Bonecrafting Guide 0-60 by Ctownwoody

Bonecraft Guide 1.0 0-60+ By Ctownwoody of Asura Disclaimer: This worked for me and is based on my research and efforts on Asura. Prices have increasingly normalized in the last 18 months, but I still suggest going to ffxiah.com to research your particular server.
 * Of note: Bonecrafting is irritating because there are fewer profitable skill-up synths, but a ton of great ones for higher level crafters.
 * 2nd Note: This is being expanded to 100 as I level a Mule to that point.
 * 3rd Note: Mog Satchel should be a life-saver for all the unstackables you'll have, either if farm them or if you just buy them at AH.

Bonecrafting Tips
1. Learn to drool over Bone Chips; they are the back-bone of this craft (pun intended).

2. Search for recipes that use stackables. Bonecrafting has a lot of recipes that use unstackable ingredients which will clog up your inventory and keep you stuck at the AH for long stretches of time, bidding on individual items.

3. The Guild store's prices are rarely better than Jeuno's or Windy's AH, so check the AHs first. Also, don't hesitate to check Bastok and Sandy (especially Sandy for Scorpion drops), but only depend on Jeuno and Windy.

4. Farming materials can stink, even if you have a 75 job: unstackable items, longer re-spawn times (dungeon mobs), and/or fierce competition. I don't suggest it unless you have the Leathercraft to make use of hides (such as Dhalmels or Rams). Scorpions can consistently drop goodies but the best drop-rates are from high-level (60+) versions and the drops will clog your inventory quickly; it isn't uncommon to get up to 2 Scorpion Claws and a Scorpion Shell from the same mob (great if you need all 3 but horrible waste of space if you just need the Shells).


 * Caveat: I will farm Tremor Ram and Battering Ram but I do that to earn gil from Ram Leather and Ram Horns, and not for crafting items.


 * Caveat #2: Scorpions do make good farming during multi-purpose trips (i.e. if you are hunting for coffers/chests, skilling weapons, crafting in the field, are leveling your Adventuring Fellow, etc).  I just don't recommend making them the main purpose of the farming trip due to the sheer amount of unstackables you will need.

5. Woodworking helps because of the large number of Arrowheads you'll make. Half the time, it's better to sell the arrowheads and the other half, it's better to make arrows with them, depending on your skill and the profitability.

6. Excavating isn't worth it. It's like Mining but the points are farther apart and the items crappier. I'd say the same thing with Chocobo Digging but there is a skill-up progression involved with Digging, and the items you'd want most, Bone Chips and Giant Femurs, are pretty common in areas where few people dig.

7. Farming Dhalmels can be important in both Giant Femur and carapace gear stages because of the Dhalmel Leather in the latter. You may consider Dhalmels and Rams as exceptions to Tip #4 because the mobs respawn quickly and drop 2+ items that you can use.

8. Some popular crafting items that don't stack, like Crab Shells, Scorpion Claws, Scorpion Shells and Giant Femurs, greatly vary in price depending on whether someone has recently made a run on them. Experiment with the prices you pay at the AH, but set firm limits. Except for the Scorpion Shells, I never paid more than 1k for any of the above and often started as low as 300 each; for the shells, I paid 2k tops, but tried to keep it below 1.5k.

0-10

 * Shell Earring (3)-Wind Crystal, Seashell x2--Cap on these. Buy the Seashell at the Guild for super-cheap; making these and Shell Rings are almost the only time anyone buys them.


 * Shell Ring (7)-Wind Crystal, Seashell, Fish Scales--Cap these; you can sell a lot of them back to guild at almost the price you paid for the ingredients. For 0-7, your costs will be 80-90% the price of crystals and breaks. Save one as this is the first TEST ITEM.


 * Power Bow (7)-Wind Crystal, Elm Lumber x2, Coeurl Whisker, Scorpion Claw, Wool Cloth--Woodworking 28, and the NQs sell better than the HQ because this is a Moghouse Quest Item. Pointing this out as a profitable synth more than for skill...


 * Fly Lure (8)-Wind Crystal, Chocobo Feather, Animal Glue, Bat Fang--Clothcraft 30. These are typically made for Clothcraft, but I'm trying to point out profitable synths as they occur because there are so few of them on the way up.


 * Bone Arrowheads (9)-Wind Crystal, Bone Chip x2-- Consider capping on these too; Bone Chips are relatively cheap and a bad hump is ahead. They make much better Arrows than arrowheads and are easy arrows to make.

11-20

 * Cornette (14)-Wind Crystal, Bone Chip, Brass Ingot--Goldsmithing 14 as well. These are useful in Windy fame but you can techincally buy them at 250 each in Bastok when it's not 3rd place in Conquest rankings.  However, make 1-2 levels of them as a bridge if needed and then put them in your Bazaar overnight for a slight profit.


