Starting Out
If you already have a Rank 10 Alchemist, Preserve will make all Goldsmithing syntheses that much easier. Regardless, there are a few options to choose from before leveling your Goldsmith. If you would like to save money, take a short time to mine for some copper. If not, the Newly Organized Market Wards have made it lots easier to find the raw unprocessed materials.
Goldsmithing Ranks 1-12
If you took the time to gather enough copper ores (yellow copper ore included), you can definitely take the time to make some Copper Nuggets. Currently, they cost only 4 Copper Ore per nugget, and will also set you back 1 Fire Crystal. While this may seem a bit extreme to consume a crystal on a low level synthesis, think again! Each synthesis will bring you 12 Copper Nuggets; 10 syntheses will give you enough Copper Nuggets to achieve Rank 12 and then some!
While the nuggets are recommended for Rank 3's, performing it at Rank 1 is still easy enough to pull off – even without Preserve. If trouble persists early-on, it may be a good idea to gain a few quick ranks via Crafting Levequests.
Once you have gathered all of the Copper Nuggets, it is time to grind up some Copper Fish Hooks. While said fish hooks are far from the most useful items in FFXIV (only 2 recipes in the entire game use them), they make for extremely awesome experience. On top of that, each hook only consumes 1 copper nugget, making it a very viable crafting option all the way to Rank 12!
If you took the time to gather minerals, you should have quite a few Bone Chips sitting in your inventory. One chip can make a Bone Ring, one of the only readily available rings low level players can acquire. Only drawback: each ring consumes 4 Wind Shards - something that isn't readily available to all players.
Whichever route you go about in gaining skill points, Rank 10 will award you with a shiny new ability in tow: Epiphany. I found this to be one of the more useful lower level crafting abilities, and it works especially well when used in conjunction with the Copper Fish Hooks. That being said, take the time to gain a couple more ranks, and you should be able to move onto the next step.
Moving past Rank 12
Once you get to Rank 12, it is time to commence the mass synthesis of Copper Rings. I know a lot of players are pretty lacking in the accessories department, and a willing buyer is never too far away. At Ranks 12-13 the Syntheses can be somewhat rocky, so make sure to use Preserve whenever the opportunity presents itself.
While Getting an Alchemist to Rank 20 was pretty shard-efficient, it can be a little costlier for Goldsmiths. For this reason alone, I know everybody won't be able to go all the way in 1 sitting. However, this should be the least of your concern; the Copper Rings still sell for a pretty good price (1-3k Gil on most servers), which will help fund your Goldsmithing progression for a very long time!
With enough patience, Rank 20 enable you to purchase Brand of Ice from the Goldsmiths' Guild of Ul'dah.
Hopefully this will make all of your Goldsmithing endeavors relatively easy, and cost-efficient to boot. I will update the community as I begin my gradual ascent to Rank 30, but that's all for now. Goodbye, Origin and good luck!
