The Needle That Binds

One allowance here buys 1,443,780 EXP, which places it 2nd of the 2 Lv 86 Goldsmith tradecraft leves that record EXP. The best of them, To Fight at Her Side, returns 2,028,020 EXP for the same allowance, 40% more.

On whether to wait: the best Lv 88 Goldsmith tradecraft leve returns 2,297,800 EXP per allowance, 13% more than the best on this rung, while the Lv 84 rung behind tops out at 1,067,020 EXP.

At Lv 86 this data holds 18 leves paying EXP across 2 categories: the 16 Tradecraft ones average 1,557,007 EXP per allowance, the 2 Fieldcraft ones 2,953,920 EXP, which puts this leve 7% below its own category's average.

Gil ranks it differently: 5,000 gil per allowance is 1st of 2 on the same rung against 2nd on EXP, with the best there paying 5,000 gil.

Manganese Needle ×1 is a Lv 87 Goldsmith recipe, 3 steps deep through 3 intermediates, costing 23 units of raw material and 56 crystals.

Handing that in returns 62,773 EXP and 217 gil for every unit of raw material the order swallows, and the tree needs Blacksmith and Goldsmith.