melding the offhand

After max melding all of your equipment at level 50, how do you all then meld the offhand in order to meet the three-star requirements? What is your preferred materia to meld to the offhand? Thanks! :D

I could probably do more, but I have found that after max melding the gear I only need to do a Control IV materia in the offhand in order to HQ 3-Star items.

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Originally Posted by Adoxx

I could probably do more, but I have found that after max melding the gear I only need to do a Control IV materia in the offhand in order to HQ 3-Star items.

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Nice! That sounds pretty good to me! :)

I think if all other gear is max melded, all you need is 3 control on the offhand to hit your 374 req. Then it's just stockpiling HQ Bouillabaisse for CP

Still sooo confused after reading some other threads. I just want to meld the dang thing and be done with it. I thought Control IV and two Craftsmanship III were the way to go, but now it's been suggested to throw a CP III in there. Argggh so frustrating, can someone just set me straight?! I don't want to mess this up!

Would help if you state your current stat's, as your idea of max melding and ours may differ.

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Originally Posted by scarebearz

Would help if you state your current stat's, as your idea of max melding and ours may differ.

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I am max melded, meaning I have hit the maximum stat caps on my gear through overmelding. Not to sound rude, is there more than one interpretation of being max melded?

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Originally Posted by EvianEverdeen

I am max melded, meaning I have hit the maximum stat caps on my gear through overmelding. Not to sound rude, is there more than one interpretation of being max melded?

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There are an awful lot of people who believe they have capped all their stats but have not, atleast knowing your numbers, we can be sure to give accurate advice.

4 control - 3 cp - 3 craft would be cheap and allow you to craft 3 star and use that other 2 star rotation, assuming you have the tool/hat and actually are capped.

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Originally Posted by scarebearz

There are an awful lot of people who believe they have capped all their stats but have not, atleast knowing your numbers, we can be sure to give accurate advice.

4 control - 3 cp - 3 craft would be cheap and allow you to craft 3 star and use that other 2 star rotation, assuming you have the tool/hat and actually are capped.

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I just followed this player's post, seems to be the pretty common standard among the community.

Following the above post, all you need is do the 3rd OH meld, or the 2nd control, to reach the 395/374/345, or you can meld ctrl IIs into your AF gears.

Militia Secondary Tool Control IV, Crafts IV, Control III
AF body Crafts IV, Control III, Crafts III, Crafts III, (Control II)
AF hands Control III, Crafts II, (Control II)
AF legs Control III, CP III, Control II
AF feet Control III, CP III, Control II

and as you can see, this is not even max melded gears, on my server ctrl II is just as expensive as ctrl III.

jc

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Originally Posted by AttacKat

Following the above post, all you need is do the 3rd OH meld, or the 2nd control, to reach the 395/374/345, or you can meld ctrl IIs into your AF gears.

Militia Secondary Tool Control IV, Crafts IV, Control III
AF body Crafts IV, Control III, Crafts III, Crafts III, (Control II)
AF hands Control III, Crafts II, (Control II)
AF legs Control III, CP III, Control II
AF feet Control III, CP III, Control II

and as you can see, this is not even max melded gears, on my server ctrl II is just as expensive as ctrl III.

jc

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I really have no idea what you are implying. What are you telling me to meld? My AF gear is max capped on stats, meaning if I meld anything else to any of my AF pieces, it will be a zero gain.

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Originally Posted by Adoxx

I could probably do more, but I have found that after max melding the gear I only need to do a Control IV materia in the offhand in order to HQ 3-Star items.

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This is correct, I do the same.

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Originally Posted by EvianEverdeen

I really have no idea what you are implying.

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What I am saying is following the post you linked, you just need to do the melds on the AF gear and OH as I have listed, and you will obtain the 3-star meld requirement, and that max meld is not even necessary.

jc

So, some math. On my server costs are:

/--------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Command I.....5,000 | Competence I.....8,000 | Cunning I.......245 |
| Command II...30,000 | Competence II...18,000 | Cunning II....4,500 |
| Command III..33,000 | Competence III..20,000 | Cunning III..17,000 |
| Command IV..250,000 | Competence IV..180,000 | Cunning IV...25,000 |
\--------------------------------------------------------------------/

These meld stats are (to me) interesting to consider:

1. +3 CP (max), +11 Control (max), +6 Craftsmanship (very expensive, but the "best" stats available, in my opinion)
2. +3 CP (max), +10 Control, +6 Craftsmanship (much cheaper than #1 for -1 Control)
3. +11 Control (max), +6 Craftsmanship (maximum Control and cheaper than the above, but no CP)
4. +4 Control, +3 CP (max), +6 Craftsmanship (using 3 slots, this leaves room for improvement later, but melding high level materia with minimal success rates will be very expensive)
5. +3 Control, +3 CP (max), +3 Craftsmanship (bare minimum stats for most rotations I've seen)

To reach each optimally, the meld orders would be:

1. Command IV, Command IV, Competence IV, Command III, Cunning III (average cost: 2,779,926 - ouch)
2. Command IV, Competence IV, Command III, Command III, Cunning III (average cost: 1,587,231 - 60% of the "best" meld's cost, but with -1 Control)
3. Competence IV, Command III, Command III, Command III, Command II (average cost: 1,122,970 - 40% of the "best" meld's cost, but with -3 CP)
4. Command IV, Competence IV, Cunning III (average cost: 960,163 - cheaper with room for more)
5. Command III, Cunning III, Competence I (average cost: 114,905 - only 4% of the "best" meld's cost, but with -3 Craftsmanship and -8 Control)

I'm going with #5 on most of my classes, and then picking one or two that I like best and using #2 with them. Heck, 115k isn't very much gil, not when compared to 1.5m or 2.7m, so if I want to go with the "best" meld later, I won't be losing much money going for the cheap meld now.


EDIT: Actually, an even CHEAPER meld order for the #5 stats with my world's prices is:
5b. Command III, Competence I, Cunning II, Cunning I (average cost: 72,982, which is 2.6% of the "best" meld's cost)

If you want me to calculate any of these numbers for your world, let me know. I has a spreadsheet that is magic. :3