FFXIV Alchemist Leveling Guide L1 to 80 | 5.3 ShB Updated

Shadowbringers UPDATED! Alchemy Leveling to 80 in no time! ALC Levequest Items comparisons and value moves per tier!

ALC Leveling Guide 64-70

MIN & BTN Leveling Guides updated. Other notes...

Botanist Leveling to 90, as well as Miner Leveling to 90 are updated for the Endwalker tier. Older tiers needs some fixing, although I modernized what I could quickly – I placed the important notes on the top of the aforementioned guides reflecting the major things that you need to take note of.

I will post a personal update soon, for those that are curious…

ShB 5.3 UPDATED! Dwarf Beast Tribe and Ehll Tou

Recent Update Log

5.3 Updates

  • Dwarf Beast Tribe quests added in ShB tier as a notable EXP source.
  • Ehll Tou added as Custom Delivery client option.

Previous updates

  • Kai Shirr added as Custom Delivery client option in ShB tier.
  • L70 to L80 section essentially revamped: New Skills & Rotations! 5.2ish was a clusterF. Skills changed TWICE in a short span of time. All is well now!
  • L70+ Gear recommendation:  Yellow Scrip gear is now recommended, for a number of reasons (Mainly, barely need stats for 70 to 80 leveling)

The grind continues!

ALC Leveling Guide – Navigation: [0-15] | [15-35] | [35-50]
[50-60] | [60-64] | [64-70] | [70-80]

Alchemist Leveling 64 to 66

Gear Check Reminder II

If everyone followed the guide, their gear will now be caught up. Here’s what you should be packing… (Copied from previous page, just to remind you)

SlotItemLevelCheap Meld ICheap Meld II
WeaponHigh Steel Thermal Alembic62AnyAny
OffhandHigh Steel Mortar63AnyAny
ChestBloodhempen Doublet of Crafting61Competence III+Command III+
HeadBloodhempen Turban of Crafting61Competence IVCommand IV
GlovesGaganaskin Halfgloves61Competence IVCommand IV
BeltRuby Cotton Apron62Cunning IVCunning II
PantsBloodhempen Skirt61Cunning IV+Command IV
BootsGaganaskin Shoes61Cunning IV+Command IV
EarringLarch Earrings63Cunning IV+Cunning III
NeckLarch Necklace63Cunning IV+Cunning III
WristLarch Bracelets63Cunning IV+Cunning III
RingLarch Ring63Cunning IV+Competence III
RingLarch Ring63Cunning IV+Competence III

Reach 409 CP. I don’t care how you achieve this, but do it.

CROSS CLASS SKILLS! FIX 'EM UP!

Here are the 10 cross-class skills you should have for all your classes.

ALCARMBSMCRPCULGSMLTWWVR
I2CZCZCZCZCZCZCZ
BBToTToTToTToTToTToTToT
SH2I2BBI2I2I2I2I2
MuscleBBSH2SH2BBBBBBBB
InnoSH2MuscleMuscleInnoSH2SH2SH2
WNMuscleInnoInnoWNMuscleMuscleMuscle
MMInnoWNWNMMWNInnoInno
FSWNMMMMFSNameMMWN
RecMMFSFSNameBrandFSMM
OPENFSRecRecBrandRecRecFS

I hope you’re familiar with what these are. Muscle is Muscle Memory from CUL, MM and FS are Maker’s Mark and Flawless Synthesis from GSM.

Important Notes:

** CUL and GSM need to cross-class a “Name” and “Brand” of any element.
** All classes except ARM and WVR have access to Reclaim AND Maker’s Mark + Flawless Synthesis.

Since ARM and WVR have to choose between access to “MM+FS” rotations or “Reclaim“, I personally chose “MM+FS” since it’s very unlikely you’ll fail any manual craft with that. Reclaim on the other hand has its uses. Since most rotations require more than 55 CP to complete, you can choose to reclaim if you feel non-HQ is inevitable.

Up to you, buddy…

Reclaim. *snicker*” –
Mahiko Sans Fukkius

L64 Unlocked Patient Touch

Patient Touch is pretty good, huh? Great for RNG gambling rotations. But for now, you can simply replace the first Hasty Touch II of any rotation with Patient Touch.

It’s optional, but a slight improvement IMO. While it increases your odds to fail by a tiny bit, it increases your HQ success chance but quite a huge margin.

