Get an Alchemist to Rank 12
If you stopped at Rank 10, take some time to get an Alchemist to Rank 12. Currently, there are 2 ways this can be done.
- More Distilled Water - I know you are probably quite tired of making Distilled Water, but you can get some pretty good and convenient experience from making it. A few more stacks should easily put you well on the way to Rank 12.
- Bee Baskets - If you have any Bee Baskets, each one turns into 12 Beehive Chips, which can be turned into 48 Beeswax. If you would like to farm them, they drop off Bee Swarms on a fairly frequent basis. Each conversion will net you up to 1000 skill points, and it won't be long before you achieve Rank 12. On top of this, you can sell all the Beeswax to a Tanner for a pretty good price.
The easiest way to do this is by making Table Salt. While the original method was quite useful, you will have to briefly become a Fisher to gather beginning materials, and then become a Culinarian to make the Sea Sand required for it.
Time to Fish up a Storm
I know you are probably thinking that I am insane by ordering a fishing detour, but there is definitely a method to the madness. Head on over to the Fishermans' Guild in Limsa Lominsa and buy a Fishing Pole and Chocobo Fly (any other fly lure will also work). Afterward, head over to the docks and fish until the smell begins to emanate from your very own computer (yes it takes a pretty long time). There are 3 different kinds of things you will get from this:
- Malm Kelp - This is what you want to get. Not only can the kelp be converted into river sand, but they are also an ingredient in Table Salt as well.
- Ocean Fish – Occasionally, you will get another ocean fish, all of which can be used to make Sea Sand, too.
- Shards – I mostly got Lightning and Wind Shards from this, but other stuff has a tendency to drop as well. It requires 1 wind shard to make Sea Sand, making this a good added bonus.
Time to Boost your Alchemy
During this process, you will get Malm Kelp and quite a few different kinds of Saltfare (ocean fish). Once you have achieved enough, head over to the Culinarians' guild and buy the appropriate culinary tools from Jossy.
First things first, make the Sea Sand with the Weathered Skillet equipped (almost all kinds of Seafare work in making it). If you have properly stuck to using the fly lure, you should almost stick to using Malm Kelp. If you have other fish, anything will do, but beware Ocean Clouds – they require 2 wind shards per synthesis.
Anyways, use half of your Malm Kelp to make the salt, and then equip the your Alembic immediately thereafter. Use your remaining kelp and the newly created Sea Sand in order to produce the Table Salt. You should also get a Brass Alembic, to make things easier from ranks 12-15.
This part is also rather time consuming, and requires very little attention. If you want to do it in a single sitting, try and keep yourself occupied by watching stuff like South Park or cool FFXIV Origin Videos. Otherwise, you can always do this in bit parts. Whatever your method, Rank 20 will be achieved in due time, and will get a shiny new ability for all your efforts: Creative Urge. It does require 6,000 Alchemists' Guild Marks to learn, but those come rather quick when doing Rank 20 Alchemy Levequests.
If you think this process is way more inconvenient than getting an Alchemist to rank 10, you are absolutely right. This is still the fastest way to achieve Rank 20 nevertheless; all post-Rank 10 professions require considerably more cooperation amongst each other. I would like to thank Nekarcos for taking the time to discover these methods, and you may want to check out his Alchemist Ranking Post as he continues to pursue Rank 30. See you next time!
