Smithing Guide by Ayrlie
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The smithing guild shop is your best friend. Wait for Bronze Ingots be sold for 60 gil and Bronze Sheets for 69 gil for your best results - these are the cheapest that the guild will sell those two items for. This will get you started and should get your smithing skill up to the Iron Hell part.
Later, farming will become your best friend. Some of the easily farmed items include but not limited to Lizard Skins, Cotton Cloth, Goblin Mail, Goblin Helm, and Quadav Helms. Some of these will be used for skillups, others for desynthesis. Use desynthesis for all weapons and armor except for a couple I have listed - unless that item is the current guild point item you are better off trying to get the material back.
Level 0-2 Bronze Ingots
Fire Crystal + Copper Ore x3 + Tin Ore
Level 2-4 Bronze Sheets
Fire Crystal + Bronze Ingot
Level 4-10 Bronze Scales
Wind Crystal + Bronze Sheet
If you hit the guild shop at those recommended prices, you can go from 0 to 10 at the cheapest prices possible.
Level 10-13 Scale Greaves
Earth Crystal + Bronze Scales x2 + Cotton Thread + Leather Highboots
Buy the Leather Highboots from the NPC in Southern San d'Oria. The Cotton Thread can be bought from the Guild in Selbina. I found this a nice way to get rid of those bronze scales and used this as a bridge synth. Once my inventory filled up, I went with this:
Lightning Crystal + Scale Greaves
I even got a few skillups by desynthing them. The NQ result is 3 Bronze Ingots, and the HQ results is Cotton Thread and Sheep Leather. You will be desynthing your results whenever applicable, so plan on investing a lot of lightning crystals.
Level 10-14 Bronze Bolt Heads
Wind Crystal + Bronze Ingot
Save these to level up your woodworking sub. While this seems like a total loss synth, this synth only takes 1 bronze ingot, and if you buy them from the cheapest prices at the guild shop, each synth will only cost you 69 gil plus the cost of the Wind Crystal. Wind crystals are the cheapest in Bastok.
Level 14-18 Aspis
Fire Crystal + Ash Lumber + Bronze Sheet x 2
I used this as a bridge synth to Iron Ores. You won't be taking this to 18 but you will need at least 1 Aspis for the next rank up. Feel free to desynth these with Lightning Crystal.
After this, you won't need anymore Bronze Ingots except on Guild Point days. You can buy some maple lumber and craft Pickaxes for the next step, or head back to your guild. You will be starting Iron Hell, and it won't end until your skill is in the 60s.
Level 14-20 Iron Ingot
Fire Crystal + Iron Ore x 4
Buy from the Guild NPC if the Iron Ores is 675 gil. If they are over 900 gil, buy them from the Airship Vendor NPC. You can also obtain pickaxes and mine Zerhum Mines for Iron Ores if you want to try something cheaper.
Level 20-22 Iron Sheet
Fire Crystal + Iron Ingot
You need to make at least 3 or 4 stacks of Iron Sheets for the next step. If you don't have this, try making Spathas or desynth Goblin Helms and Goblin Mails.
Level 22-25 Spatha
Fire Crystal + Lizard Skin + Bronze Ingot x 3
If you still got Bronze Ingots that need to be used up, try to use these up on Spathas if you can. If you don't, go to Iron Scales.
Level 22-26 Iron Scales
Wind Crystal + Iron Sheet
Save these scales. After you get done with Iron Scales, stop leveling smithing and start leveling your goldsmithing sub on Copper Ingots, Brass Ingots, and Brass Sheets. You will need the brass sheets for the next step and those things are expensive and hard to come by. It is much cheaper to farm the Zinc Ores and make your own Brass Ingots and Sheets.
Level 26-29 Iron Mask
Earth Crystal + Brass Sheet + Iron Sheet
Brass Sheets can be costly but should be easily done if you got Sheeting key item. Desynth these.
You should have the Novice Rank right now. Get a guild contract and save up guild points for Sheeting as soon as possible. It is a requirement as it will save you fire crystals.
Level 29-31 - Iron Finger Gauntlets
Earth Crystal + Iron Scales x2 + Cotton Thread + Leather Gloves
Use all the Iron Scales up. Desynth all results hopefully to get back some Iron Ingots.