Alchemist Levequests @ 64

ClassLevelQtyItemTypeLevequest NameBest?
ALC641Enchanted Durium InkSThe Dotted Line1
ALC643Commanding Craftsman’s TeaSRumor Has It1*
ALC641Beetle Glue TAsking for a Friend1
ALC 64 Levequest discussion

Equivalent value… is it possible? All of the leves in this tier are OK. Price wise, they are roughly equivalent depending on server and days. I can foresee any of these 3 being the cheapest. Now lets assume they are equally cheap…

Commanding Craftsman’s Tea is not bad – it’s an 80 durability item so it’s a lot easier to craft. Enchanted Durium Ink is 40 durability. Don’t worry, whatever you choose the difference likely isn’t steep.

Beetle Glue isn’t slacking either. It’s a little difficult to make, and most likely to be the priciest of the three – but it’s an actual decent triple leve.

Value.

 

ALC 64 to 66: What I did in this tier

When I was doing this tier very early into Stormblood, I just continued with the previous tiers Potent Spiritbond Potion – it’s still a damn good leve (and it’s a triple, too – so it outvalues the current tiers singles). Don’t hesitate to use the older leves.

You’re gonna need maybe… I dunno 10 or 20 Beetle Glues to craft other DoH Weapons so you might as well get the EXP for that.

There are no wrong paths here, so just continue on…

Grinding Alchemist 64 to 66

Hmm… it’s kind of hard to say exactly what’s best to purely grind on. I recommend “balancing it out” to hit the next tier without much extra. Don’t sweat having extra level items – you can sell ’em or use them later.

Important notes and events in this tier

Optional Rotation: L64 40DUR 1058DIFF

These were extremely hard at level 63~64! I TESTED THESE WITH A MINIMUM OF 934 CRAFTSMANSHIP (slightly above the gear check above). I suggest waiting until 65 to do any L64 “ingot” grinding.

Or I could be wrong in my notes – simply test it out first. If Name > Brand > Brand works for you, great. Waiting for the L65 shirt and Mainhand ensures this. Here’s the rotation:

/ac “Comfort Zone” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Inner Quiet” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Waste Not” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Patient Touch” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Master’s Mend” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Great Strides” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Innovation” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Basic Touch” <me> <wait.3>

/ac “Great Strides” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Byregot’s Blessing” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Steady Hand” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Name of Fire” <me> <wait.2>
/ac “Brand of Fire” <me> <wait.3>
/ac “Brand of Fire” <me> <wait.3>

THIS CERTAIN “MACRO” HAS NAME AND BRAND OF FIRE. PLEASE ADJUST IT TO YOUR CLASS. CUL AND WVR HAVE NO BRAND OR NAME SKILL SO CROSS CLASS ANY ONE OF ‘EM.

L64 80 Durability?

If you’re hellbent on crafting a 64 or 65 with the “base set” described above, do so at your own risk. It’s VERY VERY doable using Maker’s Mark type rotations and manual crafting.

But like I said I WOULD ADVISE HOLDING OUT UNTIL L65! If you plan on crafting for any sort of grindlike activities, the shirt and weapon help loads.

At L65 we will be having the 80 Durability “end-all” rotation.

L65 ALC Class Quest

Rewards are Manipulation II, which is a great skill. Our rotations will be based around it at L66.

You also get an NQ Main hand weapon (sucky), and Kudzu tier left-side NQ (also meh). They’re NOT worth it.

But HQ versions? Hmm…

L65 Gear Update: Kudzu Shirt & Main Hand

HQ Kudzu Robe of Crafting (Cheap Meld: Control III+ x2)

This is a VALUE upgrade since it straight up annihilates our old shirt. It’s worth it. It also feels good buying this knowing all our classes can use it. The other left-side slots are technically optional.

HQ L65 MH: Doman Iron Alembic (Cheap Meld: OPEN / Any)

Can’t complain here. The HQ 65 mainhand completely obliterates previous tiers BiS weapon.

After buying these upgrades, you are functionally equal, or superior, to Heavensward “BiS” crafters that spent millions pentamelding their gear. It’s both a happy and sad moment, as the circle of a crafters life continues…

THE REST OF THE KUDZU TIER IS OPTIONAL: It will make HQing easier with zero HQ materials. It’s completely up to you. I did NOT upgrade gear but it’s easy to see how you will benefit from them.

L65 Rotation Update: 80 Durability

This is a TEMPORARY ROTATION mainly to show you how to complete recipes of this difficulty onward. It will be updated to its final form in ONE LEVEL (66), so it’s up to you if you wanna learn this one. It’s very similar to it’s final evolution.

