FFXIV Beginner's Crafting Guide (Level 1-5)
Become 100% self-reliant, repair your own gear, and master the Market Board without outside help.Crafting in Final Fantasy XIV is a powerful way to become independent. By leveling all eight Disciples of the Hand, you can repair your gear anywhere for less than a vendor charges, craft items to avoid Market Board markups, and generate significant Gil profit.
How to Start
To begin, you must visit the respective guilds in the three starting city-states. You must reach Level 10 with your first combat class before you can join a crafting guild. However, it is highly recommended to reach Level 50 and finish the main story first to unlock easy travel and Grand Company features.
Guild Locations
- Gridania: Carpenter (Carpentry), Leatherworker (Leatherworking)
- Ul'dah: Alchemist (Alchemy), Goldsmith (Goldsmithing), Weaver (Weaving)
- Limsa Lominsa: Armorer (Armorcraft), Blacksmith (Blacksmithing), Culinarian (Cooking)
Crafting Fundamentals
Key Stats
- Craftsmanship: Increases the Progress gained per synthesis action.
- Control: Increases the Quality gained per touch action. Higher quality = massive experience bonuses!
- CP (Craft Points): The resource required to use crafting abilities.
- Durability: If this hits 0 before progress is full, the craft fails. Every action costs 10 durability.
The Level 1-5 Rotation
For the first few levels, you only have Basic Synthesis. Once you reach Level 5, you unlock Basic Touch. This is where the real experience points are earned.
The Golden Rule: Always use as much "Basic Touch" as your CP and Durability allow before finishing the item with "Basic Synthesis." Increasing the Quality bar provides up to a 300% experience bonus.
Level 5 Class Quests
Once you reach level 5, return to your Guildmaster. You will be required to craft specific items to continue your training:
| Class | Required Item |
|---|---|
| Carpenter | 3 Square Maple Shields |
| Blacksmith | 3 Bronze Cross-pein Hammers |
| Goldsmith | 3 Copper Needles |
| Weaver | 3 Bolts of Hempen Cloth |
Fast Leveling Tips (1-5)
- The Guild Supplier: Every guild has a supplier NPC (Tradecraft Supplier) near the front desk. They sell all materials for Level 1-10 recipes for a few Gil. Don't buy these materials on the Market Board!
- First-Time Completion: Every recipe in your log grants a one-time experience bonus. Aim to complete every recipe in the Level 1-5 bracket once.
- Grand Company Missions: Once you join a Grand Company, do "Supply and Provisioning" missions daily. These grant massive XP boosts and Company Seals.
- Use HQ Materials: Using High-Quality ingredients starts your Quality bar partially full, giving you a head start on bonus XP.
- The Quick Turn-In Trick: To turn in quest items quickly, right-click the item slot in the quest window to select the item from your inventory instantly.