Using Your Arcane Powers for Fun and Profit
Location
Required Items
Rewards
What the allowance actually buys
One allowance here buys 12,030 EXP, the best of the 6 Lv 10 Alchemist tradecraft leves that record EXP: the runner-up manages 9,990 EXP, 17% less.
Across that rung the return runs from 6,880 EXP to 12,030 EXP per allowance — 5 distinct figures spanning 75%, so the wrong pick leaves 5,150 EXP of the allowance unspent.
On whether to wait: the best Lv 15 Alchemist tradecraft leve returns 22,790 EXP per allowance, 89% more than the best on this rung, while the Lv 5 rung behind tops out at 6,280 EXP.
At Lv 10 this data holds 52 leves paying EXP across 2 categories: the 48 Tradecraft ones average 8,265 EXP per allowance, the 4 Fieldcraft ones 43,676 EXP, which puts this leve 46% above its own category's average.
Gil ranks it differently: 230 gil per allowance is 2nd of 6 on the same rung against 1st on EXP, with the best there paying 284 gil.
Ash Picatrix ×1 is a Lv 13 Alchemist recipe, 2 steps deep through 3 intermediates, costing 9 units of raw material and 5 crystals.
Handing that in returns 1,337 EXP and 26 gil for every unit of raw material the order swallows, and the tree needs Alchemist, Carpenter and Weaver.