Smithing Guide by Byrthnoth

==Smithing guide (2016) by Byrthnoth==
Crafting has changed a lot, what with the changes to how skillups work, introduction of RoE items, and mat price/availability changes. Most of the old guides aren't relevant anymore.
Similar to the Goldsmithing Guide, this is a Smithing guide for 1-110. I do not anticipate writing guides for other crafts, as I won't be leveling mules for them.
A couple of general notes:
* Always use Kitron Macarons
* I prefer to start synthing something when I'm 5 levels below it (with advanced support) and then will take it past cap if it's useful or particularly cheap. Sometimes you end up with longer gaps than that, but it's not ideal.
* There are now two guild NPCs. One of them is always open and sells kits and mats, but the materials are typically more expensive than the least expensive normal guild NPC price. Buy from whichever has the item for cheapest. Not all items are available on both.
* Change your job to WHM or RDM and set the 30 synths RoE quest. You eventually want to be level 70 on this character so you can wear a torque. RoE quest won't get you there, but it will get you to 25 or 30 so you can cast Sneak/Invis. BLM to 17 is another good goal.
* The smithing guild has 4 outposts (Al Zahbi, Mhaura, Northern San d'Oria, and the Metalworks) and you'll want to run between them to get the lowest possible price on Iron Ore (675gil)
* You can avoid synths with Clothcraft subcrafts below (Hauberk/Haubergeon) but it's better for you to make them on the way up.
* It is probably most efficient to get to level 5 leathercraft before you start. Spam Sheep Leather.
Smithing:
Your major cost with this guide is going to be Crystals. There is somewhere in sky with 4 elementals of a given type close together, and you can just farm them over and over for clusters. You get about 1.5-2 clusters/kill with TH, so it takes about 2 hours of farming a given element to get 10 stacks of clusters and you will probably not need anymore to hit 110.
Fire: The area near Faust has 4 fire elementals on a ~5 minute repop timer.
Wind: One of the corners on the first floor has wind clusters, iirc.
Earth: One of the corners on the first floor has wind clusters, iirc.
Stockpile:
* Iron Ore (from the guild NPC at 675gil each)
* Lizard Skin (AH or mog garden with baby lizard memento)
* Darksteel Ore (AH)
* Damascus Ingot (AH)
* Adaman Ore (AH)
* Wootz Ore (AH)
* Relic Iron (AH)
* Southern Pearl (AH)
* Guild Points (Start collecting at level 30+)
Path:
1-4: Bronze Sheet (Bronze Ingot + Fire Crystal) : Buy Bronze Ingots from a Guild NPC
4-11: Bronze Scales (Bronze Sheet + Wind Crystal) : When you run out of Bronze Sheets, buy more from a Guild NPC
11-16: Crossbow Bolt (Bronze Ingot + Ash Lumber + Wind Crystal) : Buy Bronze Ingots and Ash Lumber from the Smithing/Woodworking Guild NPCs. Don't get advanced support.
16-21: Iron Ingot (Iron Ore x4 + Fire Crystal) : Buy Iron Ore from a Guild NPC
21-26: Iron Sheet (Iron Ingot + Fire Crystal) : Convert your Iron Ingots and make more as necessary.
26-31 : Iron Mask (Iron Sheet + Brass Sheet + Earth Crystal) : You can buy Brass Sheets from the goldsmithing guild. NPC these.
31-36: Steel Sheet (Steel Ingot + Fire Crystal) : Buy ingots from the Kamilah and store the sheets.
36-41: Iron Mittens (Iron Sheet + Lizard Skin + Earth Crystal) : Hopefully you stockpiled enough Lizard Skins. NPC these.
41-50: Mythril Pick (Mythril Ingot + Elm Lumber + Fire Crystal) : Buy Mythril Ingots from the AH and NPC these. Guild NPCs will buy a few per day. They sell for about 7k each and (on my server) cost about 3k to make, so this is quite a bit of profit. You might consider leveling a woodworking sub to increase your profit margin further.
50-53: Darksteel Ingot (Darksteel Ore + Iron Ore x3 + Fire Crystal) : Hopefully you stockpiled Iron Ore!
53-55: Darksteel Sheet (Darksteel Ingot + Fire Crystal) : Convert all the Darksteel Ingots you just made.
55-57: Grind Darksteel Ingots and convert them to sheets
57-63: Darksteel Sollerets (Darksteel Sheet x2 + Greaves + Earth Crystal) : Buy Greaves with Sparks and store these in your Wardrobe for later.
63-67: Darksteel Mufflers (Darksteel Sheet x2 + Chain Mittens + Earth Crystal) : Buy Chain Mittens with Sparks and store these in your Wardrobe for later
67-69: Haubergeon (Damascus Ingot + Darksteel Chain x3 + Darksteel Sheet x2 + Silk Cloth + Velvet Cloth + Earth Crystal) : Store these in your wardrobe for later. Requires Clothcraft 38.
