FFXIV Crafting (DoH) Gear Guide

Crafting gear: When to upgrade!? My inventory is ful!? Relax… find out best DoH gear on your road(s) to 50.

Hey guys! Here we will be discussing about DoH gear, why you should update your gear every so often, and when you should do it!

Why upgrade your crafting gear?

There are many many ways to level a crafting class…

  • Crafting your own levequest items.
  • Casually crafting your way to 50, completing logs etc…
  • Grinding (not so ideal, hehe).
  • Buying levequest items from the marketboard for you to submit.
  • Having someone else craft leve items for you to submit.

If you’re part of the “buying items” or “having someone else craft” group, this guide is largely useless to you. You guys should proceed to the Crafting End-Game Gear (+Max Melds) Guide.

Crafting your own levequest items is the most cost efficient method in leveling a Disciple of Hand class. But for that you’re going to need two things. A good sense of crafting technique, and some decent crafting gear. Of course, we will be discusing the latter here.

Getting better gear means being able to:

  • Prevent failure when crafting.
  • Obtain HQ items more reliably
  • (and in the best scenario) Obtain HQ items from No-Quality materials.

All of the above reasons, and more, make it ideal to get decent crafting gear. Your return on investment will be massive!

Should I buy every crafting gear upgrade I can find!?

Well, not really. If you have the money for it, or can craft it yourself – why not. But not all upgrades are as equal! Some pieces of gear are more important than others. The three key pieces you NEED to update are: Main Hand, Off-hand and Chest.

Following that are the CP granting accessory slots: Neck, Wrist, Rings, Ear. These are pretty important, but not as critical.

Then least important are the control only slots (Non-chest body pieces): Head, Hands, Waist, Legs, Boots.

I’m confused! There’s so much DoH gear! When do I upgrade?

We made tables of that. The first one represents all pieces worn on the body. Left is most important (chest). Followed by accessories, then non-chest body pieces. (Click the class to sort by it or enter your level in the search box!)

LevelChestNeckEarWristRingsHeadHandsLegsFeetWaist
1xxxxxxx
2
3
4
5xxx
6xx
7
8
9xx
10xxxxx
11
12x
13
14
15xxxxxx
16x
17
18xxx
19xx
20xxxx
21x
22
23x
24xxx
25xxxx
26xx
27xxx
28xxxx
29xxx
30x
31xx
32x
33xxx
34x
35xxxx
36x
37xxx
38xxxxxx
39xx
40x
41xxxxx
42x
43xxxxx
44xxx
45xx
46xxxxxx
47x
48xxxxxx
49x
50xxxxxxx

 

Disciple of Hand (DoH) Main-Hand Weapons

We were surprised they weren’t uniform either… (Click the class to sort by it or enter your level in the search box!)

Level (Main Hand)ALCARMBSMCULCRPGSMLTWWVR
1xxxxxxxx
2
3
4
5
6
7
8xxxxxxxx
9
10
11xxxx
12xxxx
13
14xxxx
15xx
16xx
17
18xxx
19xxxx
20x
21xxx
22
23xxxx
24xxxx
25
26
27
28xxxxx
29xxx
30
31xxxx
32xx
33
34xxxxxxx
35
36
37x
38xxx
39xxxx
40x
41
42
43xxxxxxx
44x
45
46
47
48xxxxxxxx
49
50xxxxxxxx

Disciple of Hand (DoH) Off-Hand Weapons

Non-uniform levels here as well… (Click the class to sort by it or enter your level in the search box!)

