Wiegraf's Guide To Synthesis: Cooking

 Wiegraf's Guide to Synthesis:  Cooking

Myself
I am a Hume WAR and WHM from Odin and currently have Cooking and Fishing (Ebisu Fishing Rod!) Veteran Ranks and upcoming Veteran Leathercraft on a mule character. I've been playing for about 3 years and been crafting since day one. I got sick of people saying that they have no way of making Gil and decided to write this guide to help them get on their feet and master the culinary arts. I plan to write one for every craft that I get to Veteran rank.

The Guide
I've read many guides about cooking and they are well, hit or miss. Some are outdated, some are slow and some are just plain useless. As they say on them, "This article is a personal guide. Information expressed in this guide is one player's opinion and may be...blah blah blah". I don't know about you, but I need a guide that is reliable and from a player who has analyzed the prices and losses/profits of each synth. Not one that has "possible options" to synth with because the author isn't sure what to make, but one that offers the best synths to get you through the levels.

This guide is meant to get you to 100 as quickly as possible with spending as little as possible. It focuses on getting ingredients from an NPC or the Auction house and not wasting time farming. I don't screw around with synths that take a week to get through just because it saves you 2k gil unless there is nothing else to make. This guide consists of what gets you there the fastest and are not too expensive. Some synths will cost you a bit of change but overall they are "power synths" designed to pound through the levels. Let's face it,nobody wants to waste away synthing all day getting nothing done. As an example I lent this guide to a friend of mine who power leveled it 0-60 on only 30,000 Gil. Trust me, it'll pay off at the end.

First of all I am aware of the layout of this and the content. It is all there for a reason. I give a picture for every synth and the product and ingredients. I know..I didn't give you the HQ items. They don't matter since this focuses on the actually synthesis product. If you HQ something then that is fine but I'm not focusing on them. If you want more info about the HQ's of a synth, go to the item's main page. I seperate things based on rank. Check it all out on the Table of Contents to make it easier.

As for feedback, send me a message about it and I will fix it. There may have been something I missed or that needs to be fixed. If you are going to edit something, please put your sig next to it and let me know what you fixed. I'll double-check it and give you credit. I give you Wiegraf's Guide to Synthesis: Cooking.

Amateur
These are a good intro to cooking. These are very fast synths and are all very cheap and should take you only a few hours to get through. I'd recommend camping an NPC and loading up on a ton of the ingredients since you will burn through them. Some take 4x of the same type. Don't worry, they NPC for a fair amount.

Carrot Broth (0-3)

 * Yield: Carrot Broth x4
 * 4 x San d'Orian Carrot
 * 4 x San d'Orian Carrot
 * 4 x San d'Orian Carrot

Basic synth. Get the San d'Orian Carrots at the Ronfaure NPC in Southern San d'Oria West of the Auction House. They will run you near 33g each. Carrot broth should be NPC'd. It is sold at Chocobo stables for very cheap.

Hard-Boiled Egg (0-6)

 * Yield: Hard-Boiled Egg
 * 1 x Bird Egg
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Bird Egg
 * 1 x Distilled Water

The Bird Eggs can be bought for cheap at the guild or even for relatively cheap at the Auction House. They are about 50-150g each. I wouldn't buy for more than 70-80g each from the guild as they should be near 1k each on the AH. It may vary server to server. Best to check it yourself. Distilled Water from NPC; 12g each. Just NPC them for 20g each. It's a loss but fairly cheap to make and it stacks so doesn't take up much room.

Grilled Hare (0-6)

 * Yield: Grilled Hare
 * 1 x Dried Marjoram
 * 1 x Hare Meat
 * 1 x Dried Marjoram
 * 1 x Hare Meat

Hare Meat should cost you near 500g per stack and Dried Marjoram is fairly cheap; near 500g per stack as well I believe. The Hare meat is available at the guild in Windurst but don't get it there unless you absolutely HAVE to. It is near 5x more than at the auction house. You can stick a few stacks of Grilled Hare on the AH or bazaar but honestly you can just NPC them.

