Black Smithing Guide - This is what I would consider to be one of the most profitable crafts. And the money invested at the start, will be kindly be multiplied many times over.

For this craft I would highly recommend that you take up mining. Mining will help lower the cost of materials and also give you the extra money to feed your blacksmith skills further.

The items below are the items I would highly recommend you craft to save on money and gain your skills as fast as possible. Also when every possible always use Synthesis support provided by the guild.

Lvl 2 Bronze ingot (3 Copper Ore + Tin Ore + Fire)

(Try and get as many of these as you can price of these have increased so much. It used cost 2k per stack, but since the guild point system was introduced the price of a stack no is from 4-6k you can sell these for profit but I would advise that you keep these for levelling)

Lvl 4 Bronze Sheets (Bronze Ingot + Fire)

(Made from the bronze ingots you ve made)

Lvl 10 Bronze scales (Bronze Sheet + Wind)

(This is where you lose money unless you save the scales to make scale mail, if you don t have any bronze sheets, you can buy them at a decent price in the guilds, about 120g each. I personal sold them back to the guild)

Lvl 15 Tin ingots (4 Tin Ore + Fire)

(Making this doesn t really make any real profit, a stack sells at around 1k in the AH, I sold my tin ingots back to the guild, I camped the guild for tin ore, using the money which I gained from selling Iron, Zinc and darksteel ore which I mined)

Lvl 20 Iron Ingots (4 Iron Ores + Fire) (HQ results in Steel Ingot)

(This is where you start making you real profit, best to mine all the iron you can, yes it may be time consuming but time versus money I prefer to waste that extra bit of time mining than spending 2-2.4k per iron ingot. And when you fail that s a lot of money lost. Also try and save 3-4 stacks for the next items)

Lvl 22 Iron Sheet (Iron Ingot + Fire) (this is an option)

(This will give you and extra 5-7k on top of the sells from iron ingots, but does sell a bit slower than iron ingots)

Lvl 25 Spatha (lizard skin + 3 Bronze ingots + Fire)

(You can buy the lizard skins to make this but I spent about 1-2 hours (also I found that lizards in valkum dunes have a higher skin drop rate than in any other place.)

Lvl 29 Iron Mask (Iron Sheet + Brass Sheet + Earth)

(I highly recommend that you also level Gold smith to the point where you can make your own Brass Sheets. Just take some time out and do it, because 6-7k per stack of brass ingots isn t cheap at this stage)

NOTE: Even though Goblin gear (gob mail and helmet) has a level cap at 30 I highly suggest that you save your money on buying this gear until your at least level 50+

Trick of the Trade!!!

There is a vendor in North Sandy that sells leather belts. Because Iron will become your main ingredient in most of the items made. This is one of the cheapest ways to obtain iron ingots other than mining it

To make a leather belt consists of 1 Iron chain and 1 sheep leather.

If you de-synthesis you will get as a result of:

1 Sheep Leather

1 Iron Ingot (HQ1)

2 Iron Ingot (HQ2)

The Blacksmith level need for this is 0, but this d-synthesis has a high fail rate!!! The only way I have found to counter this high fail rate is to raise your leather to 10+ (the higher the better) Try and d-synthesis on a dark day, and have your Mog House with a lightning enhancement effect (Powerful or overwhelming).

Also try to get your Sandy Fame as high as possible. Because the higher your fame is, the cheaper you can buy the leather belts. Sheep leather can be sold to the AH and the money obtain from it can be used to buy more leather belts or lizard skins to level other items.

Lvl 35 Iron Cuisses (2 Iron Scales + Leather Trousers + Cotton Thread + Earth) (Optional)

(I recommend you level this item because not only are you levelling your Blacksmith you can also level Leather skills to 5 which will help with an item later on)

Lvl 33-35 Rusty Items (Rusty Caps or Rusty Picks + Light)

(I only recommend this if you have a fishing skills, so you can fish for caps and picks. The prices of caps have gone down a lot since SE has lowered the price in which you can sell caps to vendors/stores. Try to only buy these at 1.5k the most. Once restored these will give you results of a war pick or padded cap, caps can be sold back at 2.6k making you a small profit that s if you don t fail)

Lvl 39 Padded Cap (Iron Sheet + 2 Lizard Skins+ Earth)

(Once again you have to go back and try to farm lizard skins (optional), but you don t have to cap out this to level 39, once you re about level 37 move the next item, this will save you on cost/time for lizard skins. Padded caps will also level your level to a cap of 9)

Lvl 41 Iron Mittens (Iron Sheet + Lizard skin + Earth)

(This will also level your leather to 10 cap)

Lvl 45 Iron Subilgar (Iron Sheet + Lizard Skin + Cotton Cloth + Earth)

(This will help you level Leather to 12 also. If you have the time and want to save more money, cotton cloth can also be farmed off Bogy (ghost type MOB))

At this stage you can now de-synthesis Quadav gear, but its best of farm them. It s only worth buying and de-synthesis Quadav gear at level 65+ because the return versus cost would be more effective.

Lvl 52 Darksteel Ingot (Darksteel Ore + 3 Iron Ore + Fire)

(I would highly recommend you mine most of your irons and darksteel ores. Losing a darksteel ore, while you synthesis is really painful. Only start buying darksteel ore to level once your level 48+ and have synthesis support on)

Lvl 57 Gauntlets (2 Iron Sheet + 2 Leather Gloves + Fire)

(Use the Trade trick of leather belts to obtain most of your irons here. You can also buy your leather gloves in the Armoury in North Sandy, Gauntlets can be sold back to the guild to get the cost of the money invested in the items back or sold in the AH)

Lvl 58 Breastplate (4 Iron Sheet + Sheep Leather + Fire)

(Once again use the Trade Trick of leather belts, you can make a profit on breastplates if you sell them to the AH, or break even if sold to the guild.)

