<I'm confused and frightened><Please><Help me out!>

Hi Optimo,

Welcome back. :)

Some great information by some of the board veterans above. One other thing since it's been over a year since you logged in:

Yoshida-san added in his version of FF VII's Materia System. In a nutshell, all crafted gear and some U/U gear can be worn and "spiritbonded" and turned into Materia. You wear the gear, earn some EXP and when its bar fills up to 100%, you can turn it into Materia if you want.

For "Max Level BLM Gear" after you earn your AF, you can work on getting some crafted gear and meld a Single Tier III or IV Materia (the highest grades / types) which is 100% success rate. You can then try for Double Melds when you feel financially comfortable to try. ;)

Also, you'll want to try and wear gear that's Level 41 or higher for a chance to have it convert into Tier IV materia (anything below Level 41 has zero chance of turning into Tier IV).

Here's a guide on Materia on Lodestone if you missed it:
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...materia01.html

Here's a Conversion Table:
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...materia03.html

Here are 2 great websites for helping you browse current available Gear / Recipes and other helpful things about XIV:

http://mozk-tabetai.com/

http://mooglebox.com/includes/

Enjoy! :)

Wow, thank you all so much for all of the great info! When did Lodestone forums become filled with such friendly helpful people? :-P

Just one last question before I overstay my welcome.....are crafting leve's still the best way to gain DoH levels or is "standard synth" grinding the way to go?

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Originally Posted by Optimo

Just one last question before I overstay my welcome.....are crafting leve's still the best way to gain DoH levels or is "standard synth" grinding the way to go?

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If you do the Grand Company quests, you can purchase books that boost your crafting/gathering exp gains. Also, you gain bonus exp for putting in more quality when you synth. And while I'm at it, crafting abilities have been overhauled and are now useable (if not necessary at times). Spamming Standard synth won't work as well as it used to.

crafting if u get higher quality u get a lot of bonus exp. so try raise quality up when u craft. can be leves or gather own mats. any is fine :P

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Originally Posted by Optimo

Wow, thank you all so much for all of the great info! When did Lodestone forums become filled with such friendly helpful people? :-P

Just one last question before I overstay my welcome.....are crafting leve's still the best way to gain DoH levels or is "standard synth" grinding the way to go?

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You're welcome. :)

To add to Antanias and Kairi's tips, don't forget to log out in your city's Inn Room (free), from now on.

Being in the Inn gives you Rested EXP Bonus, which will be applied automatically to anything you do that earns EXP. You'll see your EXP Bar turn Color (Green or Red) showing you how much Bonus you have left to spend.

The rested EXP helps with leveling your Crafting / Gathering immensely. :)

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Originally Posted by Kiara

To add to Antanias and Kairi's tips, don't forget to log out in your city's Inn Room (free), from now on.

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<--gives Kiara a ball of yarn

Forgot all about the inn, ty for pointing that out :D

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Originally Posted by Optimo

Zomg, great info everyone, thanks so much for replies!!!

Quick questions though.....what the hell is "double / triple melded" gear mean? Multiple materia on a single piece of gear? HQ procs?

Sorry, I guess I'm a noob again ><

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Don't Worry you are not the only one. I also just came back, though not as well leveled as you. There is a bit of a re-learn curve. My suggestion is go to the server and find a noob friendly LS to join if you don't already have one. Mine has been a SUPER amount of help getting back into the swing of the game.