FFXIV: Crafting Through Stormblood and The Case of Scrips

I decided I take my main further with trade jobs leveling, and other two toons will follow, so I’m crafting/gathering through Stormblood now. You know what? No wonder, Stormblood is yet again better than previous expansion.

My beef with Heavensward was the story questing content. Excellent stories, mind you, so zero grudge for the lore part, but the crafting/gathering requirements were quite brutal. Every next craft/gathering was challenging enough, and I had to gear up and still rely on 70-80% chance of high quality craft. I don’t think it’s a problem when you play the expansion itself, but it does not really fit the speed leveling. It was quite bearable though, and even exciting – despite the great amount of grinding mats… until level 60.

The final story craft requires recipes that you get in exchange for Scrips currency – now I know what it is. It’s a grind in itself – making “collectable” items that serve the only purpose of exchanging them for scrip currency, and from “collectable” mats that you can’t use anywhere else. Again, it may be quite exciting during a current expansion, as your common MMO curve of mild grind and development, but not when you’re leveling through.

Long story short, my completionist way of thinking will have to wait, and I spent all my gil for buying those quest items from Market Board – ca 25-45k per crafting job. I’m not sure whether I’ll grind the outdated recipes someday, and by all means I don’t have time or patience to get them now, so gil it is. I even had to grind several dungeons to get gold, and I’m already buying the same items for other toons, even if they’re at 51-52 level yet. This is the way.

And lo, I was so much surprised that Stormblood demolished this impeding design fair and square. Upon reaching a quest level and a couple of talks, they simply give you 1 crafting mat (not a dozen), so that you could craft a quest item on spot. No grind, no trips around the world – just open your log, make it and give in immediately. It’s such a great questing design, as you don’t distract from the quest for mat grinds, and you don’t spend the mats for normal crafts that you acquired around the world. If you fail, they will provide you another try right on spot – as many as you need, but, cherry on top, this craft is very simple compared to the recipes of your level, so I never was even close to failing it.

The crafting log is a spoiler in itself, so you’ll get these quest crafts until 70, and you don’t have to grind scrips or buy the ready items for insane gil costs as before. As I just came from Heavensward a couple of days ago, having had to earn extra gil for the final quest item and left even without teleport allowance, you cannot imagine my relief.

I’ve defined my leveling curve within expansion, and it’s as follows:

• Level gathering professions first, focus on mats you’ll need for craft (I’m always 5 levels ahead from crafting ones).

• Story quests come first when available, as a source of free gear.

• Grand Company Leves in-between story quests take you for about 2 levels up.

• Grind enough mats and craft up-to-date gear and tools of high quality for yourself – you need them on your journey, and you’ll need them in the next expansion. You don’t want HS rings in Shadowbringers, for sure. Besides, these crafts are also a good source of XP by itself.

• Fill the remaining XP gaps with normal leves in capital cities.

So, this is my journey. Stormblood made such a big step towards players that it deserved this post. I like how every next turn brings new stuff to admire and explore, let’s see what awaits in Shadowbringers and Endwalker.

P.S. What starts to bother me: leather acquisition. The only source of leather are animal kills, and already at 58-60 it’s not one-shots anymore, so mowing them becomes tasking – especially with the low drop/respawn rate. It’s bound to be longer and longer grinds, so help me, gods of grind!

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