Woodworking or no?

[pies]

I'm closing on 100 fishing and intend to work on Ebisu in the near future so I'll need WW at level 80 to fix my Lu Shang. However, after looking at the profit synths for 100 WW on my server it seems a wasted effort to get those last 20 levels. Would it be more worthwhile to delevel WW and finish Bone to 100?

[jinkazama]

I have bonecraft to 100+3. its ok to make gil off of but people on my server have been flooding the Behemoth Ring market and Genie weskit market.. Cursed Gear actually sells for a 5K profit so thats nice. I'd say its an ok craft to do.

But if you're that close to finishing wood, my question to you is, do you know anybody with Goldsmithing 100? or even better, anybody leveling through the bead stage right now? A lot of woodworkers on our server work out deals with up and coming goldsmithers and they just synth the beads into elemental staffs and split the profit.

Might be something to look into before you delevel it, just a thought.

[johnboy]

I think most crafts are about as bad these days, just need luck in anything to get rich.

[zantes]

I think most crafts are about as bad these days, just need luck in anything to get rich by making big ticket items. You can make money off any craft if you put effort into it.

Fixed it for you.

[Amele]

Fixed it for you.

if by effort you mean being happy averaging about 30k/hr profit between buying the mats and relisting

and relisting

and relisting.

then yes.


the problem with the game right now is there's an inexorable shift to surplus durables since more are created than destroyed (since some don't really have a destroyable use other than npc'ing for a pittance) so unless you make primarily consumables and accept the razor thin margins and cutthroat competition inherent in such, crafting is not the profit engine a lot of people were promised when they started.

[zantes]

the problem with the game right now is there's an inexorable shift to surplus durables since more are created than destroyed (since some don't really have a destroyable use other than npc'ing for a pittance) so unless you make primarily consumables and accept the razor thin margins and cutthroat competition inherent in such, crafting is not the profit engine a lot of people were promised when they started.

With any MMO that has been out for several years, the only constant source of money you can have is through the sale of consumables. Also, nothing was 'promised' to anyone as far as crafting is concerned. The economy in FFXI is run mostly by morons who act like sharks. Even if you get lucky and make that big ticket item, it's going to be undercut all to hell on you.

[johnboy]

All the "Big Ticket" items are to rare to be undercut on, and by luck i mean like my streak i had with kabuto -1, went 3/49 on a tier0 in 3months, profit about 11-12M, that my friend is the luck im talking about!

[Amele]

With any MMO that has been out for several years, the only constant source of money you can have is through the sale of consumables. Also, nothing was 'promised' to anyone as far as crafting is concerned. The economy in FFXI is run mostly by morons who act like sharks. Even if you get lucky and make that big ticket item, it's going to be undercut all to hell on you.

the key is obviously to make all durables consumable. - which is what most of the better* mmo's have done.

SE could easily go this route by making selling shit to npcs a viable gil source or by providing ways for a larger quantity of a wider variety of items to be destroyed by ingame methods (quests/etc)

and yes, the way crafting is offered both by in game text and early testimonies imply it was a realistic way to make profit in large amounts. (and it was) but SE has largely ignored crafting in the <90 levels since sometime in 2005; while making drastic changes to the rest of the economy (including obsoleting significant amounts of the things you can actually make with crafting)

and the issue with XI isn't that people are morons, it's that the two competing economies have been increasingly decoupled as time goes on, which only really causes strain on the primary junctions of those two economies (basically: crafting and npc fees for endgame content) - only one of which has really been addressed.

(edit)*better from a strict economic standpoint.

[tymora]

If HQ & Rare items don't degrade but normal ones do, it might rejuvenate the economy somewhat. Of course, there will be a new reason to get that HQ item.

[Tankjr]

If you're closing in on 100 fishing then by all means get cooking to 100 at least on a mule. Consumables will always be marketable. I'd honestly trade my 100 gold for 100 cooking with decent fishing skill.

[Thistle]

I think most crafts are about as bad these days, just need luck in anything to get rich.

Half of what he said is correct. Don't craft to get rich, it's not going to happen nowadays. Pick the craft you enjoy and skill for the fun of it, for what you can make for yourself, for what you can make for your friends.

[Marzuki]

Half of what he said is correct. Don't craft to get rich, it's not going to happen nowadays. Pick the craft you enjoy and skill for the fun of it, for what you can make for yourself, for what you can make for your friends.

That's what I did. I picked a craft that I could synth neat things for myself and then for good friends of mine. Bonecraft ended up getting to 100 and I love making SH+1's for friends on their birthday or something. Not to mention lesser items like Macuahuitl +1 and Beak Necklace +1.

But all crafts can make money if you are really determined at it, just don't be so caught up in "big ticket" synths only. Remember that the 30k-50k profit T2's and stuff will add up. If you don't go into crafting expecting to make like 10 million in a month or something you won't be disappointed.