I know this is an age-old thread, but I recently stumbled upon something rather interesting. I have no idea if it's true or not, but interesting just the same.
The direction you face might have something to do with your sucess rates, skill ups, and HQ rate.
This is a celestial map that you can see during a particular Windurst mission. As you see, the main star of each of the main constellations is positioned in 8 exact positions (N, NW, W, SW, S, etc).
This is extreme speculation but, if say, crafing with a fire crystal, it might be more benefitial somehow (no clue how) to face the red star in the constellation of Ifrit.
We know from how sneak attack/trick attack works that the game does know which direction you're facing, so it could indeed be one of the many variables that come into play.
Anyone have any thoughts?