at cloth lvl 53...

[Byrthnoth]

Re: at cloth lvl 53...

Yes, thanks a bunch. ^^ I already got my Magnifying Specs (built up GP while waiting for Silk Road to clear). Thanks for the "Nation in First" tip. In my case, it will probably be windy anyway. I'll start stockpiling Puk Wings for the next levels after that. I've now got ~30 Wind Clusters on my mule (MrT). To give you some idea of how depressed the crystal market is on Garuda, I bought 14 stacks today for 20k sitting on one AH.
Now, I hate to be the one to suggest this, but Giant Bird Fletchlings cap at 93. Black Chocobo -> 72, Puk -> 82, Giant Bird -> 93? I know the plumes are helluva expensive though.

Here is what I'll probably do.
Puk Fletchlings -> 82
Master's Sitabaki -> 83 (I can synth on cap with skill+1 item, so small chance of HQ)
Devotee's Mitts -> 84 (same deal)
Hailstorm Tekko -> 86 (By this time I should have 2 skill +1 items, so still small chance of HQ, not that it's worth anything)
Gaia Doublet -> 88 (Same Logic)
Corsair's Hat -> 89 (This one is just cheap, who cares about HQ?)
Bishop's Robe -> 90 (Similarly, small chance of HQ, and another skill level)
Giant Bird Fletchlihngs -> 92 (93 Cap and I've heard it's 400k loss for 6 synths -_-)
Errant Slops -> 94
Blessed Mitts -> 96

After level 92, it doesn't matter what you make, because no one can get Tier 1, so anything you synth for skill, as long as you're on cap, has the same HQ rate as a level 100+3 clothcrafter. The only difference is that you probably don't have the same amount of gil to invest that a level 100+3 clothcrafter does.
I'm assuming that I'd get an HQ about 40-45% of the time on the "upgrade" synths that I only do for one level, and about 70-80% of the time for the ones that I do for 2 levels. Now, while I might be losing 10-20k per synth, a nice 3mil HQ shot in the arm would be pretty sweet and would serve to finance my craft pretty well. The main problem will be supply, and if I'm going to go this route I'm going to have to be very patient with the AH or possibly camp the NMs myself.

[songbirdz]

Re: at cloth lvl 53...

I'm about 60k into my Apron, so hopefully guild points will be kind to me and I'll get it by next week.
As for your ideas.. I like. I'm at work, so I'm going to nitpick over them, see how well they'll work out financially, and how obtainable other ingredients are.
Something to always remember is that desynthesis is every crafters friend. Who can resist getting some of your raw materials back?
Some helpful desynths I found were:
Corse Robe - Lightning crystal. Results are 2 velvet cloth, HQ is 3 velvet cloth.
White Mitts - Lightning crystal - Saruta Cotten. HQ1: 4 silk thread. HQ2: 2 wool thread. HQ3: gold thread.
Leather Vest - Lightning crystal - Sheep Leather. HQ1: 2 sheep leathers. HQ2: 3 sheep leathers. HQ3: lizard skin. Leathercraft 9 cap. Cheap to buy from NPC, and always useful to have. ^_^
Black Silk Neckerchief - Lightning Crystal - Black Ink. HQ1: Silk Thread x7. HQ2: Silk Thread x8. HQ3: Silk Thread x9. This is if you really wanna, and they cheap. Can't check AH right now, sooo....
Arhat's Hakama - Lightning Crystal - Sheep Leather. HQ1: Silk Thread x4. HQ2: Silk Thread x6. HQ3: Silk Thread x8.
Arhat's caps at 88, so I figure the desynth is right around there.

Granted yeah, you can get this info anywhere, but uh... I'm bored. ^.^;;

-goes off to nitpick over recipe ideas-

[Byrthnoth]

Re: at cloth lvl 53...

