Overmelding needs a QoL change

[Harmonea]

I can agree with OP to an extent actually. I don't like the proposed solution, but there's nothing fun about buying a hundred materia and sitting there with your face propped up on one hand as you mindlessly click... click... click... click... click... click... click... click... click... to try again until it sticks.

Yes, when the melds are done you have something you can feel proud of... but in the moment you get that last meld, there's no sense of achievement, just a sense of "ugh, finally." And if a piece of your game is so punishing that people are just dying for the moment they can stop playing that part, it's a problem.

Ornate gear exists as an option for those who can't tolerate the RNG, but it's far too rare to be brought up as a serious alternative, and the reward for obtaining it is that you get to skip a game mechanic. Again, if a piece of your game is so punishing that it's considered a reward that you don't have to play it, it's a problem.

I don't have a great solution, and it's not like I want max meld stats to be easier to obtain, but overmeld as a gameplay loop isn't fun.

Maybe some kind of system where you can craft "patches" to sew or fasten onto your gear, with difficult crafts that would have to rely on some (but not excessive) RNG to allow for a higher chance of success. Use the collectable quality system; a max quality patch would be extremely hard to make but have a ~75% chance of sticking, while a half quality patch you could macro-craft might be 40-50% chance. And, hell, make each patch consume 5+ materia in the craft ingredients.

Again, probably not a great solution; I suspect SE could come up with better if they decided this needed attention. But at least it would involve some actual gameplay that you aren't just looking forward to the end of.