Goldsmithing Guide by Ctownwoody

Goldsmithing Guide 1.0 0-60 by Ctownwoody of Asura Sons of Valkrum Linkshell 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.

Goldsmithing Tips
1. This is NOT for the weak of heart or wallet. This is, in my opinion, the HARDEST AND MOST EXPENSIVE craft in the game, even just to take to 60. You will be spending millions to make millions, even after prices deflated to a fraction of what they once were.

2. The Myth of Mining : Mining does not save you gil when crafting. Mining makes you gil by selling what you mine; crafting makes you gil by increasing the value of the ingredients. If you were to mine up 10k worth of ingredients and sell them for 6k, you did NOT save 6k by mining; you lost 4k by crafting what you could have sold.

3. Don't be afraid to beg when Goldsmithing. There are a lot of items that require almost obscene amounts of ores or beastcoins even before you hit 50, so be prepared to ask friends, LS-mates, PT members, etc for the random drops they may get.

4. Rule of Three: Make around 3 times the amount of ingredients, especially ingots, that you think you'll need. Sell the excess, which should be about twice what you used. You'll hate yourself later when you pull almost even.

5. Outside of Copper Ore and Silver Ore (9 and 315 as minimum prices), the Guildshops are almost 100% worthless. On rare ocassion, you might find Mythril Ore there for 1500 each, but that's about it. Jeuno and Bastok's AHs are your best friends, but don't be afraid to check Windy and Sandy AHs when passing through.

6. Basic Pattern is 4 Ores -> Ingot -> Sheet -> Attach to Weapon/Armor. Sometimes, there is a Sheet -> Scale step in there but not as often as Smithing. However, you should stick mostly to the Ingots and sometimes the Sheets, and you will rarely get beyond that; there's often no proft, even with HQs.

7. Pick a Moghancement: Fire, Lightning, or Desynthesis. Get the Aura in your Mog House to an Overwhelming Level. It will save you beaucoup gil in less lost items on failures.

8. SUBCRAFT! Not subcrafts to Goldsmithing recipes, but Goldsmithing as a subcraft to other recipes. This is why most people have some level of Goldsmithing and can provide a slower path to skill but potentially more profitable. Smithing and Alchemy are particularly tied to it. Clothcraft and Woodworking use it for some notable recipes (in my guides).

9. Excess Beastcoins of Silver+ sell well singly in Bastok because of Norg, or rather, because of Tonberry Hate (3 Gold Beastcoins) and some quests and locked doors in Sea Serpent Grotto. Don't be afraid to take advantage of lazy or rushed players to make back some gil.

10. Bastok and Jeuno both have Jewelry Shops: NPCs that sell select copper, brass, silver and/or mythril jewelry. Bastok's is subject to Conquest Rankings and Citizenship, but Jeuno's isn't. When desparate, at certain stages, or loaded with empty time and excess Lightning Crystals (especially if you went with Moghancement: Desynthesis), they can serve as a good source for gil too.

11. Why Goldsmithing is Incredibly Tough:  Profit is either highly competitive with other people scratching and clawing their way up or "scut-work" synths, mostly making ingots. The good items, the ones that people buy, that are extremely useful and used for long stretches of levels, all require HQs to sell well. Colored Gem Rings, Gobbiebag Quest Gems, etc, are typically HQ at lower levels and are failed attempts at HQs the higher up you go. Your final tip from all of this is that you can always make the gil if you are willing to do the scut-work synths; success here is simply a matter of time refreshing gil as you go along.

0-10

 * Copper Ingot (2)-Fire Crystal, Copper Ore x4--Bread & Butter synth #1. It's scut work to make these but that's why there's a strong market for them: higher-level crafters don't want to waste the time.  Guildshops and Airship Vendors (if you have access to them) both sell cheap.


 * Copper Hairpin (7)-Wind Crystal, Copper Ingot--This is a bridge to help you if you don't want to leap ahead to Brass Ingots @ 9. It's also the TEST ITEM.  Synth and Desynth as the hairpins NPC for far too little to be worth selling.


 * Brass Ingot (9)-Fire Crystal, Zinc Ore, Copper Ore x3--Make to cap, sell them as profitable, and be prepared to make more for the next 2-3 items.  Alternatively, save them as there are a number of optional items I've put in here that use them.

11-20

 * Brass Sheet (11)-Fire Crystal, Brass Ingot--If this is profitable, and it can be at times, convert all your Brass Ingots into Sheets and sell them, and then make more Brass Ingots to turn into Scales. If not, cap on this recipe, finish off so that you have whole stacks of Brass Ingots to sell, and sell the Ingots (or save, see above).


