Theory of Mules: Guide by Ctownwoody

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On the Theory of Mules
By Ctownwoody of Asura
TheSons (of Valkrum) Linkshell
= Why Create a Mule, a Q&A Session on those rare types that don't grind the expees=
*Q: Why Make a Mule?
*A: Because you can do more with more than your single main character; the game purposefully, systemically and blessedly limits the ability of one character to dominate things. This is a good thing because RMT would be able to control the AH through a more limited number of characters, in particular.
*Q: What is ‘‘required’’?
*A: SE charges you 1 buck more a month and you have to register the character, etc. So, not much.
*Q: Is it worth it?
*A: Dunno...that's up to you, but remember that RL > FFXI and RL $$ > FFXI gilz.
*Q: How much effort does a mule require?
*A: As much as you want to put into it. Same as your main character only to a much more limited extent. Mules are secondary by design. Specifically, if you want them to exist and do nothing with them, SE will happily charge you 1 buck more.
*Q: Do mules cost gil?
*A: Generally, not really. Crafting mules are subject to crafting costs and profits. Gardeners take and make money per Gardening. But, on the upside, you can re-do certain quests that are hugely profitable. Now, one caveat is if you decide to buy an Airship Pass; 500k isn’t something to do lightly.
*Q: Do mules make gil?
*A: Generally, the potential is there. It's the same as your main character, only you'll be able to cut out some unprofitable activities and double-down on the profitable ones. But it's still up to you to earn the profit.
*Q: How much attention does a mule require on a regular basis?
*A: Depends on their activities. Generally, AH-oriented activities should be checked at beginning and maybe end of your sessions, Gardening is a 1/day activity, Bazaar is an activity you do while you are AFK, Crafting is crafting, of course.
*Q: Do mules require expansions?
*A: Well, mules that use your main character's POL Code have the same expansions but if the question is more "DO I need to complete CoP Quests, get a Kazaam Airpass, etc?" the answer is typically "No". Cooking can benefit from completing CoP 3-5, but there are other sources for those items or your main character can beat it. Weird bazaar locations that are supposed to be profitable require access (Selling Sky-specific items like Prism Powder, for instance). Al Zahbi does have extra items and an extra set of Guild Merchants, but again, your main character can access them if really needed.
*Q: Do I need to Level my Mule?
*A: That question has recently been answered as "NO" thanks to the new Moogle in Selbina. Now, you can send your mule tons of stuff for Only the Best to earn Sandy and Bastok fame. Previously, you needed level 10. As mules that will be crafting to level 100 will eventually need an Airship Pass for travelling to and from Jeuno, there's nothing that gil can't solve (Prism Powder and Silent Oil).
*Q: Do I need gear/Equipment on my mule?
*A: No. The Rank 10 Aketons that give +12% speed in cities help, but that's a minor thing. Crafting mules, of course, should proudly wear their GP gear, but that's different.
*Q: Should I have my mule get Linkshell Pearls?
*A: Depends on the Linkshell purpose and how much time you really spend on the mule. HNM/Sky/Sea LSs have little use for mules but social LSs are pretty good. I'm told Crafting LSs exist out there but haven't seen them hold together; crafters are to a certain extent, fierce competitors. Crafting Mules, in particular, benefit from being able to talk between synths (to break monotony), but Bazaar mules, storage mules, etc, aren't used often or long enough generally.
*Q: What happens if I made a Mule to do X and X gets nerfed?
*A: Elemental Ore gardeners, I feel your pain. You used to buy so much of my Porcelain Pots...The real answer is that you can either find a new purpose for the mule that's worth the RL cost or just transfer gil/items to main character and shut down the mule (get SE to permanently delete it). It doesn't take much time or cost to convert a Gardening Mule into a Storage Mule or take up an odd-craft, provided you can stand crafting (some people can't).
=Common Mule Tasks=
Generally, a mule can do all of the following but location will limit certain uses in obvious ways.
*Crafting: Fishing aside, each character can only have 40 points of skill above 60, which typically, and should, mean one level 100 craft per character.
*AH/Selling: Each character also only has 7 slots at the AH; effective use by one character can mean more than bad use by more than one character, but decently effective use of 14 slots can beat almost all uses of just 7 slots. That progression holds up remarkably well.
*Gardening: Each character can only have 10 pots in their MH at a time. Cheap pot + cheap seed + cheap crystal can still generate profits on a regular basis and all it does it require a check a day and a change of 10 MH spaces to 10 Storage spaces.