68-78 : Darksteel Pick (Darksteel Ingot + Elm Lumber + Fire Crystal) : These NPC for about 12k and on my server are break-even or profit.
78-83 : Thick Sollerets (Darksteel Sollerets + Steel Sheet + Earth Crystal) : Put these back in your wardrobe after you're done.
83-85 : Thick Mufflers (Darksteel Mufflers + Steel Sheet + Earth Crystal) : Put these back in your wardrobe after you're done.
85-87 : Hauberk (Haubergeon + Darksteel Chain + Silk Cloth + Steel Sheet + Velvet Cloth) : Put these back in your wardrobe after you're done. Requires clothcraft 38.
85-93 : Adaman Ingot (Adaman Ore x3 + Iron Ore + Fire Crystal) : Hopefully you stockpiled enough ore
At this point, you should take a break, level to 70 and do LBs, level leathercraft and goldsmithing subcrafts, and get GP items. You will want to have the Crafting HQ ring from Adoulin, torque, stall, glasses, and apron before you do the next push. I will assume you have level 70 leathercraft, clothcrafting, goldsmithing, and all the items after this point.
With Skill+12 (including advanced support), you can Tier 1 a synth one level above you. Without Kupo Shield, no one can reach Tier 2 on anything above level 91, so your HQ rate on these synths is the same as a 110+12 crafter. This is ultimately the largest secret to leveling a craft these days. There's no reason to be inferior to a 110+12 crafter above level 91, so everything you do after this point can be profit. If a lower level synth is profit and you have mats for it, feel free to keep doing it for skill as long as it isn't >11 levels below you. The listed level is the lowest level you should start attempting this synth
91 : Cursed Breeches (Adaman Chain + Darksteel Chain + Linen Cloth + Tiger Leather x2 + Earth Crystal) : NPC your NQs?
91 : Bewitched Mufflers (Cursed Mufflers -1 + Eschite Ore + Earth Crystal) : Hope
92 : Cursed Sollerets (Adaman Chain + Adaman Sheet + Brass Ingot + Thick Sollerets + Earth Crystal) : NPC your NQs?
92 : Bewitched Breeches (Cursed Breeches -1 + Eschite Ore + Earth Crystal) : Hope
93 : Adaman Chain (Adaman Ingot x2 + Earth Crystal) : You need these to make the cursed armors.
93 : Cursed Mufflers (Adaman Sheet + Brass Ingot + Thick Mufflers + Earth Crystal) : NPC your NQs.
93 : Bewitched Celata (Cursed Celata -1 + Eschite Ore + Earth Crystal) : Hope
94 : Cursed Celata (Adaman Chain + Adaman Sheet + Brass Sheet + Copper Ingot + Sheep Leather + Earth Crystal) : NPC your NQs?
94 : Bewitched Hauberk (Cursed Hauberk -1 + Eschite Ore + Earth Crystal) : Hope
95 : Cursed Hauberk (Hauberk + Adaman Chain + Adaman Sheet + Brass Ingot + Gold Thread + Rainbow Cloth + Sheep Leather + Southern Pearl) : NPC your NQs?
The only reason to go past this point is for access to the tepid Blurred and Hexed Sune-Ate/Somen/Domaru markets, as well as to hit Tier 2 on Voodoo Sollerets. It's something you certainly can do, but by this point you probably understand the theory here so I'm just going to list skillup synths you can use to push yourself up there. The numbers below are the level where you'll stop skilling up on these synths.
104 : Midrium Ingot (Midrium Ore x4 + Fire Crystal) : I would avoid this unless you have to because the ingots are kind of useless
104 : Adaman Chain (Adaman Ingot x2 + Earth Crystal) : You need these to make the cursed armors.
110 : Titanium Ingot (Titanium Ore x4 + Fire Crystal) : I would avoid this unless you have to because the ingots are kind of useless
110 : Bismuth Ingot (Tin Ore + Zinc Ore + Bismuth Ore x2 + Fire Crystal) : I would avoid this unless you have to because the ingots are kind of useless
110 : Ra'Kaznar Ingot (Darksteel Ore x3 + Ra'Kaznar Ore + Fire Crystal) : I would avoid this unless you have to because the ingots are kind of useless
110 : Damascus Ingot (Relic Iron + Wootz Ore + Vanadium Ore x2 + Fire Crystal) : Make Haubergeons, Make Hauberks, Make Cursed Hauberk -1s, Make Voodoo Hauberks, Make Profit (very very occasionally)
110 : Beryllium Ingot (Iron Ore x3 + Beryllium Ore + Fire Crystal) : Used for AF upgrade quests, so there's always a market
110 : Blurred items (can start making at 104) and Hexed Sune-Ate/Somen/Domaru are also options for skilling up.
==References==
* Oringinal Thread BG Forums
Category:Craft Guides