Blacksmithing!!!

[DrMrLordX]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

Wow. This thread is still here, and someone was using it as recently as 2008. The Internet never forgets.

I'm glad this helped a bunch of people, though the world has obviously moved on to other things. FFXIV, for example. And all the economic data I posted in '03 and '04 was obviously dated by the time this thread finally went quiet.

I will say this: my secret to profiting off of blacksmithing was something I never 100% shared outside the crafting LS (TheCraft) I was in.

The trick was to run a circuit in the upper Bastok mines with all the Quadav. I did it as a 37 BLM with a 15 THF subjob. I used Thundaga and Blizzaga to wipe out every quadav on the upper level. I just made a huge train over and over again and mass-AEd them to death. This would yield some backplates. I would take as many lightning crystals as I could to synth in the field. Technically, desynth moghancement would have been better, but even with the limited field ration of crystals, I still valued the backplates more, so I used lightning instead. It was not hard for me to Warp back to San D'Oria or walk to Bastok to get a refill and then get back to the mines. I had the airship unlocked thanks to help from a guy I knew from another LS/beta (really from Ultima Online beta, hah), so transportation was not a problem. Anyway, I'd stockpile darksteel for crafting projects, or just sell it for cash. I made a big profit off those darksteel picks because I "mined" my components from Quadavs.

I used a lot of that money to get Leather, Cloth, Wood, and Gold all up to 60, which was interesting to say the least (never got around to Bone or Alchemy). That experience broke my crafting spirit. The money I used to start crafting came from buying exclusive spells (the ones you could only buy from the "winning" faction) and selling them in the "losing" cities with mules in the early days of the North American release of the game. I made hundreds of thousands of gil doing that, and even financed a very successful WHM also (the same guy who helped me get the airship).

Was it worth it to leave FFXI? Ultimately, yes, though sometimes, I wish I could go back. Maybe I'll take up FFXIV someday, but that day is not today.

[Tomtough]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

hey, ummm I LOVE THIS GUIDE! a couple of things...

level 13 smithing, already making profit w/ scale mail, here on fenrir mats are about 2k per synth and sell in san d'Oria for 5k ^^

tin ingots are used for ALCHEMY, heres a link to a detailed page on them:
Tin Ingot - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki

and lastly, would u plz edit this so all of ur stuff for synths and lvl ranges is in first post? i dont want to sift throo entire thread to find it.

[Hilaut]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

I just hit lvl7 doing bronze scales, so it is possible. I will reply again when I cap on Scales.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

I'm just starting out, my smithing level is a whopping 0.... After synthesising 12 bronze ingots and using all my fire crystals in the process my smithing level had gone up 0.1 in total.
Am I doing something wrong, or is this really how long it's going to take?

You were just unlucky. From level 0 to 50, you will average around 0.6~0.8 skill ups per dozen attempts. If you want to push for higher skill up rates, try to do your skill up sessions during...

1. New Moon
2. A day of the week where your crystal is week to the element of the day
3. or Darksday

On a rare occasion, I've gotten as much as 1.3 skill levels on a dozen attempts. But those get balanced by the bad runs, like the one you had.

[Talisman]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

Hi there
I read this thread and found it very useful, but when I tried to put it into practise things just really didn't happen
I'm just starting out, my smithing level is a whopping 0 and my character's level has just reached a benchmark lvl 10 lol
Basically I had signet cast on me and went grinding for crystals, after a couple of hours I had a stack of fire, water and earth crystals. The water and earth went on the AH no problem and I made a bit of money, then went trundling off the the Bastok smith guild to buy my ingredients. After synthesising 12 bronze ingots and using all my fire crystals in the process my smithing level had gone up 0.1 in total.
Am I doing something wrong, or is this really how long it's going to take? Not sure it's worth it, might as well sell my crystals on the AH and make a nice profit.
Any (further) advice would be very appreciated
Gotta go, a Quadav is poking me with a sword :/

[Lucky and Elizabeth]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

I don't know if this was mentioned earlier in the thread, but Tin Ingots can be made as early as Lv. 6. (with advanced image support, had a good number of failures at Lv. 6, but still some skill ups) I haven't gotten much farther than that, as I've only been making ingots out of the tin I personally mine up, but its taken me up to Lv. 7, and I'm not breaking the synth as much as I used to.

Lv 6???

Cool.

If thats the case. I can stop makeing Bronze In gots sooner and use the Copper ore for Copper Ingots.

