Fishing - doesnt seem so profitableFollow

Hey guys,
Sorry if this is the wrong spot to post this but I figure this area has the most traffic.

I've been working on a lu shangs rod, slowly but surely and now that I did more research on fishing. The whole thing doesn't seem so profitable at all... If you really wanna make money with fishing you'd need an ebisu rod with the serpent KI. The path getting there alone will take forever. In the time I spent leveling fishing, I could have just farmed dynamis for like 1 mil a day.

That being said, are crafts in general even worth it anymore? I feel like I can just farm dynamis instead of leveling a craft and spending so much time aquiring mats and what not. What do you guys think?

The only reason I'm bothering with crafting is to raise my FFXIAH score.

If people needed fish like they needed currency in dynamis then fishing would be a honey hole. SE did make one certain fish very desirable of late... SE just added a level 1 Rare/ex cape that increases synthing skillup rates. It's only obtained from the belly of a certain fish. The problem is that in order to catch it you need the best rod in the game and some really hard to get bait... so... unless you are level 110 fishing, don't count on getting it anytime soon.

A major problem in a lot of the crafting systems in FFXI is that in order to make a large profit, you have to have invested alot of time and gil along the away. If your goal is to make money through those means, it sort of defeats the purpose. Back in the day however, when newbies were plentiful, gear was scarce, and low level gear was needed, you'd make some gil while you leveled... so it wasn't that bad in the end when your HQ synths (due to higher skill levels) paid off.

Edited, Sep 28th 2012 12:48am by Prrsha

It isn't really profitable compared to other activities, but I enjoy it more than farming dynamis so that's why I do it.

I've leveled goldsmithing, smithing, and bonecraft to 100 or higher on three different characters since I began crafting in 2004. I like crafting as a relaxing break from the battle system now and again. It's true that crafting isn't profitable at low levels, but at the upper levels there are always some markets I can exploit for fast and easy gil. If you level synergy to high levels along with the main crafts you open up even more opportunities for profit, especially considering that often times NQ synergy stuff is profitable and can never lose materials on a break. You have to understand the concept behind crafting is that you are investing money today to level it up so that tomorrow you can use it for larger gains. Crafting is like everything else in this game; it becomes better and better as you spend more time with it. Just like a decked out melee or mage with all the ultimate weapons armors and accessories can pulverize the battlefield, a crater with all her sub crafts and synergy fully leveled can always find ways to make gil. You also have to understand your markets and use common sense with your buying and selling. Don't be stupid and overpay for materials when your target market is already flooded (overpaying for mats within reason if the target market is totally empty on the other hand is another story, especially if the market is high demand or hasn't been touched in a while).

The allure I get out of crafting is that it's a quiet relaxing way to earn gil, and when I get burned out grinding dynamis or voidwatch or abyssea I can turn to it as something else to do. The lucky HQs that fetch a tidy profit are a boon whenever they happen as well, however rare they may be. Personally I still enjoy crafting, despite the ease of acquiring gil through other means the game has at 99.

Edited, Sep 29th 2012 11:59am by Melphina