Amakuromi Lopulkhina

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

If quality is suppose to affect HQ then the game is broken (or at least, that part of the game is) In my experience so far, quality does not affect HQ. I have had a +1 on a 54 quality before. I have also gotten a +3 with just 120 quality while I only got a +1 at 240 quality once. Most of the time, my HQs fall around 110 to 150 quality. Tonight was no exception, I got a +1 but durability hit zero on touch up (It was weird, the result showed up as +1 at the same time I got the message that I botched the synthesis ... grrrr) I got a +1 result on the birdsbeak hammer head (for a total of 2) and then got a +3 result on bronze ingot (for a total of 4)

Undyed Canvas (I had a feeling this would happen) market has collapsed. People were telling me of 5k priced canvases but I could only get those priced at 8k. I crafted a bronze chain coif tonight (so weird to create a rank 27 item as a rank 10 crafter) and snagged a blue Trapper's Tunic for only 12k.

[Malacite]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

Also, do you have any +output stat? I have a suspicion that it affects HQ chances.

Pretty sure Output only shows up on gathering classes as it pertains to DoL. And I could have sworn Tanaka or Komoto specifically cited Quality as a factor, yet it doesn't seem to do jack shit.

The last time I tried to HQ a Bronze Dagger (lv 5 BSM) I had the quality over 500, and used touch up a good 12 times NOT EVEN A PLUS ONE wtf broken random crafting. Honestly, with how buggy the rest of the game is I wouldn't be surprised if it's an issue SE hasn't gotten around to dealing with. There was mention of an overhaul to synthesis in the Nov update too.

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

The quality doesn't affect HQ because I've gotten +2s on a quality of 80~90 before. There was a rumor about crafters not being able to perform a particular synth well once they've moved beyond the range of 10-15 ranks. If you're of a higher rank, then you probably outranked the low level recipes. Remember, some of these have optimal rank of 1-6 in that craft to make them, even if the items produced are Rank 12+.

Also, do you have any +output stat? I have a suspicion that it affects HQ chances. I have some of that on my crafting gear. Never could figure out what else it would affect.

Anyway, I've outlined to you what I've done, so you can try it for yourself or just ignore it altogether. I don't fully understand it myself but it has worked and served me well the past few nights that I have been serious about this.

[Malacite]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

I'm higher rank than you, have better gear, and I usually use Preserve, Tender Touch & Masterpiece when going for HQ's. I can get the quality rating very high on some synths (500+) yet still get jack shit.

I really just do not understand it.

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

I can't seem to HQ to save my life, even when I get 500+ Quality and it's really bugging the shit out of me...

These are simple rules I've followed...

1. For BS, it coincides with my Marauder build, in which I've taken a 3-1-3 approach on stat allocation (Strength, Vitality and Dexterity in that order) My elemental resistance has kept roughly the same ratio of the Miqo'te framework with the exception of skewing Fire a bit higher than Ice and Wind is kept high as well. Notice that these 3 elements are in the same "wheel".

2. I wait on Red Glow. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but I've been consistent which might make a difference in seeing more HQs and successes (which leads to HQs)

3. I always Standard Yellow and Bold Multi (as much as possible) and always Standard to lead things off. I try to also use the abilities Tender Touch and Fulfillment as much as possible (I do not save it) If TT is invoked, I try to be aggressive with Bold and likewise with FF. However, if there's been too much failures, then it's strictly Standard to the end to save the attempt.

4. Try to get high quality and as much durability as you can and then play the "Touch Up" roulette at the end. Aside from the +3 from the previous night, most of my HQs have been from the roulette. You can safely play the game until you either see sparks or it goes below 10 durability. At that point, don't act cocky and just hit Finish.

5. Gearwise, it's nothing spectacular, as there's a balance between Control, Output, Magic Craftsmanship and Craftsmanship. I do not skew one way or another and seen relative stability in my attempts.

6. I've noticed that failures have become more common now with Rank 1 recipes as I continue to elevate the ranks of my crafts. This may lead to a built-in system in which SE discourages high ranking crafters from monopolizing the low-rank recipes and market, so while I'm in range, I'm going to continue to milk this market before moving to the higher level.

[Malacite]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

I can't seem to HQ to save my life, even when I get 500+ Quality and it's really bugging the shit out of me...

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

More HQs tonight although I barely played for 30 min. Been running on barely 5 hrs of sleep a night and decided to just turn in and get some sleep instead of play.

