new melding system. more casual? no thanks!

Alot of 1.0 didnt require skill, just redundancy. I look forward to 2.0 providing much more REAL content than the monotony of SB'ing as much and 15 minute crawl spams.

and please can we have more customization on materia use instead of stacking 1 stat to a piece of gear. i would like to have a glove peice with str , att , store-tp , acc on my gloves instead of +50 str gloves then people wont let you join the group becuase ur gloves dont meet the requirements to kill an enemy lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yolteotl

Alot of 1.0 didnt require skill, just redundancy. I look forward to 2.0 providing much more REAL content than the monotony of SB'ing as much and 15 minute crawl spams.

---

The fact that your Botany skill in your signature isn't 45 or 40 irks me. ;_;

On-topic though, I agree to an extent. A particular event or end-game activity will always end up feeling redundant, since generally you will end up doing it in a set day every week, with your static/group.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by EnkiOro

The fact that your Botany skill in your signature isn't 45 or 40 irks me. ;_;

---

I know lol... it got left that way cause i was attempting to get it to 45 before the final save...

Yea all end-game material has a redundancy factor, but now that they have a much longer timetable to work for/with in ARR I'm hoping for Content where even if u Static and get the 'routine' of the Content down it's still challenging because of some other variables that normally weren't present in 1.0. Main variables in 1.0 was brain-fart, mobs spamming hate reset (needed to find 1 that was actually programmed in), connection loss, or inviting someone to fill-in a hole... OHHH and server lag... lol

I understood the 'void' in 1.0, cause they were limited with what they had to work with and they were only putting Content out in the context of it being feasible to be completed within the life-span of 1.0.

What i don't want is to still be the same options: A) spam-killing mobs for hours and hours to get good materia and then have it blow-up, then rinse and repeat 20x's or give-up on earning it and just buying it, B) spamming low-content raids for drops, or C) spam-leveling or achievement hounding to pass the time while waiting for ARR to hopefully bring the change... I was mainly guilty of C lol

I keep thinking of all the inventory I'm going to get from so many of my materias stacking after this change... +inventory /dance :)

I think everyone (players and the devs) needs to distinguish between "casual" players and "not a lot of free time" players.

A casual player is going to want to pop on on a Saturday night and hit things with their glowy weapon.

A player without a lot of free time is going to want challenging content, but without redundant RNG, "dead" time (waiting to form a group, etc), or "fetch this trinket so I can give you another trinket to give to the guy who will start this quest" content.

I'm all for tough battles and quests that require thought and personal investment, but let it rely on my skill and not on pointless time sinks.

I think it's still to early to tell if I'll like the new system. I'm inclined to say I won't like it because I liked to gamble on melded gear in 1.0. Before I say that though I'll have to see what my current gear end up like as far as stats, what I'll be able to make under the new system, and how that all compares to dropped gear and common melds.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dbrewer225

and please can we have more customization on materia use instead of stacking 1 stat to a piece of gear. i would like to have a glove peice with str , att , store-tp , acc on my gloves instead of +50 str gloves then people wont let you join the group becuase ur gloves dont meet the requirements to kill an enemy lol.

---

OMG this this this this this.

I am so sick of ####in Stat Stacking.

What is the point of having 50 different kinds of Materia if the only ones that are usable are the raw stats?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kiote

OMG this this this this this.

I am so sick of ####in Stat Stacking.

What is the point of having 50 different kinds of Materia if the only ones that are usable are the raw stats?

---

Good call!

