Category Archives: Disciples of the Hand

Boltmaster’s Dreadnought

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A few days ago our FC finally earned the first i170 DoH body. Boltmaster’s Dreadnought. Corn went through so much stress just to craft the parts, as they require Red Scrips tokens from me as well as from him.  We spent over 2 months to gradually save up the materials for this. I say it is truly worth all the effort we took, though!!!

Next goal is the Gibus :D

Oh there was also a funny scene in the house when the Boltmaster’s Dreadnought was finished…

Corn suddenly took off the robe and tried to trade it to me. I was like whaaa what? And then he said to check the dyes to see what colour looks best. Then, after I accepted the trade, he said “if you bind it, I keel you.”  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! ROFLMAO!

I think Jet Black looks great and classic, but the patterns on the robe blend in with the black fabric too much. The Pure White also looked cool, but it felt a little bland. I really like Metallic Silver. It is so handsome. He thinks the same, too. So the robe ended up getting the Silver dye.ffxiv_09272015_032656

(Also, I’m posting pics of half-nakey Au Ra just because  :D )
ffxiv_09272015_032234_crffxiv_09272015_032239_cr ffxiv_09272015_032636_cr ffxiv_09272015_032652ffxiv_09272015_032819_new2 ffxiv_09272015_033021_new2Wooooooooooooooo~ The new DoH Artifact sets are awesome. :D  I wish SE weren’t a stingy jerk and would give us more space in the Armoury Chest.

 

FC Materia Stock

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I manage the FC box in my FC, and those lazy friends leave the duty of treasurer to me because…..um….because I horde all craps.  ><;;

Recently I’ve made a list of what we have, so that it’s easier when people need specific materia for their own melding. So, here’s a list of some materia we have, just for LOL.

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The reason why we horde so many Crafter’s and Gatherer’s materia is because we’re still working on getting BiS gear for both, and with current ordinary gear, we feel it could be a waste to max meld everything. So this stock is for FC when we decide to meld in the future.

Also, this stock was originally intended for everyone’s use. People can ask for these materia for free. However, instead of asking for materia, people ended up spiritbonding their own gear, converting them, and throwing more materia in the stock. XD OK, banking up for the future is cool. I have no complaint.

 

Desynthesis: Steel Doming Hammer

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So I had recently desynthesized more stuff. I had to also desynth with Goldsmith skill (and Culinarian skill), or leveling up my Blacksmith Desynthesis can randomly decrease it. So in the first session of Steel Doming Hammer desynth, I also did 100 Mythril Rings of Crafting.

The results are as follows:

Desynth pie charts

 

It was exact tie, in term of Fieldcraft Demimateria I.

On my server, it is slightly cheaper to make a Steel Doming Hammer than a Mythril Ring of Crafting, due to the price of Earth Shard vs. Wind Shards.

So, the next day I desynthesized more Steel Doming Hammers, using the leftover Steel Ingots and Oak Lumbers from previous session, and also bought more from NPC.

Results weren’t as pleasing. Only got 15 Field. Demimateria I instead of 18. Just tough luck, maybe.

Steel Doming Hammer desynth

Desynthesis: Mythril Ring of Crafting

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I’ve been needing a lot of Demimateria I (both Battlecraft and Fieldcraft) lately and since making and desynthesizing Electrum stuff was too troublesome (and desynthesis failed on me quite a lot despite being  at 88-89% success rate), I’ve tried and recorded the results of a desynthesis session using 160 Mythril Rings of Crafting.

I started with about 110 sets of materials but ended up having enough for 160 rings, as it yielded a mad amount of Ingot and Whetstones.

160 Mythril RIngs Pie Chart

The pic above shows a pie chart of the desynthesis session.

The pic below lists the prices of stuff as well as the results. Click on the pic below for larger view.