[Leviel]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

Oh, In the first post you said you had a report of bronze scales getting someone to skill 10? I did it as well. It was a little slow for 9-10 but 7 and 8 went by fast.

[Lucky and Elizabeth]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

Are there any alternatives to darksteel picks at 67 now? It may have been profitable at the time of this guide but now it is waaaay expensive....

Maybe if you can cut the lumber and mine the ore you might get a little profet. I'm no where near that lv yet so I really don;t know.

[yps_128]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

please teach me how to play n how to start this game

[Susurrus]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

Are there any alternatives to darksteel picks at 67 now? It may have been profitable at the time of this guide but now it is waaaay expensive....

[Andvari]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

Wow this is a great guide thanks.
What are the benefits of becoming a crafter though if you lose so much money on it?

This is becoming my new motto, I've said it so much lately to LS members and friends. So I will give it what it derserves and put it in bold lol:

You have to spend gil, to make gil.

basically what I mean by this is, before you can start gaining great ammounts of gil from a craft, you have to put alot of gil into it first. I've seen people say how worthless crafts are because they cost too much to level. Well just ask anyone 60+ in any craft and they will tell you a different story. I'm currently Woodworking 59 (didn't push to 60 because the arrows I make capped at 59 lol) and as much as I moan about economy and sometimes the Scorpion Arrows I make take more than a day to sell because of underpricers. I really do make good money compared to what I used to.

The benefits of becoming a crafter in my opinion, is becoming a crafter abover level 60 lol.. stick at it guys and you will soon see the benefits.

-----------

and to return to the reason i came to this post, even thought the guide (0-55) was written about 2 and a half years ago, I'd like to thank the writer I am soon to start Smithing and this is by far the best one I have seen and I will definately be using it

[Redwall]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

Wow this is a great guide thanks.
What are the benefits of becoming a crafter though if you lose so much money on it?

[Ice Agent]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

so thats how u do it!!! thanks man... i was wonderin why some peeps had fire coming from their hans when they werent in battle

[Lucky and Elizabeth]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!



I found this List, and it was written by someone named Bujo on Caitsith. I used this and it was vcery helpful.

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Finally, a guide for blacksmithing that actually helps you out… I know when I was levelling blacksmithing a lot of it was in the dark, and I had to figure most of it out myself.

First thing to realize is that with the market changing so much lately, beginners such as yourself will have it a lot harder then I did. There isn’t much profit in blacksmithing until later on, a lot of it is simply toughing it out. You can make money doing this though, u just have to be very persistent. I suggest becoming a miner right off the bat. Zeruhn mines, and Palborough mines are the perfect place to start. If you need ore, it is out there trust me! A note to miners, mining gear is great, but keep in mind mining gear does absolutely nothing but increase your chances of obtaining rare ore. If you are not seeking rare ore, then don’t wear it at that time! For example, if you are crafting iron ingots, and are in Zeruhn mines, then do not wear the gear because iron ore is the most common ore.



I am Bujo of Caitsith, and here is my guide to blacksmithing!



Bronze Ingot 0-2

Recipe: Fire à 1 x tin ore, 3 x copper ore

Note: Easily obtain this ore in Zeruhn mines, do not wear mining gear. Keep these ingots, you will need them soon.



Bronze Sheet 2-4

Recipe: Fire à 1 x Bronze Ingot

Note: Keep these, you will need them.



Bronze Scales 4-10

Recipe: Wind à 1 x Bronze Sheet

Note: I suggest paying for support at level 4 for this synth, although it isn’t totally necessary it’s definitely a good thing to have.



Note: At level 8, you can write your test. You MUST write this test in order to proceed passed level 10, otherwise you are capped. This can be said for levels 18, 28, 38, 48, 58, 68, 78, and 88…. Keep that in mind.



Tine Ingot 10-15

Recipe: Fire à Tine Ore x 4

Note: You can mine these very easily in Zeruhn mines, again, do not wear mining gear.



Iron Ingot 15-20

Recipe: Fire à Iron Ore x 4

Note: You can mine these easily in Zeruhn mines.



Iron Sheet 20-22

Recipe: Fire à Iron Ingot x1



Iron Scales 22-26

Recipe: Wind à Iron Sheet x1

Note: This step kinda hurts, cuz iron scales aren’t worth much. Tough it out, and do your mining and its not that bad.



Iron Mask 26-29

Recipe: Earth à Iron Sheet x1, Brass Sheet x1

Note: These don’t sell too quick, if you do this step slowly you can break even, otherwise what I did was just mine all the ore, and sell the masks to an npc.



