Suggestion: Melding Grand Company gear and weapons in 2.0?

Hello Dev Team,

Sincere apologies in advance if this has been mentioned or suggested already, but my previous searches didn't exactly bring this up.

Question is: are there future plans to allow us to meld and/or afflix materia onto our Grand Company (or even free company?) items?

There have been a lot of discussion on the forums and in-game about how we all wish we could trade in our GC stuff for other items sold by other affiliations... for instance, a Maelstrom person wanting to trade in their officer's coat for the Flame coat because they find that it is more effective on their preferred mage job class.

So if we cant have this happen, why not give us the option of being able to purchase certain materia (using seals) directly from the GC desk that the NPC can then affix onto our GC items? Perhaps make a limit of the first two melds to be 100% successful but place higher chances of failure for additional melds... or just make additional melds increasingly expensive with a maximum limit of four melds?

This way, we could all customize our gear and weapons to be unique to our play styles or favourite job classes.

Dunno... just a minor thought in seeking a way for us to really enjoy possessing our GC items while sustaining our thirst to keep gathering and/or spending seals. Thanks again for the phenomenal work guys... and be well.

There's no point, since any of the items worth wearing are already very strong. (100HP, Sanction: 50 ACC on a set of gloves from the Maelstrom, for instance)

As for trading gear, they said you can change GC in 2.0, but you won't be able to wear other GC's items. So no mix/matching.

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Originally Posted by Issachar

There's no point, since any of the items worth wearing are already very strong. (100HP, Sanction: 50 ACC on a set of gloves from the Maelstrom, for instance)

As for trading gear, they said you can change GC in 2.0, but you won't be able to wear other GC's items. So no mix/matching.

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On the contrary... there are several opportunities for the GC gear and weaponry to be improved for more efficient gameplay; and if truth be told, almost half of them have stats that are not directly related to a particular class.

The point is, (for instance) you have a red Maelstrom officers coat that you actually enjoy wearing for its aesthetics but cannot use in battles if you play BLM often. In this case you are forced to stare in envy at your contemporaries rocking the the flame coats because they have the necessary +INT stats.

So assuming we CAN trade in our GC stuff in 2.0; I absolutely HAVE to trade in my beloved spiffy red coat for the tan coat just because I want the INT stats on it? And what if I wanted a versatile coat that I could also use on my Dragoon because of the Piety stats?

Thus, the question persists... why can't we have an option to purchase materia to afflix onto our GC gear (or Free Company gear) that relates to our style of play?

Example: Player A wants INT and PIETY stats on their GC stuff because he/she plays blm and whm often, so they go out and farm the necessary seals and get the materia from the NPC. Done deal. They're happy to get the stats on their preferred item, AND the gameplay dynamics ensures that players are always doing missions etc for seals

Do you now see the logic behind my inquisitive suggestion?

Not to mention, the Dev team might really want to look at shifting the focus of the 2.0 economy from gil to GC seals as one way to balance gameplay... after all the drama on the forums regarding the 9/10th gil reduction idea (of which I agree with), this may prove to be a viable secondary solution.

Besides, a great percentage of the gil hoarders in-game are actually storing up gil so as to have the buying power to obtain top tier materia, gear, weapons etc; so why not really integrate GC seals acquisition as a balancing element?

I disagree with improving GC gear and equipment. THe only reason we have materia and melding is to improve, enhance and customize normal gear. This giving the choice to casuals who cant afford GC gear at the time needed.

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Originally Posted by PSxpert2011

I disagree with improving GC gear and equipment. THe only reason we have materia and melding is to improve, enhance and customize normal gear. Thus giving the choice to casuals who cant afford GC gear at the time needed.

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Ok Psxpert, I shall be as polite as possible as I explain a couple things:

First off, I always seek clever cognitive debates and I believe we just might have one here. Just a word of advice though...it'll be great to explain the validity of your point with something that either acts as an enhancement or a rebuttal.

Next, I shall explain that the REAL reason we have materia is not only because it is a staple of component of Final Fantasy games but because we players have been discussing this within a week of FFXIV's announcement back in June of 2009.

HERE is the first link where several of us started the discussion on Allakhazam and how eventually many more of us players migrated the suggestion (over the next 18 months) onto a few more FFXIV related forums.

To summerize, the players asked for it from the get-go and Yoshi phenomenally delivered on it. Indeed, its primary function was to enhance gear and weaponry but it also helped to keep the game economy stable AND keep players engaged in battles even after they had hit max levels on their job classes...(Spiritbonding parties ring a bell?)

It also brought a new dimension to crafting and incorporated itself into the lore ...(FYI, the materia system on Eorzea actually has Garlean origins that possibly evolved from ancient Near eastern cultures, some say as far back as the Allagan empire period)

Thirdly, the materia system was not just for casual players who couldn't afford GC gear (its actually the other way round; which is why some GC gear pricing was tailored to suit people who focused more on GC missions, leves, solo play etc). The upper officer level 25k-seal weapons are also for people who couldn't afford the time or resources to chase a relic.

