Hi Guys,

So far on Nasomi, I have relied on BCNMs and questing for expensive items (scrolls) to raise the gil needed to fund my adventures. I never touched crafting in FFXI as on retail my go-to activity was gardening. However since that doesn't work here, I have come to the conclusion that I really should give it a try, even if only to self craft gear and consumables. However, I know absolutely nothing about crafting, and the guides I have tried to follow didn't result in many skill ups at all. For example, I attempted cooking, and could only get to level 5.3 after several hours of trying.

The guide I used had "always use synthesis support" as the very first (bold) line, so I took that as gospel, only to finally realize that that is precisely why I never got any skillups (it raised my level past the cap of the recipe). So, now I am trying to really get to the bones of crafting, so I can avoid making mistakes like this in the first place.

Now, on to my question. I have read this guide, and plan on giving it a go: http://ffxiclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Crafting_Skill_Ups

What I want to know is:

1. How accurate is that FFXIclopedia guide on Nasomi?
2. Just how does the day of the week vs crystal work? If I used for example a Wind Crystal, I should avoid crafting on Fire's day and Dark's day, is this correct?
3. And how about the crafting compass? Using wind crystals again as an example, do I face East for better skill gain?
4. Synthesis support, when to use it and when not to use it? Should I just use the formula on the crafting skill ups page to decide, or is there a better rule of thumb?

Thank you to anyone willing to take the time to help a crafting noob out, I appreciate it!

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Kuuyo - 75 SAM, 75 THF
Kooyu - 75 RDM, 75 BRD

Awesome, thanks for that link. That certainly does answer some of my questions.

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Kuuyo - 75 SAM, 75 THF
Kooyu - 75 RDM, 75 BRD

1) pretty accurate for most things. When in doubt, check the history of the page and see how it looked in 2005.
2/3) the directional compass, day, and moon phase influence crafting heavily. Crafting with a water crystal on lightningsday will make it harder to succeed but increase the chance of high quality results.
4) synth suppoet increases your effective level when trying to synth.

As a rule of thumb, the sweet spot for getting skillups is when the level cap of the recipe is between 3 and 5 level difference from your effective level. Beyond 5, you may mot experience many skillups on breaks. If youre closer than 3 levels, you may want to face the direction the crystal is weak to or even wait for the day its weak to.