L65 80 Durability “showcase”

/ac “Muscle Memory” <wait.3>
/ac “Comfort Zone” <wait.2>
/ac “Inner Quiet” <wait.2>
/ac “Waste Not” <wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <wait.2>
/ac “Patient Touch” <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <wait.3>
/ac “Manipulation II” <wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <wait.2>
/ac “Basic Touch” <wait.3>
/ac “Basic Touch” <wait.3>
/ac “Basic Touch” <wait.3>

/ac “Great Strides” <wait.2>
/ac “Byregot’s Blessing” <wait.3>
/ac “Ingenuity II” <wait.2>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>

But here’s the thing – I experimented with this rotation at L66, but I can only imagine extreme niche scenarios wherein “I2 CSIIIx4 + CSIIIx1” (my prior rotation) is better than “MM + I2 CSIIx4”. Lemme know. But, I’m pretty damn sure this works from 65.

L66 Gear Update: Offhand

HQ Doman Iron Mortar is a massive stat upgrade, and you should be buying or making one of these. If you want to meld it, Control III+.

L66 Unlocks Prudent Touch

Prudent Touch. Read it.

With Prudent Touch and Manipulation II,
we will now rise into godhood.

Alchemist Leveling 66 to 68

I’ll put it up here since it’s very important: The following rotations are “the final form” of both 40 and 80 durability crafts. You can use these “macros” to learn how to manual craft them.

L66+ “Obliterator Rotations”

L66+ 40DUR 'Annihilator'

As implied, this rotation will crush any 40 durability from here on out.

/ac “Comfort Zone” <me><wait.2>
/ac “Inner Quiet” <me><wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <me><wait.2>
/ac “Patient Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Basic Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Manipulation II” <me><wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <me><wait.2>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Innovation” <me><wait.2>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Great Strides” <me><wait.2>
/echo I am nothing without Mahiko Senpai <se.1>

/ac “Byregot’s Blessing” <wait.3>
/ac “Ingenuity II” <me><wait.2>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <me><wait.3>
/echo Macro #2 complete T-thank you M-Mahiko Senpai <se.14>

L66+ 80DUR 'It that Destroys'

And this one will eradicate 80 durability recipes from now onwards.

While I can’t say I tested every niche “undergeared” scenario, this work of art CRUSHED every recipe at or near its level.

/ac “Muscle Memory” <wait.3>
/ac “Comfort Zone” <wait.2>
/ac “Inner Quiet” <wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <wait.2>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <wait.3>
/ac “Hasty Touch II” <wait.3>
/ac “Basic Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Basic Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Basic Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Manipulation II” <wait.2>
/ac “Steady Hand II” <wait.2>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/ac “Prudent Touch” <me><wait.3>
/echo Macro #1 complete I am nothing without Mahiko Senpai <se.1>

/ac “Great Strides” <wait.2>
/ac “Byregot’s Blessing” <wait.3>
/ac “Ingenuity II” <wait.2>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>
/ac “Careful Synthesis III” <wait.3>
/echo Macro #2 complete T-thank you M-Mahiko Senpai <se.14>

However...

I did not test these under all stress tests to prevent stupidity like “I have L62 main hand and L63 offhand and tried to craft L70 Ingot“. These recipes will carry you past certain gear upgrades at certain times. But don’t be greedy man, upgrade your damn gear to be safe.

I did not test these on recipes absurdly higher than my current level. Be responsible. They’re good rotations absolutely brimming with value but please… test it out first if you know you’re doing something dumb.

As long as your gear is up to date (the final mandatory gear upgrade is 67 main hand)

“Here… Now… Your ascendance is complete.”
– Mahiko “Deus Factorem” San

Leveling from here is mostly a formality, and it’s only a matter of time before you hit 70. Just a little more to go!

Alchemist Levequests @ 66

ClassLevelQtyItemTypeLevequest NameBest?
ALC663Cunning Craftsman’s TeaSEdge of the Arcane3
ALC663Marid Leather GrimoireSSpell-rebound3
ALC663Persimmon TanninTLet Loose the Juice1
ALC 66 Levequest discussion

Persimmon Tannin is pretty much the “omega levequest” for ALC. The next tier has one “OK” leve, but Persimmon Tannin beats it handily. You best make a lot of these for tann ins and for use with LTW leathers.

Cunning Craftsman’s Tea – check the price on these, as they’re sometimes pretty cheap. People make them to help with their “lacking CP” DoH melds. As for crafting them for turn-ins, Windtea Leaves are your main price blockage here.

Marid Leather Grimoire. No words.