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

I agree on many of your points Mal and maybe if there was any advice I could offer you at this point, it's to go back to lower level synths and find potential money makers (i.e., steady income) to prop up your upper rank synths. I've been slowly building up my capital and I guess because of my approach to the game (being a casual player) I'm not pressured to break into the upper ranks quickly. I've been deliberate and taking my time and have actually enjoyed the game a lot more this way. Of course, by the time I get up there, the market will settle down and I can happily plod through my 20s knowing that I've avoided much of the price gouging on the mats.

So, for the past two nights, I've experienced HQ drought. Tonight, I hit HQ fever, which started with hitting them on bronze ingots, bronze nuggets and birdsbeak hammer heads. Next thing you know, I hit +3 on hammer synth which was immediately followed by a +2. I had been using a +1 prior to this and of course I repaired it and placed it in the bazaar with the +2. I think this +3 will tide me over well into the 20s and do so really nicely. I'm happy

[Malacite]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

The JP are also by in large being complete assholes, at least on Figaro. I've met like two who were nice and helped me out with something, 1 of them even spoke some English. The rest either just outright ignored me or refused to have anything to do with non-JPs.

Not that our own community is much better - I get that the game is very unfinished and needs more explanation, but if it's not a retarded player who can't even read their own compass, or a douche bag selling easy stuff like maple logs for 10k a piece, it's elitist asshats who want nothing to do with anyone else. Shouts often go unanswered, people crowd around Repair NPCs with their bazaars (a major reason I feel SE should just remove player bazaars altogether and allow retainers to sell 80/80 with no extra inventory for putting items into bazaars. Or at the very least 15~20 items instead of 10) and finally, just a very selfish attitude in general.

As hard as XI was for so many years, at least it did a good job of forcing people to interact and I honestly feel that cooperative spirit has just been lost by in large in both games.

Getting back to crafting, SE needs to do two things IMO:

Speed up the process, and increase skill gains, at least on leve synths. Oh God craft leves are very stupidly handled.


As an example, I still get RANK ONE leves at BSM 22. Yeah, that's real helpful SE. Anything below 10 is a waste of time, and soon below 15. Furthermore, I almost never see any guild marks despite having joined the guild, and BSM rewards in particular need changed badly.


BSM is the only guild that gives you rewards you can't use immediately. A R1 Cloth will give moko grass, Tanner Skeepskins, Woodworking Maple logs etc etc all of which can be processed right away with a few shards and are low level synths. But not BSM. Oh no, SE had the genius idea to give out ores, which not only are Rank 10+ synths, but require fire crystals. Never mind that nuggets would be infinitely more useful and would let you make and repair items right away. But that would just be too sensible I guess for SE.

BSM is also incredibly shard intensive. Most of the other crafts don't break into 16+ shards a synth untl the late 20's/early 30's, but BSM hits that mark around the late teens. Not cool. So on top of making all the ores I dig up for raw material a bitch to process due to the rarity of crystals, what little resources I do have get used up fast, and consume crazy amounts of shards.


I dunno, I just find that they need to seriously overhaul a lot of recipes and leves. BSM is traditionally a big money maker in these games, and for some reason I just really, really like metalworking idk why so I gravitate towards it. But it's just too much effort really for what should be a highly profitable craft. Right now, if you want the big bucks in XIV, level Armorer, Carpenter or Alchemist. Goldsmithing, Weaver & Tanner are great secondary options, GLD especially if you do repairs for brass items (most people I know charge 5~10k a repair!)

Tanning is just pure win since you can farm up shards and skins at the same time easily, and just make leather then make that leather into vamps and NPC it for a fat profit. It gets a little heavy on the ice shard consumption but it pays for itself and then some.

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

The price gouging is insane right now, which is a big part of why I've been leveling so many crafts at once, so I can make & repair my own gear. It's ridiculous, people paying absurd amounts for gear they can't even use yet (I see a lot of retards running around in R27+ gear at R10~18) who don't seem to understand that that high level gear is being severely crippled by their low rank.

I have friends that either quit or have decided to just take a break from the game because of problems in the game, both with the system and the community. I've noticed for a very long time now that the JP players have been really keeping their prices high despite the fact that, at least in the first 2 weeks, the prices of items were dropping steadily and as a whole. Well, now that it's been over 5 weeks since release, the prices have exceeded the artificial base that the JP players were holding back then.

