10 October, 2004

60k for one level...

Goldsmithing is going to kill me, I swear. Just took the first plunge into trying to hit that magical Goldsmithing 50. All the guides out there suggest making Mythril Chains to 43, which I was going to do. Only problem is, Mythril Chains never sell on AH, so you're forced to vendor them instead. /cry

I chose to do Mythril Rings instead, which cap at 47 instead. That, and I can theoretically make a profit with Mythril Rings, assuming I purchase all my Mythril Beastcoins/Ores for 1000 gil each. 48 of those with 4.5k worth of Fire Crystals still make 52.5k, and the six Rings I get out of them sell like hotcakes for 60 grand total.

Only problem is getting ahold of that many Mythril Ingots and Beastcoins to begin with. It seems that since that boom when a stack of Ingots were going for 90k, half the server has jumped onto the Mythril Bandwagon. Now that things have settled down, Mythril Ingots have returned to a steady 80k price, but unfortunately, now the demand for the raw materials is much greater. I already have Glue periodically sending me a few Ores or Beastcoins from his parties up in Ru-Avitau, but combined with the rate at which I can actually buy them off the AH, collecting 48 pieces of Mythril will take forever. So, I can buy them instead, assuming I'm willing to take a loss, which I don't mind, since I lose 18k every time I decide to transform Ingots into Rings. Hey, nobody ever said Goldsmithing was cheap.

The huge level gap I had at the time (41-47) meant that I should only even attempt to try this synthesis on either Firesday or Iceday. Fortunately, my xp party (with my WHM, what's more!) ended on Darksday, and the moon was out on its brightest (100%). I had also just finished a stack of Ingots not too long ago, and one quick airship ride to Bastok later, I was making me some rings. After I ran out of Mythril (6 synths don't keep you terribly occupied), I decided to go blow up some other crystals that I had lying around. I took a ride down to Windurst, and then, many many broken Wind, Ice and Water crystals later, I have a Cooking skill of 14.5. ^^ In retrospect, I was defiinitely too reckless with my Cooking, making Selbina Butter, deciding I didn't want to keep it and vendoring it all back (foolish, I know), but compared to a complete failure of a Mythril Ring, this was cheap! I couldn't help myself with the butter- Ice Crystals just look too pretty when I use them. ^^



The problem was how to get enough money to support this (Goldsmtih) leveling, since I lose money for my skills. I could mine Gusgen like I always have, but with Kaiseling and two other miners (all of whom are now confirmed to be Chinese, which means they'll be there until the game has died), I am not in the mood for losing my temper all over again to try and mine up a stack of Mythril (or about ten Gold Ores).

So I took the alternative route: Adaman. That meant taking another trip down to Ifrit's Cauldron.

Mining Ifrit's Cauldron's never terribly fun, and losing 2k xp when you die by mistake (which I did ; ;) is even less fun. I figured, the money I get from one Adaman Ore will fund a stack of Mythril Ingots, and from there, I can make my Rings. After much running around Ifrit's Cauldron, looking for a Mining Point to even begin with, I'm on the verge of giving up. I had misplaced my maps, and it seemed I was walking in circles, given that I had bumped into Vouivre multiple times, and that's certainly not supposed to happen! Eventually, I found my map of Ifrit's Cauldron tucked somewhere in the depths of my drawers, and got back to work. Still no mining points. Eventually, I narrowed it down to an area guarded by Flame Spouts and an Ash Dragon. It was quite a walk, and for some reason, the timing on this particular Flame Spout seemed to agree with me. Taking down Invisible with a NM Dragon a few meters away from you, on the other hand...



Hurriedly mining away at the point, the string of Iron Ores, Iron Sand, Sulfur (and a Green Rock, too) started to make me worry (and the Flint Stones, too). Eventually, all was well:

You successfully dig up a chunk of adaman ore!
KA-CHING! /grin

I stuck around for a little bit, but alas, no more Adaman was to be found in the next two points I came across. I did, however get a Darksteel Ore, which I'm a littaru disappointed at, seeing as how 6k is rather disappointing compared to Adaman...at least it's better than a coloured rock. ; ; I was quite disappointed to find out, upon my return to Jeuno, that Adaman Ores are only worth 75k now. It seems they can now be grown, and so the price will probably drop some more. Oh well.

Summary for the day: 28 Mythril Ingots used, 12 Rings sold.

That's about 180k worth of material I used (if I sold them) and the twelve rings make 120k. Wow, I just spent 60k on one level of Goldsmithing....at least I'm a Level 42 Goldsmither now.

I forsee the trek to Level 50 to be very long indeed..../cry

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