See Shields by the Sea Shore

One allowance here buys 431,170 EXP, which places it 2nd of the 3 Lv 68 Armorer tradecraft leves that record EXP. The best of them, Spoony Is the Bard, returns 681,530 EXP for the same allowance, 58% more.

Across that rung the return runs from 408,920 EXP to 681,530 EXP per allowance — 3 distinct figures spanning 67%, so the wrong pick leaves 272,610 EXP of the allowance unspent.

On whether to wait: the best Lv 70 Armorer tradecraft leve returns 565,870 EXP per allowance, 17% less than the best on this rung, while the Lv 66 rung behind tops out at 969,450 EXP.

At Lv 68 this data holds 27 leves paying EXP across 2 categories: the 24 Tradecraft ones average 550,185 EXP per allowance, the 3 Fieldcraft ones 1,189,544 EXP, which puts this leve 22% below its own category's average.

Gil ranks it differently: 3,494 gil per allowance is 1st of 3 on the same rung against 2nd on EXP, with the best there paying 3,494 gil.

Molybdenum Kite Shield ×1 is a Lv 69 Armorer recipe, 3 steps deep through 4 intermediates, costing 18 units of raw material and 29 crystals.

Handing that in returns 23,954 EXP and 194 gil for every unit of raw material the order swallows, and the tree needs Armorer, Blacksmith and Carpenter.