Level 31-36 - Targe
Fire Crystal + Iron Sheet x 2 + Holly Lumber
Depending on the needs, the Targes will be either Guild Points, or used by Goldsmithers for skill ups. Do not desynth these, just be patient as they will eventually sell out.
Stop here and level up your leathercraft sub for the next step. Save all sheep leather you get from crafting, you will need it later.
Level 36-41 - Iron Mittens
Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Lizard Skin
Lizards can easily be farmed in Crawlers Nest. Desynth these results. A leathercraft subskill of 10 is required.
Level 41-45 - Iron Subligar
Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Lizard Skin + Cotton Cloth
Cotton Cloth can be farmed off the Ghosts or obtained by desynthing Antican Robes with Wind Crystals. Again, desynth these results unless it is guild point day. This takes a leathercraft subskill of 12.
Level 45-53 - Gorget
Fire Crystal + Iron Sheet + Sheep Leather
Desynth all the Leather Belts in Southern San d'Oria to get the materials, convert the Ingots into Sheets, and start crafting.
Desynth these results unless it is guild point day for that item.
Level 53-57 - Gauntlets
Fire Crystal + Iron Sheet x 2 + Leather Gloves x 2
Buy the gloves from the NPC vendor. Desynth these.
Level 57-66 Nodowa
Earth Crystal + Iron Sheet + Silk Thread
Farm the threads off the crawlers, with a good place being Maze of Shrakami. Desynth these to obtain the Iron Ingots. With this being a 9 level gap to start, it is necessary to start crafting with the advanced support and the +1 mitts.
After Nodowas, smithing gets crazy expensive as you will no longer use Iron but a more expensive material called Darksteel.
Level 66-70 Hien
Fire Crystal + Darksteel Ingot + Lizard Skin
You should be able to start desynthing Antican Pauldrons for Darksteel Ingots at this stage, and you will need them to craft Hien. Desynth them unless it just happens to be guild point day for that item.
Level 70-74 Dark Bronze Ingot
Fire Crystal + Darksteel Ore + Copper Ore x 2 + Tin Ore
Break out the pickaxes and head to Zerhum or Gusgen to mine your Darksteel Ore. Although Dark Bronze Ingot is not going to make you any money, everything else at this stage is a major money loser. Even if you choose to buy the Darksteel Ores, you're only out 10000 gil per synth, depending on your server (with most of it on the Darksteel Ores). Save the Ingots for the next part below:
Level 74-75 Dark Bronze Sheet
Fire Crystal + Dark Bronze Ingot
Sell these to the NPC unless you know peeps that need this for their relic upgrade. If you want, toss a single one on the AH or Bazaar on Friday or Saturday night as it is more likely going to be sold to an warrior looking for a relic upgrade.
Level 75-81 Darksteel Gorget
Fire Crystal + Darksteel Sheet + Ram Leather
Desynth these. You may want to farm rams to convert ram skins to leather if you are low on gil, as you might need up to 12 stacks of Ram Leather to get through this stage. If you haven't leveled your leathercrafting sub, this will be an excellent time to do so.
Level 81-83 Darksteel Nodowa
Earth Crystal + Darksteel Sheet + Silk Thread
Same as above. Farm the silk, blow up the pauldrons for darksteel.
Level 83-90 Adaman Ingot
Fire Crystal + Adaman Ore x 3 + Iron Ore
Adaman is expensive, so start digging in Wajaom, as it takes 3 Adaman Ore per synth and you will need about 100-120 Adaman Ore per level. You can desynth Heavy Quadav Chestplates at this point, which will be a decent source of funding if you can solo the quadavs in North Gustaberg (S) and find the HQ3 desynth result on a regular basis. Save the Adaman Ingots for a later synth.
Level 90-96 Januwiyah
Earth Crystal + Januwiyah -1 + Troll Bronze Sheet x 2
Try to desynth troll parts whenever they show up the auction house and convert ingots into sheets as needed. Trolls are difficult to solo, however their drops are common and show up on the AH frequently.
Level 96-100 Culverin
Fire Crystal + Adaman Ingot + Brass Ingot + Darksteel Ingot x 2 + Mahogany Lumber
This requires both woodworking and goldsmithing subs. The goldsmithing sub it requires is not as high as woodworking sub that it takes, and it is cheaper to level the woodworking sub than the goldsmithing sub. Desynth them and hope you get Adaman Ingots back.
