Cause for Concern: Materia & Luminary

[KupoSan]

On my server the Materia IV prices have skyrocketed. When I first arrived, they were 160k apiece (specifically DoH) compared to my old server, Masamune, reaching only 60k. Now, after transferring and being here a couple weeks, the marketplace is sold out with prices now at 400k per Materia IV. Too expensive and not enough materia. I've tried spiritbonding and have horrid luck with this.

Second, I'm very disappointed about Luminary tools. I've been working hard towards my frying pan, and I think, "What's the point? The stats are the same, sure it's gold, but other than that it's about the same. Why work hard towards it if it's just decoration?" This has also got me bummed out about leveling any DoH job.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: With Materia IV prices out of my reach and Luminary tools not being much different than what I have now, I'm losing my willpower to play with Culinarian. Does anyone feel the same way?

[Allyra]

On the luminary bit: This is a theory that's been floating around so take it with a grain of salt. ( I do not know if any rep/dev has said anything related to this)

Luminaries were the best to get in 1.0. Because of the time sink devs wanted non-legacy people to have a faster/different way to get the same tool so legacy didn't completely control the market for long. I think they kept the achievements because people already had them, and wanted to still give that option.

It is possible in the future they will have higher achievements to get a better tool which required to do these lower ones. But I wouldn't hold my breath lol.


Materia bit does stink though. Luckily, if you are willing to 4/5 meld pieces there are only a few that need a tier 4.

[KupoSan]

Well, every piece of gear (excluding a few of the accessories) has needed tier IV Materia so far. I've been lucky enough to only need 4 Materia IVs to finish. But, looking at server price and availability, 400k x 4 = 1.6mil. I just think this is absurd. I have a theory: I've seen several people buying materia, way more than they would ever need, and then stockpiling it to sell later. While this is legal, it's a bummer.

As for Luminary tools: I can totally understand not wanting to remove the achievement for 1.0 people. But, why can't they do something like add an additional effect, such as, "Upon using this tool, shard usage is decreased by 2 and crystal usage by 1." That's not game-breaking, removing one or two shards per synth won't break the economy, seeing as you have to use thousands to get the Luminary Tool. It also still makes it special for 1.0 players.

I also heard a rumor that the ovens/workbenches/etc. for Luminary were lackluster and tiny. This is also disappointing.

[ServerCollaps]

I like the luminary style while crafting, it reminds me on 14.1

[Zetonegi]

Well since you're on a legacy server, the most obvious explanation to IVs rising is actually supply and demand. Legacy players with a large stock of cracked IV materia provided an initial large supply for a much smaller demand, fewer HQ2stars running around and fewer crafters looking to max out their gear. ilvl55 gear has a low IV conversion rate and converting ilvl70 seems like a pretty inefficient idea to me. So not a lot of IVs are being introduced to the market while crafters and HQ2star gear are becoming more commonplace. Long-term, the price on IV materia will probably drop as convertible gear that makes IV materia consistently becomes available along with content to spiritbond it in a reasonable time. III materias taken a few drops all ready I suspect IV will do the same.

[KupoSan]

I believe you're right, Zetonegi. I just doubt that the price will come down unless SE does something to introduce more ways to get tier IV materia, fixes rates, or what have you. I guess I'm more peeved about Luminary being the SAME stats as the level 50 weapon you get. I mean, what's the point of doing all that crafting if all you get is a shiney with no better stats?

[Bagel_Bear]

Achievements should not affect gameplay much. They should always be for vanity.

[KupoSan]

Your opinion is valid. I just wish it actually was worth more than it was. Guess that's just me. It doesn't make too much sense to make two things the exact same, one being an achievement and the other being a quest item. Think about it, everything is the exact same except the look, initial look not crafting look.

[Allyra]

Well, every piece of gear (excluding a few of the accessories) has needed tier IV Materia so far.

Unless this is outdated:
http://viperbeam.com/ffxiv/doh_materiacaps.xls

The only two pieces that need tier 4 are the body and the offhand. All the rest are not 5 melds, so you can replace a tier 4 with a 3 and add a tier 1 at the end. Even though the chances of melds are less, you're probably still going to save a ton of money.

[Ksenia]

RnG for converting is akin to Tera RnG. I don't even bother converting anymore. I had a bunch of cracked III and IV and all I can say to anyone not 1.00 is sorry for your luck.