Why No Melds?

I meld everything I get, even if it's just putting III/IV in the slots, because otherwise I feel like I'm not making the effort to do the most DPS I possibly can.

If you don't wanna meld your gear that's your choice. I just can't stand seeing empty slots on my gear.

Becasue it's my 4th job and idc

*puts on devil's advocate hat*

Because... frankly it's none of your business what I do with my time.

Seriously, the implications of social pressure to force someone to do ANY content they don't like, even if it is as something as material melding, is BS. If it bothers you that much, don't pug. People don't have to justify their lifestyle or play-style to you, period.

If you're curious, and you're open to the response, sure, ask away. But using is a negative implication to try to shame or pressure someone into doing so? - no bueno.

The material system in general is a bonus, not a requirement.

*devil's advocate hat off*

That said, tier IVs are fairly easy to come by if you do the beast-men dailies, and are good, at the very least, for slot experimentation.

To the ire, and in direct spite to, everyone here. I've been using my junk skill-speed materia to hit the 860 - 900 breakpoint on SKS, purely for experimentation and fun factor. So while I don't expect it of anyone, I do encourage it as a way to play around with your stats a bit.

I only meld gear when I am 100% sure it is the strongest gear I will get for awhile(months).

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Originally Posted by Thunda_Cat_SMASH

It is the same thing, though. You're keeping yourself at a minimal chance for success and leaving wipes as a more likely outcome by unmelding. You might as well be at the bare minimum ilvl.

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All the debate has moved from needing the best gear to having the best gear with melds. Gear/melds does not equal skill, it not going to make a "bad" player better, cause you know can polish a turd but it still a turd.

On an separate note:
Maybe if the gear was not pretty much throw away gear that always being replaced and the content was harder that needed melds maybe more people would take the time to meld their gear.

If you are not raiding, it is not a big deal if you do not meld. Personally I meld my primary job with materia just to give it all I got since I have plenty of gil from crafting and gathering. If you want the very best gear, you want to have optimum melds within your own financial means.

However, player skill makes more of a difference than materia melds in most situations.

Ive seen a frost blm with full fire resist materia. Sadly he still out dps some pugs in df lol

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Originally Posted by Hyrist

*puts on devil's advocate hat*

Because... frankly it's none of your business what I do with my time.

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Actually, it is their business if they are put on a team with you.

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Originally Posted by Urthdigger

Technically, it's not free. There's a thing called "Opportunity cost." Basically, by melding materia you're losing out on the potential gil you could have gotten by selling it.

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There is also the added opportunity cost of having increased time spent in content, taking away from time spent in things that provide you with gil.

Looking back at 2.x only raiders would meld their gear, or let me rephrase that, would only meld their gear correctly. To that time you needed a crafting profession or a friend to have melds and a lot of people loved the challenge of over melding. Some just melded for spirit bonding to speed it up a little bit while doing their relics.

With 3.x there was not really a reason to meld your gear unless you wanted to raid, but that only applied to savage since the regular mode clearly wont need it. You don't need to meld your gear for any other content, I mean sure it might make your expert roulette 3 minutes faster if people would have melded their gear, but I don't think anyone really cares.

With the implementing of the new menders, some people especially those that took a break mid season, are not aware of the melder npc's. Some people as the topic shows, don't like to meld their gear since it's not BiS yet and others just don't have the time to farm gil/materia or run the content that gives the materia/tokens and are left with just a couple of materia they like to hold onto, till they are sure that this is what they like to meld to their gear.

Either way, I do think that if you're not a raider and just run the content casually/laid back once or twice a week, there's no reason for you to meld your gear. It's a game after all and of course the perfect scenario would be people melding everything everywhere, but I think that we gotta cut them some slack. With 4.0 maybe melding materia is more important.