Post by Ikonic on Feb 7, 2006 10:34:05 GMT -6
Well, it's been ages since I last posted a guide. I finally decided to start up Smithing a week or 2 ago and here's what I have so far.
Ikonic's Guide to Smithing (lvl 0-60)
I did not keep track of my lvl'ing from 0-3.8 but here's most likely what I did.
0-2 Bronze Ingot (Fire Crystal + 3 Copper Ore + Tin Ore)
2-4 Bronze Sheet (Fire Crystal + Bronze Ingot)
Starting at lvl 4.0 I made Bronze Scales (Wind Crystal + Bronze Sheet). These are relatively cheap, but will still be made at a almost a complete loss. Using 6 stacks of Bronze Sheets and 7 stacks of Wind Crystals I was able to get to lvl 10.0.
Upon reaching lvl 10.0 Bronze Scales caps out. I then switched to Tin Ingots (Fire Crystal + 4 Tin Ore). Head to the guild and buy Tin Ores there for about 30g each. Tin Ingots are also a loss, but seemed to be one of the best items I could make that both was stackable and didn't cost an exorbant amount.
At 13.5 I switched to Iron Ingots (Fire Crystal + 4 Iron Ore) since I had completely bought the guild out of Tin Ores and wanted to continue crafting. I would recommend taking Tin Ingots to at least 14, but 15 if at all possible just because breaks with Iron Ore will hurt much more.
At 20.0 I switched to Iron Sheets (Fire Crystal + Iron Ingot). There is no need to take Iron Ingots all the way to lvl 20.0 if you'd like to start sooner. Since Iron Sheets cap at 22 you should have plenty of Iron Ingots made or you could buy them from the AH for slightly over cost.
Beginning at 22.0 I switched to Iron Scales (Wind Crystal + Iron Sheet). I turned all my remaining Iron Ingots into Iron Sheets for this stretch and then purchased more Iron Ingots to get to lvl 26.0.
Once I hit 26.0 I switched to Iron Chains (Earth Crystal + 2 Iron Ingots). I ended up buying all the Ingots from the AH as they weren't much more expensive that way than making my own.
Starting at 30.0 I switched to Steel Sheets (Fire Crystal + Steel Ingot). These were quit expensive, but seemed the best option for my limited space and the limited number of materials required. Use advanced synth support as these are still 5 lvls away and you really don't want to lose materials. I had also changed my moghancement to Fire Energy before starting this stretch (it was Light before). I used 5 stacks of Steel Ingots and 5.5 stacks of crystals to get to 35.4.
At 35.4 I started on Iron Mittens (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Lizard Skin). These were costly and I NPC'd the results for a loss of about 4.5k per successful synth.
Starting at 41.0 I switched to Hibari (Fire Crystal + Lizard Skin + Tama-Hagane). These were actually profitable and one of the few synths that is at this stage. These sold slowly and took up a lot of space on mules. I considered NPC'ing them just to free up space.
Due to the massive quantity of Hibari that I had lying around I decided to try something new at 43.7, so I switched to Mythril Scythe (Fire Crystal + 3 Mythril Ingot + Yew Lumber + Grass Cloth). These are also profitable, but costly to make so be careful with failures. Even 'tho I was only 4.3 lvls from cap I still used Advanced Synth Support. I ended up making only 12 of these and they sold very very slowly.
Starting at 44.4 I switched to Gust Claymore (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Tin Ingot). This seemed like one of the least loss items. I sold the results back to the NPC for a hefty loss.
Starting at 47.1 I switched to Gorget (Fire Crystal + Iron Sheet + Sheep Leather). These cost about the same as Gust Claymores to make, but I was able to buy everything I needed from the AH. Do note that making your own Iron Sheets is a bit cheaper than buying them premade as long as your breaks are minimal.
Once I reached 50.8 I ran out of materials for Gorgets and decided to switch to Steel Ingots (Fire Crystal + 4 Bomb Ash + 4 Iron Sand). Take note that the guild is only open 9-23 and is closed on Darksday. I tried to have at least 12 free spaces so I didn't have to buy Iron Sand after each synth. This synth is mildly profitable and a pleasant change from the last few. Being that I could break even to make profit on this synth I took it all the way to cap (54).
Starting at 54.0 I switched to Kyofu (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Tin Ingot + Shinobi-Gatana). These cost about the same as the last two recipies and also require you to go to Norg or Bastok for cheap materials. I just sold these to a NPC for a loss.
Once I hit 56.4 the prices of Shinobi-Gatana became too much from the guild so I tried Breastplates (Fire Crystal + 2 Sheep Leather + 4 Iron Sheets). I had some materials left over from before and used what I had to make a few synths of Breastplates. I had rather large failures, but also gained .4 skill from them.
At 56.8 I switched back to Kyofu (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Tin Ingot + Shinobi-Gatana) since the price of Shinobi-Gatana was back down at the guild (in Norg). At 57.2 the skillups were too slow for my taste and I switched to another synth.
At 57.2 I switched to Nodowa (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Silk Thread). These really did look like the best option and while they are 9 lvls over my current skill even with losses they are better than the alternatives. Fortunately I had my Smithy Mitts already and was able to use those to lessen the gap a bit more. Adding Synthing Support should put me about 5 under the cap for these. Don't go overboard stocking up on materials as it only took my about 5 stacks to get to 60. Note that I crafted these all on Lightsday and Darksday.
Cost Analysis
Edit: lvl 41.0 to 60.0 and Cost Analysis
Ikonic's Guide to Smithing (lvl 0-60)
I did not keep track of my lvl'ing from 0-3.8 but here's most likely what I did.