 

Aleczan's Desynthesis Costs and Results

Or view Excel file here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3fzm8pxMVV0NTVzRlpyVTczRW8/edit?usp=sharing

Next time, even though it means I have to spend about 30,000 more gil, I’ll just buy Ingots from the Amalj’aa vendor instead of making from scratch.

Weaver’s Needle

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Today I was looking through some screenshot folders and found this pic, dated September 2013. I dropped my jaws when I noticed that there is a needle in Corn’s left hand. O_o

Corn_WVR

I know that the Weaver’s main hand tool is a needle, and that when they craft, they use needle on the fabric on the frame. But I guess I’ve never looked closely enough to see that the game actually shows a needle in the graphic. Also, probably because Corn’s character was so close to the camera as I was paparazzi’ing behind him that the screenshot is more zoomed in than usual.

It’s amusing and pleasing that SQEX pays attention to small things that we might never notice.

Meld Request

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I don’t get Meld Request often. Usually it’s because I don’t hang out in the cities, else it’s just that I’m doing something else and wasn’t fast enough to reply to the meld request shouts. Today, while walking to get the new dance emote quest in Limsa, I saw a shout for leatherworker lv 50, so I sent a tell.

This total stranger wanted to overmeld a pair of pair of “saurian crakows of casting” with heavens’ eye materia IV, heavens’ eye materia IV and savage aim materia II. (I didn’t know he wanted me to meld 3!)

5-meld attempt

So on my first meld, it was 29%, I didn’t like that red text saying this meld attempt has great failure rate blah blah blah, so I screamed “It’s 29%!” and he said “Do it.”

Cringing my face, I hit the meld button and of course, it broke.

I broke 2 of the heavens’ eye materia IV before a success kicked in. I said, nervously, if that one failed, I would  be crying. He said don’t, it’s ok. (I thought to myself, it’s ok to you but it’s not ok to me because I am stingy and I hate wasting money, even if it’s not my money! LOL)

I was relieved to have successfully attached that materia, but nope, that wasn’t the end. He sent more meld request with more heavens’ eye materia IV, now with 16% success rate. I held my breath and did it again, and again, and again. In the end, I broke 9 11 heavens’ eye materia IV before my 2nd meld became successful. (I checked my log again and it was 11, not 9! So the total IV I broke today was 13, GULP!)

I was like phewwwwwwwwww there, finally, but then he sent yet another request. This time with savage aim materia II which was at 13% success rate. I broke 9 of it before it was finally attached safely.

I don’t think I have smashed that many valuable materias in one day before.

After it was done, he even asked me what I’d like from him. Egads! No, gentleman. If you saw my face while I broke your materia left and right, you would know that I didn’t want any reward but just wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it for breaking so many materias in public. /sob

It’s so embarrassing!

Well, I once broke so many IV materias in one day, but those were my materias, my money, and most of them were old materias I’ve kept from 1.0, so it didn’t feel like I was spending gil on them. Today it was someone else’s money I was wasting. Plus, I haven’t melded (and broken) materias in ages and I just returned to the game after a long pause due to real life being busy. So, today’s experience was somewhat strange to me.

Hopefully, next time I meld something for someone, I won’t break this many materias. /cross fingers

Crafting HQ items

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– This entry is not to tell the steps to making HQ items, I was just talking about my crafting day. However, I did mention a list of crafting skills which I used for making HQ items, but not in detail. –

Recently, I’ve made myself a full set of Miner’s gear for level 50, except the helmet, that is. It wasn’t that tough, but I was stressing the hell out of it, probably because it used a lot of difficult materials which I cannot make on my own, such as Twinthread and Darksteel Nugget. And I felt pressured and did not want to botch or NQ them, because it would feel like I wasted Corn’s materials and effort. I was anxious and was reluctant, then Corn suggested I should make HQ Hippogryph Leather to increase the HQ rate. So I made 3 of them and felt less worried.

