Template:Sideicon Template:Images Synthesis (colloquially Crafting) is a major gameplay feature, mechanic and term in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn carried over from the original release. It is tied heavily to the Armory System, being the function of Disciples of the Hand, and can be used to craft weapons, armor and tools, and many other products.
Synthesis is not required for the Main Scenario Quests, and is therefore optional, but can earn the adventurer a lot of gil and allow them to craft equipment for their own classes. While it is likewise not necessary, leveling up a Disciple of the Land class allows the items for Synthesis to be more easily acquired.
Process
Synthesis is begun from the Crafting Log, and any Disciple of the Hand class can perform synthesis as soon as their appropriate tool is equipped. Other than the tool, Synthesis requires materials and crystals to function.
Classes
The following classes are Disciples of the Hand and can perform Synthesis:
| Name | Proficiency | Cross-class abilities |
|---|---|---|
| Alchemist (ALC) | Can transform materials into potions, elixirs and various stat buffs; can create wands for Conjurers and books for Arcanists. | Tricks of the Trade, Brand of Water, Comfort Zone |
| Armorer (ARM) | Works with metals to produce metal armor; can create plate armor for tanking classes, scale armor for tanking classes and Lancer, frying pans for Culinarians and alembics for Alchemists. | Rapid Synthesis, Brand of Ice, Piece by Piece |
| Blacksmith (BSM) | Works with ores and metals; can create knuckles for Pugilists, swords and daggers for Gladiators, two-handed axes and for Marauders. For crafting classes, they can create hatchets and scythes for Botanists, pickaxes and sledgehammers for Miners, knives for Culinarians and Leatherworkers, hammers for Goldsmith, Blacksmiths and Armorers, saws and hammers for carpenters, pliers for Armorers, mortars for alchemists, awls for Leatherworkers and files for Blacksmith. | Ingenuity, Brand of Fire, Ingenuity II |
| Carpenter (CRP) | Works with lumber; can create bows for Archers, staves for Conjurers, polearms for Lancers, and Macuahuitls for Gladiators. In addition, they can create wooden shield for casting classes, and fishing poles for Fishers, grinding wheels for Goldsmiths, spinning wheels for Weavers and clogs for crafting classes. | Rumination, Brand of Wind, Byregot's Blessing |
| Culinarian (CUL) | Works with items from various crafting classes and reagant items to create food, which can be consumed to gain buffs. Unlike other crafting classes, they do not make gear for other classes, but the buffs the food provide can be helpful in many situations. | Hasty Touch, Steady Hand II, Reclaim |
| Goldsmith (GSM) | Works with gems and metal; can create accessories (rings, earrings, bracelets and neclkaces), staves and scepters for Thaumaturges, needles for Weavers and headgear such as circlets and spectacles for casters and crafters. | Manipulation, Flawless Steel, Innovation |
| Leatherworker (LTW) | Works with hides, furs and pelts to create leather-based armor and equipment; can create armor for Pugilists, Rogues*shares most of its armor with Pugilist Lancers and Archers, in addition to gear for gathering classes. They can also make hand-to-hand weapons for Pugilists, shields for casters, rings and necklaces for gatherers and rings for many other classes. | Waste Not, Brand of Earth, Waste Not II |
| Weaver (WVR) | Works with fabric and fiber to create cloth-based equipment; can make gear for crafting, gathering and caster classes, in addition to light armor with strength and dexterity. | Careful Synthesis, Brand of Lightning, Careful Synthesis II |
Crafting
Crafting is begun by selecting the recipe from the Crafting Log, and then selecting the Synthesize option. Once the Synthesis has begun, the crafter will take actions to finish the final item. Each action depletes an items' Durability stat, but there are several abilities which can restore Durability. They can either increase the Quality or the Progress. Many actions cost CP to use. The Quality at completion will determine the odds of an item becoming High Quality when synthesized. Quality lies on a scale, where the odds of a High Quality synthesis is not increased by much until after half an item's Quality is gained, at which point the chance will rise much more rapidly with Quality increases. The Quality is generally increased when aiming to achieve High Quality, but quality increases will provide a bonus to experience gained upon completion. As a result, those leveling their crafting classes are encouraged to aim to increase Quality as much as possible, even if not aiming for a High Quality synthesis.
Abilities
There are a set of abilities that are shared across all Disciples of the Hand class, however each class has different cross-class abilities which can help in getting items to High Quality. For this reason, it is advisable to level multiple classes, instead of just one. Abilities that are shared across all classes have different icons depending on the class.
