The Crafting 101 - Printable Version

The Crafting 101 - Printable Version

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The Crafting 101 - Akki-Chan - 06-28-2013

Hello and welcome! My name is Hiname, and today I want to introduce you to the glorious art that is crafting!

There is a lot to know, and even more to do, but I will try to teach you all the basics, to get you hooked and interested in everything a skilled or experienced hand can do. And today, I will be using the Goldsmith profession as an example. Why, because that is what I do, obviously. Well then, shall we?

[Chapter 1: The basic skills]

Crafting is more than just pushing buttons and swinging a hammer around like some brainless oaf. In fact, there are a many, different techniques you must master to craft truly beautiful things. Let us have a look at the most basic skills you will come across..

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This is the most essential thing of all, evidently, as this is what will make your desired item make progress. Quite literally so. needless to note, it will not consume your CP, because otherwise you'd find yourself get stuck. Would be silly.

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The heart of quality. Without this, everything you will create will be mediocre at best. And let's face it, people want quality. And they pay good for it. Always try your hardest!
Note, using this will cost you 24 CP. We will learn about that soon.

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This skill is so absurdly important, I would label it the most important one if there wouldn't be Basic Synthesis.Â When the durability of your craft reaches 0, be it via failure, progress or quality, it breaks, and you fail. With Master's Mend, no matter how expansive the skill is, you will never see this happening though. Keep an eye on your CP!

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This baby here can save your hide if you're dealing with precious or rare material and cannot afford to go for quality, or when every little point of durability is precious. I, personally, haven't run into many cases where I needed this yet, but I am grateful to know it's there when things get tricky.

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One of my favorites! Not only do the effects of this last through the whole crafting process, each time you improve quality, it gets better! Ain't that something? I'll teach you about control in the next section though.

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Yup, you're seeing right! A skill that makes you stare at your craft without doing anything. Fancy, huh? Why that is a precious tool, you'll learn when we talk about conditions.

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Now this is a true "Things just got real." skill for when you're attempting to craft truly difficult things that might be a bit over your horizon. In combination with Observe, you can squeeze some precious durability out of a delicate piece.

So, that'll be the basics. Now that we have this down, let's have a checkup on conditions and quality!

[Chapter 2: Quality and Craft Conditions]

I keep talking about how quality is important. Now let us have a look at how we actually get there.

When you crafted materials before, you must have noticed that line where it says "Condition: Normal"... Well here's where things get interesting. At some point during your basic training, you will start to see.. this.

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Here it says "Good"... Now what does that mean for you?
It means, if you use a Touch skill to improve your crafts quality, you will get better results. Good is not the only condition though, you will also run into Poor and Excellent.
Pretty self-explaining, but Poor means, you should better not waste precious CP on an attempt to improve quality, while Excellent can give you a huge boost in Quality. Note though, if your attempt fails while the condition is Excellent, it will drop to Poor in the next step.

A crafters greatest tool is precision. And good material!

I cannot stretch this enough, quality material results in quality goods. While a skilled craftsman can make quality out of everything, good material will make it all the much easier.

Here, let me show you something.

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This should tell us a few things. ... Well for one, I need to go harvest some wind shards soon again. But for the other, it means I have some quality materials available to use in this piece.
Note, in the top right, where it says "Quality: 0 / 866"? This is where you will start with when you begin crafting at currently set conditions. 0 is always that 1% base chance to produce quality. Not exactly the best outlook, is it?

now, lemme add my available quality materials to this...

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There. That looks a little better already, does it? Now, how much might that be?

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9%. Well that's something, no? It should be noted that, the higher your quality already is, the stronger the effects of raising quality will be. Don't be surprised to see jumps of 30% or more if you improve a crafts quality over 50%.

Now, excuse me a moment, I have to pick up some material to show you more...

...

There we go. Now, let's see about this again, yes?

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Now, ain't that something? Nothing but pure quality available for an all fresh start with an all fresh item. How does that look like then?

