Quiet" <me>
/wait 2
/ac "Great Strides" <me>
/wait 2
/ac "Waste Not II" <me>
/wait 2
/ac "Standard Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Careful Synthesis II" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Careful Synthesis II" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Careful Synthesis II" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Hasty Touch" <me>


The next should look something like this:

/ac "Hasty Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Hasty Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Careful Synthesis II" <me>

(This is a direct copy of my macro for my current grindsynth which is Mahogany lumber - 40 Durability with 100% success rate.)


This macro is by no means perfect, it is always better to manually synth so if you have skills like Byregot's etc you can pump out quality like a pro! But if you're having a lazy day and that pile of 400 hides feels a little too daunting, then macro away!

I hope this helps; please remember that these macros MUST be written on a per-synth basis, there is no one-size fits all macro that will magically poof your items into HQ. Work with your current skillset and see how you can push quality and progress efficiently.
You can't leave this unattended; you must pay attention at all times and even though it's macropressing, it still requires a little leg work on your part. Please respect the ToS if you do use my macro method.

[Simaril]

Thanks for sharing! Why do you need a minimum of two macros? Is there a limit on the number of lines a macro can have? How many?

Macros like this seems very useful for those low level recipes that are easy to HQ like lower level thread and cloth or ingots and rivets. If I'm making more that a couple sometimes I do a lazy version where I use 3 touches and 1 synth without really paying attention.

Also: "touch" <me>
/em giggle

[Aluith]

This is most helpful, I made mine into a single macro for low level stuff that's easy to 100%. The Macro does seem to fall over halfway through for me from time to time though, not sure why.

[Nix]

@Simaril - The macro can have a maximum of 15 lines, so if you're using buffs and whatnot, you'll find that you're quickly using up available lines D:.
...Totally giggled at your touch macro XD

@Aluith That's really strange that it's failing about 1/2 way through, I wonder if it's a latency issue? If you can pinpoint the place where it's falling and add an extra second /wait time in there it may help^^

[Aluith]

It only seems to happen if I hit an Excellent early and get to the 100% while still running touch actions. No big deal I just hit Synth then start over, its rare enough to not cause any real problems.

Changing wait times from 2/3 to 3/4 has helped, doesn't seem to happen at all now

[Simaril]

It’s important to recognize that these can’t benefit from good/excellent conditions and might not result in HQ 100% of the time, and therefore won’t give as much XP… but I don’t necessarily need 100% HQ yarn, and this will improve quality of life which will make me want to do the supply missions, crafting leves, and make the piles of yarn and ingots I need:

15 lines… hmmm… reminds me of haikus…

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator


For my level 21 weaver making relatively low level, 40 durability items like cotton yarn and cloth:
/ac "Inner Quiet" <me>
/wait 2
/ac "steady hand" <me>
/wait 2
/ac "Standard Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Standard Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Standard Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "master’s mend” <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Standard Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac “careful synthesis” <me>
(I’ll have to see if I actually have enough CP… I have equipped level-appropriate HQ crafting gear, but might have to use a basic or hasty touch…)


For my level 17 BSM, ARM, GSM making low level 40 durability items like ingots and rivets
/ac "Inner Quiet" <me>
/wait 2
/ac "steady hand" <me>
/wait 2
/ac "Basic Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Basic Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Basic Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac "master’s mend” <me>
/wait 3
/ac "Basic Touch" <me>
/wait 3
/ac “careful synthesis” <me>

Neither of these should ever fail (I may add a second if they don’t work right). Both should result in very high rates of HQ for me… probably better than I get when I’m only half paying attention and falling asleep

I’m sure I can use either of these for low level lumber, leather, and recipes stuff too. I brought all DoH to 15 minimum, and this macro makes it much more appealing to use up the junk I get along the way, and grind out a few more levels.

[Nix]

@Aluith I'm glad altering the times fixed that for you!

@Sil - Yeah! Definitely can't make the most of conditions, but that is okay for me XD I'm totally cool with pressing a couple of macros while I synth up 200 fishing rods haha

[Simaril]

I need LOTS of cotton yarn and cloth. The macro usually gets me more than 50% HQ yarn, and with 1HQ yarn and 1NQ yarn the macro usually gets me more than 50% HQ cloth. If I (lv 23 wvr) manually craft, I can usually get 100% quality on the triple turn in item 'cotton breeches of crafting' as long as I have a HQ yarn, and HQ cloth... the other cloth can be NQ. 9 breeches to take full advantage of the triple leve:

2 cloth + 1 yarn * 3 breeches * 3 times = 18 cloth + 9 yarn = 45 yarn. I've did this twice last night, with all of the breeches at 100% quality (manually crafting that step), and will do it again if I can't get more diremite thread


Worth noting - the macro gave me 100% HQ bronze ingots for my lv 17 BSM ARM... and again, if it didn't work I could make HQ rivets manually from NQ ingots.