In this Final Fantasy XIV crafting guide, I will be revealing the mystery behind the types of synthesis, the colors of synths, and the flashing lights.

Types of Synthesis

When crafting an item, you have the option of selecting standard, rapid, bold, or "wait". Each of these types of synthesis has different implications, so you will want to choose wisely.

Standard synthesis has a high chance of success and results in a moderate increase in both progress and quality. Unless you have a reason not to use standard synthesis (such as if you are trying to create a high-quality item), you should always use this option.

Rapid synthesis has a moderate chance of success and results in a large increase in progress and a small increase in quality. This can be used to quickly synthesize materials or other items that you want to finish quickly but do not care about the quality of these items (such as when making low-level materials).

Bold synthesis has a low chance of success and if successful results in a large increase in quality and a small increase in progress. It is best used when you are trying to create a high-quality item and are currently a much higher level than the current synthesis requires (as to increase your chance of success).

Wait has a chance to change the color at the cost of 1 durability point. It is useful to wait if you are crafting a difficult synth, as the color may change to something more favorable. This leads me to the next part of the Final Fantasy XIV crafting guide: what colors of the synthesis mean.

Color of the Synthesis

As unusual as it may be, when the color of the item you are crafting changes, the results of your synthesis will also change. The different colors are white, yellow, red, and flashing or sparking (some crafts flash and some spark; none do both).

A white synthesis means that no matter what action you pick next (standard, rapid, etc.), you have a high chance of success. However, you also get a modest increase in quality when synthing on white. White synthesis is best for crafting difficult items.

A yellow color means that your chance of success is moderate, but the increase in quality will also be moderate. When crafting a difficult item, you may want to use the wait function so the color turns back to white. Otherwise, feel free to continue crafting at this point.

A red color means that your chance of success is low, but if you are successful, the increase in quality will be high. You will want to try to synthesize on red if you are trying to create a high-quality item. If you are synthing something difficult, you will want to wait when you see red.

Sparks or flashing lights simply amplify the effects of each color. Whenever something is sparking, the chance of success goes down but the positive results if successful go up. The same goes for flashing; flashing lights mean that the synthesis is likely to fail, but if you succeed, you will see a sizable increase in quality.