What is the +Spiritbonding Cap?

I know they've rebalanced spiritbonding in some way, and I would like to know the mechanics behind it. Is they a cap to +# for spiritbonding?
If so, do melds count towards the cap, or are they separate?

A few of the changes:

Spiritbonding in Dawntrail; previously nodes from past expansions would have a serious deficit on spiritbonding rate, however, currently Endwalker folklore nodes now also provide good spiritbonding rate. I haven't tested how much relative to DT, but I know it is a substantial amount. I assume this is because the devs wanted to account for early-expansion where there are limited nodes.

- Each meld slot increases the Spiritbonding rate by around 20% - As such when you're spiritbonding you always want to make sure you have a pentamelded set of gear. This can either be through using a genuine meld set, whether this is your own or one from a good source. The type of materia matters not, so you can also use dud Grade I materia, if you so wish. You will also want this to be HQ.

- Crafting I don't think has a spiritbonding cap rate, at least not one you would practically hit without replacing gear slots with Spiritbonding, however gathering is capped at +2, so when you're using consumables, scrolls, etc., - Then you will not need to worry about stacking a Squadron manual with a Potion, for example. Using one or the other will suffice. Save the stacking for when you're spiritbonding crafters.

- The items you craft and/or gather will have an impact on your rate. So stick to higher level items, and especially folklore nodes. - For gathering Spiritbonding is done on a per-swing, not a per-node basis. So you want to use abilities that grant more Integrity, e.g., Solid Reason, Ageless Words, and Eureka Moment

This is to my understanding, anyway.

Is there a reason they nerfed spiritbonding for gathering to be so low? It wasn't blistering-fast before, even with the stacked +bonding buffs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Falkyron

Is there a reason they nerfed spiritbonding for gathering to be so low? It wasn't blistering-fast before, even with the stacked +bonding buffs.

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The capped rate went from +5 (if I recall), to +2. There was also a small excerpt in the patch notes:

"Spiritbond gained when gathering will now be based on gear's equipping level rather than its item level.
Following this adjustment, spiritbond bonuses when gathering at unspoiled or legendary nodes has been adjusted."

But I think part of this compensation is that you can now double-dip with the folklore items from Endwalker, versus traditionally in the past where it was only practical to do it on current-expansion folklore. Like, if you double dip a Dawntrail and Endwalker node in the same window then you'll actually get significant Spiritbond from it.

I think it's around 15-20 minutes now to do a complete set.