 * Bone Ring (17)-Wind Crystal, Sheep Tooth, Bone Chip--The teeth are cheap and readily available at the guildshop (best price is 150ish), Cap on these.  They're incredibly cheap.  Save one, as again, this is a TEST ITEM.


 * Bone Armors (19-26)-Varies, but Sheep Leather, Giant Femur and Bone Chips are common ingredients--Make a set for yourself or friends. They sell at a profit (best crafted armor for level 16-20 Melee jobs) but too slowly to power through these levels.

21-30

 * Carapace Powder (21)-Wind Crystal, Beetle Shell x2--After a lot of debate, I'm putting this item into the guide. I did this for both my Mule and my Main to get from Bone Ring to Beetle Ring.  The shells are cheap, usually plentiful, but this doesn't NPC for the cost of one shell, so it is a bit of a loss.  However, it beats 7+ levels of synth/desynth, I suppose.


 * Beetle Ring (25)-Wind Crystal, Beetle Jaw--Synth and desynth these up to cap if possible. Beetle Jaws can get pricey at AH, though they have dropped a lot lately.  Between these and Carapace Powder, you want to get to 22 or so, at least.  I would consider capping on these myself.  Any lucky HQs can be sold on the AH to RNG and/or COR.


 * Gelatin (28)-Fire Crystal, Giant Femur, Distilled Water--I capped on these and suggest you do it too, even though it took a bit of time. These sell back to the Cooking Guild at a good price, not much lost per synth, especially if you get the Giant Femurs for around 500-600 gil each.  They sell well in Jeuno's and Windy's AHs, but you'll make more than you think you can sell.


 * Horn Hairpin (29)-Wind Crystal, Ram Horn--You can synth/desynth these, but Ram Horns are better used in Horn Rings for a higher skill-cap. These are used in a Jeuno quest that leads up to Sleepga II scroll quest, so they can sell profitably if not quickly.

TEST ITEM: Beetle Earring: Earth Crystal, Beetle Jaw, Silver Earring: Most often made for the HQ version, you can get these for cheap on AHs. Usually cheaper that way that but Earrings are cheap in the Jewelery Shop in Lower Jeuno.

31-40

 * Beetle Arrowheads (33)-Wind Crystal, Beetle Jaw, Bone Chip--Pretty good, but even better if you have the woodworking to use/level on them. Otherwise, you'll just lose gil under most circumstances.


 * Beetle Armor (28-36)-Varies, but Beetle Shells, Beetle Jaws, Lizard Skins commonly used--Best crafted armor for 21-24 for most non-mage jobs. Sells for a bit more profit and a bit better rate than Bone Armor but still not fast enough for serious high-speed crafting.


 * Turtle Shield (35)-Earth Crystal, Turtle Shell, Beetle Shell--Decent sales, decent profit. Maybe consider making a few if there are Turtle Shells on the AH to use; they aren't the most common item.


 * Horn Ring (37)-Wind Crystal, Ram Horn, Fish Scales--Farm the horns, espcially if you can make Ram Leather, for good gil. Alternatively, if you get the horns for 1k or less, these can NPC for a profit.  On rare HQs synths, save those for the AH.  Between this and the Beetle gear, try to cap at 37 somehow.  The next part stinks more.  Save one for a TEST ITEM.

41-50

 * Bone Knife (41)-Wind Crystal, Giant Femur, Walnut Lumber--If you farm Dhalmel for hides (See Carapace Mask below) and Giant Femur, this will be much less painful than Horn Arrowheads (43) would be. Sell a few on the AH as profitable, but for the most part, be ready to dump/desynth the rest.  If you get really lucky and make an HQ, they are weapons of choice for THF and DNC for a number of levels.


 * Skeleton Key (43)-Earth Crystal, Carbon Fiber, Chicken Bone, Glass Fiber, Bat Fang x2, Animal Glue, Hecteyes Eye, Sheep Tooth--This is profitable, stackable and can sell okay (1-2 stax a day for good gil) in Jeuno. However, Chicken Bones and Hecteyes Eyes are not the most plentiful of items at any AH.  Also, Alchemy 34 required, so I’m throwing this in as an alternative.


 * Carapace Mask (45)-Earth Crystal, Dhalmel Leather, Crab Shell--Cap on these. If you farmed Giant Femurs, you should have a large supply of Dhalmel Leather (and you shouldn't have been farming without making the leather anyway).  Crab Shells are usually cheap and plentiful at both Windy and Jeuno AHs.  Farming is easy but drop-rates aren't worth mentioning.

TEST ITEM: Carapace Gorget: Earth Crystal, Iron Chain, Crab Shell x2: The Iron Chain may make this cheaper to buy at the AH. It takes 2 Iron Ingots, but the price could range up over 6000.