0-2 Bronze Ingot (Fire Crystal + 3 Copper Ore + Tin Ore)
2-4 Bronze Sheet (Fire Crystal + Bronze Ingot)
Starting at lvl 4.0 I made Bronze Scales (Wind Crystal + Bronze Sheet). These are relatively cheap, but will still be made at a almost a complete loss. Using 6 stacks of Bronze Sheets and 7 stacks of Wind Crystals I was able to get to lvl 10.0.
Upon reaching lvl 10.0 Bronze Scales caps out. I then switched to Tin Ingots (Fire Crystal + 4 Tin Ore). Head to the guild and buy Tin Ores there for about 30g each. Tin Ingots are also a loss, but seemed to be one of the best items I could make that both was stackable and didn't cost an exorbant amount.
At 13.5 I switched to Iron Ingots (Fire Crystal + 4 Iron Ore) since I had completely bought the guild out of Tin Ores and wanted to continue crafting. I would recommend taking Tin Ingots to at least 14, but 15 if at all possible just because breaks with Iron Ore will hurt much more.
At 20.0 I switched to Iron Sheets (Fire Crystal + Iron Ingot). There is no need to take Iron Ingots all the way to lvl 20.0 if you'd like to start sooner. Since Iron Sheets cap at 22 you should have plenty of Iron Ingots made or you could buy them from the AH for slightly over cost.
Beginning at 22.0 I switched to Iron Scales (Wind Crystal + Iron Sheet). I turned all my remaining Iron Ingots into Iron Sheets for this stretch and then purchased more Iron Ingots to get to lvl 26.0.
Once I hit 26.0 I switched to Iron Chains (Earth Crystal + 2 Iron Ingots). I ended up buying all the Ingots from the AH as they weren't much more expensive that way than making my own.
Starting at 30.0 I switched to Steel Sheets (Fire Crystal + Steel Ingot). These were quit expensive, but seemed the best option for my limited space and the limited number of materials required. Use advanced synth support as these are still 5 lvls away and you really don't want to lose materials. I had also changed my moghancement to Fire Energy before starting this stretch (it was Light before). I used 5 stacks of Steel Ingots and 5.5 stacks of crystals to get to 35.4.
At 35.4 I started on Iron Mittens (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Lizard Skin). These were costly and I NPC'd the results for a loss of about 4.5k per successful synth.
Starting at 41.0 I switched to Hibari (Fire Crystal + Lizard Skin + Tama-Hagane). These were actually profitable and one of the few synths that is at this stage. These sold slowly and took up a lot of space on mules. I considered NPC'ing them just to free up space.
Due to the massive quantity of Hibari that I had lying around I decided to try something new at 43.7, so I switched to Mythril Scythe (Fire Crystal + 3 Mythril Ingot + Yew Lumber + Grass Cloth). These are also profitable, but costly to make so be careful with failures. Even 'tho I was only 4.3 lvls from cap I still used Advanced Synth Support. I ended up making only 12 of these and they sold very very slowly.
Starting at 44.4 I switched to Gust Claymore (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Tin Ingot). This seemed like one of the least loss items. I sold the results back to the NPC for a hefty loss.
Starting at 47.1 I switched to Gorget (Fire Crystal + Iron Sheet + Sheep Leather). These cost about the same as Gust Claymores to make, but I was able to buy everything I needed from the AH. Do note that making your own Iron Sheets is a bit cheaper than buying them premade as long as your breaks are minimal.
Once I reached 50.8 I ran out of materials for Gorgets and decided to switch to Steel Ingots (Fire Crystal + 4 Bomb Ash + 4 Iron Sand). Take note that the guild is only open 9-23 and is closed on Darksday. I tried to have at least 12 free spaces so I didn't have to buy Iron Sand after each synth. This synth is mildly profitable and a pleasant change from the last few. Being that I could break even to make profit on this synth I took it all the way to cap (54).
Starting at 54.0 I switched to Kyofu (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Tin Ingot + Shinobi-Gatana). These cost about the same as the last two recipies and also require you to go to Norg or Bastok for cheap materials. I just sold these to a NPC for a loss.
Once I hit 56.4 the prices of Shinobi-Gatana became too much from the guild so I tried Breastplates (Fire Crystal + 2 Sheep Leather + 4 Iron Sheets). I had some materials left over from before and used what I had to make a few synths of Breastplates. I had rather large failures, but also gained .4 skill from them.
At 56.8 I switched back to Kyofu (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Tin Ingot + Shinobi-Gatana) since the price of Shinobi-Gatana was back down at the guild (in Norg). At 57.2 the skillups were too slow for my taste and I switched to another synth.
At 57.2 I switched to Nodowa (Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Silk Thread). These really did look like the best option and while they are 9 lvls over my current skill even with losses they are better than the alternatives. Fortunately I had my Smithy Mitts already and was able to use those to lessen the gap a bit more. Adding Synthing Support should put me about 5 under the cap for these. Don't go overboard stocking up on materials as it only took my about 5 stacks to get to 60. Note that I crafted these all on Lightsday and Darksday.
Cost Analysis
0-30: 0
30-41: -170,000
41-43.7: 66,000
43.7-44.4: 240,000
44.4-47.1: -194,340
47.1-50.8: -162,833
50.8-54.0: 58,914
54.0-56.4: -203,685
56.4-56.8: - 19,000
56.8-57.2: - 67,665
57.2-60.0: -272,293
Total: -724,903
Edit: lvl 41.0 to 60.0 and Cost Analysis