*Storage: Each character, no matter which quests they complete, can only have 70 Inventory, 80 Mog House, 80 Storage and a Mog Locker. That may sound like a lot, but it's a lot less than you think. Armor sets and rare/ex items for one job, especially if you have different sets for level capped events (30, 40, 50, 60, etc). Storage items are cheap and can add up easily. Add in crafting, MH expansions, and gardening, and that's a lot more than a mule can do that you don't have the room to do.
*Bazaar: Basically, you stand in a strategic spot and sell junk that people want/need but that doesn't do as well on the AH. It's space-intensive but you can do it while AFK and your Mog House and Storage is unaffected by it, so it piggy-backs well on other activities.
=Profiles in Muling, including How to Start up the Mule Character=
What each mule can do, what each mule needs in the way of funds, items and fame, etc. Crafting Mule Profiles are a separate section because each craft requires different treatment
*By Primary Activity (non-Crafting)
==Storage Mule==
*Location Home City
*Fame? Yes. You want Fame 7 to be able to do the 3 Mog House expansion quests
*Start-up Costs Funds and means to raise Fame to 7, funds and means to do various home-city specific quests for profit, and funds for furniture. 
*Limitations If you are using the 80 storage slots on a regular basis, your mule can’t leave the home city often (for places like Jeuno/Whitegate) or for crafting in other cities.
*Secondary Uses Gardening is wide-open; 10 pots = 10 storage. Bazaar/Sales is open; it’s not as good as Jeuno, but cities do have good possibilities.
*Furniture Bookshelves and Cartonniers are the most space-efficient and 9-Drawers Almirahs are the most cost-efficient. If Gardening, you only need enough for 70 Storage; if not, the limit is 80.
==Gardening Mule==
*Location Anywhere with access to Auction House and a non-Nomad Moogle. I’d recommend Whitegate if at all possible because Wildgrass Seeds are sold there plus access to the Jeuno AH.
*Fame? Not necessary but depends on secondary functions. If ‘’just’’ gardening, then “No”.
*Start-up Costs Pots, seeds, and crystals. In theory, the first batch should pay for the second batch with profit left over. 
*Limitations Slave to AH prices and trends. Elemental Ores were once 200k each, dropped to under 50k each and are now (8/2/08) at 100k each, generally. Also, each mule will require checking each day to keep the plants growing, at certain intervals, and there is a fairly strict time-table for feeding and harvesting your plants for optimal yield.
*Secondary Uses The furniture you’ll want fills up your Mog House and does hurt Storage efficiency. However, that aside, there is very little else that you can’t do.
*Furniture Bahuts, Maple Tables and pots. Wooden pots are the best, followed by Arcane, then porcelain. If you are growing something unusual or very, very specific, these pots may not be your best bet. Bahuts for the storage, but fill out the aura with extra Maple Tables (which are cheap and easily made).
==Auction House Mule==
*Location Generally, you’ll want Jeuno. Whitegate’s fees are steeper and you’d have to get to CoP 4-1 to get access through Tavnazia. 
*Fame? Not really, unless MH or Inventory room is needed. The only reason to get fame is to increase the sales price of items to NPCs, if you troll certain items on the AH.
*Start-up Costs Whatever it takes to reach Jeuno plus something extra for initial AH fees. See also Gardening as a good divertissement.
*Limitations If Jeuno/Whitegate-based, you won’t have access to Storage and many main characters set Jeuno as their Home Point, so no advantages in using the mule to store Armor Sets either. Also, being in a city without guilds limits your ability to craft, rank-up, or earn Guild Points. Finally, you have to have stuff to sell in order to sell stuff...
*Secondary Uses Gobbiebag and Mog House quests permit some storage; Bazaar-related fees limit that function. Only Gardening isn’t really affected.
*Furniture None, except Gardening if desired.
==Bazaar Mule==
*Location Anywhere, almost literally. Access to a Moogle lets you re-stock but also lets other people re-stock.
*Fame? Depends. Extra Gobbiebag space is expensive. Assume “no” until required otherwise.
*Start-up Costs Whatever it takes to reach destinations, such as prism powder or silent oil plus the cost of the goods.
*Limitations If, in isolated locations, like Sky, you’re pretty isolated and limited. If you are in Selbina/Mhuara, you can raid the Guild Shops there, especially Selbina. However, if you are stationed in a starting city, Bazaaring will always be a secondary function.
*Secondary Uses None. Bazaaring will either be the sole function or a secondary function.
*Furniture N/A. See above.
=Profile in Crafting Mules=
Each profile reflects a much more particularized function. Remember, this isn’t about how to add the craft onto a main character, but about the creation of a secondary character to perform this craft.
