I agree with Doctor Mog and Eikiki.
There has to be some balance here: If Raid / Dungeon Gear is "the best," then why have Materia Crafted Gear? And the same with the current situation: If Materia Crafted Gear with just 1 Materia Added can make obsolete Raid / Dungeon Gear, why do the Dungeon (except for fun, which I don't mind)?
I think some solutions some of the forum veterans have offered in the past to balance this were things like:
- Allow Unique / Untradeable (Raid / Dungeon) Gear to have *1* Materia Attachable, to give some customization and allow it to be greater than Crafted 1 Materia Slotted Gear.
- Then, Crafted ~3, 4 or 5 Slotted Materia Gear would be the really rare (very hard to gain) "best" gear, but at least for the most part Raid / Dungeon Gear is still "the best for many" (unless they get lucky with Random Number Generator to get passed 3 Slotted Crafted Gear).
- Or have Dungeons / NMs drop Rare Parts that help make an Ultimate Gear (like the way it was with Dodore Wing or Uraeus Skin). This way, the Dungeon / Raid / NM still contributes to a long-term Goal and Crafters contribute as well.
Or maybe have Crafted Gear make one type of "best gear" (like one that's skewed for one type of Stat / Play Style) and have a Dungeon / NM drop another type of "best gear" (for another Stat / Play Style)?
It's a fine balance to have. I think traditionally we're used to seeing the Raid / Dungeon / NM be the source for "Best Gear" and Crafters have some stuff that's useful sometimes.
Is there an ideal solution for FF XIV?