It would be nice if success % was got a significant bonus for multi-melding different types of materia.

i'm fine with this change.
i don't want materia to play a big role for me in a game where i expect endgame equipment to be superior to materia equipment.

it's fine for when you want to make materia equipment to help you reach a goal, but that's how far it should go and not further.

the idea of materia at first was fine, and i was happy about it when i saw the news.
but then i saw people stack stats like crazy to go faster for that dungeon, or drop garuda in a matter of minutes.
i still have nightmares remembering the prices of intelligence materia when garuda was burnable by a group of BLMs that had enough accuracy and INT loaded on them.

that's one more reason i want SE to give a limit as to how high a player can actually stack one stat with materia alone.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Black_Rose

i'm fine with this change.
i don't want materia to play a big role for me in a game where i expect endgame equipment to be superior to materia equipment.

it's fine for when you want to make materia equipment to help you reach a goal, but that's how far it should go and not further.

the idea of materia at first was fine, and i was happy about it when i saw the news.
but then i saw people stack stats like crazy to go faster for that dungeon, or drop garuda in a matter of minutes.
i still have nightmares remembering the prices of intelligence materia when garuda was burnable by a group of BLMs that had enough accuracy and INT loaded on them.

that's one more reason i want SE to give a limit as to how high a player can actually stack one stat with materia alone.

---

Why should crafters have a glass ceiling for their work? The goal is to make exceptionally good gear. Without materia crafting becomes a lot less viable in making an economy and customizing builds for maximum effect.

Easier melding means I get my relic weapon cheaper, I'm all for it. pce

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by reefo

Easier melding means I get my relic weapon cheaper, I'm all for it. pce

---

Maybe but you cant buy it with these changes either so you will be completely at the mercy of the rng.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kallera

Why should crafters have a glass ceiling for their work? The goal is to make exceptionally good gear. Without materia crafting becomes a lot less viable in making an economy and customizing builds for maximum effect.

---

i'm not sure what you're trying to get at, i never implied that i want materia to get useless, crafters will still make equipment and they would even without materia.atleast i was before materia was introduced.
and i heared people in games that don't have materia like systems make equipment still aswell!

all i'm saying is that it should be looked at as a meaning to get to your goal quicker.and that shouldn't be another +16 STR on some 40k gil piece of equipment that can be crafted, but rather a piece of dungeon equipment.

builds for maximum effect is the right word.tho, that 100 INT from only stacking INT on a BLM isn't exactly what i would call maximum effect.it's just a way to dumb down a good game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Black_Rose

i'm not sure what you're trying to get at, i never implied that i want materia to get useless, crafters will still make equipment and they would even without materia.atleast i was before materia was introduced.
and i heared people in games that don't have materia like systems make equipment still aswell!

all i'm saying is that it should be looked at as a meaning to get to your goal quicker.and that shouldn't be another +16 STR on some 40k gil piece of equipment that can be crafted, but rather a piece of dungeon equipment.

builds for maximum effect is the right word.tho, that 100 INT from only stacking INT on a BLM isn't exactly what i would call maximum effect.it's just a way to dumb down a good game.

---

So because I spent several hours farming materials from mobs and repeating a recepie and blowing up melds until I got what I wanted. It doesn't count

But it does count if I spend several hours farming NMs, repeating an instance, and blowing up adds until I got what I wanted?

Same randomness, imo.

it is the same randomness, you're right.

one thing requires either gil or time to farm/exp/craft
one thing requires a group, a portion of brain to get done and some equipment to help that process.

combine both and you got a good balance, take away one of them and you got an ever repeating process of the same old crap.

the current version doesn't require you to work your ass of for endgame equipment, you can just farm gil or spiritbond enough equipment to make you happy (depending on you luck with melding)

BUT

wouldn't it be more nice to make use of both, one being more solo orientated while the other requires a group to get done with?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Black_Rose

the current version doesn't require you to work your ass of for endgame equipment

---

I can meld a weapon to be better than relics, or armor to be better than darklight? Interesting!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KiriA500

I can meld a weapon to be better than relics, or armor to be better than darklight? Interesting!

---

i wouldn't go as far as a relic lol, but yes, you can easily replace darklight with materia equipment.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KiriA500

I can meld a weapon to be better than relics, or armor to be better than darklight? Interesting!

