I'm curious how often people actually check party members in dungeons and roulette type content. I personally just about never check gear unless it's a tank that is taking massive hits and has HP that is yo-yo'ing in an annoying way. Otherwise, ehhhhh.

As far as melding goes, I didn't start until sometime after the Alex raids. It just wasn't something that was on my radar for being required, honestly, I think I forgot it was even a thing. And for the content I run (basic dungeons/roulettes/etc) I always felt I was well-geared. But as mentioned up above, Materia is handed out like candy now, so it doesn't hurt to fill up the slots you can and then sell off all the extra.