Start with any one of these. You should be fine synthing the level 6 cap synths right away at level 0 depending on the day/moon phase. If you have too many fails switch to Carrot Broth and get a few levels. Either way take Grilled Hare or Hard-Boiled Egg to cap before you go on to our next synth. Now if you want to try to make some Gil back from the synths or want to use the Grilled hare go ahead, but if you just want to power through these levels go with Hard-Boiled Egg. Honestly I hate not being able to get rid of stuff quickly so I went with the Hard-Boiled Eggs.

Boiled Crayfish (6-9)

 * Yield: Boiled Crayfish
 * 1 x Crayfish
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Rock Salt

If the Crayfish are cheap (30g each, 500g/stack on the AH) then it is an overall cheaper synth considering you can NPC the product for 96-102g. Rock Salt and Distilled Water from NPC also.

Orange Juice (6-10)

 * Yield: Orange Juice
 * 4 x Saruta Orange
 * 4 x Saruta Orange
 * 4 x Saruta Orange

I assume you can NPC the Orange Juice also, but it won't be as much (50g). If you are a mage or have mage friends you can sell them Orange Juice for cheap. It doesn't really matter; take your pick. Either way will get to level 10. Get the oranges from the NPC in Windy. Still a fairly cheap synth overall. You might be able to sell some on the AH but not very fast since it is such a low level synth. Just get through it and we can move on to your next rank.

Test Item: Salmon Sub Sandwich

 * Yield: Salmon Sub Sandwich
 * 1 x Crying Mustard
 * 1 x Black Bread
 * 1 x Apple Vinegar
 * 1 x La Theine Cabbage
 * 1 x Smoked Salmon
 * 1 x Mithran Tomato
 * 1 x Smoked Salmon
 * 1 x Mithran Tomato

Don't make these. They are a complete waste of time. Of course, there are some asshats around that aren't using my guide and can't cook if their life depended on it. Use their stupidity for your own benefit; buy this item off of the Auction House. If none are there go ahead and make one. It won't be too expensive but kind of a pain to make. If you want you could always get from the guide if they are cheap. It ranges from 1,946 to 5,204 so do what you want.

Slice of Carp (10-17)

 * Yield: Slice of Carp x2
 * 1 x Moat Carp or Forest Carp
 * 1 x Moat Carp or Forest Carp
 * 1 x Moat Carp or Forest Carp

Fairly straightforward. Get the Moat Carp off of the Auction House for 2-3k or fish them up yourself. I'm not a fan of farming so only fish them if you have to. Wouldn't hurt to work on fishing as well. The fish themselves cap at 11 if you want to fish them. These can just be NPC'd. They probably won't sell on the AH. You don't have to do this synth to cap, but at least get to 14-15 or so. It will help lessen the breaks on the next synth.

Apple Juice (15-20)

 * Yield: Apple Juice
 * 4 x Faerie Apple
 * 4 x Faerie Apple
 * 4 x Faerie Apple

Selbina Butter (15-20)

 * Yield: Selbina Butter x4
 * 1 x Selbina Milk
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Selbina Milk
 * 1 x Rock Salt

Pick either one of these. Like before, the Juices don't stack so take your pick. The butter is used for many higher level and mid level synths so it will sell well on the Auction House for a reasonable amount of profit. The Apple Juice isn't too much of a loss if you NPC them; about 60g lost per synth. Like before, here are the NPC prices: Selbina Butter - 22g, Apple Juice 76-110g. Honestly, I would do the Selbina Butter.


 * Note: The Selbina Butter can be used later on for Pie Dough (42).

Test Item: Pea Soup

 * Yield: Pea Soup
 * 3 x Blue Peas
 * 1 x Wild Onion
 * 1 x Dried Marjoram
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Dried Marjoram
 * 1 x Distilled Water

You can make it or buy it I don't care. The ingredients are fairly cheap and it is not a skillup item. There should be some floating around somewhere.

Meat Jerky (20-26)

 * Yield: Meat Jerky x2
 * 1 x Dried Marjoram
 * 1 x Giant Sheep Meat
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Giant Sheep Meat
 * 1 x Rock Salt

A decent synth and your best bet for shrinking the amount of levels between your last and next synth. No reason to do to cap unless you want to. At least get to 24 or so with it. It sells decently because it is a melee damage-dealer food. NPC's for 30g.

