Forbidden Materia

[Hachiko]

You buy them off people who are looking to make a quick buck and aren't interested in attaching multiple materia.

That has nothing to do with the point or you're forgetting some critical points.

First, spiritbond is wiped if an item is sold. Meaning you can't buy a spiritbonded item already. So you've still got the time investment to grind spiritbond on 2 items.

Second, even if the items are normal quality being made and sold for a quick buck, that's a pretty big gil investment. On my server high end armors still go for around 100-300k gil.

With an expected value of 12 items per dual materia, you're talking 1.2-3.6 million gil to even MAKE a high end item. Add in another materia and you're up to an expected what, 16.8 to 50.4 million gil.

I know the system is in place to reward the hardcore, but I don't think there's anyone that exists that is hardcore enough to deal with the grind of spiritbond on 57 items. Let alone grinding spiritbond on whatever the expected value of 4 materia would be (easily in the several hundred).

Statistically speaking we will probably never see a 4 materia item in the game, ever, unless it's something with cheap materia that you can buy for ~100 gil.

you are right, this system does seem very punishing. but it is ment to be. if you are will to try and get a 3 materia item, then its going to cost u alot of money in atemps, this is how its sposed to be its a money sink. its designed to fail more than it wins. but the wins are a great reward such it entice you to try. like a fruit machine every1 knows that it don't pay out often but that don't stop ppl putting money to try and win. why? coz big reward if u do win. the problem with ff14 is to many ppl are too rich and have nothing to spend there money on. now they do. normal everyday ppl like me can look forward to a one piece materia item. but the super right will strive for that thing alittle special. this is the way the world works, if you are that rich person that is spending alot of money trying to make a 4-5 materia slot item, then don't complain when it fails coz there are ppl that would love to make a 2 slot item, so think of the little ppl. and if u are like and can only aford a one slot. don't complain that the rich get better than us. coz look around in real life this is how the world works my friends :P

Aside from the post being incoherent. People play "fruit machines" (slots, I assume) because they're easy with a low chance of winning. I.E. the lottery.

The problem with the comparison here, and what a lot of people are forgetting, is that this isn't a simple lottery. You're talking betting seriously high value things with an insanely low chance of return. No one in their right mind would buy a $10,000 dollar lottery ticket in real life. Even if the chance of return was similar to the chances in this game (i.e. 1 in 50 to 1 in 30,000).

And to top it off, not only are you gambling with super high stakes things, they're things you had to spend a significant amount of gil to buy or effort to make.