---

well the static stats on both are just hard to match even if you assume 100% 5 meld. DPS for relics are so high that no amount of attack power, or stat push will match it in the mathematical standpoint. For Darklight pieces it is possible for some pieces and not for others. For instance heavy darklight def per piece is more then 2 melds of def materia for some pieces so there is no way to get it in the total def score. Same for the huge hp boost while balancing other stats but materia goes around the designer balancing idea.

The only thing that will ever Balance Crafting Gear against Dungeon gear is to make Crafted Gear that requires the completion of Dungeons.

The End All Be All of Gear should be HQ Crafted Armour/Weapons that Requires a Material that can only be obtained by completing a Specific Dungeon and a Material that can only be obtained by Gathering in a Special Location. When this level of Crafted Armour/Weapon is Melded with 5 Different Types of Materia, it should far out class anything else in the game.

*Tangent*

In writing what I just wrote it occurred to me that by creating Materia Combo Effects. The Devs could alter the system just slightly enough to make Melding the same Materia Type to a Single Piece of Armour an ineffective way to gear up.

ex. Heaven's Eye Materia(+Acc) + Savage Might Materia(+Crit Pow) = Bonus Effect Savage Aim(+Crit Rate)

Casual is a dirty word. Many things in ARR have been dumbed down and made easier to understand. I don't see that as a bad thing. Why would you want something to be complicated?

Much of the hate for melded gear comes from the fact that a 5-melded tier IV item can hypothetically beat out Darklight, Relic, etc.

Where are all these 5x Tier IV material melded items that these so-called lucky crafters get from sitting on their ass??

I've heard of only one in existence on any server, and I haven't found a SS of it...

On the other hand, relics (and Darklight) were very common - at least on my server (before the final save, of course)

Shouldn't multi-melds at least be as common as the superior Relic and Darklight counterparts?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zantetsuken

Much of the hate for melded gear comes from the fact that a 5-melded tier IV item can hypothetically beat out Darklight, Relic, etc.

Where are all these 5x Tier IV material melded items that these so-called lucky crafters get from sitting on their ass??

I've heard of only one in existence on any server, and I haven't found a SS of it...

On the other hand, relics (and Darklight) were very common - at least on my server (before the final save, of course)

Shouldn't multi-melds at least be as common as the superior Relic and Darklight counterparts?

---

Well that really depends on how you look at it. On the grand scheme beyond that of just player progression and/or advantage the materia meld system brings a complete life cycle for gear. Gear in of it self is useless after it is trumped it just sits in the auction house/ storage having no use. The materia system gave it a perishable factor with spiritbonding burning gear.

IF you recall the servers prior to it introduction the markets were flooded with gear that had no use because the Alpine jacket or canopus spear was better or the stats didn't match well. Many reasons not to get them, but materia changed that having people consuming armors and weapons allowed for more armorers and bsms crps to make and put more stuff up that would also be consumed. Now the life cycle of all gear capable of being bound and converted was complete which is one reason dated gears were being bought up and vanishing from the wards at breakneck speeds.

But that still leaves a newer dead end with melds, because you gain no bonus for converting them so keeping/ selling it is the only option. Now at this point the fact that you can make it better with a dual>penta meld is a risk still gives that gear a life cycle of use. If you fail more gear will have to be used up to make it again, if you succeed it will be in use. So those harsh restrictions do have a purpose. And trust me I am say this as jaded as anyone with being 0/120 on triple str melded red cobalt gauntlets alone.

The best way to sort this out and keep that needed life cycle to stop stagnation would be a methods of melding that increase the changes beyond just +1. And if that could be done using materia of different types in combination such as resistances that would help those lucky unlucky few that beat the high percentage of getting a base stat or focused stat and getting a resistance then all the better (Statistically status resistances are rarer then every other type besides the last materia added that come from the primal/dungeon drops but are not used at all).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alaltus

Maybe but you cant buy it with these changes either so you will be completely at the mercy of the rng.