Insect Ball (24-29)

 * Yield: Insect Ball x12
 * 1 x Little Worm
 * 1 x Millioncorn
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Millioncorn
 * 1 x Distilled Water

I could not tell you why for the life of me, but even at 100 Cooking I tend to fail at least 1 of this synth every once in a while. Thank God it is cheap. They will sell on the Auction House because of their usefulness in catching Moat Carp. I would recommend stopping for a bit here if you are running short on gil. With just one synth you make a whole stack which is about 500g-1,000g on the Auction House. If not then move to the next synth. If you are curious 5g each to NPC. Definately better to sell on the AH.

Pineapple Juice (24-30)

 * Yield: Pineapple Juice
 * 2 x Kazham Pineapple
 * 2 x Kazham Pineapple
 * 2 x Kazham Pineapple

A great alternative if you don't like fishing or selling 97 stacks of Insect Paste on the Auction House. Useful for mages and NPCs for 97-115g.

Test Item: Vegetable Gruel

 * Yield: Vegetable Gruel
 * 1 x San d'Orian Carrot
 * 1 x Chamomile
 * 1 x Frost Turnip
 * 1 x Rarab Tail
 * 1 x Beaugreens
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Beaugreens
 * 1 x Distilled Water

Yea back to that poor bastard making these worthless foods. Get it off of the Auction House unless you like wasting time. If you are going to make it the ingredients should all be at the guild.

Meatball (30-35)

 * Yield: Meatball x12
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Hare Meat
 * 1 x San d'Orian Flour
 * 1 x Hare Meat
 * 1 x San d'Orian Flour

A decent synth. They are used by high level fisherman. Again, buy the Hare Meat from the Auction House or farm it yourself (You know my opinion of farming). I doubt they will sell at all on the Auction House because they are very cheap at the Fisherman's Guild so just NPC them or use them. NPCs for 10g each; 120g per stack. You should lose very little money on this depending on the cost of Hare Meat and Flour.

Pie Dough (35-42)

 * Yield: Pie Dough x4
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x San d'Orian Flour
 * 1 x Selbina Butter
 * 1 x San d'Orian Flour
 * 1 x Selbina Butter

I hope you read my note earlier and saved some Selbina Butter. You can buy from the guild if you want but it will be near the price of what it cost you before. Take this synth to cap. Please remember to pass in your test item BEFORE going past level 40. This synth bridges 2 ranks. I'm not going to include the NPC price for these for a specific reason.


 * Note: Save these for next synth.

Test Item: Meat Mithkabob

 * Yield: Meat Mithkabob x6
 * 1 x Cockatrice Meat
 * 1 x Wild Onion
 * 1 x Mhaura Garlic
 * 1 x Kazham Peppers
 * 1 x Mhaura Garlic
 * 1 x Kazham Peppers

This is a good synth if you can farm the ingredients yourself. I honestly would not try to sell too many of them at this level because the HQ rate at high levels is phenomenal and they will outsell you. Also, there is not much profit if you buy the ingredients from the AH. You can synth it if you want and use the extra 5 yourself. Honestly, I would just buy a single from the Auction House.

Apple Pie (42-48)

 * Yield: Apple Pie x4
 * 1 x Cinnamon
 * 1 x Faerie Apple
 * 1 x Lizard Egg
 * 1 x Maple Sugar
 * 1 x Pie Dough
 * 1 x Maple Sugar
 * 1 x Pie Dough

What a convenience! You just made Pie dough! Don't you love my planning? This is a decent synth considering you can break even or make a bit of profit on the Auction House. Mages use them so they sell fairly well. Save at least 1 for the Test Item. Lizard Eggs are only available via farming or the Auction House. Which means buy them off the Auction House......

Grape Juice (42-50)

 * Yield: Grape Juice
 * 4 x San d'Orian Grape
 * 4 x San d'Orian Grape
 * 4 x San d'Orian Grape

An alternative to pies. Same as other juices so you know the drill. They aren't too bad of a loss but still a loss considering NPC price (190g) so keep that in mind before you make 417 of them since they don't stack and require the sometimes more expensive Dark Crystal.