ALC 66 to 68: What I did in this tier

I won’t fault you for repeating any value of the heavens levequest from the previous tier(s). Craft / submit / sell whatever you have from those tiers.

Luckily you need not fret, as the “omega levequest” item for ALC is in this tier – Persimmon Tannin! It’s great that it’s also a triple leve.

Again, you’ve had lots of options as ALC – this tier just improved that.

Grinding Alchemist 66 to 68

Persimmon Tannin is king. It’s both a levequest item and it’s used for high end leathers. Can’t go wrong here!

Cunning Craftsmans Tea (L67) is not a bad thing to grind on – lazy crafters use this to up their CP levels if they’re too poor to (or wrongly) meld. They’re also a leve item!

Important notes and events in this tier

L66 Off Hand Weapon

For ALC, that would be Doman Iron Mortar. HQ version of this is mandatory.

L67 Main Hand Weapon, Focused Synthesis

For ALC, that would be Doman Steel Alembic. HQ version of this is mandatory.

L67 also unlocks Focused Synthesis, which is a damn good skill. I used it in many a fresh 70 rotation to “proc” Manipulation II in the latter end of progress.

L68 ALC Class Quest

The rewards are meh. You get a choice of any Tier V crafting materia, which is welcome I guess. Choose whichever you need (honestly, CP is a good bet). Or what’s most expensive.

You also get the L68 NQ off-hand, which is pretty bad.

Finally, hitting 68 gives you Focused Touch, whose primary use is to squeeze one more touch unsupported by Steady Hand.

L68 Marid Leather Bolero? 68HQ Offhand?

L68 Marid Leather Bolero of Crafting HQ (Cheap melded with Competence III+ Command III+) I would say now it’s mandatory. It should spiritbond fast enough so you won’t feel too bad about it. I initially thought against it, but I’m gonna go ahead and recommend this.

L68 HQ Doman Steel Mortar? Honestly, I didn’t bother and it didn’t affect me. At least we save one gear piece worth of upgrades.

Alchemist Leveling 68 to 70

“There are two type of people who reach this hallowed place. Those who have Leves… And those who do not.”
– Mahiko “Did not” San.

How painful the final step is will largely depend on how FAST you clawed upwards. Having said that, if you took it easy and HAVE LEVES – abuse the living daylights out of them since they will serve you almost no purpose once your DoH levels are done.

Alchemist Levequests @ 68

ClassLevelQtyItemTypeLevequest NameBest?
ALC68 1Gazelleskin CodexSUltimate Official Strategy Guide3
ALC68 1Enchanted Palladium InkSMaking Your Mark1
ALC68 3Infusion of VitalityTPep-stepper2
ALC 68 Levequest discussion

Enchanted Palladium Ink is likely the cheapest – but it is 40 durability.

Infusion of Vitality MAY BE REASONABLE off the market board – check it out. It may be tough to make yourself being L69. But I don’t know, the Inks or previous tier levequests may be even cheaper…

Gazelleskin Codex… man… run away from this quick.

Overall the best choice to make yourself are the Inks, but still bad compared to Persimmon Tannin from last tier.

ALC 68 to 70: What I did in this tier

None of the levequests are exactly appealing except Enchanted Palladium Ink. If you want to grind -> submit those, go for it.

Of course, if you’re still on the Persimmon Tannin plan go for it. That’s how I capped myself off to 70.

If you wanna save on leves (you’re already abusing a triple, though…) check for collectibles. ALC has some RARE non-codex non-grimoire submits.

Grinding Alchemist 68 to 70

If you can get HQ mats for Infusions, you can actually grind on these as they’re widely used. Risky, though. Again, nothing much to grind – Persimmon Tannin is still king.

Important notes and events in this tier

This tiers materials are heavily used

So always check the market board for cheap mats. Whether it’s for red or yellow scrip, lots of crafters use the 68-70 tier materials so they should be abundant and fairly priced off the market board.

L68 Optional Upgrades: HQing is hard

As I mentioned previously, the 68 Main Hand is OPTIONAL.

With the “Obliterator Rotations” you should be doing very well still. However, do not think for one second that “100% HQ is possible from 0 HQ Mats”. That’s just silly, while leveling.

HQ raw materials in this tier are cheap since high level crafters don’t care about the quality of mats in this tier.

The first option is “Try to get 1/4th of your materials HQ”. So when you craft you have a slight advantage.

You want more consistency? It’s time for optional upgrades, then, which are the rest of the Marid Leather / Serge Tier.

L70 ALC Class Quest

The rewards are quite good. You get ALL Tier V crafting materia, as well as the Stroke of Genius trait.

