Materia System

[Peregrine]

I see your point, but what are the alternatives?

What are the alternatives?

Let me cook something up.

[Malakhim]

its just because, lets say that while you have an item equiped you get attachment, and you have some good item that you want to add materia too, The system would encourage you to wear the gear that needed to level, and not the one that you wanted to make powerful.
hence you would be using your gimped attachment gear most of the time rather than your god armor of the heavens. It makes a lot of sense while your leveling, to give your new gear some boost from your old, but high level, it means wear gimp gear, equip god gear for boss only maybe.

soooo they got to figure how to balance that urge

Why do they have to balance that urge? People who don't wanna spend god awful amounts of time making awesome materia can do their thing, while the ones who do can farm all the materia to their heart's content. Conversly you can also buy and/or trade materia.

Options, people.

[SydeBeheln]

I think it would be cool if we had to talk to an NPC who gives you a random "crystallized item" that you have to use to accumulate attachment points for, and then that item becomes materia after you reach 100% with it. This said item can be random, like a weapon of any type, or some kind of armor.
At least that way we don't have to sacrifice our own (in some cases) hard to earn gear. I would feel better about loosing gear that I know would be lost for a good cause.

[Malakhim]

I think it would be cool if we had to talk to an NPC who gives you a random "crystallized item" that you have to use to accumulate attachment points for, and then that item becomes materia after you reach 100% with it. This said item can be random, like a weapon of any type, or some kind of armor.
At least that way we don't have to sacrifice our own (in some cases) hard to earn gear. I would feel better about loosing gear that I know would be lost for a good cause.

Gaining really awesome materia could be done in quests like these.

[Ravidrath]

I like the idea of this consuming gear, however it should ONLY work on craftable and salable gear.

For example, players should not be incentivized to camp multiple Ridills because they want to randomly generate the ultimate Materia.

The ultimate use of this should be to give additional sale opportunities for crafters so people can power-up their super-rare weapons.

[Physic]

I think it would be cool if we had to talk to an NPC who gives you a random "crystallized item" that you have to use to accumulate attachment points for, and then that item becomes materia after you reach 100% with it. This said item can be random, like a weapon of any type, or some kind of armor.
At least that way we don't have to sacrifice our own (in some cases) hard to earn gear. I would feel better about loosing gear that I know would be lost for a good cause.

you should probably only blow up gear that you dont need anymore. IE you outlevel or find a rarer version, you kill your gear that you love, take its soul and put into your new gear. What a bastard move

[ZephyrAM]

I like the idea of this consuming gear, however it should ONLY work on craftable and salable gear.

For example, players should not be incentivized to camp multiple Ridills because they want to randomly generate the ultimate Materia.

The ultimate use of this should be to give additional sale opportunities for crafters so people can power-up their super-rare weapons.

Ooh, extremely good point.

Never again with the spawn camping!

If there's an ultimate piece of gear to be obtained from an open world goal(mainly NM's), then it shouldn't be able to be materia...lized. Or if it can be, then it shouldn't turn into anything better then similar level, more easily obtained gear.

[Peregrine]

Running list of player critique of the Materia system, with proposed solutions:


Problem:
Matsui's new system focuses on rewarding the effort and innovation of players playing at their best, but this system seems to incentivize equipping low-grade equipment to battle. These focuses seem antagonistic to each other, and a player may be forced to choose between being at their best and getting materia.
Solution
You can attach to one tool, one weapon, and three armors at any given time. You do not have to be wearing said armor to attach.

Problem:
Jobs that have already hit the level cap sustain massive reductions in the amount of hits they perform on a given weapon or in a given armor set, relegating attachment to gear to a "grinding" activity like levelling or farming, which are either impossible for some or not fun for most.

Solution
You do not have to be on the job of the armor weapon or tool that you are attaching to
Diverse actions found in different playstyles cause attachment.

Problem:
Materia growing appears to be an activity that favors current unaddressed problems in the game: players who farm shards with bots will now have more incentive to continue this activity. Let's not pretend that shard bots don't exist, or allow a system that further rewards that behavior.

Solution
More positively correlate materia growth to activities with high impact value, less growth for menial grinding and timespamming.

Problem:
This system will eventually settle out to what outcome is common and what is rare as a means to distinguish materia on gear. For battlers, that rare event seems to be HQ'ing materia as their mechanism for power. For crafters, it seems to be that rare double materia attach. Where is the power-outcome for gatherers to give them equal weight?

Solution
-very rare catalysts
-Limiting common provisions to making common results.

Problem:
The system feels like an archaic MMO farm or grind activity, which this game must avoid if it is to rise above.
Solution
-Diverse actions found in different playstyles cause attachment.

Problem:
INVENTORY!
Solution
-new tab.

Problem:
If Rare/ Ex/ Rare Ex gear is consumable, it may drive rampant demand for bottleneck-supplied pieces.
Solution
-Rare/ Ex/ Rare Ex pieces do not produce materia, but very amenable to receiving materia.

Problem:
One Materia?!?
Solution
Two?

Problem:
Crafters may be able to double dip profits from this system, enjoying steady sales of their over-produced crap and charging ridiculous prices for materia inlaying and HQ inlaying.
Solution
Emphasize crafters' primary economic benefit to be to increase demand for their undesired final product production, not primarily from profit from materia activity.

Problem
If catalysts are made rare from gathering to give gatherers economic weight in the system, demand will drive overproduction of every other gathering material which is as big a problem as or a BIGGER problem than gear overproduction

Solution
-Separate catalyst aquisition from primary material aquisition
-Reduce incidental material-gets
-Place catalysts in secondary gathering locations

[DoctorMog]

You very clearly state

Finally, rumors tell of a forbidden technique with a high risk of failure to attach another materia to an item that already has a materia attached to it…

A materia? as in 1?

I REALLY hope there can be more than 1 materia on each piece of equip.
That would REALLY be a downer.

I want to add 2-6 materia PER piece of gear I have.

Reduce the effect of each materia if you have to, I don't want no 1 stupid materia per gear I wear!

Thanks!

[KalaKenshu]

I think this idea is EXACTLY what this game needs.

Think about it, you add materia to an item, it makes it untradeable as well as enhancing stats.

This does two key things:

1.) Fixes the problem of items flooding the market, and deflation; everything is basically worthless because you can just trade your crap back into the market. In this system, you'll have to vendor things you don't want instead of reselling them.

FIXED!!!

2.) Players have complained about lack of stats affecting gameplay. Now, more than ever with materia, stats will have a more substantial effect, giving the player more of a feel for stats in general.

I think this is exactly what this game needs right now to balance some issues and give the player some meaning and weight to their actions. In both items having value and rarity, as well as stats starting to matter in the game, this is a great decision by the dev team. In conjunction with the planned battle and physical level changes, this whole thing could turn the game around!!

Keep in mind I haven't played in months, but this kind of new development is the sort of thing that make me start playing again, I'm sure with many others.