HQ i170 vs i180 Main Hand Tools

Now that I've finally be able to consistently reach the cap for red crafting scrips I almost have enough tokens for an i180 main hand tool. I understand, though, that the i180 is not meldable while the i170 HQ counterpart can be. My question is which should I aim to achieve? Considering that the max meld for the i170 is +42/+23/+4 there's absolutely no way to hit all of these maximums. Which is more advisable? Thank you in advance for all responses.

This is currently still a very arguable topic! You are right that max melding i170 tool is impractical and pretty much impossible. On that sense, i180 is so much more desirable since it is hassle-free and gil-free but with much more impressive stats than an unmelded i170. So why would someone still pick the i170? 2 reasons: (1) 4 extra CP and (2) faster gearing up of all 8 classes. Do not underestimate what some people can do with 4 extra CP. In the right hands, 4 CP can be magical! :)

If you have craft / control with over-melding to reach the minimum requirements without using food; to craft 2* then the extra CP more valuable, thus, i170 is the better choice.
If you still need food to reach 2*, the Red script main hand is the better choice.

Once you meet the minimum craft / control requirements, CP is KING because the needed craftsmanship to reduce completion touches by one is way more. While the extra CP can allow an extra quality touch or at the very least a stronger quality touch for the last touch before Byregot's. The stronger touch could simply be a Basic Touch instead of using Hasty Touch, removing RNG from the equation.

Personally I went for a 180 main hand for my BSM so I could reach the 2* requirements more easily. After that I've been crafting the other main and offhands since it takes way less tokens and gives you moar CP, however it requires a lot of gathering ; p

As far as the minimum stats for crafting 2* gear, I meet them at the moment. My weaver is geared with the highest non-green/blue gear (i110-i150) all HQ. The offhand is HQ astral birch spinning wheel. Everything non-tool is melded to the point where my craft/control/cp is 723/701/363 respectively. So I currently meet the requirements for crafting 2* items I just don't know a rotation with any real hope of HQing 2*. I know further improvement to craft will help make my current <lv60 rotation (maybe) come close to finishing a craft but im not even sure how much of a chance i have of HQing them.

I find that the current issue between these two decisions is that we don't know what the the requirements for future recipes will be.

Currently even with an un-melded 170 you will have enough stats to use the rotations listed here:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...fting-Rotation

So the question is do you want to future proof yourself for potential new recipes? Personally i would forgo the main hands and craft more of the off-hand first.

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Originally Posted by Tango185

As far as the minimum stats for crafting 2* gear, I meet them at the moment. My weaver is geared with the highest non-green/blue gear (i110-i150) all HQ. The offhand is HQ astral birch spinning wheel. Everything non-tool is melded to the point where my craft/control/cp is 723/701/363 respectively. So I currently meet the requirements for crafting 2* items I just don't know a rotation with any real hope of HQing 2*. I know further improvement to craft will help make my current <lv60 rotation (maybe) come close to finishing a craft but im not even sure how much of a chance i have of HQing them.

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Looks like you pushed hard on craft and control to reach 2 star requirement, but you really slacked off with CP. Well, it can get a bit tough for you since most 2 star rotation needs as much CP as possible. Personally, when I was melding my white gear, I only made craftsmanship reaching 718. But for control, I let it sit at 666 while max-melding ALL CP up to 397. Indeed, 666 wasn't enough for 2 star, but the food I used was Seafood Stew HQ, which adds 31 control. So I was able to craft 2 star with the minimal craft/control while maxing out CP on white gear at 447 with the help of food. It was great because more CP = more flexibility in rotation and more capability to use more Precise Touches. Much like ChameleonMS said, CP is KING. When you max out every tad bit of CP, suddenly you have a lot more room to work with. Having 30 extra CP is way more beneficial than having 30 extra control in most cases, giving that you are able to reach the minimal requirement for 2 star recipes.

And as I have recommended someone else before, the most economical way is actually to ASK A RELIABLE CRAFTER TO MAKE YOU ALL THE HQ i170 ACCESSORIES. Then you just pentameld them as much as you can, and save yourself the trouble of melding white accessories. This way, you reach super maxed out CP value and some bonus craft/control early. With that, you can be very comfortable making the rest of your 2 star i170 gear and tools.

Believe it or not, I was having trouble finding help with a melding strategy. Because of this, I didn't even think about how food could make up the difference between current control and the 695 requirement. Now I feel like I've wasted a ton of cash on the materia to get me where I'm at, and for nothing. Should I clear out materia from gear and start over or is there a way to fix this?

This is what I had back in October, which I think is what you should aim for first:
http://i.imgur.com/SpZy2Rz.png
Mainhand & Offhand provides most of the craftsmanship & control, while the accessories provide max CP.

I didn't meld any control nor craftsmanship on my mainhand or offhand at all, but I put 4 CP on each. While the i170 accessories were near-max melded with all 3 stats. Since they're shared, all my classes got the benefits. As you can see, the CP reached 422, which is max. With the help of Seafood Stew HQ, it goes 472. And with that much CP, you can pretty own any rotation you like.
You can get the i180 mainhand instead though. That's totally fine.

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Originally Posted by Tango185

Believe it or not, I was having trouble finding help with a melding strategy. Because of this, I didn't even think about how food could make up the difference between current control and the 695 requirement. Now I feel like I've wasted a ton of cash on the materia to get me where I'm at, and for nothing. Should I clear out materia from gear and start over or is there a way to fix this?

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Well, I do have an overmeld section in my crafting guide's Chapter 38:
http://ffxivrealm.com/guides/ff14-ad...e-tsukino.156/
It's not too late since there's i170 melds there too. You can still use it. I even offered "Economical melding alternatives", which you may find useful later.

As for whether you should remeld everything? Hell no. Like I said, the best thing to do is to find a reliable crafter, provide him with mats, then craft out all the i170 acc for you. Then you do a near-max meld on them (make sure you max CP!). Then you are suddenly back in good shape. As for now, you can still try do your 2 star crafting, but with 30 CP less than most people, you will need to rely a bit more on luck. If you can get 2 lucky Trick of Trades, or if your Hasty Touches just all goes smooth. God bless you, you will be in great shape anyway.