Crafting in FFXI - How in-depth?

Ipcryss

I'm interested in starting FFXI and I've read alot about community, questing, graphics, etc., but haven't seen too much comment on crafting.  Is crafting comperable to any of the other MMOs?  Is it complex like EQ2/VG, or is it more like WoW.  Are their different crafting professions?  Just curious.  Thanks.

lotuspod

The crafting in this game does get fairly in depth. I never did crafting in EQ2 but it does require more thought then WoW. You will have to gether a certain crystal of a certain element and a few other materials and use em together, but i downside to FFXI crafting is that you arent told the recipies, you basically need to experiment to learn new things (or go online) which can get fairly repetative

Ipcryss

Thanks, very much - when I crafted in EQ2 I had to keep another web site open for recipes.

Netspook

What I really love with crafting in FFXI, is that you are NOT limited to one or two professions. You can do ALL of them.

But: it's nothing like Vanguard / EQ2. You don't need a workbench or a stove or anything - it can be done anywhere. When you start the crafting process, it's out of your control. Once it starts, you just wait until the process in finished. The success ratio depends on the recipe lvl and your skill lvl, and a certain % of luck. If you fail, you may lose one of the components, or you may lose all. You will always lose the crystal, which is the "base component". If you succeed, you may also get a high quality result if you're lucky.

Basicly, crafting in FFXI is combining a crystal with other components and then hope for success.

Forget what lotuspod said about "experiment to learn", that would take you years to get the correct recipes for your lvl. Here's some info about recipes:

You don't buy recipes like in ie EQ2. Guilds are not "guilds" like in other games, here they are "profession headquarters". Talk to NPCs in guilds to get info about what you can make for your skill lvls. They will give you a few recipes (you can come back later at higher lvls to get new ones). You don't actually learn them, you already sort of know all the recipes, but unfortunately, there's no way to look them up. So you may write the recipes you hear here down. Or look them up on the web. There are several great lists out there, here's one:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/555735/24307 

Btw, make sure you visit ALL the guilds, you need to ie visit the alchemy guild before doing alchemy crafting, if I remember correct. And if you choose to craft inside a guild house, talk to an NPC there to get a buff which will increase your success chance a little.

What I hate with crafting in FFXI, is the lvling progress. It's extremely time consuming, and you don't get "crafting exp" for every product you make within a certain lvl range, like ie in Vanguard / EQ2. You may get 0.1 - 0.5 skill points, but more than 0.3 is very rare (1 point = 1 lvl). You may also craft 10 times without getting anything... Of course, if you are a lvl 20 crafter, you won't get anything for a lvl 1 recipe.

Crafting at low lvls can mostly be done with components dropped off low lvl mobs. After a while, it gets expensive - very expensive. Using 2 mills before really starting to earn money, isn't unheard of.

Personally I do some crafting when I feel for it, and/or when certain mobs drops items I know can be used in recipes which suits my skill lvls. I do not put a large amount of time/money into it. For me, I've found better ways to make money, like certain BCNM battles.

The crafting professions in FFXI are:

1. Alchemy
2. Bonecraft
3. Clothcraft
4. Cooking
5. Fishing (some call this crafting, others don't)
6. Goldsmithing
7. Leathercraft
8. Smithing
9. Woodworking/carpentry

Almost forgot: lots of ppl will tell you that several aspects influence your crafting, like what day it is, what direction you are facing, phase of the moon, etc. I don't know if any of those are true, and I don't consider them at all when crafting. Lots of players insist these are important factors, but you will also find several web sites which claims this is nothing but superstition.