A Proposal - Schema

This is largely a response to Yoshida's commentary here.

Occasionally scavenged from the broken husks of Allegan arms and armor, Schema are Materia-like crystals bearing powerful magickal formulae designed to restructure and enhance the base form of the weapon or armor it is placed within.

[Primary Purpose]
Schema infused gear would replace Allegan gear as the “top” gear and future Allegan gear are dropped to item Level 70. Currently existing Allegan gear are modified to include the associated Schema and retain their previous item Level. AF2 equipment would maintain its current item Level 90 spot but would receive noticeably smaller returns from using a Schema (as it is already item Level 90, caps would not increase if lower or equal effective item Level Schema were used - further, Materia slots are not present on AF2 gear).

[Secondary Purpose]
To strengthen the player economy and provide use for end-game player-crafted equipment or materia.

[Tertiary Purpose]
Because Schema cannot be traded, the desired element of “scarcity” cited by Yoshida and other members of SE would be, roughly, the same.


[Usage]
Schema are untradeable items that may be attached to any single item once (after which it is “destroyed”) and modifies the effective item Level of the piece of equipment or accessory in addition to providing set bonuses to the item (as indicated in the description of the Schema). As with Materia, Schema must first be attached to an item before use, unlike Materia, only a single Schema may be attached to a piece of equipment, which automatically Soulbinds it. A Schema is attached in a similar fashion to Materia; however, unlike Materia, Schema may be attached by any character - regardless of Disciple of Hand levels.

Reiterations:
Schema are untradeable
Only a single Schema may be attached to any particular item
Using a Schema Soulbinds the above declared item to the possessing player
Schema may be bound by any player character.

[Locations]
Equipment Schema of varying strength and power are found in the following dungeons currently available:
Wanderer’s Palace/Amdapoor Keep (item Level 55)
Crystal Tower (item Level 80)
Binding Coil of Bahamut (item Level 90)

Schema may also be found in the following trials:
The Minstrel’s Ballad: Ultima’s Bane (item Level 80)
The Bowl of Embers (Extreme) (item Level 80)
The Navel (Extreme) (item Level 80)
The Howling Eye (Extreme) (item Level 80)
Binding Coil of Bahamut (item Level 90)

Changes in loot/drops:
Reward Chests give Schema instead of Equipment or Accessories
Treasure Chests, Bosses, and certain enemies may give or drop equipment or crafting materials, respectively.

[Example Entry]
Allegan Schema of the Healer’s Veil
Untradeable
CNJ WHM SCH
Compatibility Head
Minimum Item Level 50
Effective item Level 90
Maximum Benefits
Defense +3; M. Defense +3; Vitality +6; Mind +6; Piety +5; Critical +6

[Notes]
As I have yet to run a multitude of dungeons and trials, the listed names may be incorrect. If they are, please let me know and I shall correct them as soon as possible.

With regards to this topic, I realize that the ship has long since sailed and the chances of such an implementation now are currently impossible. However, the intent of this is simply to show a reasonable method by which Disciples of Hand would have been able to participate in the end-game economy without creating a situation in which the "appeal" of dungeons are not lost, "item rarity" is addressed, and the "RMT concerns" are met - if only in a rough form (other particulars would still have to be hashed out).

pro-tip: You can edit your first response to bypass the 1000 character limit.

I wrote out several different responses to your idea ... deleted them all because i just cant work out why you'd want this.

I can't really see the purpose, either. It basically sounds like you want higher leveled materia? Maybe in time. I think any dropped items in the game purposely do not have any materia slots because they are supposed to be "unique" items that aren't customizable. I'm sure later they'll introduce crafted items (never equal to the top tier, but increasing in level as raid gear increases) that you can customize with materia.

Also, AF2 isn't going to be released until 2.2 or 2.3. What is currently in game (Myth gear) is AF+1 (just like our Relics went from a +1 to a Zenith).

The reason is twofold, to allow for a player-economy and relevancy in end-game (that is, to create a situation in which crafted gear and materia are both relevant) while maintaining a situation in which such items are not readily available.

In any event though, this was more a thought-experiment to demonstrate that designing a situation in which high-level crafted equipment could be viable without ruining the "appeal of dungeons" or "allowing for a significant change in RMT activities" (hence why the idea cleaves so closely to the materia system).