Clothcraft Guide by Ctownwoody

Clothcraft 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.

Clothcrafting Tips
1. Raw Materials -> Thread -> Cloth is the basic pattern. Each Cloth represents 4 synths! The more advanced pattern adds Cloth + Thread -> Clothing but this varies in profitability.

2. Selbina is your friend; a few persistent campers aside, it's not as frequently camped as the Windurst Guild. The selection isn't as extensive, but they should carry most of what you would be buying anyway.

3. Fletchings are your friend; they use very cheap materials and have lots of synths per stack. They aren’t profitable, but offer the quickest path between profitable synths.

4. There are times when you will need to make your own thread and cloth as it is cheaper than the Guildshop or AH. They are other times when the Guildshop or AH is much cheaper (and easier), though. Keep your eye out for bargains and try to prepare for major projects by shopping around.

5. Cross-crafting is great here. Leathercraft, Bonecraft and Smithing all can team up with Clothcraft at times for very profitable items and/or Armor Sets, if not much for skill-ups.

6. Cotton Thread and Saruta Cotton are too valuable to synth into Cloth or Thread respectively. Sell them for a good profit in Jeuno, or use them in other recipes. Also, the addition of Ninja-Sneak has raised the price of Cotton Cloth, so beware.

0-10

 * Chocobo Fletchings (2)-Wind Crystal, Chocobo Feather x2—Feathers are cheap, 8 gil tops. These won’t sell because they are so easy to make, but that’s why you should get your first two levels this way.


 * Grass Thread (3)-Lightning Crystal, Moko Grass x2—Make stacks up to cap because you will be using grass thread and cloth a lot until you reach the 20s. If you can buy for cheaper than you can make, do so. You can also make thread with Yagudo Necklaces and Wind Crystals (Cap of 1), but the necklaces are usually worth more than the thread.


 * Grass Cloth (4)-Earth Crystal, Grass Thread x3—Take to cap. Don’t sell this stuff, as you will be using a lot of grass cloth between now and the 20s.


 * Cape (8)-Earth Crystal, Grass Thread, Grass Cloth x2—NPC these back to the guildshop in large chunks, saving one for the cap test. This is usually best done in Selbina, as the guildshop there is only camped for cotton and silk threads, usually. Only make until 6 or 7; Hachimaki are cheaper to make, but save one as a TEST ITEM.

11-20

 * Hachimaki (11)-Wind Crystal, Grass Cloth x2--Make these until 11, NPC them to guildshop. This gap sucks because nothing in the gap from grass cloth to linen thread makes any money consistently.


 * Red Grass Thread (15)-Lightning Crystal, Red Moko Grass x2--This is a bit risky because Red Grass Thread and Cloth don’t sell well, as it is only used by high-level crafters to make a few HQ items. Also, it is an expensive and rare harvest item from only a few zones.  However, it can be a profitable bridge.


 * Red Grass Cloth (16)-Earth Crystal, Red Grass Thread x3--See above, but getting to 16 is a big deal considering the lack of good items from 11 to 19.


 * Bronze Bed (19)-Fire Crystal, Cotton Cloth x2, Saruta Cotton, Grass Thread, Bronze Ingot x4--This requires Smithing 19, but they fairly profitable. They sell pretty well, but the market is prone to over-saturation.  You can use this to make up for lost gil.


 * Linen Thread (19)-Lightning Crystal, Flax Flower x2--Only buy when they cost under 200 (187 is lowest). The airship vendors only sell them when your nation is in first place. This can be a huge jump (8 levels) so get Advanced Support. Believe it or not, this and Linen Cloth are just bridges to get your skill up to around 16 or 17, so around 6 stacks of thread (2 stacks of cloth) should do it.


 * Cotton Headband (20)-Earth Crystal, Carbon Fiber, Cotton Cloth--Headbands have made a comeback thanks to Dancer and parties built around hate-sharing rather than straight tanking. Carbon Fiber is a mid-40s Alchemy synth, but can usually be found on Jeuno AH.  Make a few for profit, as profitable.

TEST ITEM: Cotton Cape: Earth Crystal, Cotton Cloth x2, Cotton Thread: Get however is cheapest. You can usually get the materials from the Guild but the AH might have a cheaper one.

21-30

 * Linen Cloth (22)-Earth Crystal, Linen Thread x3--You don’t need to take these to 22, just until about 16 or 17. However, unlike Yagudo Fletchings, they sell for a profit generally. Singles do better than stacks because of Gobbiebag quests.


 * Yagudo Fletchings (22)-Wind Crystal, Yagudo Feather x2--You will want to take this one to 22 if not on Linen Cloth. These don’t sell, but you can NPC them just the same because Yagudo Feathers are cheap and easy to farm around Windurst.


 * Moblinweave (23)-Earth Crystal, Moblin Thread x3--This is a quirky item because the thread is farmed from Moblins in Movapolis and the cloth is only used in a gobbiebag quest. Still, profitable and decently selling.  Make a stack of cloth to help reduce the amount of Heko Obi or other loss-synths you have to make later on.


