Are melds and super gear really necessary?

[Molly_Millions]

Molly, you are taking it way too hard. I just hate I can't tell you all to stop complaining about your average gear or shit luck, but the minute I rant/complain someone tells me shut up or to quit complaining. I didn't mention your ls. I was simply trying to get some feedback for personal use.
Why do you think I don't do Ifrit with you guys? Answer: I hate dieing and wiping repeatedly on Ifrit. I love ya guys, but, shit son, STOP WIPING! You guys used to be good, but what happened?

Hang on, hang on, do you ever hear me whine about an ifrit fight even when we wipe? I don't even die on Ifrit unless my ping times are in the single digits. I won't say we don't wipe, we do occasionally, and the cause most of the time, is my aforementioned ping time, or somebody's inexperience.

And I'm not taking anything too hard. All I've ever said in regards to moogles is that we don't have enough DD. So I don't want to try again without an Ifrit's bow. For me, no bow, no moogles. And I'm not practicing with a pickup group.

[Biggs]

It has been bugging me forever, but figured I'd rant on here for a few. I'm tired of people complaining they don't have Ifrit's bow, or melds, or certain pieces of gear and think they will do better if they have it.
I'm not saying that stuff is crap, but it does not ensure a win. Let's take Moogle for example. Moogle is hard. Melded gear and Ifrit weapons can be nice (except Ifrit's Cane lawl), but just because you lack it does not mean it is the reason you wipe on Moogle all the time. In my experiences in pick-ups (which is where I can only get wins), it is all about timing, combos, and sticking to a strategy.
Does this infuriate anyone else? To hear over and over again people crying that they can't do Moogle because of this or that. Is melded gear and Ifrit weapons (namely Ifrit's bow) really necessary? Am I not getting something?
Sure, I get awestruck at melded gear, but I have shitty melds or non at all. I parse 4/5 or 3rd on my archer (blood thirst on my feet lol and Ifrit's bow) and my Con (my preferred) has lack luster gear and few melds, but I manage to play as hard as I can and have twenty plus wins.
What am I not understanding? Are melds that necessary? Is Ifrit's bow that needed that Archers have to have it? I know for a fact Moogle can be done with a melded crab or Uldahn bow if you lack Ifrit.
#rantstomp

Didnt a group do that run naked, proving that gear at this point in time is just a frivolous expense? The only thing melded gear has done for this game is make gear dropped off nm's and bosses weak sauce.

[Xakery]

Didnt a group do that run naked, proving that gear at this point in time is just a frivolous expense? The only thing melded gear has done for this game is make gear dropped off nm's and bosses weak sauce.

never seen a naked moogle run

[Molly_Millions]

Only naked primal runs I've seen have been ifrit runs. The real question here though is not one of armor, it's about weapons.

let me lay out the whole scenario:

1. Recently we had some drama in our LS, we parted ways with most of the "hardcore" (and better equipped) players in our shell.
2. when that happened, our DD in the primal fights took a nose dive
3. in the moogle fight, most of the time, we struggle to get all the moogles down before the song (hence a DD issue)
4. most of the remaining "hardcore" players that are left in our shell refuse to fight moogles until we feel we are geared for it (some of us want an LS only win before we work on getting weapons) hence Xak's inquiry

[TheFatHousecat]

But like I said. What it boils down to at the end of the day is that if you don't have decently melded gear, you probably don't have any respect for that job, because if you really cared about the job, you'd get the materia.

If someone has nothing but triple melded gear you know their job means everything to them. If they have double melded gear, their job means a lot, if they have a single meld, they care, if they have no melds, they're probably just desperate to get into the party and likely doesn't know their current job very well. Knowing what materia is best for your job is also a part of learning the job.

You can't really prove that you know how to play your job unless they see you actually doing it. Just because you can give lip service to your duties doesn't mean you can pull them off. If you have dual melded gear and the right melds at that, you probably know what you're doing and you probably won't be running straight into Ifrit, or getting a Conj killed.

While you SHOULD have BiS and quad-melded gear and it's awesome if you do, that is by no means at all a measure of how much you know about your class, nor a decent measure of a skilled player.

I can name several cases (but I won't because those people might read this >>) of people who spend hours, days, making HQ triple-melded gear who know next to nothing about how to properly play their mains. I can also name several people who play their classes spectacularly, but have been unlucky and have next to nothing melded on their gear, if anything at all.

Obviously, if someone is wearing solid scale mail and using a champion's lance at Moogle, I would wonder about just how much they know about what they're doing, but not having materia on your gear is negligible.

Then again those people might just be busy playing Assasin's Creed at the same time so I can't be too harsh cause that's pretty hard to do.

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

Base damage cannot be made up. That is the difference, but I'll have to agree and point out again like everyone else did that extravagant gear and an ifrit's bow isn't what is going to set you apart. It's skill. I have several members in my LS who still don't have an Ifrit's bow (which is ridiculous because we must have killed him together between 140-150 times) and they may have trouble keeping up with players WITH a bow (by about 6-10 DPS), but they more than make up for it by being quick minded and skillful.

It just simply doesn't matter in the end. You finished what you set out to do and I am a believer in that, as long as you are not doing anything despicable, it doesn't matter how you get places as long as you're there.

[Biggs]

I forgot to mention that the melded stuff also made the rewards you get for achievments pretty pointless as well. I feel like super melding is ruining more things in the game then its helping. I just happen to be from the camp of people that thinks dropped gear (from tough nms and bosses anyway) should always be better than crafted stuff. Players shouldnt be penalized for not having botted 5 crafting jobs to 50 or for not having 50 million gil at our disposal.

[Rydin]

I forgot to mention that the melded stuff also made the rewards you get for achievments pretty pointless as well. I feel like super melding is ruining more things in the game then its helping. I just happen to be from the camp of people that thinks dropped gear (from tough nms and bosses anyway) should always be better than crafted stuff. Players shouldnt be penalized for not having botted 5 crafting jobs to 50 or for not having 50 million gil at our disposal.

Yea.. Having all gear have the same amount of materia slots all based on luck... I don't care for it too much either (Although I guess I accept it, if thats their vision for the game)
If this is what they want to do, they could at least let some NMs drop some big rare materia

[TheFatHousecat]

I forgot to mention that the melded stuff also made the rewards you get for achievments pretty pointless as well. I feel like super melding is ruining more things in the game then its helping. I just happen to be from the camp of people that thinks dropped gear (from tough nms and bosses anyway) should always be better than crafted stuff. Players shouldnt be penalized for not having botted 5 crafting jobs to 50 or for not having 50 million gil at our disposal.

Too much risk for not enough return, either stats need to start meaning something or they need to let you keep your gear if the meld fails. Punishing us for attempting something that won't really even make that much of a difference is too harsh.


BUT ANYWAYS, yeah skill > gear blah blah

[Xakery]

If this is what they want to do, they could at least let some NMs drop some big rare materia

that would be awesome! People may camp NMs again. I sorta miss the competition from HNMs like in my 11 days.