As you dive deeper into Final Fantasy XIV, more systems and tools become available to you. One of them, desynthesis, is for those players who got at least curious about the crafting classes in the game to unlock them. While the premise behind this system is pretty simple, you may find in it a solid method to gain some money as well as to clean your inventory full of junk items.
Desynthesis is one of many ways to make gil in the game, whether it’s to get materials to make high-priced items, or selling the materials outright. Whether you want to invest in some pieces for a special glamour or maybe you want to save to try your luck in the Housing Lottery, you need to earn money and make gil. It sounds difficult as a new player, but the game offers a good number of methods that everyone can utilize to start a small fortune.
What desynthesis is in FFXIV?
Desynthesis is a system related to all the Disciple of the Hand classes and it allows you to break down certain items to gain materials. Not every item in the game can be destroyed though. You can desynth items like fish, some pieces of furniture, armor, weapons, and accessories.
To desynth an item, select it in your inventory or armory chest and choose the “Desynthesis” option. Another option is to use the Desynthesis action, which can be found in the General tab on the Actions & Traits menu. A window pops up showing the Disciple of the Hand class required to break the item down and your current skill level with it. Select the option “Desynthesize” and get the materials derived from the item.
Although there is no need to use a crafting class to do that, you must have unlocked the class related to the item you want to desynth. For example, you might want to break down a piece of armor that requires the Leatherworker class while waiting for the duty roulette queue. Regardless of the class you’re at this moment, you must have the Leatherworker class at least at level one to desynth the item.
To desynth an item, the class you want to use must be at least level 30. You can, however, break down higher level items. Breaking down an item with the highest level in the current path does not give you an enormous amount of experience. It’s indicated to focus on items that aren’t too distant in terms of level when compared to yours to desynth.
Desynthesis carves its place as an important system because some rare materials are only obtainable with it. As you level up your desynthesis skill level, more chances you have to get these materials to sell on the market board.
How to unlock desynthesis in FFXIV
To have the option to desynth items, you need to first complete the “Gone to Pieces” quest in Ul’dah. There you will find Syntgoht, the NPC who gives you the quest. The only prerequisite for this quest is to have at least one Disciple of the Hand job at level 30. The quest is not long, you just need to accept it and go talk to another NPC in the Black Brush Station area. After that, you can start breaking down items.
How to increase your desynthesis skill level in FFXIV
The desynthesis skill level only increases by breaking down items. The best strategy depends on the resources available to you. If you already have money to invest and buy high-level items to break, the process might be a little bit faster. Even if this is not the case, a good way to speed things up is by using Bacon Broth and Tinker’s Calm. These are consumables that will increase the amount of desynsthesis skill you gain per item. Try to always use the high-quality version of these items.
Since each crafting job has their own desynthesis skill level, you need to level up each one of them individually. You can do this by desynthing items related to each. In case you want to check the desynthesis skill level of your crafting classes, you can go to the Character menu, in the Classes/Jobs tab, and click on any of the Disciple of the Hand jobs.
The current job level or desynthesis skill level does not affect the success of the desynthesis. But, if you desynth an item with an optimal skill rating lower than your current skill level, you have higher chances of acquiring better materials. On the other hand, breaking down items with a higher skill level than yours gives you more desynthesis experience.