==Alchemy Mule==
*Location Bastok
*Fame? Yes. You will be buying items from NPCs like crazy in Bastok, Jeuno and San D’Oria.
*Start-up Costs Varies but never that substantial. Furniture, bouts of power-crafting and fame/quest items will cost you some initially, but the furniture can wait, the fame is cheap and the quests you do will generally earn you gil back.
*Limitations There are some sub-craft skills you will need/want, but they are Smithing and Goldsmithing, which are based in Bastok. Because you’ll craft in Bastok and sell in Jeuno, and buy some items in bulk from San D’Oria, an Airship Pass may be needed, or other mules in those cities.
*Secondary Uses No limits, really, if the primary location is Bastok. Basing the mule in Jeuno limits storage as per usual.
*Furniture Consoles double for Storage and for Lightning Elemental Aura (same as the Guild Point Furniture). Gardening for crystals or gil is optional.
==Bonecraft Mule==
*Location Windurst
*Fame? Optional. Windurst has some very nice quests that require fame but as a crafter, you’ll buy almost 100% from AH or Guild shop.
*Start-up Costs Relatively low. You can power-craft very cheaply until almost 20 and then you can start on profitable, if not fast-selling, items. Furniture, however, is expensive.
*Limitations Highly-AH dependent craft, Leathercrafting requirements (goods or sub-skill) means access to San D’Oria regularly, and Bastok/San D’Orian AH’s will have better access to some items (or cheaper). Guild Point Furniture stinks with regards to Storage.
*Secondary Uses Storage is hard because of the need to travel between cities and furniture issues. However, Windurst is ‘’the’’ place to Bazaar Insect Paste to fishers.
*Furniture Royal Bookshelf is the best, with the right Moghancement, 10 Storage but a weak Aura. Back them up with lots of Wicker Boxes. The Guild Point Furniture, however, is Dark-based, which currently lacks any Storage items of worth.
==Clothcraft Mule==
*Location Windurst
*Fame? Not really. Almost no vendors deal with clothcraft items. All your items really come from the Guild or the AH and they mostly stack (or turn into stackables). However, once you get into the 70s, you will be dealing with a lot of non-stackable items, so extra space might be considered a decent investment then.
*Start-up Costs Middling. While very low, you won’t start hitting profitable items until the 20s but by 50, you can make however much you can stand making.
*Limitations Some of the sub-crafts involved are extensive (Goldsmithing of 40+ recommended, Leathercraft might as well be 60), highly competitive craft in general and very AH-dependent at times. You will be going up against level 75 THFs that farm, it is that competitive at times. 
*Secondary Uses Any. Because of the non-Windurst based sub-crafts and you’ll be spending a lot of time between Windurst and Jeuno, Storage gets hard. I will recommend Gardening for Saruta Cotton, as it can be profitable and at least saves you the problem of inconsistent supply.
*Furniture The Guild Point furniture is Earth-based, so I recommend a combination of Gallipots (8 Storage, 6 Earth Aura) and Maple Tables (1 Storage, 8 Earth Aura) once you get the furniture. However, before then, you’ll either want the Earth Moghancement from the Gallipots or Lightning Moghacement from Consoles or Tarutaru Stools. Those are the primary two elements you’ll use.
==Cooking Mule==
*Location Windurst. San D’Oria is a possibility with its nice Grocery Store, but the Guild is in Windurst.
*Fame? YES. View this as a full-blown requirement because you will be dealing almost exclusively with NPC vendors, and usually not the AH or Guildshop, for supplies. You want Fame 9 in San D’Oria and Windurst.
*Start-up Costs Almost nothing. Cooking is the cheapest by far, Windurst quests have some of the most profitable rewards, and you can start making items for profit relatively quickly. Eventually, due to supply-issues, an Airship Pass may be required.
*Limitations Sub-craft of Woodworking 15 is optional. No other sub-crafts needed. The biggest limitation is the need to split time, almost 60-40, between Windurst and San D’Oria for supplies. That limits your ability for Storage purposes. 
*Secondary Uses Gardening should be highly considered, especially for Tarutaru Rice. The main issues are extreme competition and the need for items from a wide-variety of vendors, including Tenshodo. Deal with those and it’s a snap.
*Furniture Guild Point Furniture is Wind-based, so use the Bonecraft advice: Royal Bookshelf is the best, with the right Moghancement, 10 Storage but a weak Aura. Back them up with lots of Wicker Boxes. 
==Fishing Mule==
NO! Fishing should be limited to main characters due to the need to access certain fishing spots. The only reason to fish with a mule is to pass the time or to catch Moat Carp for your Lu Shang’s Fishing Rod. That doesn’t require more than a decent rod and Insect Paste.