 * Note: It is possible to save these for level 86. They are used in Marron Glace and they sell for a good profit. Keep this in the back of your head.

Test Item: Apple Pie

 * Yield: Apple Pie x4
 * 1 x Cinnamon
 * 1 x Faerie Apple
 * 1 x Lizard Egg
 * 1 x Maple Sugar
 * 1 x Pie Dough
 * 1 x Maple Sugar
 * 1 x Pie Dough

You may or may not have made one yet. If you don't have any, get one off of the AH for fairly cheap.

Beaugreen Sautee (50-55)

 * Yield: Beaugreen Sautee
 * 1 x Beaugreens
 * 1 x Selbina Butter
 * 1 x Beaugreens
 * 1 x Selbina Butter

This is a solid synth. Cheap ingredients and easy to make too. Crank these out and take to cap. Just NPC them all for 160-169g each.

Yagudo Drink (55-60)

 * Yield: Yagudo Drink
 * 1 x Yagudo Cherry
 * 3 x Buburimu Grape
 * 1 x Yagudo Cherry
 * 3 x Buburimu Grape

Now...this is an outstanding synth. I have done this synth literally thousands of times. Camp the Kolshushu vendor and take this bastard to cap. If you NPC these then I will kill you. They will sell very quickly on the AH (More so in Jeuno) and definately worth stopping skilling up for a bit to restock your gil supply. Keep one of these for your test item and prepare to roll around in Gil. Keep this on your money-making list and use it to stock up for later synths if you need to.

Test Item: Yagudo Drink

 * Yield: Yagudo Drink
 * 1 x Yagudo Cherry
 * 3 x Buburimu Grape
 * 1 x Yagudo Cherry
 * 3 x Buburimu Grape

I know, I know. They are very tempting to sell. Turn one in only if you plan on taking cooking past 60.

Craftsman
Congratulations! You made it to the soft cap of this craft. If you are done with it now then I hope you enjoyed this guide and good luck to you in the future. For those of you who are taking it further, restock your gil and get ready to roll.

Colored Egg (60-66)

 * Yield: Colored Egg
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x La Theine Cabbage
 * 1 x Lizard Egg
 * 1 x San d'Orian Carrot
 * 1 x Lizard Egg
 * 1 x San d'Orian Carrot

This is an awesome synth. It is very cheap to do and is the "power synth" of these levels. They NPC for 96-106g so go ahead. You may lose a bit of gil but these are very fast and cheap. Lizard eggs off of the AH. Get at least to 62-63 on this synth. Compare prices of Lizard Eggs and Bird Eggs; if Lizard Eggs are cheaper take this to cap. Enjoy.

Colored Egg...Again (66-68)

 * Yield: Colored Egg
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x La Theine Cabbage
 * 1 x Bird
 * 1 x San d'Orian Carrot
 * 1 x Bird
 * 1 x San d'Orian Carrot

But we already did this! It's a different synth with a different cap. Take it all the way to 68. Notice the Bird Egg used instead of the Lizard Egg. Bird Eggs are a bit easier to get so buy out the guild.

Test Item: Raisin Bread

 * Yield: Raisin Bread
 * 1 x San d'Orian Grape
 * 1 x San d'Orian Flour
 * 1 x Selbina Butter
 * 1 x Maple Sugar
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Distilled Water

Buy it if you can, but it is cheap enough to make.

Pear au Lait (68-72)

 * Yield: Pear au Lait
 * 2 x Derfland Pear
 * 1 x Honey
 * 1 x Selbina Milk
 * 1 x Honey
 * 1 x Selbina Milk

These aren't too bad. They will be a bit pricey for the Derfland Pears and Honey but people use these. Take these to cap. NPCs for 125g. Not really my favorite synth so get them done as soon as possible.