51-60

 * Scorpion Arrowheads (53)-Wind Crystal, Scorpion Claw, Bone Chip--Claws are cheap at AHs, used for little else and in decent supply. You will make a ton of them because it's after 50, but Woodworkers will buy these at a decent price, if you can't make Scorpion Arrows on your own.  If you absolutely MUST farm these, the good news is that most Scorpions have great drop rates on everything.


 * Blood Stone (57)-Wind Crystal, Giant Femur, Grass Thread, Fiend Blood—I skipped these as a waste of time. Only do this if you don’t care about gil at all; then synth/desynth to cap and don’t tell anyone (they’ll want the gil you don’t care about)...


 * Scorpion Ring (60)-Wind Crystal, Scorpion Shell--You can cap on this to finish, but I'd check out Demon Arrowheads below for getting from mid-50s towards 60. Scorpion Shells are more expensive than claws but are the best way to get from 59.X to 60.  Just synth + desynth, or synth and sell to an NPC, and don't expect to make gil.  Also, I checked Sandy's AH because more than a few shells get dropped off in Rabao.

After this, you're on your own, but remember that a lot of the items you skipped over may have highly profitable HQ versions that you didn't touch because only the HQ-version sold at all...

Post-60 Guide
I should point out that if you are taking your skill above 60, take it to 100. Also, start saving GP after you hit 28 (see below for why). Nota Bene: The crafts after Demon Arrowheads are based on rough-sketch data at present and represent a planned path for my new Bonecraft mule. I'll be adapting as I go and as comments come in to tell my how wrong I am (feel free to submit)...Right now, I am comparing 6 sources of information: Wiki's listing of recepies, FFXIAH, and 4 different guides. I'm weighing the guides based on this being a mule, the guides' completeness, and their accuracy against FFXIAH's prices for Asura. Right now, its: Ayrlie > Xarchangel > Mayhem (incomplete) > ChibiKawaiiMei (incomplete and farming-dependent).

61+

 * Demon Arrowheads (63)-Wind Crystal, Demon Horn, Bone Chip--If you have Woodworking 63+ on another character (like I do), Demon Arrows are incredibly profitable and a standard for getting Woodworking to 69. These are high-risk, high-reward once again, after a brief respite (i.e. Demon Horns were cheap for a while, not anymore).  Just try to finish off this with stacks of 99, to match either the fletchings or so you can sell their entire stack on the AH.
 * Bone Patas (68)-Fire Crystal, Crab Shell, Carbon Fiber, Giant Femur x2--Appears you can make these for about what NPCs will pay. Always a plus.  However, the use of 3 unstackables (2 Crab Shells and 1 Giant Femur) is concering.  Also useful for people adding Mythril Plating to these (which allows for fast turnover if you find a buyer).
 * Beast Horn (69)-Wind Crystal, Ram Horn x2--I farm Rams for drops. And I will level two mules' Leathercraft, which will involve Ram Skins.  Not gonna be proud of what this costs, but as McWatt used to say, "Oh Well..."
 * Vivified Coral (71)-Wind Crystal, Coral Fragment, Water Anima, Light Anima, Lightning Anima--Yeah, not gonna be happy about trying this because of cost. However, RR items from Bonecrafting will be a major portion of how I fund this craft.
 * Tigerfangs (79)-Fire Crystal, Black Tiger Fang x2, Carbon Fiber, Scorpion Shell--These are like Bone Patas but fewer people buy them, but the ingredients are more plentiful. So this'll be a huge deal because they also NPC for about break-even.
 * Coral Gorget (79)-Wind Crystal, Sheep Leather, Coral Fragment--Base item for RR Gorgets, pretty simple to make. The Vivified Coral is where the cost is, here. Also, the random HQs are break-even unlike RR Hairpins.
 * RR Hairpins (80)-Wind Crystal, Vivified Coral, Coral Hairpin--Large Whimper. Both aren't cheap for a skill-up and this is profitable, if not by a large amount because of intense competition.  The Hairpins are a level 77 synth themselves but I'd be cautious about using them as a skill-up because of the sheer amount needed...figure 36-50 synths per level.  So, that's almost 50 slots for these to get from 74 to 80...
 * Marid (82)-Wind Crystal, Marid Tusk x2--A bridge. Tusks aren't common, don't stack, and the rings don't sell well enough to count on.  But close to break-even.
 * Eremite's Ring (82)-Wind Crystal, Hermit's Ring, Sheep Tooth--Decent bridge, hope for HQ
 * Saintly Ring (82)-Wind Crystal, Ascetic's Ring, Fish Scales--See Eremite Ring.
 * RR Gorgets (82)-Wind Crystal, Coral Gorget, Vivified Coral--Smaller whimper than RR Hairpins but breaks not cheap, still unstackable, and profits are slender due to intense competition.
 * Dragon Cuisses (82)-Earth Crystal, Leather Trousers, Silver Thread, Wyvern Scales x2--The base, base item for Crimson Cuisses, so there is demand for the NQ. Also, tend to NPC for a profit.  This is the real way to get from mid70s to 82.
 * Dragon Finger Gauntlets (84) Earth Crystal, Leather Gloves, Silver Thread, Wyvern Scales x2--Same as above but for Crimson Finger Gauntlets. NPC for a profit, somewhere between Cuisseses and Masks.
 * Dragon Mask (87)-Earth Crystal, Wyvern Scales x2, Sheep Leather--Base item for Crimson Mask but these, more than the others, would be for NPCing at a profit. The use of stackable Sheep Leather, rather than Leather Armor, enables this to be in large quantities more easily, and when Windy is in 3rd place (Leather Vest Set only available in Windy when it is 1st or 2nd).
 * Hellish Bugle (85)-Wind Crystal, Imp Horn, Colibri Beak--A bridge for when Wvyern Scales are unavailable. The unstackable drops from the results of top-tier XP parties.
 * Trumpet Ring (96)-Wind Crystal, Trumpet Shell x2--The new gold standard for Bonecrafting up to 96. 9 level jump is a big deal but hopefully I'll have +2 from Guild Items and +3 from Advanced Support making it more manageable.
 * Dragon Bone synths: There are a few items in this range that use Dragon Bones that AH profitably and at a rate of 1-2 a day.  Not a big deal, but something to do for skill...
 * Chronos Teeth (100)-Wind Crystal, Colossal Skull--The Dynamis Drop. Eat the loss...
 * Gavial Mask (100)-Earth Crystal, High Quality Pugil Scales, Titanictus Shell, Sheep Leather--"Tastes like burning" as Ralph Wiggum so famously put it. Hopefully, other items that are profitable will keep me sane...but the basic idea is that this uses 2 desynths from Fish, but avoids the use of Rainbow Thread that the other Gavial armors require.

