ATD 10.10.01 - Synthesis

[Ochobocho]

Ask the Devs! (10/01/2010)
The development and management teams continue to address the questions and concerns of the community in an ongoing FAQ.

The topic addressed this time around is synthesis.

Synthesis
Q. I haven't been having much success crafting items. What am I doing wrong?
A. The colored, glowing graphics provides players with a large hint toward a successful synthesis. When the glow is white, the synthesis is at its most stable, and the chances of success are high. When the glow takes on a color, however, the chances of success are low. Players seeking simple completion of their synthesis rather than high-quality results should attempt to use the Wait command when the indicator is colored to restore the stability of the synthesis before finishing it.

Q. Is there a trick to synthesizing high-quality items?
A. Though synthesis actions carried out while the colored circle graphic is red suffer a reduced rate of success, they often serve to increase the quality of the synthesis. In addition, the successful execution of consecutive actions also serves to increase quality. Ultimately, the higher the quality of the synthesis process, the more likely it is to yield a high-quality result.

Q. What do the values attached to synthesis materials, such as +1, signify?
A. These values represent bonuses applied to the durability and quality of a synthesis when it is first begun. Unlike increases to quality made during the crafting process, this initial bonus has no bearing on the degree of difficulty of the synthesis. Such bonus materials therefore increase a player's chances at synthesizing high-quality items, without increasing the difficulty of the synthesis.

Q. I am able to choose between using my main hand or off hand tool when beginning a synthesis. What is the difference?
A. Main hand and off hand tools have varying characteristics which manifest themselves in different ways when a high-quality result is achieved while synthesizing. There are many possible outcomes. For instance, a successful synthesis with a main hand tool may result in a +1 or +2 item, while the result obtained with an off hand tool may be a higher yield of regular quality items.

Q. I don't have enough of the crystals I need for synthesis. Is there a way to get more of the certain crystal type I need?
A. Other than looting fresh corpses, crystals can also be obtained through gathering. Further, for Disciples of the Land, allotting elemental bonus points to a certain element will result in a greater likelihood of procuring crystals of that type. Location is another factor to consider, as some places will yield more of certain crystal types than others.

[RedIce]

I guess you were half right about the affinity and crystal deal drak lol.

[Drakkan]

Yep I could defintely see the results of that when mining.

Interesting to hear about the increased quality during the red orb phase of crating, though. Also the news about main/off hand stuff was interesting to hear. So does that mean if I am turning ore into nuggest that I should use the off hand tool to get more nuggets? That's how I'm reading it at least.

[RedIce]

It means, you should use your brain. lol I noticed this while weaving lol. When making yarn... and if I were using my off hand which is a spinner... which is well..made to make lots of yarn.. i'd get .. lots of yarn lol. Sometimes even the base NQ is different between off hand and main.

idk what the off hand for gs is but hopefully it should be intuitive in which to use