Dark Crystal Supply

[Vandalhart]

I'm starting to level Leathercraft up and am looking for a way I can farm Dark Crystals. I know I can probably get some off the AH, but I'm unbelievably frugal when it comes to crafting and try to farm everything I can to cut down on costs and increase my profits.

Does anyone have any advice on where I can go to get these? Normally I just hang around in an area were the elementals can spawn, but Dark weather can be rather rare. I don't want to sit around for hours just waiting on weather.

[Seraph]

I'm starting to level Leathercraft up and am looking for a way I can farm Dark Crystals. I know I can probably get some off the AH, but I'm unbelievably frugal when it comes to crafting and try to farm everything I can to cut down on costs and increase my profits.

Does anyone have any advice on where I can go to get these? Normally I just hang around in an area were the elementals can spawn, but Dark weather can be rather rare. I don't want to sit around for hours just waiting on weather.

Constant Dark Elementals up in sky, but it might not be worth the trip and difficulty involved in killing them as opposed to just dropping a few K for some stacks. Opportunity cost, and all that.

[Wulfgang]

I'm unbelievably frugal when it comes to crafting and try to farm everything I can to cut down on costs and increase my profits.

Not to be a dick, but you're definitely not factoring the opportunity cost of your time here. It would make substantially more sense to farm tree cuttings and sell them for crystals than to directly farm crystals.

[Vandalhart]

That's true, I thought about the ones in Sky. I'm not sure if I could solo those on BST. I'm pretty sure there is a Field Manual option up there that is just elementals so that may sweeten the deal. I may be remembering wrong. I'm not sure if I can just keep throwing Flamingos at the mobs to kill them.

I was thinking of doing that a while ago for Light Crystals as well. I'll have to investigate it a little more.


I guess my memory sucks about the Field Manual. There is nothing in there for killing Dark Elementals.

[Vandalhart]

Not to be a dick, but you're definitely not factoring the opportunity cost of your time here. It would make substantially more sense to farm tree cuttings and sell them for crystals than to directly farm crystals.

This is also another option. Truth be told, I've never really factored time into the equation. It never really occurred to me to farm gil to purchase the items I need. I don't know why, but I feel it like a loss for some reason. I'm weird

[Windfoxster]

Frankly speaking, using a non-magic job to kill elementals can be a waste of time especially those con VT to 75. It is best to farm alternative items to sell for gil and buy crystals like what Wulfgang suggested. Well if you still insist, you could probably stay in Fei'Yin, seems to have a high rate of dark weather when i was camping Shadow.

[Vandalhart]

Sound advice, and truthfully it's starting to look like the best way to go.

I suppose I could head to Castle Zvahl and farm Ahriman Lens to make Prism Powders with.

I'm sure with all of the crafts I have getting up there I can find something to bankroll those crystals.

If I farmed tree cuttings I think I could save the boyahda moss for mule fame also. A penny saved is a penny earned.

[Axilla]

Recently have begun to spam Leathercraft my self. I found the best place is not sky, but it is Xarcabard. The dark weather there is uncommon but not rare and you can OP not too far from a spawn point. Repop is 5 mins. I usually get 2-3 without any TH. GL!

(plus is if it's ice weather, you can use those to make mantles as you skill up!)

[Vandalhart]

Yeah, I had stored enough Ice Crystals for the Dhalmel Mantles I made for the last few levels. For most of the crystals I have stored on my materials Mule, they were basically bonus clusters off elementals while out wandering around. I also started saving crystals from parties and what not also. It's probably saved me a nice chunk of gil in the long run.


I've been kind of linking my crafts together and making materials for other crafts while I level them.

Example: Wool Thread for Clothcraft. I made stacks of it, which I just used for Leathercraft. I will most like do something like this with Ram Leather as well.

The only reason I'm getting leathercraft to 31 right now is so I won't be wasting all of the ram skins I get taking Bonecraft from 33-43 on Horn Arrows.

[warrior2582]

I got most of my Dark Crystals from exping on Imps. You can even ask your ls/party mates for them. A lot of people end up tossing them anyways.

[cdgreg]

While I respect that you want to farm up every ingredient if possible including crystals I want to echo what others are saying about your opportunity cost aka time invested vs gil "saved." I base the cost of everything I do vs my best gil making scheme. I'm lucky and have ebisu + 100 fishing so I can make about 100k per hour off gugs/liks and ironically now I judge everything against how many gugs it costs.

My recommendation to you is figure out your best gil per hour activity which may be something as silly as d2/retrace/tele'ing in whitegate and then compare it to farming dark crystals or even farming sheep or rams and making leather/selling horns. Once you factor in the 800g silver coin to get to your hometown, 1k to OP to Xarc and little crap like Shiei along with waiting around for weather you may realize you're much better off earning gil another way. On the flip side you may realize farming the elements is the better gil per hour, but at least you know for sure.

[cdgreg]

I got most of my Dark Crystals from exping on Imps. You can even ask your ls/party mates for them. A lot of people end up tossing them anyways.

Forgot about this. Ya I made a post on my ls forums that I could use dark crystals, before I knew it my dbox was backed up like whoa lol.

[Baelorn]

I can usually make more than enough gil elsewhere and just buy the mats but this ends in two ways:

1. Not enough mats on AH
and/or
2. I drive the price of those mats way up while the end-product's price remains the same.

In the last two weeks I've gotten 3 subs to 54+(two of those this week), currently getting Leather up there(got 17 levels so far today) and I've actually increased the gil I have to buy Smithing mats instead of depleting that gil. Farming doesn't change the value of the materials you're using but it still has its benefits. Just like everything else in this game though it's situational and some items you're better off just buying because droprates are so awful it's not worth it(fuck silk thread).

[Byrthnoth]

Imps are a great supply. If you're going to farm Hickory Lumber and Biast camp in Xarcabard you might as well Dark Ele camp too. I'd recommend you camp that Ghost NM as well, but I'll be damned if I know his spawn pattern.

If you really want some crystals, drive the price up on AH and then wait for the glut of crystals in the next few days as people go farm for 4k stacks of crystals (and then undercut each other down to 2k because without you buying the demand won't support it). Clean up when it bottoms out. You'll probably save money overall.

[Vandalhart]

Yeah, typically if I'm feeling lazy I'll go ahead and purchase off the AH. I tend to try and farm up materials if they are 5k+ a stack. If I can make them, and save gil I do that. I don't generally factor in time when it comes to this stuff.

I'm actually at the stage now where I can use my Goldsmithing with a little seed money to craft various ingots and make the money back, with extra. I still need about 10 levels of Smithing before I'm in the Darksteel Ore range.


I always welcome advice and everything here is opening my mind to more possibilities when it comes to getting my funds.

Thanks peoples.

[Rilu]

Yea, I suggest like 1 Imp party, or a Ulegrand range Demon merit party - you will get LOTS of dark crystals. I've always just stored them up on my mule for crafting.

Again, opportunity cost though - you can farm things like Tiger Hides for instance, which sell for 1K and probably sell them fast enough to pay for stacks and stacks of dark crystals (simple example).

Now, if there aren't any dark crystals to be bought - then thats a different story all together (my server when I was leveling on Yagudo Drinks and again while making grape juice for Maron Glace (both juice and glace require dark crystals). I ended up doing a couple merit parties and got all the crystals I could possibly want. especially with the Mog Satchel now to use, you can rack up crystals while you're there. We used to have to toss most of them.

[Theraven]

09-25-2009, 08:00 AM

nice necro