Steel Sheet 29-36

Recipe: Fire à Steel Ingot x1

Note: Definitely pay for support at the guild here, and you shouldn’t lose too much money on this one. I just bought stacks of steel ingots from AH and made them into sheets, for very minimal loss. If you need money, make it now by mining iron ore and sell iron ingots.



Steel Scales 36-40

Recipe: Wind à Steel Sheet

Note: This kinda hurts, really its toughing your way through. Keep in mind you are SO close to darksteel, which makes money!



Juji Shuriken 40-44

Recipe: Wind à Iron Sheet x1, Steel Ingot x1

Note: If I remember correctly, I did these ones at a steady pace and they sold on AH quite nicely. You will notice that as soon as you go to sell something, it seems EVERYBODY is selling the same thing in large quantity, kinda annoying… at least this was always how it was for me. You should break even, or make a little cash.



Hibari 44-45

Recipe: Fire à Tama Hagane x1, Lizard Skin x1

Note: You can buy Tama Hagane for around 5k in lower jeuno tenshodo, lizard skin can be purchase or farmed. I took this to 45 simply because 8 levels away from darksteel ingots is a little much, especially since they are expensive.



Darksteel Ingot 45-52

Recipe: Fire à Darksteel Ore x1, Iron Ore x3

Note: MILK THESE!!! I would mine them in Gusgen mines, WITH MINING GEAR! You can pull average 3-4 an hour, and its well worth it. If you are doing this, you are now making yourself 150-200k/hour… yah that’s big cash! From 45-47 I would keep your ore and wait until you had paid support.









Darksteel Sheet 52-55

Recipe: Fire à Darksteel Ingot x1

Note: Again, this will make you quite a bit of money. My suggestions is to keep mining the darksteel ore, it is so worth it.



Breastplate 55-58

Recipe: Fire à Iron Sheet x4, Sheep Leather x2

Note: Not a whole lot of money here, id definitely take my time selling them, and keep mining darksteel to pay for the damage.



Nodawa 58-66

Recipe: Earth à Silk Thread x1, Iron Sheet x1

Note: These are the cheapest things after darksteel you will come across, although it is pure loss, its definatley the best thing to craft in my opinion. Definitely get some support from you guild on this one.



Hien 66-70

Recipe: Fire à Lizard Skin x1, Darksteel Ingot x1

Note: Mine the darksteel ore, and sell the hien to an npc. You wont make much here, but you wont lose much either if you are smart.



Darksteel Pick 70-73

Recipe: Fire à Elm Lumber x1, Darksteel Ingot x1

Note: Again, mine your darksteel, and the only loss is the elm lumber. When you sell the picks to an npc, the loss of lumber equals the value of the pick… so its not too bad.



Karimata Arrowheads 73-79

Recipe: Wind à Iron Ingot x1, Tama Hagane x1

Note: I can’t remember if these sell well or not, they are fairly cheap anyway so do what suits u best. Tama Hagane again can be purchased for 5k in lower jeuno.



Darksteel Nodowa 79-83

Recipe: Earth à Darksteel Sheet x1, Silk Thread x1

Note: Mine your ore, you’ll be fine. These do not sell well at all, so sell them to an npc. The other tactic, and it’s what I did, is desynth them… SOMETIMES you get a skill-up, and often you can break them back into darksteel… which u can use again for the synth… so its all good.



Colossal Axe 83-84/5

Recipe: Fire à Steel Ingot x1, Gigas Axe x1

Note: I bought the axes off AH, around 30-40k. I then sold the Colossal axes to npc for around 11k. I lost quite a bit, but its only 1-2 levels so suck it up.



Adaman Ingot 83/84-90

Recipe: Fire à Adaman Ore x3, Iron Ore x1

Note: You can make money off these, I suggest having support while u do this until around level 86/87. Also, if you have been gathering guild points, which I suggest, I suggest wearing them for the first few levels into it.



Adaman Ingot 90-91

Recipe: Fire à Adaman Nugget x6, Adaman Ore x1

Note: This can make you money, buy them singular, seems people selling them in stacks assume we don’t have a calculator on hand, and they are overpriced.

[Spicey]

Re: Blacksmithing!!!

http://ffxi.lokyst.net/timer/crafttimer.html
That is a great site to help you optimize your skill ups for whatever you are crafting. If you put truth into directional synthing that is.