Here, I've done some significant research into the above recipes, so I'll help you out. ^^

Master's Sitabaki is made from Jujitsu Sitabaki, which drop nearly every time Hackeneyed Gnatbat is killed. This NM also drops the infamous Jujitsus Gi, so he rarely shows up and isn't immediately claimed/killed. This means that, as long as the AH price is greater than the NPC price, there is always a pretty good supply of Jujitsu Sitabakis. However, this is not one we can camp easily. (Jujitsu Sitabaki + Linen Cloth + Cotton Thread)
Devotee's Mitts are made from Zealot's Mitts, which are a similar drop off of Hoo Muju the Torent, the Monster Signa guy. Sometimes it's actually best to just go there and check people's bazaars. This is another one that isn't really campable, and the upgrade costs are sizable with almost no increase in the value of the item (on my server). (Zealot's Mitts + Linen Thread + Silk Cloth)
Hailstorm Tekko is made from Monsoon Tekko, which drops from Waraxe Beak, a Cockatrice NM in Meri-Mountains who is barely soloable by a RDM/NIN at 75 (so the supply is low, but I'm a 65 RDM). This is his only drop, and it's fairly worthless. I actually started stockpiling these a while ago. I need to get back to that. (Monsoon Tekko + Grass Thread + Cotton Cloth)
Gaia Doublet is made from Earth Doublet, which drops from Yaa Haqa the Profane in Castle O. This is probably the most, or second most campable NM. He drops only Earth Doublet and Frost Robe, so there shouldn't be much competition, and he spawns in a place people don't run through much. (Earth Doublet + Grass Thread + Grass Cloth)
Corsair's Hat is made from Marine Hat, which drops off Zo'Khu Blackcloud in Beadeaux (Faerie Shield NM). This is another one that should probably be camped or stock-piled. (Marine Hat + Wool Thread + Wool Cloth)
Bishop's Robe is made from Priest Robes, the previously desirable drop from Ashmaker Gotblut in Yughott Grotto. Since Baron's Siao came out, Priest Robes have become significantly less desirable, so it might be necessary to camp this NM (while mining?). (Priest Robe + Linen Cloth + Cotton Thread)
Giant Bird Plumes drop from "Greater Birds" I found one of the lowest level "Greater Birds" in Eastern Altepa Desert North East of the entrance to the most North East Quicksands Cave Entrance (north of the Korroloka Tunnel entrance). It didn't drop anything ; ;. With more people leveling in Lufaise Meadows now, maybe the prices will drop some more.

[Symrustar]

Re: at cloth lvl 53...

while doing skill ups off of items that are dropped from nms are deffinatly the cheaper way to go.... the availability of materials is extremely scarce. If you want to take a year to skill up then go right ahead with the that path... but u could prolly farm all the silk u would need for arhats in the time it would take to get the number of drops off those nms that u would need.

[Last_Viper]

Re: at cloth lvl 53...

i fully agree Symrustar...
i made 450k with 3 synth at level 81 cloth (cost 10k)
go make some profit and get the items you need from AH. will save you much time.

research is the way a crafter >80 gets money, not a guide or a forum

[Pebbles]

Re: at cloth lvl 53...

Just wanted to add another useful synth to make the silk road shorter: Karakul Cloth.
It caps at 57, meaning it helps avoid the skill-from-breaks range for Green Ribbon and Hunter's Cotton. It even turns a profit on my server. Main drawback is that the threads are expensive (34-35k each, 370-400k a stack) so unless you're rich, you won't be making many at once (which is fine because supply isn't all that high). But cloths sell for 120-130k each (although quite slowly; most sell during JP weekend prime time), and skillups for me so far (54.4-55.5) were fairly common (using the crafting timer to synth as optimally as possible). So it's not the fastest option due to low supply and high prices, but it's a welcome thing to have a profitable skillup synth that overlaps the silk road.
In fact, if you have a highlevel thf, you can probably get some mileage out of the wool->thread synth by farming the karakuls outside of Nashmau. I think it caps at 55; but for me it wasn't an option (the wool is never on the ah).