*** This was posted on another forum, they reposted from their guild.... so no idea who to give credit to! ***
I have been reading these forums a lot this week and this question pops up a lot, I have seen a lot of people guessing how it works without trying it, I got my info directly from the Beta Test Site's game manual + leveling professions myself (I am currently level 14 carpenter, level 10 blacksmith).
White = High Success Rate
Yellow = Moderate Success
Red = Low Success
Flashy Colors = very low success can sometimes use the 'wait' command a few times to wait for it to change to a solid color
Sparks = Letting you know you are doing something wrong, exactly what we are doing wrong is not known at this time; not really important at this time in my experience
Rings around it = Unstable can either wait a couple turns and hope it stabilizes or try and finish it in the next 1-2 turns before it explodes. (Some people are suggesting that while the element is unstable that there is a change to gain you largest inceases, I have not been able to test this so I am not sure if it is true)
Standard Synthesis = An average progress rate with lower penalties to durability with failures.
Rapid Synthesis = Perfect for people trying to just level crafting and not caring about quality. Gives large increase in progress with little to no increase in Quality.
Bold = Use this when you care about the quality of what you are making, it consumes a heavy amount of durability on a fail but will net you a large quality gain.
Waiting = If your element goes unstable or begins flashing you can wait 1-4 turns hoping it stabilizes or changes to a solid color. Doing more than 4 waits will murder your durability.
Most Important Fact of all to keep in mind: The higher the level you are the easier it is to craft anything, I am at the point now that most of what I craft is at like 80% success rate on all 3 synthesis and with using my abilities near 100%. A lot of our conjecture on the exact mechanics seems to be a waste of time in the current stage of the crafting game. It won't be till way later in the game when people are really after the +3 quality gear and such that it will matter.
***Disclaimer***
Some believe the colors White, Red and Orange have different success from what I have posted, this may be the case but I have yet to see proof, we may all be wrong, SE have some pretty crazy off the wall ideas for ****.
***Tips***
1. Make sure in your trade skill's respective guild or in any of the camps you talk to an NPC and pay a 100-200 gil fee to use their crafting facilities, they will give you a buff that nets you +chance to success in y our crafting.
2. In Ul'Dah you can buy shirts and pants that give +2 Crafting each for a total of 4 (You only need these if you didn't start out as Disciple of the Hand as I think they get these on entering the game.
3. Google Search Cliff's Hardware Mouse Fix - And use the mouse for crafting it will REALLY speed up how fast you do craft and make it a lot more pleasant.
_______________________________ Directly from the Beta Test Site Game Manual___________________________________
Quote
The Synthesis Process
1. Having equipped the proper tool,choose the Synthesize option from the system menu.
2. Select from among the available slots and set the desired ingredients from your inventory to be used in the synthesis.
3. Choose the Begin command corresponding to the tool you wish to use-either main hand or off hand-to commence crafting.
4. Observe the status of your crafting and select commands as it progresses until it reaches completion.
5. Obtain the item you crafted, together with an award of experience points, and possibly an award of skill points.
Synthesis Properties
Each synthesis attempt is governed by three distinct factors. These are listed below with a brief description of each.
- Progress
Progress, which begins at 0% and ends at 100%, denotes how close the current synthesis is to completion.
- Durability
Durability will diminish each time a command is executed during the crafting process. Should the durability reach zero, the synthesis will fail and the ingredients will be lost.
- Quality
Higher degrees of quality allow for a greater chance of creating high-quality items, while at the same time increasing difficulty. Such crafting results will yield higher rewards from synthesis-oriented local levequests.
Viewing the graphic results of a command can help to determine whether the command produced positive or negative results. Through such careful observation, players can increase not only their overall chances of success, but the likelihood of high-quality yields as well.
Basic Commands
The four commands listed below make up the basic commands of synthesis.
- Standard Synthesis
Executing this command will lower durability to a certain extent, but at the same time increase the overall likelihood of success while reducing any negative impact on synthesis ingredients.
- Rapid Synthesis
This command is capable of yielding dramatic results. With luck, it will advance progress with little impact on durability. However, it does place significant strain on synthesis materials. It is perhaps best employed to attempt to turn a failing synthesis into a surprising success.
- Careful Synthesis
This command increases a player’s emphasis on quality with the specific intent of creating a high-quality item. Due to the fact that it greatly reduces durability, it is essential that it be used in conjunction with certain synthesis-related abilities, as described below.
- Wait
Waiting means that a player simply stands by and waits for the synthesis to perhaps stabilize or take a turn for the better. Observing to excess, however, will result in a decline in durability.
Using Abilities During Synthesis
In addition to the basic commands outlined above, there are also a number of abilities which can only be used during synthesis. These are learned by characters as their crafting skill increases.
There are, however, some important differences. First, synthesis abilities cannot be used twice in succession, meaning that the most frequently they may be executed is every other command. Second, there are no ability costs for using synthesis abilities, such as MP or TP consumption, and no recast timers. The probability of such abilities becoming available for use during synthesis instead depends upon factors such as class rank and player attributes.
Differences Among Tools
Tools employed by the Disciples of the Hand are split into two categories: primary tools (main hand) and secondary tools (off hand). When beginning a synthesis, players must choose the tool with which they wish to craft. Though the synthesis may be conducted with either, the results may differ based on the nature of the recipe or pattern being followed.
Facilities
A player can temporarily increase the likelihood of successful synthesis by speaking with a vendor and paying a fee to make use of the guild's facilities.
*** Thank you for taking the time to check out this info package ***