Carrot Broth? I think not ._.

[greydaze]

Absolutely use this timer to calculate when to craft. READ THE GUIDE ON HOW TO USE IT AS WELL.

It is probably the most amazing resource. It will help you understand when and how to skill-up and reduce your reliance on guides.

Good luck.

When I quit a year and a half ago, this was still an unconfirmed way to maximize c rafting and no one had done tests to hint otherwise. If there have been some since then, please let me know! I never seemed to increase or decrease skill/breaks using this. And I wrote down everything in a spreadsheet... that was sussequently lost in a reformat. ._.

[Nakti]

Yep, I can confirm that you can try a synth if you're within 15 skill levels. You can even try it within 18 skill levels if you've got advanced synth support. But it will leave you crying (really high break rate and no skillups from breaks) so keep within 5 to 10 levels.

I've had a very strange path through crafting (still do), but here's what I did for early levels of Cooking:

I synthed Orange Juice until level 7 or so. (I found them useful as a WHM.)
I synthed Sliced Sardines until level 11. (I had started fishing already.)
I synthed Selbina Butter until level 20. (And kept a lot of it for later Pies.)
I synthed Insect Paste until level 29. (Useful for fishing.)

I didn't pay much attention to element day, moon phase, or direction and I averaged a full skill level every 14 to 16 synths.

Remember to turn in your guild test items or you'll be capped every 10 skill levels. ^^b