Materia: the new Armory System

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

This is something I posted not too long ago...its not as in depth as your post but the general ideas are the same...
New idea for Materia...
I love the whole materia idea, although I do think that possibly scaling down the materia to just 3 tiers instead of IV is a system that could work better when it comes to U/U gear and rare gear drops from NM or dungeons, this way it still gives gear the ability to be almost on par with U/U and doesn’t take away the power of U/U gear. I also think some materia orbs could be rewards from chest found during guild leves, rewards from side quest or even rewards from behest, the orbs would be scaled according to level/rank of the quest or mission or leve.
Thoughts…

This isn't a new idea. People have been suggesting this since the very beginning. It doesn't make it a bad idea though. In fact, I think this is a pretty good idea and also prevents builds to look samey.

[Jinko]

Agree, I can't see how SE are going to keep people interesting in replaying content when it has little to no purpose in completeing it to begin with.

Most MMO's survive on dungeon/raid loot grinding, I will be interested to see how Yoshi-p solves this issue and yes he will have to at some point.

Ifrit and Moogle are both great content but the rewards are pretty poor (Ifrit less so) especially when you compare it to 2+ materia pieces.

[Roaran]

I think the OP made a good point. If only crafting gear can be melded, and gear with multiple materia is to be superior, there would be little or no reason to battle for gear. The only way currently to do this, is to offer gear that caters to those who do not meld multiple pieces or offer side grades to the multiple materia gear (Ifrit weapons for example). Ofcourse they can add more crafting gear which would only start the whole process again without addressing the need to battle at all.

However, I think you are very mistaken in thinking the only or the best solution is to get rid of the materia system. I think the OP is very thoughtful on this matter, yet I do not think to have considered every possible remedy.

That said, I would suggest, instead of phasing out the materia system, do the following:

Make all gear crafted. No more exclusive items. Instead of dropping items directly, bosses will drop an abundance of materials. For example, Batraal, instead of dropping 1-3 items from a chest, his death will produce various pieces of hide and bone, even possibly a broken blade that can be refurnished into a sword for paladins. The abundance of items will allow people to get drops reliably, and then allow them to reliably turn them into gear and meld over and over. Thus, those who complete the dungeons the quickest and with the most ease are able to acquire the most materials and most chances for success in melding materia.

This system would actually impose skill into getting the best gear melded with multiple materia, it would keep crafters necessary and make the materia system more interesting. In addition, it would allow the current problem of terrible droprates to be eliminated, favoring players to get drops quickly and reliably each time, so they can then attempt multiple melds.

It would also allow groups of players to earn gil by selling these items to crafters and players who wish to meld themselves.

[Rydin]

Having U/U gear be single slotted would be wonderful. Hmm... perhaps make U/U materia specifically for this type of system would be a great option to allow them to better balance the two instances of this system of the crafted and the U/U.

I hate you and I hope you choke on a chicken wing today....
nah... i just said this in a thread only to realize you said it an hour before I did....
jerk

[Ruri]

Hard to take post seriously with jumping Pinkie Pie.

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

I hate you and I hope you choke on a chicken wing today....
nah... i just said this in a thread only to realize you said it an hour before I did....
jerk

but wouldn't it be a nice thought to say aloud, "Great minds think alike?" Not only would you be doing me a favor by validating my magnificent mind, but you will also be able to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself what a great job you're doing.

[Rydin]

but wouldn't it be a nice thought to say aloud, "Great minds think alike?" Not only would you be doing me a favor by validating my magnificent mind, but you will also be able to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself what a great job you're doing.

hahaha... touche'

[Rhomagus]

I didn't even read the entire post because I still think the armoury could've been a better system, they just needed to balance it better and provide us with accurate and easy to read information.

Not saying the rest of the post doesn't make good points because that would be assuming that I read them, which I did not, but if it's coming from the premise that somehow the armoury system sucks, and by extension the materia system already sucks because of its apparent similarities, I already disagree with it.

[Onji_T]

Not saying the rest of the post doesn't make good points because that would be assuming that I read them, which I did not, but if it's coming from the premise that somehow the armoury system sucks, and by extension the materia system already sucks because of its apparent similarities, I already disagree with it.

Nice we get a pointless post from a guy who didn't read the original post. How then is anything you said relevant? I don't understand, and now I'm going to trail off talking about something else that is unrelated to the original topic, while using a lot of punctuation, in a really long and completely wrong format, what’s awesome is spelling/grammar checks leave these things alone.

To get back on topic I, originally, thought the materia system was going to be an awesome thing. I had my crafting jobs leveled and ready and I got my double and triple-slotted gear. With the gear I already have and the system we currently have, the importance of all previous high ranking nms and the dungeon is non-existent. In fact everything we did for gear before the material system came out was pointless it's all outdated. The 2 dungeons that are coming up in the next patch will likely have no useful gear at all, given the games current trends. It seems to be a terrible waste to put in dungeons that we do only once.

My off-the-wall theory on materia is that it was put in the game to drain the economy of gil! Since I can't see how it's going to be balanced in the game later. I don't really want to see it completely removed from the game, but it can't stay the way it is.

[Asiaine]

Hello all,

As somone who actually likes the idea of 'A' materia system, maybe I can throw in my 2 gils worth.

Fact: Significant portion of people will aim for the best posible gear for their job.

Question: What is the source of the best possible gear?

If battle drops, then crafters are unhappy.
If crafters, then battling adventurers are unhappy.
If battle drops equal crafted gear, then battling adventurers are unhappy.

Rationale:
Battling adventurers want to fight big HNM to get drops and be proud of the hard work they put in. When they see they could just go to a crafter, give a few gil, and get something as good or better, they feel as if their hard work is for naught.

Solution Need:
A solution must exist where the best equipment does NOT come from Battling HNMs *OR* from crafters, but must come from the usage of BOTH of these approaches.

Example:
HNM drops equipment. When this equipment is then used in crafting (as an ingredient, or matteria added, or what not) it then becomes the best there is.

I feel that only through the succesful marriage of both HNM drops and crafting can both parties be made happy.

(Yes, I know this mimics a lot of what is said in this thread, I am simply trying to reword it into plain speak).

Now, MY suggestion (well, not mine mine, it's actually SEs suggestion and echoed here in the forums before).
Crafted Gear with basic materials = 1-3 materia slots (depending on level). All slots at 100% affix rate.
Crafted Gear with rare materials (HNM dropped materials) = 1-5 materia slots (depending on level and HQ). All slots at 100% affix rate.
HNM Dropped Gear = 0 slots (bear with me now....)


I would suggest that HNM Dropped Gear could be used as a material in Crafts that could yield a new gear that would then have materia slots. For example:
Ifrit drops a nice cudgel. You could then go and use it as normal. *OR* you could find a crafter who would take a risk in trying to craft Ifrit Cudgel into Tweaked Ifrity Cudgel, which then would accept 1 (2 if HQ) slots @ 100%

Perhaps even intersting recipes such as:
Ifrit Cudgel + Uraeurus' (sp?) Hide + Rune Stone = Hellfire Cudgel of The Gods (3 slots, 5 if HQ).


This way, all HNMs continue to drop items of value.
Crafters can create items of value.
Crafters who join up with adventurers and combine their skills can create an item of great value!

Now if I can find a way to squeze my lumberjack in there, I'm set!

Note:
A lot of my interest and suggestions on the Materia system come from FFVII which I think had the BEST equipment customization I have ever ever seen!
Also I am interested in crafting and HNM drops, so would love to see a system that combines the two for the best.


Thank you and I apologize for the long post.