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And yup it went well. Got all 4 pieces of Miner’s outfit to HQ just fine. What boggles my mind was that I actually finished it at step 41 and 43, etc. I usually never go beyond step 29. So I was bulging my eyes earlier when Corn said he HQ Twinthread or something at step 42 or so. Then he shared me the general skill sequence, and I started using Hasty Touch more, so I saw how and why one would and could go over 30 steps in one sitting. But I didn’t quite grasp the real practice until now LOL.

ffxiv_10282013_110044sYou see, as a cook, I usually finish HQ craft within 25 steps, or below 20 steps if I get lucky Good or Excellent. But with them starred recipes, it is tougher and requires more steps. Aetheryte Ring, for example, usually takes 35 or so for me, but when I got really lucky, I could finish at step 29.

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My skills for HQ stuff used to be mainly just Inner Quiet, Steady Hand II, Waste Not, Hasty Touch, Tricks of the Trade, Manipulation if I could reserve enough CP, and Rumination to try to get extra CP for one more Waste Not, in order to squeeze as much as I could out of the last few Durability.

Then, my life got easier with Byregot’s Blessing from Carpenter lv 50. It consumes 24 CP, Durability, as well as Inner Quiet’s effect, but it could give me 700 Quality easily. So that’s a big Quality boost.

Also, I made Corn quad-meld my GSM shirt. I was reckless and greedy, so I used grade III materia on first 2 forbidden melds, and we got very lucky that both were successful on first try. XD

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I was about to chicken out, but Corn hit the button and attached the 4th materia successfully LOL. I was so relieved and jumping in joy because that was my last Craftsman’s Competence III materia in stock.

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Then I used a lower grade materia for 5th slot. Took a few tried. I’m really entertained by the facial expression of the crafter when melding fails LOL.

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Hahaha.

The pic above was when I used Corn’s Mildwed’s Thighboots to try for Gambler’s Crown. I spent like 19 Materia (mostly just CP+1 ones) before I finally got the achievement.

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Was a hell lot of fun. LOL!

I am back!

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Ahhhhhhhh! I haven’t updated my blog in so long. I took a 10-day vacation earlier this month to go out of town, up north and then to the beach, and then spent time with my friends shopping and preparing stuff for a dolls fair (DollPaCa 2013 in Bangkok), then we exhibited a booth in the fair on Sunday, 13 October. It took a while for me to recover from those hardcore 10 days, LOL.

Anyway, as I am a very lazy person, for now I’ll just post assorted screenshots of the past week. So that my readers will know that I am still alive and playing FFXIV :P What I’ve been doing this week:

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Sitting around waiting for Corn to sew me stuff, like Vanya Robe of Healing.

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Planting my face in the ground dying against Behemoth. This is also Corn’s doing. :P

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But the adventurers won, and I bought this silly mask just for the hell of it. XD

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Then I spent hours cooking some Tomato Pies and Mulled Tea for myself.

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And stopped by at the event’s display to take some pics at times.

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Also, been spam farming tomestones in the Wanderer’s Palace. Without Corn as the tank whom I’m accustomed with for the battle, moves, strategies, and rhythm, I usually ended up dying in the wipe like this. I must say that random Duty party is usually rough and tough. There was even one duty where we died repeatedly at the Pudding and then at Tonberry King until the time ran out. It was brutal and stressful.

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Then, to unwind, I hopped on Masamune to take Halloween pics with my friend, Uri. We bumbed into Dahlia at the Gold Court, so we all took some silly pics together hahaha.

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The ghost costume is awesome.

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This place in Limsa also looks like a nice spot for photos. I’ll remember to return here later for some pics.

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Also, I’ve spent my last Water Cluster making a HQ Aetheryte Ring for Corn. It was a lucky 70-something-% HQ. I would have been quite upset if it failed, LOL.

Cooking Animation

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I really like the character’s animation when we craft HQ stuff. Like, they look so proud of themselves and stick the item up high towards the sky! (Have to quietly think “Don’t spill it, please!” LOL!)

