Crafting in FFXIV is something that draws many new players in. It’s unique to the game and gives a break from intense dungeons and trials.
Being a useful skill in the game, this guide gives you all the info you need to start crafting yourself.
Recommended Read: How to Move Chat Box in Final Fantasy XIV
To craft in FFXIV, press “N” on PC and choose a recipe. You must unlock crafting classes by completing the first quest in the associated guild and equipping the crafting tools.
Table of Contents
- What is Crafting in FFXIV?
- Disciples of the Hand
- How to Craft in Final Fantasy XIV
- How to Level Crafters
- The General Process of Leveling Crafters
- Is Crafting Worth It?
- When Should You Start Crafting?
What is Crafting in FFXIV?
Crafting is the process of using Disciple of the Hand classes to create items in FFXIV. The concept is something most gamers are familiar with.
However, it is much more immersive and has a steeper learning curve than most other games.
There are also separate classes for crafting and gathering that have no combat abilities.
Disciples of the Hand
There are eight crafters in Final Fantasy XIV. Each has a unique guild, questline, and recipe book.
Carpenter
- Guild Location – New Gridania (X:10.8 Y:12.1)
- Tools – saw and hammer
- Primary Purpose – wood furniture, masks, and some weapons
Blacksmith
- Guild Location – Limsa Lominsa (X:10.1 Y:15.0)
- Tools – hammer and file
- Primary Purpose – weapons
Armorer
- Guild Location – Limsa Lominsa (X:10.2 Y:15.0)
- Tools – hammer and pliers
- Primary Purpose – armor and tools
Goldsmith
- Guild Location – Ul’dah (X:10.5 Y:13.1)
- Tools – hammer and grinding wheel
- Primary Purpose – jewelry, weapons, and tools
Leatherworker
- Guild Location – Old Gridania (X:12.5 Y:8.2)
- Tools – knife and awl
- Primary Purpose – armor, furniture, and accessories
Weaver
- Guild Location – Ul’dah (X:13.9 Y:13.2)
- Tools – needle and spinning wheel
- Primary Purpose – glamour
Alchemist
- Guild Location – Ul’dah (X:8.9 Y:13.6)
- Tools – alembic and mortar
- Primary Purpose – potions and dyes
Culinarian
- Guild Location – Limsa Lominsa (X:10.0 Y:7.9)
- Tools – skillet and knife
- Primary Purpose – food
How to Craft in Final Fantasy XIV
To start crafting in FFXIV, unlock your favorite crafter. It’s okay if you start with one and then switch to something else.
Most crafters end up being omni-crafters, leveling all crafters – usually at the same time. That is entirely possible after the first few levels.
But before you do that, you need to unlock one so you can learn how to craft. There is a learning curve that continues throughout the process.
Reach Level 10
To unlock other classes, you must first reach level 10 with your starting class. This isn’t just for crafters but any other class.
The best way to reach level ten is to continue the MSQ. This will get you to ten in one session.
Complete First Mission
Once you find the guild (above), you have to talk to the person with the mission. Complete the first one to receive the tools and become a crafter.
The quest is going to be called “So You Want to Be A …” with the end completed by the name of the crafter. But it will also be the only blue quest in the guild.
Equip Tool
To actually “be” a class in FFXIV, you have to equip the weapon/tool for it. So, after you complete the first quest, open your inventory.
By default, it will go to your armory chest. So use Ctrl+I to open your armory chest and go to weapons. Equip the tool labeled for your class (you don’t need a secondary yet).
Recipes
Synthesis is another word for “craft” or “create” in FFXIV. Each class has a unique set of recipes that you have to unlock separately.
You don’t start out with a large set, but do learn them by doing quests, buying recipe books, and more. Use “N” on PC to open the recipes you know.
Crafting an Item
There are two things to keep an eye on while crafting – durability and progress. Quality is a third, but it doesn’t come into play right now.
If Durability drops to zero, the craft fails, and you lose your materials. Each crafter has an ability that increases durability as well as one that increases progress (more unlocked later).
High-Quality Items
This is where the quality comes into play. There are abilities that increase the quality of items, which makes them better and more valuable.
The high-quality crafts are primarily for Collectables, but if the recipe is more than ten levels lower than your crafter’s level, it’s an automatic HQ.
How to Level Crafters
Leveling crafters is much different than leveling other classes. You don’t fight, so the options are different but not limited.
Levequests
Levequests are available for other classes, too, but for crafters they consist of, well, crafting. To find levequests in each area, look for the Guildleve on the map.
Talk to him to unlock the quests and then choose Tradecraft Leves, which are the crafting options.
Custom Deliveries
Custom Deliveries are not available until your crafter is level 60, so you probably know enough about crafting by then.
But the way it works is that you turn in certain Collectables to get Scrips from Custom Delivery NPCs. It has a daily limit but does give a good amount of XP.
This is separate from the general Collectables that you turn into the Collectables Appraiser. This is also a good route after level 50.
Tribal Quests
There are a few tribal quests that only crafters can do. If you stay ahead of the required level, then they are super easy.
You can do three quests for two different tribes each day. If you focus on the crafting ones, you will get an easy level or two every day from this alone.
Ishgardian Restoration
Ishgardian Restoration is a super fun way to level crafters in FFXIV. The method is quite complex to start with and involves leveling gatherers at the same time for optimization.
Because it does require macros and is intensive, it’s best to watch a video for doing this method.
Grand Company
The Grand Company allows you to turn in specific items for each crafter every day. They are called Supply and Provisioning Mission.
Talk to the Personnel Officer and go to Supply and Provisioning. Most of the items he wants are available on the marketboard, or you may craft them.
The General Process of Leveling Crafters
- Level 1 to 20 – Class quests
- Level 21 to 80 – Isghardian Restoration
- Level 81 to 90 – Collectables
You can supplement gaps with Tribal Quests, levequests, and more, but this is the primary means for leveling crafters. But the above three methods will get you to 90 if you stick with it.
Is Crafting Worth It?
Yes, crafting is worth it. It is still the best way to make gil in FFXIV. If you have no interest in making gil, it may feel like a waste of time.
This is because what you can do with crafters can be bypassed by buying what you would have made with them.
However, you need gil to buy stuff. Not to mention, there are a few other things that War and Magic classes can’t do.
What Can Crafters Do?
- Desynthesize – to desynthesize an item and gain materials from it, you have to be a crafter that is at least level 30.
- The Firmament – in the Firmament, you can play mini-games, only as a crafter, during the Ishgardian Restoration, which grants you with loot boxes to open.
- Repair – only crafters can repair their own gear.
- Meld Materia – to do the materia quests and add “enchantments” to your gear, you have to be a Disciple of the Hand.
When Should You Start Crafting?
There is no best time to start crafting, but the general rule of thumb is to level a Disciple of War or Magic first.
For best results, level a class to at least 70 and complete the Stormblood MSQ. But you can still have fun and make money long before then.
It’s possible to start crafting as early as level 10 in your main class. But you won’t get far until you’ve made it to Stormblood because that’s when so much crafting content is available.
Now you know how to craft in Final Fantasy XIV!
What’s your favorite crafter so far? Let me know in the comments!