Part of the problem lies with the crafting community and then the other part of the blame must be shared by the players as a whole. The problem with the crafting community lies in an anti-social or anti-trade behavior. JP players routinely only trade and deal with other JP players and this may be an extension of their anti-Free Trade stance outside of their game.

(Many people around the world blame free or open trade for their local problems, like jobs being exported to third world countries and then there's also the separate issue of illegal immigration that is an issue with everyone around the world, including Japan.)

This kind of closed community behavior affects the larger community as a whole because you then close off markets and then partition them from each other. This can cause unrealistic pricing trends which start to differ greatly from area to area or from market to market. I'll use the Birdsbeak hammer as an example since I'm well familiar with the product, both from a crafting standpoint and from the view of a buyer (or seller)

Birdsbeak Hammer has always been a pricey item due to the need for one very pricey mat, namely, the undyed canvas. The canvas has held steady around 30-40K for a good long while since release and I would say it wasn't until 2 weeks ago when the prices started to drop. As more weavers started to break into the Rank 20 level (Rank 21 is recommended level for synthesizing the canvas) the prices continue to steadily fall. However, this canvas is also a drop off several ghost type of monsters in the game, and so a lot of higher ranked "combatants" routinely farm for these, driving the prices further down. Curiously, the JP retainers and players continually kept their canvases priced high, around 25k or so. It was only in recent days when the floor collapsed and now I'm seeing these same canvas as low as 10K each in Ul'dah wards.

However, despite the price collapse of canvases, the Birdsbeak Hammers are going the other way. Where at one point two weeks ago they were priced as low as 30K each (I even saw one for as low as 27K) , they're now routinely found amongst players for 40K and on retainers for around 50K to 60K. Many of these overpriced items are found on both JP and non-JP retainers, but exclusively found in bazaars of only JP players (non-JP players usually carry shards/crystals for sale or for purchase)

Here's what I think is happening. Birdsbeak Hammer is only a very low ranked recipe but most players do not have multiple crafts leveled up to routinely succeed on the production of these items. Therefore, there exist artificial scarcity in the number of players that can craft these. However, despite prices on the mats decreasing, many players are trying to artificially keep the prices high on these items, either because these were crafted when the canvases were priced higher or because they want to get as much money out of the public.

I think it's the latter and not the former that is directly responsible for the overprice. But I would also hasten to add that this is also the responsibility of the community as a whole. Impatience and the seemingly abundance of gil from leves are perfect instruments for price gougers. You do not even need to bother with "calibration" of your prices because there will be someone out there who will pay whatever price you ask for an item which should be abundantly found just about anywhere.

This is why I'm a strong proponent of a centralized market which both breaks artificial boundaries created by players (and as a result, artificial barriers to entry) and creates a more truer sense of value for the community as a whole. AKA AUCTION HOUSE

[Malacite]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

-Players are being abused by overpricing and either the community as a whole needs to recognize that we're all in this together or maybe there is no community to speak of.

The price gouging is insane right now, which is a big part of why I've been leveling so many crafts at once, so I can make & repair my own gear. It's ridiculous, people paying absurd amounts for gear they can't even use yet (I see a lot of retards running around in R27+ gear at R10~18) who don't seem to understand that that high level gear is being severely crippled by their low rank.

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

Either there is this unseen demand for Birdsbeak (but all of these players have standards and will refuse to overpay for these hammers) or just one player is totally camping my retainer and trying to resell my hammers for a higher profit margin. My hammers are selling like hotcakes and while I am a bit overjoyed with this, I'm also quite concerned. I'm concerned for the following things:

-Players are being abused by overpricing and either the community as a whole needs to recognize that we're all in this together or maybe there is no community to speak of.

-If there are players out there who exist solely to just keep inflation high in the game, then that is going to be a problem down the road.

---------------------------------------

I ended up crafting other things for once and finally (FINALLY) found someone that sold bronze plates. I still was not pleased with what I had to pay for (because it's not a high level recipe and the materials are not excessive for this) but due to "public" inflation (I say this because a lot of players are being too impatient and their impatience is what is artificially raising crystal and shard prices all over the damn place) I just quietly paid the high price and only purchased a small handful of this. I'll eventually be able to craft my own ... someday ...

Anyway, I hit HQ gold last night, although unfortunately it was mostly with synthesizing parts and not the actual items ... except for one.



So, what does a kitty do with a shiny new toy like this? Does it even require asking?

