Leathercraft is a crafting skill that allows you to make various items from animal hides, furs, and skins. Leathercraft is useful for making armor, accessories, furniture, and other items for different jobs and purposes, and it is also a fun and rewarding skill that can make you some decent Final Fantasy XI gil. In this guide, I will provide some steps and tips to help you level up your leathercraft skill in Final Fantasy XI.
Leathercraft Kit
To begin your Leathercraft journey, head to any one of the crafting guilds located in towns throughout Vana'diel. You'll need to purchase a Leathercraft Kit, which contains all the basic tools you'll need to get started. You can also buy them separately, but a kit is more convenient and cheaper. You can also purchase raw materials like animal hides from vendors or by hunting creatures yourself.
Materials
You can obtain the materials from various sources, such as hunting monsters, farming mobs, buying from vendors, trading with other players, or bidding on the auction house. Some materials are more common and cheaper than others, so you may want to compare the prices and availability before you decide what to craft. You can also use some items that you can get from other crafting skills, such as clothcraft or bonecraft, to make leather items.
Choose the Item
Then, you need to select the wind crystal from your item menu and choose the item you want to craft from the list. You will see a message that tells you the success rate and the possible results of your synthesis. You can then confirm or cancel your synthesis. If you confirm, you will see another message that tells you if you succeeded or failed in your synthesis. If you succeeded, you will get the item and some skill points. If you failed, you will lose some or all of your materials and get no skill points.
Skill Points
The amount of skill points you get depends on your current skill level and the difficulty of the item. The higher your skill level is compared to the difficulty of the item, the fewer skill points you get. The lower your skill level is compared to the difficulty of the item, the more skill points you get. However, if your skill level is too low or too high for the item, you may not be able to craft it at all or get very few skill points.
The difficulty of the item is indicated by a color code in the synthesis menu. The colors are:
White: The item is within your skill range, and you have a high chance of success.
Green: The item is slightly below your skill range, and you have a very high chance of success.
Blue: The item is below your skill range, and you have an almost guaranteed chance of success.
Red: The item is above your skill range, and you have a low chance of success.
Black: The item is far above your skill range, and you have a very low chance of success.
You should try to craft items that are within your skill range or slightly above it to maximize your skill points gain. You should avoid crafting items that are too easy or too hard for your skill level, as they will give you little or no skill points.
How to Level up Leathercraft to 1000 Skill Points
Skill 1-40
From 1-40, focus on crafting simple items like leather belts, leather gloves, and leather caps. These recipes are easy to obtain and require minimal materials. It's best to buy the mats from vendors or from the Auction House (AH), as hunting low-level creatures for hides will not yield much in the way of skill gains.
Skill 40-60
Once you reach 40, you can start crafting higher-level items like leather chaps, studded caps, and scale cuirasses. These items require more advanced materials, so be prepared to spend some gil. You can buy the mats from vendors or the AH, or you can hunt higher-level creatures like Yztarg or Goblins for the hides.
Skill 60-80
At Skill 60, you can craft even more advanced gear like lizard leggings, tiger masks, and beetle harnesses. These require even more advanced materials, so you may need to join a Linkshell (LS) and participate in group hunts to acquire them.
Skill 80-100
At Skill 80, you can start crafting items with exotic materials like Buffalo Hides, Dhalmel Hides, and Kraken Clubs. These recipes require intricate combinations of materials, so you'll need to pay close attention to the recipe and make sure you have all the necessary components before you start crafting.
Skill 100-200
At Skill 100, you can craft some of the best gear available, including Corsette +1, Bison Jacket +1, and Cuchulain's Mantle. These items require rare materials that can only be obtained by defeating high-level monsters or participating in endgame events like Dynamis or Limbus.
Skill 200-600
Once you reach 200, you can specialize in one of three areas: Leather Purification, Leather Ensorcellment, or Leathercraft Master Trials. Each area has its own set of skills and recipes, so choose the one that best suits your playstyle. You'll need to complete quests and earn experience points to progress in your chosen area.
Skill 600-900
From skill 600-900, you'll need to focus on completing Master Trials. These are challenging quests that require you to craft high-level gear using rare materials obtained from high-level monsters or endgame events. Once you've completed all the Master Trials, you'll unlock the final set of recipes required to reach skill 1000.
Skill 900-1000
Reaching skill points 900 is a significant milestone, as you'll be able to craft the most advanced gear in the game, including some of the Rare/Ex items requiring 109+ Leathercraft. However, reaching skill 1000 requires a significant investment in time and gil. You may need to join an LS that specializes in Leathercraft or participate in endgame events to gather the rare materials required to craft the most advanced gear.
Use Items That Can Increase Your Success Rate
You can also use some items that can increase your success rate or your skill points gain. For example, you can use an advanced leather ensorcellment instead of a regular one to increase your success rate by 5% or use an apron or a pair of gloves that are specific for leathercraft to increase your skill points gain by 1%. You can buy these items from the guild shop or the auction house.
Join a Guild and Sign up for Guild Contracts
You can also join a guild and sign up for guild contracts to get some benefits for leathercraft. A guild contract is an agreement between you and the guild master that requires you to craft a certain number of items within a certain period of time. If you complete the contract, you will get some rewards, such as gil, guild points, or fame. Guild points can be used to buy special items from the guild shop, such as advanced tools, rare materials, or exclusive recipes. Fame can increase your reputation with NPCs and unlock some quests or services.
To join a guild, you need to talk to the guild master in one of the guild halls located in Bastok Markets (H-9), Windurst Woods (G-12), or Southern San d'Oria (E-8). You can join any guild you want, but you can only have one active contract at a time. You can also change your guild or cancel your contract at any time, but you will lose some guild points and fame if you do so.
To sign up for a guild contract, you need to talk to the guild master again and choose the contract option. You will see a list of items that you can craft for the contract, along with the number of items, the deadline, and the reward. You can choose any item that matches your skill level and preference. You can also choose the difficulty of the contract, which affects the number of items, the deadline, and the reward. The difficulty levels are:
Easy: The number of items is low, the deadline is long, and the reward is small.
Normal: The number of items is moderate, the deadline is reasonable, and the reward is fair.
Hard: The number of items is high, the deadline is short, and the reward is large.
You should choose the difficulty level that suits your ability and availability. You should also consider the market demand and supply of the items, as you may want to sell some of them to recover your costs or make a profit.
Once you have chosen a contract, you need to craft the items and deliver them to the guild master before the deadline. You can check your progress and remaining time by talking to the guild master again and choosing the check option. If you complete your contract, you will get your reward and some guild points and fame. You can then sign up for another contract or take a break from leathercraft.
I hope this guide was helpful and informative. Happy crafting!