 * Brass Scales (13)-Wind Crystal, Brass Sheet--Make these to cap and NPC. First true gil-killer here.  These make close to nothing of value outside of Guild Point items.


 * Brass Hairpin (17)-Wind Crystal, Brass Ingot--Like Copper Hairpin above in all ways, including just a bridge. TEST ITEM btw.


 * Bullet (18)-Fire Crystal, Firesand, Brass Ingot--Actually, an Alchemy 41 recipe, so skill-ups will be slower, but these bullets sell decently quickly and at a profit, if not a large one. Just make sure that you have Alchemy around 40 before starting these, as you'll want Goldsmithing Synthesis Image Support.  I would not make these if you are taking your Goldsmithing above 60 because you want to keep your Alchemy low in case you need to break-synth.


 * Silver Ingot (18)-Fire Crystal, Silver Beastcoin x4--A small bridge before the main show. The quantity needed and the dependence on AHs or Steal means that you won't cap on these; just bridge to where you are comfortable with a level 20 synth.


 * Silver Ingot (20)-Fire Crystal, Silver Ore x4--This is and will be, forever and ever, your main source of re-stocking gil. Ore is 315 at minimum at the Guildshop; never buy above this, but you can check the AH for cheaper ores from mining and/or worms.  If you want to get these out of the way forever, make around 200-300 stacks and you're golden; they are that important, well-used, and profitable.


 * Rhodonite (20)-Wind Crystal, Scarlet Stone--Gobbiebag II item, which is a bunch of items with no other use. The stones drop from Antlions, so they are not easily farmed, nor should they be.  This is a profit-only item, used to finish off the last .1-.3 until 20, or just in case you need something to sell singly in Jeuno.  The market price fluctuates a lot and the supply varies even more, so not really a strong market.

21-30

 * Shrimp Lure (21)-Fire Crystal, Crayfish, Glass Fiber, Silver Ingot--Alchemy 48 is the main skill here. This is the reason my Alchemy Mule raised his Goldsmithing and why that was the first sub-skill he learned, even before Smithing.  I call these gil-puppies.  Fish-bots buy these and Halcyon Fishing Rods to target profitable fish on the ferry.  These are good for only one level of skill, however, because they don't stack and sales are highly competitive, but feel free to come back again and again to refresh gil.


 * Silver Bullet (24)-Fire Crystal, Silver Ingot, Firesand--Alchemy 51 as the main skill but these bullets are the best damaging ones for RNG from 50 to 75 that isn't a Cannon Shell-class. Not quite as fast, though, but the bullet pouches (made just like Quivers) allow 36 synths to be bundled into one AH slot.


 * NQ Gem Earrings (25)-Earth Crystal, Silver Earring, NQ Gem--Only, only, only do these if they are profitable. NQ Gems are dumped off at the AH often by failed attempts for HQ gems, especially Gobbiebag Quest ones.  Silver Earrings can be bought for cheap from Jeuno's Jewelry shop or Bastok's if Bastok is in first in Conquest and you are a Bastok citizen.  Onyx tends to do the best, but check them all.


 * Silver Hairpin (27)-Wind Crystal, Silver Ingot--By now, when you see Hairpin, you should know the drill. Synth and Desynth is important here as Silver Ingots are too important to waste.  TEST ITEM as you may have guessed...

31-40

 * Silver Chain (33)-Earth Crystal, Silver Ingot x2--These don't sell that quickly, even in stacks, but they are profitable if you make your own ingots (but not profitable otherwise). You can use these in a few semi-profitable synths in other crafts, as well.  However, for getting to around where you can make Mythril Ingots from beastcoins (31-ish), is a valuable jump.


 * Mythril Ingot (38)-Fire Crystal, Mythril Beastcoin x4--Congratulations on making it to the next tier of ingots. This tier is infinitely more expensive than Silver, but the rewards tend to be better.  Be very careful making these as breaks are expensive.  Same deal with single beastcoins selling well at the Bastok/Norg AH.


 * Mythril Ingot (40)-Fire Crystal, Mythril Ore x4--Go ahead and cap on this however you can, in conjunction with the beastcoin method above. Deal was, you used to be able to slam this out profitably at the Airship Vendor when your Nation was First in Conquest, but prices have dropped below that point now.  So, you'll just need to camp the AH for a ton of ores.  Alternatives include mining in Halvung (dangerous due to True Sight Trolls) or farming either Golems or Anticans in the 50+ level range.

TEST ITEM: Chain Gorget: Earth Crystal, Silver Chain x3: Buy it however you can, because this is expensive to make.

41-50

 * Mythril Sheet (41)-Fire Crystal, Mythril Ingot--At this level of crafting, these extra levels matter, especially in something as expensive as Goldsmithing. One level, no more, no less.