Lvl 66 Nodowa (Iron Sheet + Silk Thread + Earth)

(The reason why I have jump 8 levels ahead from breastplates to Nodowa is because cost versus fails on making nodowa. Nodowa comes out on top. Once again use the Trade trick to get your Iron. Its best if you spend time on farming silk thread until you are around level 60+ of blacksmith, because this well help lower the cost on fails once pass level 60 its best to just buy the silk, because you will get your money back. Note Guilds do not buy this item you can only sell to the vendors/stores)

Lvl 70 Hien (Darksteel Ingot + Lizard Skin + Fire) (optional)

(Sometimes it isn t worth making these unless you have gotten most of your darksteel from Quadav gear. Only sells at 2.5-3k to vendors/stores)

Lvl 73 Darksteel Pick (Darksteel + Elm Lumber + Fire)

(This is where the true money on Blacksmith lays. These sell to the vendors/stores at 12.5k. If possible get your darksteel from Quadav gear to maximise profits and try to farm and make your own Elm Lumber)

Information from here on has been obtain through talking to may of the crafters which I have met online and also the main trading forms which I have read

Lvl 81 Darksteel Gorget (Darksteel Sheet + Ram Leather + Fire)

(At this level you should really try to level Leather so that you can make your own ram leather, which will save you money. Also you should be able to get a good HQ rate on Quadav gear to get Darksteel Ingot, which help with cost here. So take time out to farm quadav gear)

Lvl 83 Darksteel Nodowa (Darksteel Sheet + Silk Thread + Fire)

(Same as Nodowa but this time you get a bit more money but still at a lost on darksteel unless you farmed and d-synthesis your own darksteel from Quadavs)

Lvl 87 Celata (Copper Ingot + Steel Sheet + Darksteel Chain + Darksteel + Sheep leather + Fire)

(Once again farm and d-synthesis all you re your darksteel, and if your lucky you can get a HQ1 or H2 on Darksteel Chains which is very nice)

At this stage it is wise to go and do the Guild and raise your Guild points up and get the Blacksmith gloves and apron. Because those 2 extra Skill points will help you a lot and decrease the fail rates so much.

Lvl 90 Adaman Ingot (3 Adaman Ore + Iron Ore + Fire)

(If you can mine Adaman Ore in ifirit s Cauldron, do it as much as possible to cut down on cost. Otherwise make enough Darksteel Picks until you have enough money to buy Adaman ores, Very very pain fully when you fail. A friend of mine failed and lost all 3 Adaman ores, that s 300k+ lost in less than 10 seconds. But he was lucky he didn t lose his iron ore lol)

Lvl 91 Adaman Ingot (6 Adaman Nuggets + Adaman Ore + Fire)

(When every there is Adaman Nuggets on sell try to snap them up, Cheaper to buy that Adaman ore. Just a bit)

Lvl 95 Bhuj (Ebony Lumber + Gold Ingot + Steel Ingot + 2 Darksteel Ingot + Mercury

+ Fire)

(For this is best to raise Goldsmith and woodwork crafts to level 50+ this will help to lower the fail rates and raise your Alchemy up until you can make Mercury)

Lvl 95 Adaman Sheet (Adaman Ingot + Fire)

(Save all the Adaman ingots that you make to help with cost)

Lvl 97 Adaman Cuisses (Adaman Sheet + Darksteel Sheet + Gold Ingot + Tiger Leather + Mercury + Fire)

(You need gold to be at level 50+ to help with the fail rates. Also making your own tiger leather and Mercury helps just a little)

Lvl 100 Culverin (Adman Ingot + 2 Darksteel Ingot + Mahogany Lumber + Brass Ingot)

(The final item that will raise your Blacksmith to level 100.Wood and Gold crafts need to be at level 60 to help lower fail rate)

Other tricks with in Blacksmith which can help you make or save you money are listed below. I don t recommend trying them until your blacksmith is level 60+. The reason for this is that so you can maximise the HQ results that you get. I will give you the level in which you can start to de-synthesis the items also.

De-synthesis Tricks and money savers

Claymore (25-26) (Brought in North Sandy Furniture Shop) Fame will have an effect the price of the claymore (which cost about 3k) I have made a stack from 3 claymores once, 9k for a stack is better than paying 32-35k

Using Lightning

Normal Result = Ash Lumber

HQ1 = Lizard Skin

HQ2 = 3 Iron Ingots

HQ3 = 4 Iron Ingots

Maul (40)(drop off by Garnet Quadav, you need to be above level 50 in a job before you can try to take them on, can be sold for 3k)

Using Lightning

Normal Results = Oak Lumber

HQ1 = Oak Lumber

HQ2 = 6 Mythril Nuggets

HQ3 = 2 Mythril Ingots

Quadav Backplates (45) (Drop off my Amethyst Qaudav)

Using Lightning

Normal Results = Bronze ingot

HQ1 = Iron Ingot

HQ2 = Darksteel Ingot

Using wind you will get sheets instead of ingots

Quadav Helmet (45) (Drop off by Old Quadav in Beaudeax only)

Using Lightning

Normal Results = Bronze ingot

HQ1 = Iron Ingot

HQ2 = Steel Ingot

HQ3 = Darksteel Ingot

Using wind you will get sheets instead of ingots

Antican Pauldron (65) (Drop off by Ranger type Antican)

Using Lightning

Normal Results = 2 Bronze ingot
HQ1 = 3 Iron Ingot
HQ2 = 2 Steel Ingot
HQ3 = Darksteel Ingot

FFXI Gil is available at http://www.gmbar.com, please talk to 24/7 live help if you have any questions!