Shard Farming: Ul’dah Crafting Guilds

This is part 4 of a guide to making 100k+ gil per hour using low-level alts. Prices and profits have been updated for 5.58. See the intro for an overview of the process.

Now that you’ve arrived in Ul’dah, it’s time to collect another few thousand crystal shards. Re-equip your crafting gear, including kurta and clogs, as well as the Moogle Cap if you have one. Now make your way to the Weaver’s Guild in the southeastern Steps of Thal. Speak with receptionist Maronne to begin the guild intro quest, “Way of the Weaver.”

Weaving

WVR 1a: “Way of the Weaver”

Greet Maronne and click through her spiel. Speak to her a second time to confirm your desire to become a weaver, then head over to GM Redolent Rose to inform him of your decision. He will grant you:

115 gil
100 lightning shards
50 wind shards
1 rusty needle

Equip the needle and speak to Redolent Rose again to begin your next quest.

WVR 1b: “My First Needle”

For this quest, you must produce one spindle of hempen yarn. Buy two moko grass (4 gil) from supplier Gigima (next to Maronne), drink your second Mint Lassi, open your crafting log, and synthesize the yarn. Redolent Rose will be impressed at your speed and precocity. Rewards:

150 lightning shards
100 water shards
40 moko grass
1 hempen kurta

You know what comes next: level to 5 at warp speed while making quest turn-ins before they’re assigned.

WVR 5: “Once More Unto the Breeches”

Unless you had multiple failures on the leather choker synthesis back in Gridania, you should have enough leather to complete the items you need to turn in here. (Missing leather? Buy from Gigima at 8 gil apiece.)

Craft the following:

15 hempen yarn
6 undyed hempen cloth
3 hempen breeches

Filling out this list should net you level 5. Talk to Redolent Rose again to initiate “Once More Unto the Breeches,” then turn in the three pairs of breeches you crafted in advance. Your reward:

194 gil + 3 allagan tin pieces (total: 269 gil)
200 lightning shards
150 wind shards

Subtracting gil and shard costs, we arrive at a net profit of:

425 lightning shards, 297 wind shards, 380 gil

Goldsmithing

Next, move on to the Goldsmiths’ Guild in (10, 13) of the same zone. Introduce yourself to receptionist Jemime and hear the goldsmith guild sales pitch.

GSM 1a: “Way of the Goldsmith”

Talk to Jemime again to start the first GSM quest, then head over to Serendipity to turn in and receive:

115 gil
100 wind shards
50 fire shards
1 chaser hammer

GSM 1b: “My First Chaser Hammer”

Equip the chaser hammer and talk to Serendipity again to continue the quest line. Buy 3 copper ore (6 gil) from Aistan, the guild supplier (same desk as Jemime). Then make 1 copper ingot and hand it to Serendipity for:

150 wind shards
100 fire shards
30 copper ore
1 hempen kurta

GSM 5: “Gorgets Rising”

Our last order of business here is to reach level 5 and collect a final allotment of shards. Again, assuming you didn’t burn through extra leather during the LTW quest, you should already have all the materials you need.

Make the following:

10 copper ingots
3 copper gorgets

By this point, you will have reached level 5. Go back to Serendipity, accept “Gorgets Rising,” and hand her the three gorgets to receive:

194 gil + 3 allagan tin pieces (total: 269 gil)
200 wind shards
150 fire shards

Net profit for our time at the Goldsmiths’ Guild is:

436 wind shards, 297 fire shards, 378 gil

Alchemy

Finally, head up the nearby stairs to the Hustings Strip and go to the Alchemists’ Guild desk at (9, 13). Talk to guild receptionist Deitrich once you’re there.

ALC 1a: “Way of the Alchemist”

Deitrich will give you all sorts of lore-based reasons to consider being an alchemist, but by this point, you’re only hearing “free crystal shards.” Talk to him again to confirm your desire to be an alchemist, then pop down to GM Severian at his lab bench and complete the quest for:

115 gil
100 water shards
50 lightning shards
1 weathered alembic

Equip the weathered alembic to receive your next quest.

ALC 1b: “My First Alembic”

Severian wants you to use your alchemical powers to distill water. Run up to guild supplier Esmenet (over by Deitrich) and purchase a pail of muddy water (14 gil). Turn it into distilled water via the crafting menu, and hand the product to Severian. After a brief fit of mad-scientist talk, he will give you:

150 water shards
100 lightning shards
10 copper sand
yet another hempen kurta

ALC 5: “The Second Principle”

Now it’s time for our last wave of speedy leveling. You need level 5 and three antidotes in your inventory to finish the next quest.

Buy from the guild supplier (total cost: 45 gil):

2 cinnabar
1 animal skin*
2 bone chips
1 shriekshroom*
2 rock salt
1 beastkin blood*
1 grass viper

*Animal skins, shriekshrooms, and beastkin blood are all common low-level mob drops. Check to see if you already have the required amounts.

Next make:

1 quicksilver
1 animal glue
1 growth formula alpha
1 enchanted copper ink
1 set of antidotes (3 per synthesis)

Hand the antidotes in to Severian and receive:

194 gil + 3 allagan tin pieces (total: 269 gil)
200 water shards
150 lightning shards

Your combined net profit for the alchemy intro quests is:

444 water shards, 299 lightning shards, 1,073 gil

In total, our trip to Ul’dah has yielded 2,198 assorted crystal shards and 875 gil. (Don’t forget to vendor your tin pieces if you haven’t already.) In the next part of the guide, we’ll tot up our final profits and export them to our main character.

Shard Farming: Making 100,000 Gil an Hour with Alts

Data for the original Shard Farming guide was gathered on 30 Sep 2013. The guide was most recently updated on 2 Aug 2021, using version 5.58 of FFXIV. It may not reflect current market conditions or changes introduced in subsequent patches.