Kitty Get Your Helm

One allowance here buys 67,730 EXP, the best on the Lv 30 Armorer tradecraft rung — matched exactly by 1 other leve of the 6 there, with the rest trailing at 52,220 EXP or less.

Across that rung the return runs from 26,530 EXP to 67,730 EXP per allowance — 5 distinct figures spanning 155%, so the wrong pick leaves 41,200 EXP of the allowance unspent.

On whether to wait: the best Lv 35 Armorer tradecraft leve returns 82,760 EXP per allowance, 22% more than the best on this rung, while the Lv 25 rung behind tops out at 69,150 EXP.

At Lv 30 this data holds 52 leves paying EXP across 2 categories: the 48 Tradecraft ones average 44,832 EXP per allowance, the 4 Fieldcraft ones 275,323 EXP, which puts this leve 51% above its own category's average.

Gil ranks it differently: 486 gil per allowance is 2nd of 6 on the same rung against 1st on EXP, with the best there paying 520 gil.

Steel Elmo ×1 is a Lv 31 Armorer recipe, 3 steps deep through 4 intermediates, costing 17 units of raw material and 27 crystals.

Handing that in returns 3,984 EXP and 29 gil for every unit of raw material the order swallows, and the tree needs Armorer, Blacksmith and Leatherworker.