The class quests are pretty decent, so there’s that. Aside from lore, the hype on reaching 70 is more of a relaxed “Finally…”

Alchemist Level 70 and Beyond

Welp! That’s about it for Stormblood content!

ON TO THE SHADOWBRINGERS TIER!

ALC Leveling Guide – Navigation: [0-15] | [15-35] | [35-50]
[50-60] | [60-64] | [64-70] | [70-80]

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34 thoughts on “FFXIV Alchemist Leveling Guide L1 to 80 | 5.3 ShB Updated”

  1. Can rotations please be updated to reflect skills that no longer exist, as well as new ones, etc (I.e. Comfort Zone).

  2. Hello! Just a heads up: I am currently doing the Lanolin leves in Whitebrim, and the number has been reduced to 1 lanolin per delivery, making it a 3 craft triple-leve; which is basically *amazing*.

  3. I’d like to add something to help out other people who plans to grind out lvl 15-25 using leves. It’s late I know.
    For level 15-25 leves, Ash Wand can be bought from the Merchant & Mender in Central Shroud, whereas the Budding Ash Wand can be bought from the same kind of NPC in East Shroud.

  4. I’m not sure where to leave this – there doesn’t seem to be any help or support section – but I can’t click to open any of the clickboxes in most (all?) of these leveling guides. I was able to a couple days ago. It’s not working for other friends I’ve asked to try, either. A little frustrating; I can’t see the macro recommendations anymore, among other things. This website has always been so great to help with leveling jobs, could someone look into fixing this?

  5. I have been following this guide and have gotten to 64 very easily but I have a small problem…
    When I go to the page for 64-70 none of the drop down menus work! I don’t know if it’s just me but I checked on 3 different browsers and had a friend even try. All the other pages work just fine. Kinda bummed because I wanted to see what to get gear wise and what cross skills I’m supposed to “FIX UP” but I can’t.

    Looking forward to getting on with my progession and your answer!

  6. Hello. First off, thank you so much for this guide. I have been following it to great success.

    I have noticed that some of your quotation marks for the macros do not copy+paste well into FFXIV. I have to edit every single one in order to use them. I’m NA, so not sure if it’s different in the EU/JP locale? Not a big deal, but if you care, there it is. :)

    Thanks!!

      1. At least the 71 ALC macros were posted with smart punctuation, which the NA version apparently chokes on. Wasn’t hard to fix with a bit of search and replace in a text editor, but still confusing at first.

  7. I have a correction. On the alchemist level 50-60 page, there is this line:

    “It’s now in Mor Dhona! Wiltaek (Revenants Toll) is your questgiver… and client!”

    The NPC name is misspelled. It should be “Wiltwaek”.

  8. I know it’s early on in the class, but the materials for Roof Tiles are not all available from the Alchemy supplier. They don’t sell Straw (but you can take a quick Aethernet jaunt to the Weaver’s guild that does).

  9. Here’s a suggestion if you’re lazy like me, when you first get palace of the dead you need to spam that because it gives you HQ potions with needing to buy and it also lvls up your class for attacking so it’s a win win situation.

  10. (15-20 range) Ash Branches actually aren’t purchased from the Guild Supplier, only their logs are. But I heard something about unlocking materials…? It’s not there at-level, at least.

  11. Just wanted to throw this out there,

    Lv30 Alchemist LeveQuest (Just Give Him a Serum), actually gives a little more EXP compared to the other Singles of the Lv35 Alchemist LeveQuest tier.

    Just Give Him a Serum (47.8k EXP for NQ / 95.6k EXP for HQ)
    Majority of Singles at Lv35 only gives roughly 41k EXP for NQ (with the exception of the Wand).

    So IMO, I think it should also be in that tier considering the amount of EXP it gives and how easy the recipe is.

  12. at lvl 56 you can spam hardsilver ink collectables for cheap and fast exp, got to 60 in 2 hours and made enough blue scrips for my books

    1. Yes they should be HQ because even for class quests, if you turn in an HQ item it will give you DOUBLE the XP

  13. 53 ALC quest is HQ Enchanted Mythrite Ink (x3)
    55 ALC quest is HQ Bottles of Grade 1 Intelligence Dissolvent (x3)
    58 ALC quest is HQ Draconian Potion of Strength (x1)
    60 ALC quest is HQ Noble Gold (x1)

  14. You might want to update the level-30-35 range that you can make Growth Formula Gamma with NPC bought materials… its just that you have to unlock them first…!

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