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15% right off the bat, and half the max quality number filled. You can expect some serious number jumps if you start to improve quality now. Here, let me get to that... I gain roughly 15 progress each time I use basic Synthesis, so I have to use that 5 times to finish the craft.
I will stop at 4.
Then focus on quality.
Use Masters Mend when durability gets low.
And finish the craft with basic Synthesis when I run out of CP to improve quality.

Aaaand.. tadaaa.

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Beautiful, isn't it?

Now, that's that about quality and crafting. Now, shall we get to look the part?

[Chapter 3: A Crafters Gear]

Some people might say "Well duh, Hiname, it's not like I'm out slaying dragons, why should I worry about what I wear?"

Well lemme tell you then, being a crafter has just as much to do with managing your own gear as it has with supplying others with theirs. Here, lemme show you. Let's visit a store in Ul'Dah who sells gear to get you started with.

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There. Gwalter sells the most basic gear for Gatherer and Crafter. What we're looking for is stuff liiiike.. hmm.. THIS!

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Yes, that's the stuff. Notice what that thing can do. that's the important bit for us here.

Craftmanship and Control.

Craftmanship determines how much Progress you make when using synthesis skills.
While Control determines how much Quality you add when using Touch skills.

But that's not all, no sir! Notice the other gear I'm wearing? Well lemme show you, I was able to make some nifty things for myself.

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You see the pattern here, aye? You need all the CP you can get, so make good use of trinkets like these!

So, to recap...

Control, Craftmanship, CP.
You need them all, just try to balance your gear sooner or later towards what you want.

[Chapter 4: The work of a crafter]

And now, let us talk about Tradeleves.

These are basically what brings the food to the table when you're not the trading kind. You can find them at the same places where you find any other kind of leve.

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Eustace here can supply you with them within the walls of Ul'Dah. Tradecraft Leves are fairly simple though. But let's cover this, anyway!

You pick one you think you can do.
You craft the desired item.
You turn it in...

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You claim your reward.

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It really is that simple. BUT, and that's quite a big but, there is always something deeper behind everything we crafter do.

I mentioned this time after time again, but let me spell it out for you one more time. Quality! Beats! Everything! What does this mean for tradecraft leves? Weeeeell... let me pick a different one. But this time, we will turn in a high quality item.

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Now, what's the difference, other than more effort? Well..

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Firstly, we get warned about what we're about to do. Formalities, really... But the next step is oh so much sweeter.

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Yup, you're seeing this right, this ain't no typo.

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Ding ding ding ding, jackpot! Now THIS is what I call compensation for my efforts. But wait, it gets BETTER!

Because, well, you must have noticed before. Our daily limit how many leves of any type we can accept is limited. We get only 6 allowances per day, so spend them well. So, with this in mind, I want to point out something exceptionally juicy. Let me pick out this leve in particular here...

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Three decorated copper scepters. Sounds like some work to do. But the pay is looking great, right? Now, in the spirit of what I keep telling you all over, what happens if we turn in three high quality scepters? Let us find out.

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Now, not only do we get our 200% reward, what is awesome by itself..

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Yup, that's right. That's one juicy load of a reward. But we're also leaving quite an impression on our client. So impressive in fact...

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We're offered an extension to our contract. And what does this mean for us?

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It means, that we can repeat the job, basically start from scratch. We get to do the same tradecraft leve WITHOUT spending an additional allowance!

And as long as we trade in ONLY high quality scepters, without exception...

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We can do this again.. and again... and again... and again...

So, keep working hard, deliver quality and get rich! It's amazing what hard work can do for you if you put effort behind it, isn't it?
And that's all I have to teach you about the early tradecraftleves.

[Chapter 5: Shared Skills]

Phew.. For such a small chapter, there sure was a lot of work into it to have something to show off, you know? Sooo, let's get straight to it.

Have you ever wondered "I can do this while crafting rings, can't I somehow apply my knowledge of metall while working in the armor forge?" Actually, yes, you can! Well, to a degree.

Remember the skill Manipulation?

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Notice how it says, at Affinity, Requires: Disciple of the Hand. Unlike the other says, stating they require Goldsmith. that means, Manipulation is a "shared skill". So how can you make use of that?

So I went through some effort and visited other workshops to learn a few things. Let's check them out.

