Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

[Icemage]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

Even at 6 stacks for 1.1 skill (which seems just like bad luck to me), look at your material cost:

- Arrowwood Lumber is ridiculously easy to make. Wind crystals are a pittance, arrowwood is easy to get. Effective cost even without Lumberjack, with level 49 unmodified skill in Woodworking, turns out to be probably 1000 gil per stack.

- Insect Fletchings are a pain if they're in short supply, but a quick round of death and destruction on beetles of your choice will produce any number of insect wings which you can then turn around and hand to a level 52+ clothcrafter who can make the fletchings for you. Considering they are produced in multiples of 6, this is not an arduous process no matter how many stacks you want. Even buying these at market price generally doesn't set you back more than 1000-2000 gil per stack.

- Scorpion Arrowheads are similar to insect fletchings in difficulty. A quick trip the Maze of Shakrami either with pickaxes or a THF subjob while beating up on the weak scorpions in there will give you all the scorpion claws you'll need. Again, 6x produced per synth. Finding a level 53+ bonecrafter to make the arrowheads for you isn't a chore either. Purchasing these on the AH is relatively inexpensive too - maybe 3000 gil per stack.

- Earth crystals you should have coming out of your ears, or just buy them on the AH for maybe 1000 gil per stack.

Sure, if you aren't willing to do some legwork, it's difficult, but the materials are extremely easy to acquire compared to what you need at later levels. I also don't like waiting 2 weeks just because I want to save a bit of gil - those extra inventory slots are worth more to me than a few thousand gil.


Icemage

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I did Insect Fletchings 10 levels early as well. An effective gap of 7 levels (10 minus 3 from advanced support) certainly isn't optimal. But sometimes, it's competitive with the alternatives at hand.

Edit: wow, I made this post at 4:42 PM EST, after Caspian's post down the page. How did this post end up here?

[Sabaron]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I don't store items on my main. I have mules in all 4 early cities (not Aht Urgan), so I don't generally have any inventory problems. I have Wind and Earth crystals coming out my ears because of Sapling Harvests so the crystals are basically free. I've got the poles on AH in Bastok (connection to Norg) and Jeuno and I doubt they'll last very long.

Bonecraft appears to be expensive to level with the exception of the arrowheads of course, so I'm trying to avoid it at least for now since the only thing its useful for with Alchemy is making Cermet Claws which are lolH2H for people who aren't MNK or PUP. My concern was the depletion of my arrowheads and fletchings which I was hoping to get 7-9 points off of and which, since I'm not a bonecrafter, I cannot get except from others. Arrowwood is not a concern.

Scorpion Arrowheads are 25k per stack on Asura. The fletchings are around 3k.

[Icemage]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I have 3 mules, but with 2 synth crafts nearing 100 on main and a mule, plus 3 jobs at 75, space is a precious commodity for me. I don't store items on my main either, but my inventory space is so limited just from my regular gear that soaking up so many slots is an enormous chore since there are times when I need to pull gear back from my mules.


Icemage

[Sabaron]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I'll also add that making the Oak Poles is not simply "saving me a little money" because they sell for a handsome profit. just under 10k worth of materials per pole nets 20k on sale. I should be able to sell half or just over half of them and then do as I please with the rest (pawn them or desynthesize are recraft). As the market demand is 3-5 poles per day, I'll probably be rid of the 6 I need to sell in 3-5 days. I don't have multiple 75's, so my coffers are not as o'erbursting with gear as yours . If I end up AHing the remainder, I could stand to make some 60-120k depending on the favor of the market which can buy me 2-4 stacks of feathers with which to skill up my Alchemy or Smithing both of which are in the works.

[Hilde]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

Well on Asura, I was able to do scorpion arrows right after the patch which made them stack to 99.
went through two stacks of arrowheads, kept some for my ranger and broke even on those I sold through the AH, but those first two levels hurt, I think I made oakpoles fora level.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I was standing right next to Ulicille(?) using Adv. Support (as always) facining south, the directon of earth on part of Lightningsday through part of Lightsday.

I probably would have recommended doing Earthsday instead of Lightningsday. I'm not even certain on the impact of Lightsday on Earth crystal synths. Earth is in the dark element group, so I would probably avoid either Darksday or Lightsday.

