Leatherworking questions

[FCrowles]

Hey there. I decided to take the roll of Leatherworker. I am currently level 36.
I have a few questions I was hoping to have answered if anyone has free time.

I currently have.....
53 Levequests
98 Boar Hides
38 Gigantoad Skins
8 Peiste skins

I'm a bit short on gil, only able to buy certain items here and there but nothing in mass quantity. Being on Famfrit, the new server, its difficult to sell things because people are constantly undercutting you trying to take advantage of the new economy. There also isn't the option of finding a higher level LW to HQ everything for you.

What types of Levequests should I be looking for to level?
I see the 3 levequests are very popular, but it seems I have more levequest allowance than materials. Would I be better off doing the single item near my level for 40K? What do you recommend and why?
Any specific levequests that really stick out for leveling?
When farming skins, do higher level monsters have a higher drop rate or HQ drop rate than lower level monsters of the same type?

Whats your process for HQing things with 40 durability and with 80 durability? Currently I only have leatherworking skills but I am willing to take one, MAYBE two other crafts to 15 if its really worth it.

Is HQing Griffon armor that difficult/require that many other 50 crafts?
The whole reason I'm leveling LW is to gear up my monk. Would I be better off just farming for darklight than crafting?

[Kismet]

HQing Griffon armor will most likely require a number of cross-class skills. 50 BSM for Ingenuity II is probably a MUST have. 50 GSM for Innovation and CRP for Byregot's as well depending on your rotation. Long story short, I don't believe you will be able to HQ Griffon stuff without multiple cross class skills.

As for leves, if you're not doing the triple turn in leves it's a waste in my opinion. Use the extra leves to get your other crafts to 50 so you can HQ 2 stars. If prices are low on your server due to undercutting, buy them up cheap to help you level.

[Gamemako]

HQing Griffon armor will most likely require a number of cross-class skills. 50 BSM for Ingenuity II is probably a MUST have. 50 GSM for Innovation and CRP for Byregot's as well depending on your rotation. Long story short, I don't believe you will be able to HQ Griffon stuff without multiple cross class skills.

Ingenuity II offers only a modest increase in progress over Ingenuity and is one of the last things you should be seeking. You're fine with just level 15 BSM, honestly. Innovation is definitely not necessary, though it's nice to have in the grand scheme of things. Also helps to get GSM up early on because Flawless is only good for leveling alts and you'll want to be able to make crafting jewelry to spiritbond on your DoW/Ms so you'll be be geared properly. Byregot's is easily the best level 50 skill and really the only one worth mentioning as extremely important, but you can even pass on it if you're well-geared and play your cards properly. Without it, you can run yourself down to 0CP and use the Rumination reserve to finish up the synth. It's not as effective as Byregot, but it's enough for the synths we have now.

To OP, the things you really need are 37 CUL everything else at level 15 but ARM. ARM's 15 ability can fill a slot if you want another easy one to get, but it's just there if you've completely screwed up and need to use it as a last-ditch effort to finish a synth. You must, must, must get at least everything but ARM to 15. You will not have success without them.

For HQing 40-dura items, use the standard Inner Quiet rotation. Tricks of the Trade (ALC 15) any time Good condition shows up for most of the synth, use Steady Hands (II if you have it from CUL 37) with Hasty Touch (CUL 15) spam to maximize the Inner Quiet control bonus. Hit Manipulation (GSM 15) at 20 dura, hit at least one touch over the 3 following steps so you don't waste dura. When you're down to low CP, use Great Strides and Standard/Advanced Touch to get huge quality boosts. When you're out of CP and dura, mash Rumination (CRP 15) -> Ingenuity if doing one-star or two-star recipes (BSM 15) -> Steady Hand -> Standard Synthesis to finish the synth. If you can't finish in 150%, then make dura room to use two whole synths.

For 80-dura items, set up your Inner Quiet and Steady Hand and use Waste Not (LTW 15). You'll want to use Waste Not there because you're not going to use enough CP until you're down to 20 dura, so Tricks will often hit cap and be wasted. Hasty spam as usual. Once you're down to 20 dura (or 15 if you ended on an odd number with Waste Not), hit Master's Mend II and continue to waste out your current Steady Hand. Depending on your CP, dura, and the synth, you may use more Hasty spam or you may need to roll into Ingenuity -> Steady Hand -> Great Strides for your quality finisher. Hit quality down to between 15 and 30 durability depending on your needs, drop Rumination -> Ingenuity if needed -> Steady Hand -> Synth moves to finish.

That's just a general overview, but should get the gist across.

[FCrowles]

I've never used Inner quiet before, its something you should use at the start and then immediately build up quality?

[BaconNarwhal]

Inner Quiet increases your control by 20% of your base each time you successfully perform a touch action. It's best used in conjunction with Steady Hand (II) / Hasty Touch several times follow by Advance Touch or BB.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

You know how much Quality you get with a Basic/Hasty Touch, yes? Depends on the recipe and your stats, but you know how much a 100% Quality action gives. Inner Quiet basically gives you 10% (or more!) of that base amount as a bonus. For each successful Touch you do, you get that much more on your next Touch. An old routine I saw, using Hasty Touch and all in Normal Condition, was 69 (the base), 76, 83, 90, 97. Each successive Touch was getting 7 more than the previous (slightly more than 10% of the starting Touch).

A current recipe sees 99, 112, 125, 139, 152, 166. That is much better than 99, 99, 99, 99, 99, 99 ... get 793 Quality instead of 594. That's what 18 CP, 0 Curability gets me, making Linen Yarn, today. And that's ignoring Good, Excellent, Poor conditions, or the potential for Great Strides or Standard Touch or Advanced Touch (which I do not have yet).

[Capita]

On the topic of 2-star items, how many synths does it usually take to complete it?

[BaconNarwhal]

On the topic of 2-star items, how many synths does it usually take to complete it?

Depends on your craftmanship. Use Ingenuity II + your synth spell on a 1-star item to find out. You will need Ingenuity for finishing 2 star items. Ingenuity will bring the item down to the same level, so you should get the same amount of points per synth. Assuming you are geared, Ingenuity II + 3x Careful Touch should finish it.