Materia Melding and Item Stat Cap

[Frobozz]

I have searched high and low for a straight, accurate answer to my question, so please do not flame me if it already exists.

How can materia bonuses be measured before the melding attempts begin? I have been currently just using trial-and-error techniques, but as I will be using higher-grade materia soon, I would like to know.

As an example, I have an ilevel 16 glove with +18 gathering and no other stats. I attempted to put in a Gatherer's Guerdon I (+3 perception); however, it said that the item was too low to maximize the materia's potential, and it only gave me +2. That would lead me to believe that any first-tier materia would give me 2/3 of the power, but that's not the case! I put a Gatherer's Guile I (+3 gathering) into the second slot and got 100% of the benefit.

There doesn't appear to be a rhyme or reason... Does anyone have *reliable* information on this topic?

[Frobozz]

For those also searching, and if there really isn't a straight answer other than "figure it out," here are two relatively helpful links that I found:

Materia meld caps for Disciples of Land

gathering/perception cap on AF

[Raldo]

There is no reliable formula, so it's all trial and error (or other peoples' data from their trial and error).

[NefGP]

What's the minimum item level required to get the maximum benefit of a Tier IV materia?

I'm curious as it looks like you need at least around 48 to get max stats just off a Tier III. Basically I want to know if it's a waste of gil or not to use Tier IV crafting materia even on HQ AF which are all iLV 55.

[Raldo]

Basically I want to know if it's a waste of gil or not to use Tier IV crafting materia even on HQ AF which are all iLV 55.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...p-for-crafters

[NefGP]

Thanks, good to know