Goblin Drink (72-82)

 * Yield: Goblin Drink
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Frost Turnip
 * 1 x Gysahl Greens
 * 1 x La Theine Cabbage
 * 1 x Phanauet Newt
 * 1 x San d'Orian Carrot
 * 1 x Watermelon
 * 1 x Wild Onion
 * 1 x Watermelon
 * 1 x Wild Onion

What a great synth. Honestly, these were near 10k at once and selling about 12-20 a day. Considering that these cost 1k or less each...that is a good chunk of change. Buy all the ingredients (except the Newts and Onions) at the NPC. Wild Onions off the AH and fish up the newts yourself. Now......the Newts don't stack. Which means you need to go to Carpenter's Landing and land at the Newt Pool. It's a pain in the ass sometimes to get to so be sure to go with an empty inventory. A Halcyon Rod and Fly lure will catch them. Try to get as many as you can in a single trip. The drinks are cheap enough to invest a good amount of Gil into making a lot at once and putting on a Jeuno mule to sell. Yes, it is a 10 level gap. Get image support and do on Watersday if you want. They are cheap enough to make so fails won't take bites out of your wallet.


 * Note: Again, notice that it bridges 2 ranks. Pass in item at 80.

Test Item: Whitefish Stew

 * Yield: Whitefish Stew
 * 1 x Bastore Bream
 * 1 x Black Pepper
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Popoto
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x San d'Orian Carrot
 * 1 x Selbina Milk
 * 1 x Wild Onion
 * 1 x Selbina Milk
 * 1 x Wild Onion

Buy it if you can. It is pricey at the guild so get it off of the AH. I guess you could make it yourself as well. EIther is fine; you only need it once.

Adept
These are all good synths. They will make you a fair amount of cash to recover from earlier. All synths are profit when the ingredients are bought off of the AH.

Yellow Curry (82-85)

 * Yield: Yellow Curry
 * 1 x Coeurl Meat
 * 1 x Curry Powder
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Popoto
 * 1 x Selbina Milk
 * 1 x Turmeric
 * 1 x Wild Onion
 * 1 x Turmeric
 * 1 x Wild Onion

Good profit. Something like 2-3k per; 24-36k a stack. Now...this is one of the few times I recommend farming if you want to make extra Gil. You can do without it if you want to power through it, but if you want to get pure Gil off of this, farm the Coeurl Meat. Meriphataud Mountains should do fine. I should also mention that at some times farming may be necessary since a lot of peopl buy Coeurl Meat off of the AH for various purposes.

Yellow Curry (82-86)

 * Yield: Marron Glace
 * 2 x Chestnut
 * 1 x Grape Juice
 * 1 x Maple Sugar
 * 1 x Grape Juice
 * 1 x Maple Sugar

Again, added for profit. Best done in Southern San d'Oria near the Ronfaure NPC. If you saved the Grape Juice from earlier then you are golden. If not, go ahead and make some more. These sell fast on the AH and get you 1-2k profit per, 12-24k a stack. They sell a bit faster than Yellow Curry.

Mushroom Stew (82-86)

 * Yield: Mushroom Stew
 * 1 x Danceshroom
 * 1 x Coral Fungus
 * 1 x Selbina Butter
 * 1 x Puffball
 * 1 x Black Pepper
 * 1 x Popoto
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Distilled Water

Crack for WHMs. Even as a WHM I use it all the time. Should sell for 7k and net about 2-3k profit per. Ingredients may be tough to get off the AH if other people are making so be careful and plan accordingly.

Rolanberry Pie (85-90)

 * Yield: Rolanberry Pie x4
 * 1 x Bird Egg
 * 1 x Gelatin
 * 1 x Maple Sugar
 * 1 x Pie Dough
 * 1 x Rolanberry
 * 1 x San d'Orian Flour
 * 1 x Selbina Milk
 * 1 x San d'Orian Flour
 * 1 x Selbina Milk

These sell fairly fast because of their popularity with mages. Gelatin may be scarce on the AH so find a friend who Bonecrafts. Besides that, they are cheap to make and sell for profit. Take to cap.

Test Item: Seafood Stew

 * Yield: Seafood Stew
 * 1 x Black Pepper
 * 1 x Distilled Water
 * 1 x Gysahl Greens
 * 1 x Gold Lobster
 * 1 x Nebimonite
 * 1 x Popoto
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Shall Shell
 * 1 x Rock Salt
 * 1 x Shall Shell

If there are ingredients on the Auction House go ahead and make it yourself. That or buy it. Like usual, get it done; it is your last test item.