Why Overmelding is equivalent to current ATMA grinding

[FJerome]

And the crafting system does ?

About as well as being a Bard teaches you about actual archery?

[Penguinmayhem]

I don't appreciate the fact that my ability to actually make anything whatsoever past i70 depends entirely on my absolutely maxing out all the stats on my crafting gear with materia. Not almost. Not boosting. They have to be perfect to even attempt half these recipes. The game physically will not allow me to even attempt to craft i70 stuff without melding a whole boatload of materia to my gear. That's not progression, that's just wasting my time.

It feels more and more like the game hates me for being a crafter.

[chidarake]

I like the whole rng factor, although the fail animations suck, as for atma from what I understand its a massive chore and time sink, but then so was getting all the new main tools for all crafting classes. it takes a lot of resources to get them, although there's very little rng involved in that just time.

and you don't need max stats to do the new 3 stars but you do have to be pretty close to perfect that's for sure.

[Nicobo]

...go 0 for 40 trying to meld...
...the money needed to buy the item needed to upgrade...

I think it is a bad idea as logically the item needed to upgrade should be expansive than 40materia, as everyone can spiritbond but not everyone can farm the item.
And the worst thing is the drop rate might as rare as mirror and you have to NEED it against 7ppl, it will be double RNG.

[Penguinmayhem]

Without the RNG, everyone would be easily capable of mastering all crafts, thereby destroying the market for 3-star items AND the materia market as well.

This is an argument I can understand. But the real problem I personally have with the system as it stands is that the RNG is just far too unforgiving. It forces you to throw such enormous quantities of time and money into a bottomless hole, and the reward doesn't feel nearly worth the effort. Just to be able to craft i70 gear at all costs millions of gil in buying or hundreds of hours of grinding materia. My reward for that isn't being really good at crafting. My reward for that is that the game will allow me to attempt to make nice things.

[jeremy]

Again, my primary point is that too much RNG in the game is not fun. Even if it shows you how much of a success rate you can get, if I spend weeks spiritbonding, just to watch it all go down the toilet because of some 34% percent on my leatherworker pants, its not fun. Just like hours/days/weeks trying to farm one or more FATE's trying to get that last ATMA you need. You could be doing other things during these times, but in order for you to PROGRESS in the portion of game you are currently focused on, requires an RNG that you the player has no control over then why play? Again, you can't PROGRESS with something you enjoy doing, something that provides for your in-game needs, because luck is not on your side.

There has to be something better than the RNG gods saying, "Nope, we don't want you to be a master crafter. Next!" I cannot subscribe to this theory...

[Myrhn]

Again, my primary point is that too much RNG in the game is not fun. Even if it shows you how much of a success rate you can get, if I spend weeks spiritbonding, just to watch it all go down the toilet because of some 34% percent on my leatherworker pants, its not fun. Just like hours/days/weeks trying to farm one or more FATE's trying to get that last ATMA you need. You could be doing other things during these times, but in order for you to PROGRESS in the portion of game you are currently focused on, requires an RNG that you the player has no control over then why play? Again, you can't PROGRESS with something you enjoy doing, something that provides for your in-game needs, because luck is not on your side.

There has to be something better than the RNG gods saying, "Nope, we don't want you to be a master crafter. Next!" I cannot subscribe to this theory...

There is too much RNG but you only bring 2 elements of the game. There are other stuff that are not RNG but you progress toward it. I think this game have a bit of everything. A lot of people here start complaining before a month of the new stuff because they dont have it or can accest it in a instant, after all this is a MMO is suppose to take time to do stuff. Maybe I like old school mmo i dont know.

[TomTom1968]

Does anybody know a 3 star crafter who has gotten the Materia on his own instead of spending tons of GIL? I don't know a single one. I refuse to pay 50-80k for a single Materia and then just blow it through the roof in under 5 seconds. Chances for overmelding suck and they made it that it only works this way. All HQ gear? Nice but that doesn't get you anywhere besides providing better chances to HQ non star recipies. All Materia slots filled? Nice, but still under the requirements even for 2 star crafting. 2 forbidden slots used on each item? Nice but 3 star is still far away on the Horizon. Requirements are just too high for people who prefer to equip themselves without playing the market board game.

I am always binding 2-3 items when I am doing random solo stuff like FATES, beast tribe or Agenda quests. Out of 20 Materia I bind, I have MAYBE 1-2 Control materia. And then comes an 11% chance to insert it. Wooo hooo the fun. Absurd high requirements and absurd ways to get there.

[chidarake]

your right that most 3 star master crafters (including myself) did not farm our own materia, why would we when its cheap on mb. it only get really expensive after 2.2 because of everyone who has to re-meld or is just starting.

I don't think the devs want everyone to have everything at all times, however since relic weapons and atma are needed for the advancement of end game content they should be a little easier to get since most people are playing that content, you should still have to work for it though.

[TomTom1968]

No problem in working towards a Goal. But Materia is double RNG lottery (spirit bonding lottery and then insertion lottery with even lower chances) and that's too much imo. I work since months to get my DOH to the point where I can HQ any 2 star recipie with NQ mats. So far I did not achieve it for a single one of them. Since four weeks I am trying to insert a Control materia into my weavers offhand. Got 5 control Materia in that time out of maybe 50 items I spirit bonded, all insertions failed. That's not a progression feeling, it is pure frustration. It would be even worse if I would pay for them. It already hurts when I blow a Control III Materia through the roof even if it didn't cost me anything but time.