Enchanting system is horrible in this game.

[Flionheart]

Actual skill? Are you serious? This is a GCD based MMO, skill doesn't even come into this. Gear is all that matters.

Ok. We'll both parse a Titan fight. You stand in every AOE, and I'll dodge every AOE.

[rina_inverse]

err, one serious question
how do you make your face like that?
is that some kind of bug or something?

[Tiggy]

That's interesting considering the game doesn't have a system in which we take an item and imbue it with new magical properties. This would normally be called enchanting. This game does however have a system where you can take an orb with a specific bonus and put in into a socket. We call it the materia system, but I think most games call this socketing. Could you perhaps be talking about that?

</sarcasm>

Honestly though I don't mind it as much as you do. No all gear has sockets. This is the same in many games with these kinds of systems. Nothing new to see here.

[RowanLauron]

Enchanting, jewelcrafting, either way, the bottom line is those are avenues to customize your gear a bit to your liking. With stat caps and a majority of the gear being modifiable, the system in this game lacks the ability to do so.

Even though I was nitpicking I agree with you. Most of the time, I don't feel materia makes a large enough difference to merit the gil loss and time spent to do it. Sure, a whm in Penta melded vanya may be better than me in full DL, but the stat differences IMO aren't big enough to justify the cost. Let alone the amount of luck that's involved just to get the pentameld.

[Kosmos992k]

Actual skill? Are you serious? This is a GCD based MMO, skill doesn't even come into this. Gear is all that matters.

How do you balance that against the legions of fail-DPS, fail-healers and fail-tanks that exist? If it's not about skill, and it's all gear and GCD based how do you explain all those player who fail so hard?

[Tupsi]

How do you balance that against the legions of fail-DPS, fail-healers and fail-tanks that exist? If it's not about skill, and it's all gear and GCD based how do you explain all those player who fail so hard?

Uhh...to be fair a lot of 'fail (insert)' usually, 99% of the time do this:

"Healer I'm dying over here! Cure me! D:"
Fail Healer: "Huh? I use cure on you? Nah I'll just spam Stone II or Ruin II on the mob."

"Skill" varies in meaning since it doesn't take "skill" to hit your Cure button, you have to actually hit it lol. The "skill" is how effectively you know how to hit your buttons, but above all: Actually hit the button XD.

[Pooky]

How do you balance that against the legions of fail-DPS, fail-healers and fail-tanks that exist? If it's not about skill, and it's all gear and GCD based how do you explain all those player who fail so hard?

They are not mutually exclusive. You need basic understanding of mechanics to be successful, regardless of gear. You can have the best gear or no gear, if you can't dodge or target properly, you will fail. Once you get past that though, its all about gear. You are not going to outperform someone with great gear because of your "great skill". Its a RPG. You get better with stats and gear, not by aiming a bow better or swinging a sword harder. Which is why the whole idea of "I wanna be different!!! Why won't materia let me do what I want!!!" is silly. Like someone said, you don't see bards stacking PIE with their 30 customizable points.

[ufufu]

Uhh...to be fair a lot of 'fail (insert)' usually, 99% of the time do this:

"Healer I'm dying over here! Cure me! D:"
Fail Healer: "Huh? I use cure on you? Nah I'll just spam Stone II or Ruin II on the mob."

"Skill" varies in meaning since it doesn't take "skill" to hit your Cure button, you have to actually hit it lol. The "skill" is how effectively you know how to hit your buttons, but above all: Actually hit the button XD.

Their problem was getting hit by AoEs. Stop that and things will be fine.

[Kosmos992k]

Even though I was nitpicking I agree with you. Most of the time, I don't feel materia makes a large enough difference to merit the gil loss and time spent to do it. Sure, a whm in Penta melded vanya may be better than me in full DL, but the stat differences IMO aren't big enough to justify the cost. Let alone the amount of luck that's involved just to get the pentameld.

The impact of materia is limited by the impact of the stats themselves. I think that the impact of player stats is de-tuned too harshly in FFXIV, reducing our ability to make differing builds within the same class by using our bonus status, gear and materia.

[Roris]

Too much stress.