Level (Off-Hand)ALCARMBSMCULCRPGSMLTWWVR
1
2
3
4
5xxxxxxxx
6
7
8
9
10
11xxxxxxxx
12
13
14
15xxxx
16xxxx
17
18
19xx
20xxx
21xxx
22
23xx
24xxx
25xxx
26
27x
28xxxx
29xxx
30
31xxxx
32x
33xxx
34
35xxxx
36x
37
38xxx
39xxxx
40x
41
42
43xxxxxxx
44
45x
46
47xxxxxxx
48
49
50xxxxxxxx

Cost efficient Disciple of Hand Gearing strategy

Of course, if you can afford all pieces and you’re planning to get all crafting classes to 50, investing in good gear for every tier is going to pay off MASSIVELY. Do you NEED them? No, not really. So here we discuss how and when you should buy gear…

Main Hand, Off-Hand and Chest should be upgraded as often as you can. (As a very general rule, check every 4 levels. Look at the table above to be more specific). You can ditch the level 47 ones since you’re nearing 50 anyway.

Accessories are also very important. They aren’t that expensive, and CP really does alot for you. You can skip the copper tier, and begin your investment in brass (Level 15~19). You can live to 50 with this, but I prefer upgrading this all the time. Electrum Choker(49) and Red Coral Earrings(45) should be picked up ASAP since they are best in slot.

Non-chest body pieces are the least priority. You should get a complete HQ low-level set (15~) at least, as they’re inexpensive. You can comfortably get to 50 with this. If you want to upgrade, I would suggest skipping the Velveteen tier (expensive). Upgrading to the Linen tier (Level 32-38 for a complete set), since it’s much cheaper than Velveteen and Felt. And live with that until you’re 50. I wouldn’t really invest in Felt because you’ll be 50 soon after. Raptorskin Merchant Pouch (48) is an exception. It’s the best possible waist slot right now, and you might as well pick up an HQ as soon as you can.

Investing in gear getting to 50 is worth it, and becomes more so when you plan to get more than one class to 50. Using the guidelines above, and tables, you don’t need to be confused and check the MB every time you level up. Hopefully this helps you out!

So you got to 50, ey? Then it’s time to gear up. Check this out: Crafting End-Game Gear (+Max Melds) Guide.

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FFXIV Crafting Leveling & EXP Guide

Do not make leveling up crafting in a realm reborn any harder than it has to be! Use these extremely helpful tips, and you’ll find yourself at 50 in no time! And start making money from FFXIV’s Marketplace!

If you somehow got to this page, but you’re rather new or haven’t crafted yet, you should try reading our General Crafting Guide & FAQ first.

Maximizing Each Craft

Make no mistake, 99% of the ways you’re going to get crafting exp is, you guessed it, crafting. Maximizing each craft is probably the most important tip when leveling crafting classes in FFXIV.

In ARR, gaining crafting exp and levels comes through the successful synthesis of items. However, you can try to squeeze as much EXP out of a single item each time you craft. (Often granting +200% bonuses and more!) How do you do it? By attempting for a high quality item each time. Take a look at these two examples.

ffxiv arr reborn crafting guide high quality vs no quality

 

The above example shows crafting two of the same items, “Ash Lumber”. One was quickly crafted without attempting to for high quality, which only got 298 experience. The second example, while it did not yield a high quality ash lumber, the resulting craft gained a bonus +233% exp. 

So when you’re crafting, always try to reach the highest quality percent possible, since crafting in a Realm Reborn seems to reward “effort”.

Completing your crafting log

Completing every entry in your crafting log is the next logical step WHILE maximizing each craft. Completing your crafting log  gives a chunky exp bonus. Do not sell or throw away the stuff you crafted just yet! Some items you craft will eventually be asked for to fulfill Tradecraft Levequests, or Grand Company Supply Missions. Which is discussed below.

Tradecraft Levequests

As we all know, Levequest allowances are pretty valuable. Spending them on craft leveling is one of the better ways to use them in FFXIV ARR. Tradecraft Levequests are issued through any Levemete. They also come in different difficulties, every batch increasing by 5 levels. You cannot undertake Tradecraft Levequests in groups. You simply need to give an item you crafted (or obtained through other means) Check out the picture below.

ffxic arr reborn crafting leveling guide tradecraft levequests

If you submit a high quality item, the reward is tripled(+200% bonus). This is why completing your crafting log (being ready with the required stuff) and maximizing each craft really helps you pile up on the exp down the line.

