FFXIV: Tips for Leveling Crafting and Gathering Classes for the Casual Player

Posted on by Aywren

Note: This is a guide to casual crafting/gathering for up to level 50. After that, head out to the Moogle Beast Tribe Quests for much faster leveling from 50-60. You can’t get better than that. Good luck! 

It’s only a few days before FFXIV Heavensward launches, and most people have their eyes on moving towards level 60. Those much more hardcore than I have probably had level 50 crafting and gathering classes since near to FFXIV launch. But, not I. I just casually accomplished my goal of all level 50 classes last night… using slow, steady and inexpensive methods.

I don’t have time to grind leves or spend all of my gaming hours focused on crafting. But I found with a bit of dedication and patience, I could work my way up in levels and still achieve my goal in the end. Over the past year or so, FFXIV has added a number of ways to help players along with leveling crafting and gathering classes – it’s certainly improved a lot since launch! This may even change all the more after Heavensward!

While I’m no expert at crafting and gathering still, I wanted to provide some tips for folks who would like to level crafting, but don’t have hours and hours to grind to get it. You won’t level as fast as folks pushing leves out, but you will level and be self sufficient. As long as you stick to it, you can do it!

Note: If you have something to add, please let me know in the comments!

Some Gathering Tips

  • Keep your gatherer at the same level, or preferably higher, than your highest crafting class. It’s much cheaper to gather your own materials.
  • Level gathering fairly fast by doing daily Grand Company Delivery Missions provided by the Grand Company Personnel Officer at your Grand Company’s main location. You must have unlocked Expert Delivery at the Second Sergeant rank to do this. So, if you don’t see this option, you need to rank up some!
  • Make sure to hand in only high quality gathered items for these supply missions. This takes longer to gather, but the experience is very worth it. I was done with my level 50 gatherers long before my crafters.
  • Remember you get a little boost for completing the gathering weekly challenge!
  • Keep up with your class quests at every 5 levels. Usually this only requires you to gather high quality materials, which you’re already doing.
  • Consider assigning at least one retainer to be a miner or botanist. This allows them to venture for crystal shards… which you’re gonna be needing for crafting! They can also go out and gather other materials when you find yourself low on things, which is useful.

Fishing In Particular

Fishing is a bit different than the other gathering classes. I didn’t use Grand company Supply Missions while leveling, though you still can if you want to spend that time. Instead, I focused on overlapping experience gained from the weekly challenge with leve turn ins.

I would find the appropriate level leve, then just fish for those leve turn-ins until I met both the Hooked on Reeling challenge quests. That’s a good chunk of experience, on top of leve turn-ins. Leveling is slower that way, but if you don’t want to spend all your time fishing for daily turn-ins, it’ll get you where you want to be eventually.

Some Crafting Tips 

  • Do daily Grand Company Delivery Missions.
    • Sample of Grand Company Delivery Missions
  • Despite what I said earlier, in lower levels, leves still can be very beneficial. This is due to the fact that it will be harder to make high quality items that give a good boost for Grand Company Supply Missions.
  • Shoot for getting all classes to level 15 for those cross class skills. These skills are going to be staples to your crafting rotation.
  • I highly suggest leveling all crafts together as you will quickly discover that items for one class will start to require materials crafted by another class. This is especially true of leather, wood, ingot and sometimes alchemical items.
  • If you must level just one class, I suggest working on Culinarian first. This class doesn’t require as much (if any – can’t remember) cross class materials for one. For another, the level 37 skill you earn – Steady Hand II – makes it much, much easier to complete high quality items. Before Steady Hand II, I struggled with high quality. After it, life and Delivery Missions got a lot easier.
  • Once you’ve completed the level 41 Main Scenario Quest In Pursuit of the Past, you can unlock Ixali daily crafting quests in Gridania. Do these as often as possible. Not only are they a good supplement of XP, but they also provide crystal shards, and eventually Ixali Oaknots, which you can exchange for high level crafting stuff later. Plus it’s a good storyline and beastman faction. 🙂
  • There’s also Ixali daily turn-ins, but I haven’t tried these yet and am not quite sure what you get for them. The wiki page I linked above provides some information.

General Tips

  • Grand Company Delivery Missions are your friend and reset every day around 4PM EST.
  • You can view the list of supplies being requested for the Grand Company Delivery Missions by clicking the Duty menu, then Timer, then Missions.
  • You can buy the items to turn in for the Delivery Missions (shame, shame :p ), or turn in items that you already have in your inventory.
  • You can only turn in one item per mission per day, so make it count! High Quality gives double experience!
  • Stars next to the Delivery turn-in means a lot of experience – shoot for High Quality turn ins and make bank!
  • Don’t waste company seals (like I did) – you’re going to start gaining a lot of seals doing this. Be sure to spend them on something – crafting xp boosts, gathering xp boosts, and ventures (for materials and shards). Also keep in mind that at an upper rank, you can purchase materials that you can use in level 50 crafting… so do research.
  • Speaking of research… you’ll probably need to do a lot of it as you craft. I suggest the XIVDB for all your research needs.
  • If you want to do leves, I suggest the leveling guides at FFXIV Guild.
  • If you want to know what gear you need at what level, I suggest Crafting as a Service.
  • You can purchase some materials at the Materials Supplier NPC in your personal or Free Company house. This material is often different than what the NPCs sell at the crafting guilds… so use XIVDB to research the best place to obtain resources! Dropping a few gil on some ore is cheaper time-wise than running out to mine it. 😉

And I think that’s about it… I’ve emptied my head with the things I’ve learned on my slow journey to level 50 crafting. Now that I’m here, it’s a different sort of world and I’m a bit lost. So don’t think the learning stops when you hit 50! 😀

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