I've been wanting to level Gladiator a while now but was turned off having to spend even 15K on something that should not even cost 5K, factoring in ALL costs involved, sure, throw in the cost of lost porn time, too, if you want. I'm talking about that stupid shield that should've been tossed into the bag of every aspiring rolled Gladiator. Stupid SE. *grumble*

At first, I got too excited wielding my first +1 weapon, and in the process, scared off everyone in Limsa.



Realizing the errors of my way, I went to use the dagger on stuff that was more in-line with social norms. Namely, kill innocent endangered species that does not reward very well in the name of "lulz".





I also was surprised, to my chagrin, that shields require their own skill set and that you do need to level that up in addition to your weapon. Yes, shields also rank up and aside from the direct benefit of improving your chances to block, it doesn't seem to affect your basic stats in any way.

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

This was my second Birdsbeak +1 and I was on the verge of +2 before sparking occurred (so disappointing)



These hammers I've crafted sell quite well and I then realize it's because I've been marking these things down as a discount. I still profit on these hammer and found my source of very cheap Undyed Canvas cloth to help promote both profit and discount. The birdsbeak I put out at 37.5K and +1 at 55.5K. Median average (at least in Limsa and Uldah) I've seen the hammers go for 50K/60K respectively, probably because these players are paying double what I do with the cloth and triple what I pay for on shards/crystals. Patience is virtue and being impatient will cost you (literally)

[Aeni]

Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina

May as well drop my own then >.>

It's and older screeny, my kitty has much shinier, prettier gear now :3

Also, when doesn't BBQ troll?

The crafting is more fun and engaging than XI's, but it still has it's flaws & general screwiness. For instance your offhand tool is supposed to give higher quantity HQ's while your primary gives quality, but myself and others in my shell are experiencing just the opposite. Crafting is also currently a massive time sink. I'm BSM 22 right now, almost 23 and the SP needed to rank up coupled with the horrendous rate of shard consumption are pretty much making any non-leve grinding out of the equation. My biggest issue with the game right now is actually just how much of a time sink it is. So much for SE's promises of making it more friendly to people with less time. I mean hell, just to get through my usual leve rotations (16 every 36 hours) takes me several hours, at which point it's either late at night or I'm too burned out to really grind anything else in the game.

It's driving me nuts because I have a lot of materials I've yet to burn through and combat classes that need to be raised to around 12. As such I've decided to just stick with 11 for the next while, sporadically popping onto 14 just to keep my BSM up & chat with linkies.

Your kitty is really cute

And holy smokes, 22 in BSM? Geez man ... I wish I was as industrious as you have been. Right now, I've hit a wall called ... inventory >.< I decided to follow Dux's advice but there is a problem with this method. At the rate I've been crafting, I'm running into some serious inventory problems and the problem has been that each time you try to raise a particular craft, you need materials from other crafts. The need for storage space is what seems to drive what I can or cannot craft more than money, time or availability of shards/crystals.

As for my experience with HQ on main versus off-hand, I still cannot nail down what drives the HQ factor so that I can get more consistency in my results. I hit another HQ again with another birdsbeak and all of these results were from the main hand. However, I used the off-hand on several occasions, like the wheel in weaving for producing hempen cloth from the hempen threads. It seems to do a better job (or more success + facility support) than the main hand (needle)

Here's some things I noticed and whether this helps you or not ... well, it doesn't hurt to try.

-When you accept a leve, you can get guardian favor, which supposedly boosts your skill point gains. I haven't done this yet, but maybe you can accept one easy leve and then craft while under the effects of the guardian. Now, I am not sure if this is worth more than w/e rewards you'll be forfeiting, but maybe this can help with crafting gains.

-I always pass on the red orb (glow) when crafting. I seem to have more consistent results doing so, seem to be able to acquire more HQ results and I also seem to avoid failures and durability losses during the course of the synthesizing.

-Having a balance between craftsmanship, magic craftsmanship and control seems to do more than trying to play around with elemental resistances. I suspect that magic craftsmanship affects HQ results, craftsmanship affects durability losses and control affects failures (or success)

-Stats like strength does seem to have affect over your crafting results but I do not notice a dramatically positive effect. I tried to stack strength once (Yes, I was able to almost hit 100) and see if blacksmithing improved. It was horrible. I was breaking and failiing like crazy. Elemental resistances, however, didn't seem to nearly affect my experience as much.