Sellsword's Craft Studies: Is the compass wrong?

[Sellsword]

There is a ongoing debate Vana'diel wide, "Does the direction affect your craft?"

I for one belive in this, however I also believe the current synthesis wheel is wrong

This is the current synthesis wheel:



Now it has been said, somewhere in the game that someone mentions that facing the star of that crystal's element can increase success and lower skills ups/HQ chance. Also having said that, facing a star that the crystal is weak against will lower success and incrase skill ups/HQ chance.

Let's take a look at the stellar map.



If you take a closer look, in the constellations there are coloured circles representing elements. So if this is the case the compass should look like this.



I have tried my own wheel and for me it has been working better and I can feel the difference.

But this might not be the case.

I was at the Fan fest for the ToAU preview and a quiestion was asked of the developers ......

Player: "Does the direction you face effect crafting?"
The Dev laughed a bit as the translator told him the question and then the translator responded: "Face whatever way your heart tells you to face."

Have fun and enjoy your crafting.

Original post can be found here

This also raises another issue. There is a certain phenomena (cant remember the name) that in the case of what you think is what is influenced on every action you take

Example:

In this example we will use 2 person that have the same illness. They are both presribed the same medicine. One thinks that he will get well and he's condition improves within a week. The other however, thinks that the medicine is not working and is a waste of time and his condition gets worse rather than better.

So is the wheel wrong? Or is it really in our head?

[Toasty]

Holy smokes... I used the compass every single time I've synthed since getting 10 goldsmithing. I'm now w/ 60 cooking and about 50 bonecraft on a mule I can't even access now....... but regardless.. I think with the economy trashed atm, I'm going to start leveling a craft again. I will try your wheel and let you know how it goes. I was confident in the compass before, now I'm a little worried. lol ^_o;;

[Ikonic]

I've always used this compass when crafting. I'm currently compiling my own test, but as of yet it has too few samples (only 610 currently).

[Valhallodin]

I have always used the same compass that Ikonic posted, and it seems to have worked fine for me. But then, I also have no frame of reference to compare it to other schemes, so it may in fact be incorrect. I would like to give your scheme a try as well, especially when I am making ammo, because HQing my bolts really helps cut down cost.

Another reference I use is this 'chart' here. Again, I have not done any cross-testing, but again it seems to be accurate.



Personally, I also think that time of day seemingly has an impact as well, and because I am superstitious, I always try to craft in a corner, or at least facing a wall, and as away from other people as I can get.

As for whether or not it is all in our heads, it very well could be. But then, if I can improve my crafting success/skill rate by taking the extra 2 seconds to face a specific direction, I am going to. Even if it only makes a difference in succeeding one more time out of one hundred, that can still save you a lot of gil if you are doing expensive synths.

[Sellsword]

Regardless of Direction, I strongly believe that the day also affects craft rates. More people have agreed with this more and this is near on fact. But it's just something I noticed yesterday when I looked at the stellar map.

The wheel that Ik posted is better explained than the one I have currently up, but it is still the same.

[Sellsword]

I have posted this study over a couple of other boards and one reply has proven my compass false.

I thought the same thing at first glance at the map back when. Then I noticed, for some unknown reason, East is on the LEFT side. The directions are in reverse. Also if you face North West you'll see a red star. The stars do match up with the current compas.

Direction most likely is a Placebo, but I'll be damned if I stop now.

Original post can be viewed here

The stellar map is just confusing and I didn't notice at first.

I think what you are referring to is the "Placebo" effect- people make things real by thinking it so.

Original post can be viewed here

Still however, it could be a Placebo, the phenomena I mention earlier. So in the end, you can either choose to believe the compass, or not.

[Ikonic]

I also use the chart that Val posted (thanks Stri!).

Time of day has a very big impact. Supposedly each day is broken down and certain hours are better for certain crystals. I haven't confirmed this, but I have confirmed that certain times work better for skill or HQs.

My personal crafting beliefs:
- day matters
- elemental buffs matter (both on gear and from bar-spells)
- direction matters
- time matters
- moon matters
- order in which ingredients are placed in boxes matter
- facing a wall vs not matters
- synth support from NPC is much more potent than from gear and also helps reduce crystal loss
- moghancement matters