Guildpoint Items
After some consideration, I'm adding a section on the various Guild Point items that you can purchase for Bonecrafting. The item is followed by a (comment) with the minimum rank needed. If you are taking a craft to 100, sign up for Guild Points when you hit 28-30, because you will need them. Remember that (1) you can only sign up for one type of Guild Points at a time and (2) you lose ALL progress if you switch, so be 100% complete before moving on. Oh, and I'm not mentioning High Quality Crystals because they're a nice bonus but not something to worry about.


 * Boneworker's Belt (Novice)--Don't get it. If you need the Advanced Support it offers, go to a Guild. 25 charges for 10k GP isn't worth it.
 * Filing (Novice)--Use 1 Wind Crystal + Shagreen File to do 3 synths worth of arrowheads at once. As you can stack the effects of HQs, this could be worth it if you make arrowheads for profit, but only after you've skilled past them.
 * Bone Ensorcellment (Novice)--Don't bother. No one buys what this can make, for good reason.
 * Bone Purification (Novice)--More than a few guides recommend this for skill-ups because this can make the base item (Vivified Coral) for 2 items that give Reraise II. Regardless of if you get this for skill or just for profit, get this and get it early.
 * Protective Spectacles (Journeyman)--The first Skill+1 item for Bonecraft. This raises your effective Skill by 1. It operates like Synth Support while equipped and is 100% golden. Get it. It will help at all stages, especially in large jumps.
 * Boneworker's Apron (Artisan)--The second Skill+1 item, the next thing to save for. Same applies down the line.
 * Bonecrafter's Ring (Craftsman)--This costs 80k Guild Points, which is not cheap. However, a lot of top-level items you'll be making for profit and/or skill can be ruined by HQing and each also uses very expensive base ingredients.
 * Drogaroga's Fang (Veteran)--The Skill+1 Furniture. Very very nice. However, the Aura required is Darkness, which doesn't have any good storage items, at all.
 * Boneworker's Signboard (Veteran)--A newer Furniture, this, when combined with the other Veteran-level Furnishing, grants Moglification: Bonecraft, combining Skill+1 and reduces the chance of losing items on failed synths. Again, the problem is that its element (Dark) doesn't mix with any storage items. (Cough cough pay attention, SE! cough cough)

Comments/Suggestions/Complaints

 * Feel free to add them in here as you like! --Ctownwoody 05:57, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Tigerfangs (cap79) are used in the Valoredge frame upgrade quest for puppetmaster, so there is a small market for them. --Nymande 14:15 15 May 2009
 * Yeah, there's a similar market for Bone Patas at 68, with using them for Goldsmithing, but the sheer number required (I figure on roughly 36 synths per level after 50) means that I can't count on either of them. If they didn't NPC well, I'd only put them down as a bridge.  BUt I will definitely acknowledge the small market when I do a more formal write-up...--Ctownwoody 18:36, 15 May 2009 (UTC)