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You should be familiar with your skills interface now. We're right now interested in the tab that reads "Additional".

Next step up... We select one of the professions we have learned a shared skill from.

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There it is. From Armorsmithing, we learned Rapid Synthesis, a powerful Synthesis skill with 250% effectiveness, but only a 50% success chance. We tick the little box on the left of said skill.. and now we repeat the same thing with the other job I learned...

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Careful Synthesis is a weaver skill. It has only 80% effectiveness, but a 100% success chance. Perfect for the final finishing touch.

Now, as you see, on the botton of that screen, are five slots, of which two have filled as we selected our skills. From this point, you can drag the skills onto your skill bars.

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And use them for your future crafting needs. That's all there is to say about shared skills, really.

So that is about it for the very basics! That should get you all set and started for the long, rocky but very rewarding road towards becoming a master crafter.

I hope you find peace and enjoyment in whatever profession you pick up. And, should you find yourself in need of assistance or companions on his road.. the Anvil is recruiting!

Have fun and good luck on your way!

Kind regards,
Hiname Dawnpride

RE: The Crafting 101 - Seohyun - 06-28-2013

This is pretty great and helpful to those who are just starting out and want to get their hands dirty with crafting.

RE: The Crafting 101 - Asyria - 06-28-2013

The Silver Anvil's secret crafting arts are being shared? Woot!

RE: The Crafting 101 - Magellan - 06-28-2013

This is great! Thanks for all the hard work!

RE: The Crafting 101 - Jonexe - 06-28-2013

Excellent guide! Thanks!

I believe there may be a typo when you're talking about Master's Mend.

"With Master's Mend, no matter how expansive the skill is, you will never this happening though"

Perhaps "you will never have this happen, though." is what was meant?

RE: The Crafting 101 - Akki-Chan - 06-28-2013

Whooops. Corrected. It was meant to be "you will never see this happen".

Thanks for noticing.

RE: The Crafting 101 - Jonexe - 06-28-2013

(06-28-2013, 05:32 PM)Akki-Chan Wrote: Whooops. Corrected. It was meant to be "you will never see this happen".

Thanks for noticing.

No problem! Now it's perfectÂ Moogle

RE: The Crafting 101 - Asyria - 06-28-2013

As a side note, I like this new (howÂ new is it anyway) crafting interface but I gotta say the old one was purdy. Loved that shiny glowy thing, even if it was confusing as hell. ^^;

Also, Setzer quote from FF6, what do I win?

RE: The Crafting 101 - Jonexe - 06-28-2013

(06-28-2013, 06:53 PM)Asyria Wrote: Also, Setzer quote from FF6, what do I win?

Treats. Many many treats. Setzer is basically the best FF character of all time. You can't convince me otherwise.

Maaaaan if there was a Gambler class... or maybe something that would be stretch, but would work...

RE: The Crafting 101 - Akki-Chan - 06-29-2013

Theeere we go, Chapter 4 about Tradecraft Leves, added.

RE: The Crafting 101 - Asyria - 06-30-2013

Woaaaaa that's awesome!
So you can basically spend the whole day crafting and getting rich if you want? :O

RE: The Crafting 101 - Akki-Chan - 06-30-2013

Technically? I see no reason what would stop you from doing so.

RE: The Crafting 101 - Koroma - 06-30-2013

(06-30-2013, 01:19 PM)Akki-Chan Wrote: Technically? I see no reason what would stop you from doing so.

Hello, i'm Koroma i registered just so that i could thank you Akki-chan for this info. An acquaintance linked me to your guide, the bottom about extended contracts makes me so happy with everything that's been said i was very worried about the Future of dol and doh classes in ARR. /bow

RE: The Crafting 101 - Torvhan - 06-30-2013

Love your post!

Do have one question though, I've primarily been gathering materials and I've noticed your level increases your chances at gathering.

How does your level affect items you make besides having more cp and skills accessible?

RE: The Crafting 101 - Y'sehr - 06-30-2013

Thank you for making this! I feel in love with goldsmithing over the last beta weekend and this nicely explains some of the depth and future experiences I can look forward to!