 * Electrum Ingot (42)-Fire Crystal, Silver Ore, Gold Ore x3--A new Gobbiebag item, for the new Gobbiebag quests. These are expensive (15k+ on Asura) to make and the Gold Ore is rare enough to be inconvenient for skill.  However, these are great for gil, as they are very profitable.  You can get the odd number of Ores and make a few for skill, but I wouldn't rely on it.


 * Gold Dust (47)-Wind Crystal, Brass Ingot, Copper Ingot--These are used to make Vellum and each synth makes a full stack. So, you won't be able to make these for skill and sale.  However, these are incredibly cheap and NPC for about 90% of your costs, maybe more if you make your own Copper Ingots.  I am now advising people to make this to cap and save yourself the pain of Silver Bangles or the risk and frustration of Aluminum Ingots.


 * Aluminum Ingot (48)-Fire Crystal, Aluminum Ore x4--This market didn't exist during the period I went through these skills, more the pity. The Ore are relatively common drops from certain ENMs, but only are available in numbers that let you make 1-2 at a time.  Use for profit, maybe hoard some for skill, but try to get as much of a full level out of these as patience permits; the ingots are still profitable.

TEST ITEM: Mythril Ring:  Fire Crystal, Mythril Ingot x2:  Should be cheapest on the AH, but you may have to make your own.

51-60

 * Gold Ingot (51)-Fire Crystal, Gold Beastcoin x4--A Gobbiebag quest item, commonly used higher level Goldsmithing need, and expensive-as-all-heck synth to make. Let's try around 16-20k each.  This is where the "Spend a million to make 1.5 million" really takes flight.  Gold Beastcoins aren't cheap, are hard as hell to farm or find, and are most commonly dropped by fiercesome NMs in Dynamis zones, from what I've been led to believe.  That being said, get to 51 on these, no questions.  From here on out, it gets more and more expensive.


 * Gold Ingot (54)-Fire Crystal, Gold Ore, Gold Nugget x6--For Gold and Platinum, this formula is more profitable and easier to get the materials for than Ore x4. The Nuggets in both cases are Alchemy 88 and 96 recipes, respectively.  Alternatively, it is possible to grow both with Gardening, which many people do.  At this point, your best approach is whatever doesn't bust the bank.


 * Gold Earring (57)-Wind Crystal, Gold Ingot x2--These are occassionally profitable on Asura, and maybe be marginally profitable on other servers at times. Make them in batches and sell them however you can.  Used primarily for RNG AF and Phantom Earrings, the demand might be enough to sell these for break-even while gaining skill, which is a notable acheivement in this stretch.
 * Note: Also the name of the greatest two-hit wonder ever. That nugget is about as worthwhile as this guide for saving you gil above 54.  Sorry, but as well as I can write these things, apparently, even I can't make them save you gil.  --Ctownwoody 18:03, 3 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Gold Hairpin (58)-Wind Crystal, Gold Ingot--Again, a Hairpin. However, these can AH for a minimal loss.  They are used in a quest and a decent MP headpiece.  I regard them as a "least painful option" at this end-stage.
 * Update: Currently sitting around 9-10k, and made from a 17-18k ingot.  They NPC for 2k.  This pricing makes the synth-desynth-resynth cycle much more appealing (because your other options suck that much more).


 * Gold Ring (60)-Fire Crystal, Gold Ingot x2--Profitable at times, depending on Gold Ingot prices. Bought and used by truly top-tier Goldsmiths for level 54 rings.  You can try making these for skill but enough people are as well and your target market could make these if they wanted to spend the time, so you might not be able to make too many at once.


 * Platinum Ingot (61)-Fire Crystal, Platinum Beastcoin x4--Unless you have a hankering for trying to steal from level 75 Moblins or farm them from level 85 NM Beastman leaders, most people camp these at the AH. While it can finish off your quest for 60, it won't; they are just too rare for enough skill, so it's not the last recipe I'm listing.
 * Update: After camping these, somewhat, for the better part of a month, these just take too darn long to collect in large enough supply to use as anything more than a bridge.


 * Platinum Ingot (64)-Fire Crystal, Platinum Ore, Platinum Nugget x6--The same as Gold Ingots at 54, except people will often grow the Nuggets in the Mog Houses or hire a Alchemist with skill of 96+. Despite being 64, you might want to consider these as a way to finish off Goldsmithing from 57-58 to 60.  Seriously, that's a huge gap but everything after 54 stinks, so you are like a starving man at a jalapeno festival; you have to find that item which hurts you the least and just eat it.

--Ctownwoody 17:15, 29 March 2008 (UTC)