At level 20, repeatable Tradecraft Levequests become unlocked. You are required to submit (usually) 3 of an item, and this can be done thrice. Submitting HQ also works with this, resulting in a massive amount of EXP. Repeatable or not, Levequests are currently the best method of gaining DoH levels quickly.

 

Grand Companies and Crafting

In A realm Reborn, Grand companies can help you level up your crafting class in two ways. Grand Company Supply Missions, and Company-issue Engineering Manuals.

Grand Company Supply Missions

Grand company deliver missions are always running, and are accessed from the personnel officer of your grand company. Aside from being great ways to earn grand company seals, they are also great ways to gain crafting exp. You can also see this from your respective Grand Company Leve officer.

ffxiv arr reborn crafting leveling guide delivery missions

The interface is pretty self-explanatory. On the first column you have requested item (and what crafting class it comes from). The “Requested” column indicates how many times you can submit this mini-quest. It also shows you how many seals and exp to be granted to the respected crafting class upon turning it in. “Quantity” is how many of the item you currently own.

As far as I can see, it never asks for an item far above your crafting capability.  You should always be trying to fulfill this, It’s basically 8 free leve allowances.

Company-issue Engineering Manuals

Company-issue Engineering Manuals are bought from your respective grand company. The item description pictured below.

ffxiv arr reborn crafting guide engineering manual

The item is pretty useful, as you can see. It boosts EXP gained from crafting by 50%, up to a specified cap. There are more powerful manuals available the higher your rank is in your Grand Company. The downside is, these things cost Grand Company seals. But if you did the supply missions above, you shouldn’t be in a shortage of seals. Which is another reason you should really be doing supply missions. There is a higher level one available, but I wouldn’t recommend using either past level 20~.

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FFXIV Crafting Guide & FAQ

Everything you need to know about crafting in FFXIV! From becoming one, to leveling up to 50, you’ll find the info you need right here.

So you wanna be a crafter in a realm reborn ey? Well you came to the right place! Everything you need to know about crafting is found right here!

How do I become a crafter?

Once you pass your level 10 story quest, you can gain different jobs and classes. Crafting classes are no exception. Basically, just like choosing any class for the first time, any Disciple of Hand class you pick up starts at level 1, and you begin the cycle of leveling up yet again. Luckily, crafting is fun (for us at least) and we found out some great tips to make leveling as quick and easy as possible.

Also, just like any combat class, you can switch into any Disciple of Hand class by changing your mainhand weapon.

“I already know the basics to crafting! I want to know how to level up fast!, Don’t worry, we have a crafting leveling guide right here.

Where are the crafting guilds?

The different guilds are located in different cities. We have all of that listed down here: Crafting (and other) Guilds Locations

Talking to the guild receptionist in any guild should point you to the guildmaster. Who gives you a small task (Quest) to begin your career as a crafter!

Crafting: The basics

You can access your item recipes through your crafting log. As pictured below.

ARR Crafting menu location

Your crafting log acts a lot like your hunting log, which is different for each Disciple of Hand class you have. Similarly, completing an entry in your crafting log grants bonus EXP. More on this later.

Once you select an item you want to craft and press “Synthesize”, you will be brought to what we like to call the crafting mini-game interface. But first, here’s a small explanation of the different things found in the crafting UI.

 

Crafting UI Explanation

ARR Crafting Log UI

The crafting Log

1. Class Selector
You can easily choose which crafting class you wish to use/level with this little selector.

2. Level Selector
“Recipe Level” shows you the recipes you have, sorted by levels, depending on what crafting class you selected above.

3. Recipe List
Clicking on the level selector now populates this field with the different recipes you have of the selected level.

4. Item Stats
This shows you a preview of how much durability the item starts with. Durability determines how many steps you can take “working” the item before you fail or succeed. Also you can see the items base “difficulty” to craft.

5. Base Quality Indicator
By selecting High quality base materials, you can increase the amount of quality the item has even BEFORE you begin crafting. This makes high quality base materials very valuable.

