Trenholm's Goldsmithing Guide

Messiah may want to edit or add his comments to the following, but this is what I've done so far (not including generating capital, or farming for raw materials) to get to my current level of 35.1:

First, its always a good idea to get Advanced Synthesis assistance before you start synthesizing. The little amount of gil you invest will increase your chances for success.

Level's 0-5: Make copper ingots like mad. Copper rings are good too though copper hairpins cost fewer ingots and fewer fire crystals (the mainstay crystal for goldsmithing). Hairpins seem to get more bang for your buck.

Level's 5-10: Brass ingots are the way to go and synth those puppies into brass sheets. Zinc is expensive at auction (and the guild doesnt guarantee a daily supply) so getting donations from friends that dont need it or leveling a new job to harvest zinc from worms is a good way to get your product for free. Note that birds drop fire crystals. If you've got the cash, pumping out brass caps is also a very effective way to raise your level and perhaps get a little reimbursement through auction or bazaar. Note that if you get your items for free, buying a bronze cap and turning it to brass then selling it back to the shop will indeed make you a profit of a couple hundred gil per cap.

Level 10: Every ten levels you have to take a guild test in order to advance further. I had to make a copper hairpin. Easy as pie.

Level 10-15: Get some advanced synthesis support, relatively inexpensive, and turn those brass sheets into brass flower pots. You can turn those around for a little money at auction or bazaar. For the best value - especially if youve gotten your materials for free - turn bronze leggings and bronze subligars into brass then resell them to the shop. Not a lot of profit but a little is better than none. At around level 11 you can make silver ingots with a decent chance of failure but I recommend holding off on that until level 16. You'll get almost no failures at that level and silver is uber important at higher levels. At level eleven you can level to almost level 18 turning Cat Baghnakhs into Brass Baghnakhs. These turn over for a couple hundred gil when resold back to the shop.

Level 16-20: Forget copper and brass. You're done. They suck. Silver ingots are the way to go. This is where your investment becomes more time consuming and/or more costly. I recommend you have a highlevel character that can solo Palborough mines completely. Then have a thief subjob, preferably at level 15 so as to have treasure hunter skill. Goto the top of Pal and fight coppers, brass, and old quads and use the thief's steal skill. For every four silver beastcoins you can make a silver ingot. Save these ingots. If you're strapped for cash you could auction the ingots for a decent price but your better off finding a different way to make your money if you want to level your GS skill.

Level 20: Test time again! W00t! Make a brass hairpin she tells me. Well, thats super greasy easy. Biznatch!

Level 20-27: Now is the time of madness. During this time you can make earrings and craft precious stones from rocks but those are expensive and costly in materials. Get advanced synthesis support until level 24 and make silver hairpins. Make them like crazy. Make them until they drive you mad. I've made probably 50+ hairpins but I have survived on their goodness. They sell for variable prices but this is the time when you can actually make a decent profit via auctions. Reselling them back to the guild is where you'll get the most money from any shops but the price they offer makes it worthless.

Level 27-28: I made it to level 28 last night synthesizing rings, jeweled rings, silver chains, a chain belt, and a chain gorget. This worked well though it was very costly to produce. Silver hairpins definately get me no where now, and I had to take a test at level 28 to keep leveling. I was asked to make a silver hairpin (har har) of which i had plenty on hand. It seems the farther you get the more costly it becomes to level. If you're slick willy like Messiah, then you can turn over a profit on what you make by this time. I'm impatient, and it sometimes takes too much time for auctions to sell. Thus, my fortune has dwindled to nearly nothing. I'll have to farm for gil and cross my fingers that my auctions sell. I think I can level to 29 for about 12k, maybe 24k. The material investment in making rings and chains is alot. Double the ingots those blessed hairpins cost me.

Level 28-33: I've been profiting heavily on rings, the most popular being the Sardonyx Ring which gives +1 to strength. No more synthing silver ingots for rings because that's too costly. I buy the rings cheaply from Carmelides Jewelry next door to the Goldsmith Guild in Bastok. For half the cost of making a silver ring from scratch I can buy it from the Jeweler. The guild sells the finished stones (jewels) cheaper than the jeweler. So over all cost is about 3k per synth. Big time investment in the small sense but if you can move a bunch you generate money pretty well. I've been leveling on jeweled rings for some time and suspect I wont level past 35 on thier goodness. I made my first Mythril Ingot last night. I failed the first try but didnt lose any of the ore that cost me 1.5k a piece. My second try I was successful and got a measly 0.1 level increase. I'm sure I can level on mythril for a while if I can only find a free way to harvest the ore.

Level 33-35: I've leveled to thirty five on rings and can go no farther. Now i need to synth mythril ingots and mythril sheets, however they are hard to aquire and expensive to buy. Broot (vision) has been kind enough to use his highlevel thief skills to help. I think i'm going to farm Davoi's South Camp or Bridge for chain mittens and greaves. That should get me some points synthing them into silver equipment. Possibly to 40, definately to 38. I'll have to ask Mash for some more Liquid Mercury. On another note I made my first HQ synthesis the other night. It was an Energy Earring, basically a boosted Onyx Earring. And I had another brush with HQ last night when I made my very first Courage Ring, a boosted Sardonyx Ring, in Jeuno. WHOOHOO! This is where the money is. I put the Courage Ring up in my bazaar for 12k (less than 3k to make) and it sold in under 5 minutes. That was amazing.

Level 35-36.1 Leveling on myrthil ingots when I can get the supplies, and chain mittens (into silver mittens) when I can get drops from Davoi. Iron masks would also be on that list if I could find a cheaper source than Bastok or the Auction House for them.