[Caspian]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

Yeah, oak poles aren't as terrible as people think. At the time I did them I had plenty of space on a couple mules and enough extra cash to get me by until they all sold. Just put up a few on a mule every few days until I got rid of them.
Scorpions are probably doable that early (thats what everyone else is saying), but all the breaks are most likely pretty damned annoying.
Already did one craft 10 levels early (cabinets) and am in the process of leveling bonecraft so I can start on kaburas (also 10 levels early).

[Lleo]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I'm sorry but 6 crystal stacks for 1.1 point of skill is a horrible skill up rate.

You must have been really unlucky. I did Scoprion Arrows from 49 to 59, and 6 stacks of crystals got me from 49 to 52. My failure rate was around 50% though. I have leveled on other recipes bellow 60 at 10 or 11 under cap in various crafts, and never had as bad skill up rates as you had here.

[Caspian]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

Yeah, it is odd that you got so few skillups with so many crystals, even if you were breaking around 50%, which is around normal for that big of a gap iirc.
Even at 71, when I was attempting a lvl 81 synth, I was breaking around 50%, but my successes were giving me a .1 nearly every time. That usually why the excessively wealthy do stuff like that when PL'ing a craft. (Atleast thats what I've been told, Icemage may have more experience pl'ing crafts.)

[Icemage]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

At a gap of 10 levels it's very likely in that range to gain .2 or even .3 on a success. Only at higher levels do those start drying up. 1.1 for 6 stacks is extremely low.


Icemage

[Sabaron]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I don't know what it was... I just know that it sucked.
Maybe because the moon was in Leviathan and I'm a Water sign..but 6 Crystal stacks for 1.1 skill is the worst I've ever done.

I will say one thing about Scorp 49-59 though... Even with my rather abysmal failure rate, all of my reagents have been paid for and I've still got most of a stack of heads/fletchings to do...

By the time I'm done, the Scorps will most likely have paid for the oak poles as well even though I don't need them to.

[Icemage]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

I don't know what it was... I just know that it sucked.
Maybe because the moon was in Leviathan and I'm a Water sign..but 6 Crystal stacks for 1.1 skill is the worst I've ever done.

I just think this was bad luck. My experiences in this level range (and those of other posters in this thread) indicate this is a very valid skillup path. It's true those first couple levels are a bit rough but with advanced synth support (+3 skill) you're within 8 levels, which ought to get you at least around a 20% success rate.

I will say one thing about Scorp 49-59 though... Even with my rather abysmal failure rate, all of my reagents have been paid for and I've still got most of a stack of heads/fletchings to do...

Hence why it's such an often recommended path.

By the time I'm done, the Scorps will most likely have paid for the oak poles as well even though I don't need them to.

Just be glad you don't have to go any higher on Woodworking. Things get a lot uglier above 59. It's not "that" expensive to level, but the materials are sometimes nightmarishly hard to acquire in any quantity.


Icemage

[Caspian]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

Just be glad you don't have to go any higher on Woodworking. Things get a lot uglier above 59. It's not "that" expensive to level, but the materials are sometimes nightmarishly hard to acquire in any quantity.
Icemage

No kidding. I did well until I got past bodkins and demons. Did ancient lumber for 3 levels and couldn't hardly ever find it. Broke even minus the breaks, but had to take it very slow and avoid it for awhile when people were price gouging the logs.
After that, cabinets were actually pretty good since I could get both oak lumber and logs from the guild merchants.
Next is kabura arrows, once I get done leveling bonecraft. Its going to take forever to find enough ram horns to synth even one stack of arrowheads.
After that, well, I'm pretty sure I'm screwed and am going to have to resort to the break synth method of skillups.

I've heard starting at 60 and going all the way to 100, that skillups average to about 1 out of 4 synths. The more I pay attention, the more this seems to hold true. I do often notice long stretches of no skillups, followed by near back to back skillups. Actually went from 80 to 81 in under 20 synths. Iirc the .2 and .3 skillups start slowing down in the 40's and 50's, and even though I've heard of people getting them later, I haven't seen anything like that in the last 20 levels.

[Sabaron]

Re: Scorpion Arrows 49-59? I don't think so...

You won't. I haven't seen a 0.2 since 50-60. Above 60, I think it's either impossible or at least astronomically improbable to get more than 0.1. I got an average of 1 in 2 to 1 in 3 from 60-80. Then at 80, I'm getting 1 in 4, and most recently at 88 I've done about 1 in 4 or slightly worse.