---

Why wouldn't you be able to buy it? higher success rate on double meld = more melds on these weapons successful = more people selling them for less than they were in ARR. There will still be people silling them, tho they shouldn't cost nearly as much if they put double meld success rate at a good level.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sakasa

well the static stats on both are just hard to match even if you assume 100% 5 meld. DPS for relics are so high that no amount of attack power, or stat push will match it in the mathematical standpoint. For Darklight pieces it is possible for some pieces and not for others. For instance heavy darklight def per piece is more then 2 melds of def materia for some pieces so there is no way to get it in the total def score. Same for the huge hp boost while balancing other stats but materia goes around the designer balancing idea.

---

You need to take in account the inability to equip a helm or boots with the heavy darklight legs and chest. They have higher defense based on that. if you were to wear a normal chest with double defense materia, and a helm, you would have more defense with those put together than the darklight chest.

Darklight gear is better because it has some stats that cant be materia'd onto crafted pieces of the same slot. It definantly should be overal better than stat stacking with materia, and I hope they make it so.

No relic should be beaten by a melded weapon either. There should be something situationally equal like weapons with elemental damage, or even slightly better, in Drop form (or U/U crafting that i brought up elsewhere) but no normal crafted item with any amount of materia should ever beat them. You may be able to get more overall mag att pot with an 80+ int lightning brand +1, but that thing will never have MP conserve or increased crit rate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nanaya

Never been a fan of luck being more important than hard work, and that is precisely what 1.0 was. The amount of materia I had was getting a little absurd also, it's a little crazy for Strength materia to take up five inventory spaces simply because my luck fluctuated from STR16, all the way up to 20.

A triple meld should indeed be a very high risk, however, the fact that it was purely, 100% luck is absurd in a game where pretty much everything is reliant on how good your equipment is. At best you could synth up a +1, for a meager 5% improvement, but when you meld, whether you're wearing incredible crafting gear, or totally naked, the result is the same. This is where I have issues. HQing a level 54 craft is not an easy task, but I've never complained about it, because I could directly influence my odds. Get better gear to craft with, streamline my five skills a little more, use food and guild synthesis support. Melding has none of this. Aside from HQ, they strip the process entirely out of your hands, and you sit there helpless as the explosion animation plays because your +1 is still only an abysmal 22% chance.

So I'm all for the "casual" version. Every single one of my really good pieces of melded gear were only a stroke of fortuitous luck, and my deep pockets of gil. There's nothing really to feel proud of from such a thing, as I basically brute forced my way to what I wanted with absolutely no finesse or skill involved.

---

Also to add, when you get blocked in the relic quest due to RNG it only compounds the frustrations with the system

Yes, and systems like the one TERA has that go down the path of blocking you in to things because you weren't lucky enough to succeed in that equpment upgrade are TERAble. Even worse in XIV, it blows up and you have to start all over. I hope XIV pulls far away from that path.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Akira_Tenshi

Casual is a dirty word. Many things in ARR have been dumbed down and made easier to understand. I don't see that as a bad thing. Why would you want something to be complicated?

---

Why do people climb mountains? It's the sense of accomplishment. Imagine, new content appears in a theoretical patch, your group strives to work on it and clear it just some hours after it's been out. They feel great, they've accomplished something, only to realize that just about everyone else has done it, realizing how easy-breezy it was, and thus, not a challenge.

Most of common gaming experience thrives in balancing a decent learning curve and making activities enough of a challenge, so that they're just difficult enough to grant you a feeling of having "won" the game. It's one of the reasons Hamlet was so damn boring. You were repeating the same thing, over and over, it was tedious and unskilled, and very randomly rewarding.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by reefo

Easier melding means I get my relic weapon cheaper, I'm all for it. pce

---

/thumbsup
Real arguments!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Reika

Why wouldn't you be able to buy it? higher success rate on double meld = more melds on these weapons successful = more people selling them for less than they were in ARR. There will still be people silling them, tho they shouldn't cost nearly as much if they put double meld success rate at a good level.

