Automata for the People

One allowance here buys 25,250 EXP, which places it 4th of the 6 Lv 25 Alchemist tradecraft leves that record EXP. The best of them, You Put Your Left Hand In, returns 43,600 EXP for the same allowance, 73% more.

Across that rung the return runs from 17,310 EXP to 43,600 EXP per allowance — 6 distinct figures spanning 152%, so the wrong pick leaves 26,290 EXP of the allowance unspent.

On whether to wait: the best Lv 30 Alchemist tradecraft leve returns 41,410 EXP per allowance, 5% less than the best on this rung, while the Lv 20 rung behind tops out at 21,600 EXP.

At Lv 25 this data holds 52 leves paying EXP across 2 categories: the 48 Tradecraft ones average 31,772 EXP per allowance, the 4 Fieldcraft ones 204,269 EXP, which puts this leve 21% below its own category's average.

Gil ranks it differently: 326 gil per allowance is 3rd of 6 on the same rung against 4th on EXP, with the best there paying 715 gil.

Crab Oil ×1 is a Lv 26 Alchemist recipe, a single step, costing 2 units of raw material and 2 crystals.

Handing that in returns 12,625 EXP and 163 gil for every unit of raw material the order swallows.