You can usually start making leathers 10 levels lower than the cap of the leather you want to make, but you'll fail alot, and even though you don't lose hides EVERY time, you do lose a dark crystal every time, and those add up.
I hadn't considered making Rabbit Mantles as an alternative to Solea, but it definately seems viable. I choose not to work with them simply because it takes so much resources, even though the cost is less. You may find yourself running to AH alot more often, to buy stacks and stacks upon stacks of Rabbit hides if you use this approach, depending on how many you lose at failures.
Lizard Mantle is definately a better synth, and now that I think about it, is one of the recepies I used at this level. I had tried to remember back and thought it was a lizard helmet that i had made. but it was Mantles. Helmets are just too expensive for this lower level of skill. It caps at 14, by the way. My initial post edited. . .
I did not know what NPC's sold rolanberries, as i've not made more than probably 2 stacks of parchements. Thanks for the info