In the end, my point remains simple... why shouldn't the materia system be extended to GC stuff for reasons I mentioned in my previous posts above?

I think the main point he mentioned still stands though: the Materia system was created with the though of being used ONLY with normal gear. Not U/U stuff. And I think that's a very good idea.

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Originally Posted by Gokulo

I think the main point he mentioned still stands though: the Materia system was created with the thought of being used ONLY with normal gear. Not U/U stuff. And I think that's a very good idea.

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Hello Gokulo, allow me to re-iterate... nobody said it's not a great idea --and yes indeed; the materia system doesn't work on U/U but it does on Unique gear. We all know that.

That said, I'm not sure you're getting my point, whereby a Grand Company NPC can affix materia specifically onto GC gear (and not the whole wardrobe of U/U items. I never mentioned that). Therefore, I'll repeat ONE of my suggestion points yet again...

Assuming we CAN trade in our GC stuff in 2.0; do I absolutely HAVE to trade in my beloved spiffy red coat for the tan Flame coat just because I want the INT and PIE stats on it?

For example, lets look at it from an armour point of view...and I'll do a thought-process list sequencing below to make this understandable (a very necessary skill that has helped me even now in architecture grad school):

• I'm Maelstrom affiliation.
• I love my Red officers' gear... heck, it even matches wickedly with my Tricorne hat
• Black Mage and Dragoon are the two jobs I enjoy playing the most.
• Flame officers coat has the +INT and +PIE stats I want for my two favourite jobs.
• I want their coat but don't like the looks; neither do I want to leave Maelstrom.
• Thus...can I have an NPC that affixes INT and PIE materia (perhaps for, 10k seals each) onto my Red coat?

For clarity, let me use one of my friends as another example... and this is a true story instance we had while discussing this issue in-game. This time we shall look at her argument from a weapons point of view

• She is Serpent affiliation.
• She loves the Serpent lieutenant's spear (must be that "Gridania-Green" colour)
• Dragoon is her favourite job.
• Storm Lieutenant trident has +5 Crit Rate
• She wants that stat but doesnt' like the looks of the Maelstrom Trident; neither does she want to leave the Serpents.
• Thus...can she have an NPC that affixes +Crit Rate materia (for say, 10k seals each) onto her Gridania-Green Serpent spear?

Follow me now?

S-E will be adding vanity slots which will solve the looks issue :p
I'm not saying your idea is horrible or anything, yet people would quickly jump to say it's unfair that only GC gears get the treatment. Because why only them and not the others? Right now we have a clear definition as to what can be melded what not. Plus, melding is getting rebalanced in ARR so the systems should even itself out.

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Originally Posted by Gokulo

S-E will be adding vanity slots which will solve the looks issue :p
I'm not saying your idea is horrible or anything, yet people would quickly jump to say it's unfair that only GC gears get the treatment. Because why only them and not the others? Right now we have a clear definition as to what can be melded what not. Plus, melding is getting rebalanced in ARR so the systems should even itself out.

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Ummm, no... first off, the materia system does need to be a little streamlined (there are already a couple threads on this on the forums); and many players will confirm that the various tiers within tiers has become somewhat cumbersome.

Secondly, there have been suggestions for even the AF gear to get this treatment (which I personally agree with cuz I actually liked several of the AF storylines and missions... just unfortunate that compared to melded items they now take a distant second place)

As for the vanity slots idea, it still does not establish the criteria I'm really focusing on. If you are referring to THIS thread then you know that the implementation of this system is still a good ways off.

Sure, that takes care of the aesthetics of the armour but once again, this does not address the idea of the desired stats that could be corrected by adding materia. Like I mentioned a while back to several friends in-game, perhaps selling three or four different versions of an item could solve the issue... for instance, mage version of officer's coat with mage stats or melee version with desired melee stats.

Problem is, we now have an unnecessary larger inventory of items for swapping within a limited storage space (now only 100 slots in 2.0). Thus, why not consider this NPC materia system? Or a system where you pick which (three or four?) stats you wish to have on your item? Why not?

the overall generic subject is interesting
even if theres alot of possibility that can be asked
i find this subject really sensible
there's stats and bonus stats for set of items
you cant just ask to meld 4 materia.. because of the bonus for the set..theres also sanction

2 materias... maybe even one for some items.. i dont want to calculate.. but i think you understand

but the point where you state that the items are likely too much specificated for one classe is good but its still likely unique

so they would infact need to add different set of items

therefor if they just add different set of items.. i dont think they would have to make them tradeable

so in the end if they add materia..tradeable..and different set of items.. they need to think about either 2 of those 3 request because you cant just add an unique tradeable without increasing its price... think about game time.. this is absurd.. also i cant just just continue arguing about something is stupid if that involves persons behavior