6. Materials Required
Here you can see the various materials you need to begin crafting. Pretty self-explanatory.

7. No Quality / High Quality Material Selector
These little boxes give you the choice whether you wish to use a No Quality or High Quality base material.

8. Synthesize Button
Clicking on this begins the actual crafting process. Pictured below.

Crafting UI

Crafting and synthesis UI

1. Item preview
Shows you what item you’re crafting.

2. Current Step
Shows you how many times you have ‘worked’ this craft.

3. Durability
Shows current / max amount of durability. Durability goes down by 10 (normally) for every time you work the item. When it reaches zero, and the progress bar isn’t full – you fail the craft.

4. Material Condition
Material condition indicates how ‘responsive’ the current step is when trying to add quality. Normal grants no bonus, Perfect gives a huge bonus to quality if successful, and Poor material states should be avoided by waiting, or by adding synthesis.

5. Progress Bar
Shows you the current ‘completion’ level of the item you’re trying to craft. Adding to this bar is based on your Craftsmanship stat.

6. Quality Bar
Indicated how much ‘quality’ the item has. Note that there is no middle-ground. Either the item comes out as normal or high quality. You do not need 100% to get a HQ item. The higher the bar goes, the better chance you have in obtaining a HQ item (see the box above which says “HQ 2%”). You can increase this before you even start crafting by adding HQ base materials. Adding to this bar is based on your Control stat.

7. Quit
Cancels your current crafting attempt.

Crafting Actions

Disciple of Hand classes currently do not have traits, but they do have skills. Many skills are shared among all Crafting / Disciple of Hand. Below are a table of skills shared between all crafting classes.

NameLevelCost
Basic Synthesis1FreeIncreases Progress
Efficiency: 100%
Success Rate: 90%
Basic Touch524 CPIncreases Quality
Efficiency: 100%
Success Rate: 70%
Masters Mend794 CPRestores item durability by 30.
Steady Hand922 CPImproves action success rate by 20% for the next five steps.
Inner Quiet1118 CPGrants a bonus to control with every increase in Quality.
Observe1312 CPDo nothing for one step.
Standard Touch1838 CPIncreases Quality.
Efficiency: 125%
Success Rate: 80%
Great Strides2132 CPDoubles the efficiency of the next touch action.
Effect Active for the next three steps.
Masters Mend II28150 CPRestores item durability by 60.
Standard Synthesis3315 CPIncreases Progress.
Efficiency: 150%
Success Rate: 90%
Advanced Touch3752 CPIncreases Quality.
Efficiency: 150%
Success Rate: 90%

Each class currently offer three unique crafting skills, all learned at level 15, 25 and 43. Descriptions and discussions of these skills are found on their respective pages.

Check on your guildmaster every 5 levels

Just like combat classes, crafting classes also have class-specific quests. They seem to come every 5 levels as far as we could gather. Doing these give you a free equipment upgrade, as well as some important skills to be unlocked for your class. Usually, they also “send you on the right direction” if you feel lost about what to craft, or what kind of materials you need.

Crafting gear!?

Yes, you need gear to craft too. Crafting level isn’t the only thing to consider when trying to craft higher level stuff. Crafting gear plays a big part in increasing your crafting stats. The different crafting classes each have a unique Main and Off-hand weapon (Tools). For example, equipping a Saw makes you a carpenter, and it’s unique offhand tool is a Claw Hammer.

Obtaining the much sought after high-quality items will be nearly impossible without a great set of crafting gear. We will be making a guide on that too, soon enough!

Check out: Crafting Gear Guide

Crafting Leveling Guide

You can check out our Crafting leveling guide, for tips on how to gain EXP fast. Hurry up and be well on your way to 50!

There are also Class Specific Leveling Guides:

Check out our other crafting class guides:
Alchemist | Armorsmith | Blacksmith | Carpenter | Culinarian | Goldsmith | Leatherworker | Weaver

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