The following abilites are shared across all crafting classes:
| Name | Effect | CP |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Synthesis | Has a 90% chance to succeed but provides 100% of the effect of Craftsmanship | 0 |
| Standard Synthesis | Has a 90% chance to succeed but provides 150% of the effect of Craftsmanship | 15 |
| Basic Touch | Has a 70% chance to succeed but provides 100% of the effect of Control | 18 |
| Standard Touch | Has a 80% chance to succeed but provides 125% of the effect of Control | 32 |
| Advanced Touch | Has a 90% chance to succeed but provides 150% of the effect of Control | 48 |
| Inner Quiet | Increases Control for every successful Touch action thereafter | 18 |
| Steady Hand | Increases the success rate of the next 5 actions by 20% | 22 |
| Great Strides | Doubles the effectiveness of the next Touch action within the next 3 actions | 32 |
| Master's Mend | Restores 30 durability | 92 |
| Master's Mend II | Restores 60 durability | 160 |
| Observe | Do nothing for 1 step | 14 |
In addition to these are cross-class abilities. These are abilities unique to each class upon acquiring them through levelling them up, but can be equipped by any class. Each class has three cross-class abilities, learnt at levels 15, 37 and 50. Cross-class abilities are listed above.
Mechanics
CP
Each Adventurer has a set CP, or Crafting Points. The CP will decrease when abilities are used, and once the CP runs too low, certain abilities can no longer be used. For this reason, it is wise to be conservative with CP, particularly when lower levelled. CP replaces MP of Disciples of War and Magic classes, and replaces GP of Discples of the Hand classes.
Attributes
There are only two attributes which help with Synthesis, both of which gear, materia and levels increase like other attributes:
| Attribute | Effect |
|---|---|
| Craftsmanship | Increases the amount of progress that can be gained when using abilities such as Basic Synthesis, and helps finish the item faster. |
| Control | Increases the amount of Quality that will be gained when using abilities such as Basic Touch. Ideally, both stats should be raised as high as possible to make the process much faster, as this allows the Adventurer to gain more value for each ability that uses up Durability, in addition to more value out of their CP. |
Values
When beginning Synthesis, items have different values which can be raised or decreases:
| Value | Effect |
|---|---|
| Durability | Indicates how many more abilities an unfinished item can sustain before it breaks. Durability can be increased - or the loss of it reduced - in order to allow more abilities to be used beforehand. 10 Durability is lost with the use of each ability, which can be reduced to 5. |
| Progress | Indicates how far an item has gone before it can be finished. If an item runs out of Durability before the Progress bar is filled, the process will fail; the items can be lost if the process fails, but this is not guaranteed, and using the ability Reclaim can raise the chance of the ingredients not being lost to 90%. When Progress is full, the item is always completed, so it is best to increase Quality as much as possible beforehand. |
| Quality | Indicates the chance of an item being High Quality or how much EXP bonus will be gained from the finished product. This should ideally always be increased as much as possible to increase the EXP earned. |
| Condition | Is not a bar that can be raised or a numerical value like the others, but can either be "Excellent", "Good", "Normal" or "Poor". It effects the increase in item quality when using the Touch commands. Excellent gives a large bonus to Quality and has a 10% chance of occurring and will only occur after Normal condition; Good gives a moderate bonus and has a 25% chance of occurring and only after a Normal condition; Normal gives no bonus; Poor reduces the increase. |
High Quality
Upon beginning the Synthesis process, there will be an initial Quality value assigned to an item, based on whether or not the ingredients used when beginning Synthesis were High Quality or not. By raising the Quality of an item using abilities, the Quality bar will be filled more. In addition to the bar, there is also an HQ and percentage below it. This is the chance for the item to be High Quality when Synthesis is finished. The goal is to raise this bar as high as possible, as this will increase the chance as well as the EXP bonus. It is possible, but in many cases difficult, to fill the bar and achieve a 100% chance for an item to be HQ.
Desynthesis
Item Desynthesis allows any class which has unlocked it to break pre-existing items down to make different ingredients used in Synthesis. Weapons, armor, tools and other items can be Desynthesized to produce the ingredients which originally created them. Each Disciple of the Hand class has its own skill level for Desynthesis, which affects the chances of its success and the amount of materials yielded. Skills for Desynthesis are independent.
Item Desynthesis is unlocked after completing the Quest Gone to Pieces in Ul'dah, and requires a level 30 Disciple of the Hand class.
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