Quote Originally Posted by rina_inverse View Post
Judging the amount of time to get the said gear, I'd say it balanced
Triple Melds and higher don't take time to get, they take luck. This isn't a very good way to argue that the materia system is working in a balanced way.

As for melding on to U/U gear, I used to think it was a good idea and then Darklight/Militia came out. There are lots of gear setups that can be stat capped with only one piece of melded gear and the rest U/U. My drg and monk only need to use triple melded strength hands (two IIIs and a IV) and the rest can be either darklight or other U/U gear. If I could meld on to the other U/U gear I could probably avoid using any crafted gear and that could potentially make life a lot harder on people who craft.

I'd say its fairly balanced the way it is. Crafters get business, rich people can buy their way through life, and people can be just as good as the rich people (for a sliver of the price) and look cool at the same time (I.E. Darklight.)