 * Seer's Tunic Set/Noct Doublet Set (24-26)--Varies but Earth Crystal, Sheep Leather, Linen Cloth and Thread are common-Good sets of armor for profit, but the items require Leathercraft 20+ and highly competitive, if simply because so many jobs use and then sell the pieces. Make a set of each for yourself if you want, though; eventually you'll be leveling a job that uses them.


 * Heko Obi (27)-Earth Crystal, Grass Thread, Cotton Cloth x2--Buy the cloth at the AH or a guildshop, whichever is cheapest and NPC these puppies to the guild. This is part of a long bridge to 35. Save one for a TEST ITEM.


 * Kaginawa (29)-Earth Crystal, Bronze Ingot, Grass Thread, Manticore Hair--You’ll need Smithing 15+ to do this recipe. Be careful; Manticore Hairs are relatively expensive and don’t stack. It costs a lot per synth, supplies are limited, and inventory can be an issue, but can be profitable if the breaks don’t kill you.


 * Fly Lure (30)-Earth Crystal, Bat Fang, Chocobo Feather, Animal Glue--Profitable, cheap and sells well, plus usable for fishing. Doesn't stack and uses Bonecraft 8, so be warned.

31-40

 * Shinobi-Tabi (34)-Earth Crystal, Saruta Cotton, Grass Thread, Cotton Cloth x2—Ninja tools sell well, but cotton supplies and prices can be touchy. This should be a good money-maker, though.  Also, since wool tanked, this is a better alternative...


 * Wool Thread (35)-Lightning Crystal, Sheep Wool x2—This has tanked seriously and dangerously. The wool sells from NPCs for as low as 675 each, but Wool Thread has dropped to 1k each, so it’s just better business to buy the thread from the AH and turn it into cloth.


 * Wool Cloth (37)-Earth Crystal, Wool Thread x3—Take this to 37 as profitable. As they are used in Gobbibag II, you can sell them singly for more gil than in stacks, but you will be making a lot of these.


 * Flax Headband (39)-Earth Crystal, Carbon Fiber, Linen Cloth--Okay speed but good profit. Maybe make 12 of these as a bridge into Bird Fletchings.

TEST ITEM: Feather Collar: Earth Crystal, Wool Cloth, Bird Feather x8: Most often made for the HQ version (neck piece with +2 Ranged Accuracy for 8-15 Rangers), but should be found cheaply on the AH; the feathers are better used for fletchings.

41-50

 * Mohbwa Thread (41)-Lightning Crystal, Mohbwa Grass x2—Another quirky item because the thread is profitable and sells modestly, but the cloth doesn’t even come close. I’m listing it because it is pretty profitable and sells around 2 thread daily on Asura.


 * Bird Fletchings (42)-Wind Crystal, Bird Feather x2—Take these to 42. Very cheap and available, if not at cheap as Insect Fletchings ahead.

TEST ITEM: Wool Bracers:  Earth Crystal, Wool Cloth x2, Wool Thread, Saruta Cotton x2: Not a pleasant item to make and not readily available on AHs. Suffer through it...

51-60

 * Velvet Cloth (51)-Earth Crystal, Cotton Thread x2, Silk Thread—Using Wool Thread instead of Cotton Thread caps at 45 but is not profitable. This version, however, is highly profitable.  Used in a lot of clothcraft-related synths and a gobbiebag quest, so sells better and faster as singles. Beware of the intense competition.


 * Insect Fletchings (52)-Wind Crystal, Insect Wing x2—Insect Wings are infinitely cheaper than feathers and they profitably in Sandy. Just watch out for hitting the wall at 50…skill-ups slow down considerably. You can power-craft these and try to sell a stack or two in Jeuno or Sandy.


 * Silk Cloth (53)-Earth Crystal, Silk Thread x3—This, along with Velvet Cloth should form a major source of income from now until 60. Take this to cap regardless of other projects or plans; it’s that profitable, especially at the near-universal rate of 1k per thread and 10-12k per stack.


 * Scarlet Linen (54)-Earth Crystal, Linen Thread x2, Bloodthread--Very profitable, if not quickly selling at times. Bloodthread is a drop from Kuftal Tunnel spiders, so it's hit or miss at the AH for supplies.  Good for that extra level before trying to work with gold ingots.


 * Gold Thread (58)-Earth Crystal, Silk Thread, Gold Ingot—WARNING: Hugely expensive and it requires Goldsmithing 41. Not for the faint of heart or wallet.  These make some profit in stacks but hugely profitable in singles.


 * Green Ribbon (62)-Wind Crystal, Silk Cloth—These NPC for just over 2k each, and are sold on AH for 4-5k. Make your own at around 3k each.  Now that you can make silk cloth fairly easily, I suggest making 1 stack of cloth to sell for each stack of cloth used to synth.  This will either take a long time that way or simply destroy your gil.

Good luck! --Ctownwoody 11:00 am, 19 January 2008 (PDT)