Shields for the Serpents
Location
Required Items
Rewards
What the allowance actually buys
One allowance here buys 6,840 EXP, the best of the 6 Lv 5 Carpenter tradecraft leves that record EXP: the runner-up manages 5,220 EXP, 24% less.
Across that rung the return runs from 2,490 EXP to 6,840 EXP per allowance — 6 distinct figures spanning 175%, so the wrong pick leaves 4,350 EXP of the allowance unspent.
On whether to wait: the best Lv 10 Carpenter tradecraft leve returns 13,090 EXP per allowance, 91% more than the best on this rung, while the Lv 1 rung behind tops out at 1,690 EXP.
At Lv 5 this data holds 52 leves paying EXP across 2 categories: the 48 Tradecraft ones average 4,554 EXP per allowance, the 4 Fieldcraft ones 28,481 EXP, which puts this leve 50% above its own category's average.
Gil ranks it differently: 168 gil per allowance is 2nd of 6 on the same rung against 1st on EXP, with the best there paying 170 gil.
Round Shield ×1 is a Lv 9 Carpenter recipe, 3 steps deep through 3 intermediates, costing 12 units of raw material and 8 crystals.
Handing that in returns 570 EXP and 14 gil for every unit of raw material the order swallows, and the tree needs Blacksmith and Carpenter.