This is a very valid question, right now gathering XP is very poor, it really needs to be address not only for the sake of spiritbond but for the enjoyability of the DoL classes.
Nobody wants to spend hours and hours grinding away getting like this.
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Not everyone has lvl 50's to grind out SpiritBond with. The whole point of this thread is that it is extremely difficult for low levels and newbies to gain SpiritBond before they out level their gear. No one wants to still be wearing lvl 1 gear at level 12 because SPiritBond isn't full yet and if they upgrade their gear, they will never achieve full Bond.
As for the 2nd comment....low levels want (and need) to use Materia too.
I would say the teir of materia "Generally produced" by the item should determine how much SP is required to Spirit bond a item.
Although this raises issues with RMT flooding the market with low tier materia...hmm...
Yes it's true you can't manufacture your own Materia till you get at least 1 Class to lvl 18 but after that you should be able to create Materia on all other classes starting from lvl 1.
I fail to grasp why anyone is against lvl 8 characters having Materia Enhanced gear. Why is there tier 1 Materia if we never get to use it? Yes, we can buy tier 1 Materia but a lot of peeps like to farm everything themselves ( I do anyway).
Is all tier 1 Materia expected to be grinded out by lvl 50's or will lvls 1-10, 10-20 and 20-30 be able to create their own and join in the fun?
Gained 6 ranks in 4 hours on my CNJ44 (now 50) yesterday in a Spiritbind party, in the Strongholds.
It was fantastic fun, and I actually was able to contribute, rotating Stoneskin II, Shock Spikes II, Protect and Shell, and tossing out Curaga's and Cure II's when needed.
Was actually a great way to learn my class properly too, as there was a lot MP preservation needed, and much panic healing.
Tonnes of fun.
Go to the strongholds for spirit bonding. I usually have to take about 3 sets of gear with me for a couple hours in the strongholds.