---

There making melded gear Untradable, which is just stupid.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Syrokko

/thumbsup
Real arguments!

---

not really, now you'll just have to slap four of them on there instead of two making it just as difficult and more expensive. after all they did say they were alarmed and the amount of people that already have relics. thats SE lingo for butt f#ck incoming.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alaltus

I'm tired of the gambling mechanics of melding to be honest. Bring on the change!

---

This. Let the masochists go and beat themselves in their dark corners. I for one, and beyond sick of having 8+ possible outcomes, then having to roll for tier, stat range, etc.

Yeah the RNG in the materia system was not fun at all. I do hope we lose that completely for a system that is much more player friendly and allows for customization beyond just trying to stack 1 stat to reach some mythical cap.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Reika

You need to take in account the inability to equip a helm or boots with the heavy darklight legs and chest. They have higher defense based on that. if you were to wear a normal chest with double defense materia, and a helm, you would have more defense with those put together than the darklight chest.

Darklight gear is better because it has some stats that cant be materia'd onto crafted pieces of the same slot. It definantly should be overal better than stat stacking with materia, and I hope they make it so.

No relic should be beaten by a melded weapon either. There should be something situationally equal like weapons with elemental damage, or even slightly better, in Drop form (or U/U crafting that i brought up elsewhere) but no normal crafted item with any amount of materia should ever beat them. You may be able to get more overall mag att pot with an 80+ int lightning brand +1, but that thing will never have MP conserve or increased crit rate.

---

I did I pointed that it is possible for some pieces and not others because legs and head can't get def materia and the vit slot is only on legs and body. And I said the same about the complete set in the last sentence. But the entire set frees up so many other slots such as belt melds and specific rings is actually better. The mage set though doesnt have this encompassing improvement for any particular build.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valmonte

There making melded gear Untradable, which is just stupid.

---

Hmmm, I missed that part. That will suck for people who dont have the right crafts high enough, unless they plan on making it possible to request melds over 1. But....... I have all crafts at 50 ^^.

But even if they don't make it possible to request double+ melds from others, at least now there will be more incentive for people to level up crafts.... needs to be more than that tho!

Where was that posted at anyways?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mook_Mook

Also to add, when you get blocked in the relic quest due to RNG it only compounds the frustrations with the system

---

The sole reason my own relic group did not go forth and get more is the bloody double meld.
The twelve curse this step and it's RNG, I for one welcome change with open arms ^_^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valmonte

There making melded gear Untradable, which is just stupid.

---

This is the first time I heard of this, can you provide a link where this is stated??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Majidah

How do you feel about the new melding system?
Apparently all tiers will have the same stats and it will be easier to make multi melds.
Also the stats bonuses that come from materia will be lowered and be made more casual.

I'm hating this. Materia customization is what could really put your character aside from others.

I don't think anyone ever complained about this. If its not broken, don't fix it, I'd say.

---

I am thinking you are missing the point by a mile...

You will still be set aside from others nothing will really change. If you have a triple T.IV. materia meld now (which sets you aside). In ARR SE is making it so that while every one will have a double/triple meld easy-peas equaling a single/double now. You will have a quadruple or higher meld setting you aside from the rest.

As well we know very little about what stats will mean in ARR... 1 attack in 2.0 could equal 10 now, removing large denominations... What difference would it make then. Your topic is invalid as we simply don't know enough to speculate.

As some on said "people are so busy complaining, about complaints, based on complaints, that 1 year after 2.0 is out will still be complaining about complaint's from 1.20"

Easy mode materia and less potent stats... I really hope they don't ruin this game

I just want to still have the chance of making epic, usable gear with the crafting classes I enjoy.