==Goldsmithing Mule==
*Location Bastok
*Fame? Not needed except for extra Gobbiebag space for dealing with unstackable ores. You’ll never buy from non-Guild shop vendors.
*Start-up Costs Yes and No. The best gil-makers are incredibly cheap to make and cap at 20. This is because making them is considered scut-work by higher level crafters. If you don’t want to do scut-work but proceed directly to high-level stuff via power-crafting, this will be ‘’’incredibly’’’ expensive.
*Limitations Costs aside, you’ll end up camping the Jeuno AH a lot for materials. The Guildshop’s selection is very limited and very expensive. The Furniture recommended, especially if you plan to try and hit 100 won’t be cheap because you will need the best possible when you break-synth.
*Secondary Uses Any. Break-synthing furniture requirements aside, no limits. I’d recommend you take up gardening for elementals nuggets/beastcoins or Ores to make gil. 
*Furniture Because you will want an Aura strength of 101+ in either Fire or Lightning/Desynthesis, you’ll either need a lot of Cupboards, Bookshelves and Cartonniers for Fire or Consoles and Tarutaru Stools for Lightning. The Guild Point Furniture is Light-Based, so a combination of Dressers for Storage and White Jars for Aura is what you’ll need then.
==Leathercrafting Mule==
*Location San D’Oria
*Fame? Not needed except for inventory-space. There is almost nothing you buy from vendors but you’ll be dealing with lots of unstackables.
*Start-up Costs Very much so. Leathercraft is remarkably front-loaded on costs. Once you hit 20, your ability to make a profit will skyrocket/start, but before then, it’s not cheap nor profitable.
*Limitations Tea Leaves. You will need dozens to hundreds of stacks of tea leaves, which are sold via the Sarutabaruta Regional Vendor, which is 99.9999% controlled by Windurst (seen it twice under another’s control to everyone’s joy/amazement). After that, Clothcraft and Bonecraft are needed for both sub-craft skill and for items. Finally, certain skins are best farmed or are dropped from high-level mobs and not always sold on the AH. 
*Secondary Uses Any but Storage. Most of your synths will be with Dark or Ice elements, neither of which has Storage items that are easy/cheap to get. As you will use lots of Dark Crystals which can vary greatly in cost, I’d suggest trying to Garden them, that or Tea Leaves.. 
*Furniture Your furniture sucks. No storage at all, so you’ll have to tack on Storage furniture that doesn’t interfere with your Guild Point/Moghancement Furniture, which is Ice-based. The best bet for Aura is Bronze Beds, which are relatively cheap to make.
==Smithing Mule==
*Location Bastok or San D’Oria. This is the only guild with two locations.
*Fame? Might as well. You will be buying and selling armor/weapons to and from various non-Guild NPCs
*Start-up Costs Remarkably little if you are willing to do scut-work. Bronze Ingots are incredibly cheap to make and quite profitable.
*Limitations This is the only craft that alludes me as far as a good path to 60, let alone 100. The old path, using Iron Ingots in various forms from 15 until 35, is no longer profitable. So, I have no feel for Limitations. Ores do take up a lot of inventory space, that’s about all I can say.
*Secondary Uses Pretty open, but see above about Limitations. 
*Furniture Good but expensive Storage furniture, which makes your primary crystal and Guild Point Furniture. Filling out the Aura Strength to 100+ will be hard, or very expensive, though.
==Woodworking Mule==
*Location San D’Oria
*Fame? Yes, you’ll need inventory space a lot of times and you will be buying from Regional Vendors a lot.
*Start-up Costs Variable. Starting logs (Ash, Arrowwood and Lauan) are all incredibly cheap and sell profitable if not always quickly. Same with Maple, only it’s not as good on profit or sales-speed. Bolts, the big target for 15, are either highly competitive (HQs required) or don’t sell well, and Logs after 20 are either not cheap or not profitable generally.
*Limitations Lots of travel in spots to Quiver your arrows or to buy Arrowwood Logs or other vendor items. Inventory space, when crafting arrows or bolts, is at an extreme premium. Finally, some of the best profit-making items require substantial (45+) sub-crafts.
*Secondary Uses Any. Gardening is all but useless for making goods, but crystals, especially Earth and Wind, will be used very often. Furniture, made with Woodworking, is a pretty good Bazaar items. 
*Furniture Gallipots for Storage, Maple Tables to fill out the Aura. Pots for Gardening are optional. Ironically, you can’t make the Gallipots or Flowerpots but the selection is easy enough.