Cooking: HQ

But better, yet, is the Hasty Touch animation. Oi! That is one angry chef, I say.

Cooking: Hasty Hand

It looks like I go “GRRRRR! HQ, or I’m gonna be so mad and get up from my kitchen then smash some bricks!”

Cooking: Hasty Hand 2

Also, I love how we see the crafter’s name in the item info window.

Honey Muffin

So, you can show it to your friends and be like “Hey, remember this name and if I die from food poisoning, go hunt down the bastard and stomp them to death for a revenge, please!”

Salt Cod PuffsBy the way, I really hate how the NPC shop values our items (or junks) so low. This is offensive!

 

Culinarian Apron’s Set

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Warning: Screenshots spam.

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Hehehehe! I didn’t want to brag, but now I want to brag. I recently got level 50 equipment for my Cooking class, thanks to our linkshell’s seamstress master tailor who was so diligent and patient enough to make me all these gear.

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Before, I was always wearing this Vintage Seneschal Coatee (which had been sitting in my Retainer since 1.0) on my craft classes that are high enough. CUL, GSM, CRP, for example.

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I like the design because it looks fashionable, though a little bit too exposing. :P

At first, he made me some Linen items to wear on my lower level classes. Then, not long after he hit level 50 on his Weaver, and I managed to harvest Crawler Cocoons, he started to make me level 50 gear. By that time, my Goldsmith was level 50, too. And that was the first body piece of class-specific equipment for crafter that I ever had! (Because on my Culinarian, I chose the hat instead of the apron, LOL).

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It looks VERY fashionable. And seems more appropriate. :P

I dyed it Lotus Pink to match with my Regal Purple hat (from guild test quest).

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The stats are also great! And it came in HQ. ^^

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I got the trousers from him later on. I dyed the trousers Abyssal Blue. And here’s a closer look at the appearance. Except the Mythril Choker, my Goldsmith looks totally fabulous.

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On the same day I got this Goldsmith’s Doublet, I also got a Culinarian’s Apron from him.

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The stats are awesome and I willingly stopped wearing my Coatee, LOL.

I also got the trousers from him later, and dyed them Abbysal Blue as well.

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Below: culinarian’s equipment (and a pair of GSM’s trousers) came in Moogle Mail.

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Usually, I don’t fuss about stats, because I am a very lazy player. And my inventory crisis makes me tend to avoid having many pieces of equipment. I try to share my crafting gear among all my craft classes. Mythril Choker level 39, for example. I am too lazy to make a new one which is Electrum Choker level 49, because my lower level classes wouldn’t be able to wear it. But seeing and using these level 50 gear that can’t be shared with other classes, I feel it is nice to be fussy about gear for stats! As now I can HQ most of my synthesis attempts, thanks to the stats boost from gear.

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By the way, he also made himself the Weaver’s set, and Alchemist’s set. ^^

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I think Alchemist’s set is the champion so far. It looks extraordinary and most sophisticated among all of the class-specific crafter’s sets I’ve ever seen. You know, it has both the hints of professionalism and fashion. Like, from behind, you will look like a mad scientist or a perfectly hygienic doctor. And then from the front, you’re like a designer at work. You have all your tools there, ready to be whipped out whenever you like. Oh, right, this set makes one look like a walking laboratory. XD

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This pic was when I was sending him Crawler’s Cocoons. He was sitting right behind me when I cooked, but then I got up and ran to the Delivery Moogle to send cocoons. Soon, I saw him arriving at the Moogle to pick up the delivery, saying “I was there all the time, sitting in the bush lol.” Oopsie haha. Well, I might have noticed him but as his outfit was now Regal Purple instead of Abyssal Blue, it didn’t strike me that it was him!! *lame excuse*

MasterTailor10Last screenshot today, this is a candid pic of him when he was lower level. XD