Normal mode raids: please don’t settle on this loot system...

[RiyahArp]

Making friends with a crafter or becoming one yourself can really go a long way! And if Sigma is so tedious and horrible to you... why not invest the same time in leveling up a crafter?

It's too hard to do this to make 4 star gear for yourself. The caps are so high that only a full set of HQ white gear overmelded moderately (but with t6 crafting materia in the main slots) will give you the stats to HQ it. You're looking at 20+million as a one time investment to be able to get that; even augmented scrip gear won't work. And even then unless you can make all parts and gather them you are saving maybe 50% or less on the cost of the finished item if you buy HQ mats.

edit: Oh, and I also just do the last tier, unless my friend wants to do it for the week. It's always been stupid, SE has had three years of seeing people do this and they never think that maybe a system that needs 4 pieces which drop once a week from two instances and are bid on by 8 people is stupid. T