Melding items should increase their item level.

[Tazo]

What would stop you from penta melting water resistance to raise the iLvl then? Poor system.

Quite honestly though, I don't think penta melded gear is very good at all compared to proper i90 gear.

I dunno...I have an HQ Gryph ring with Vit4, Aim4, Might4, and Battledance4
I find it rather hard to find a ring better than that for PLD/BRD/MNK/DRG

[Kalien]

ilvl should be done away with, alongside this "replace everything as soon as a new patch releases" mentality

This is the best way to handle it.

[warren-ragnarok]

i really love how people put more emphasis on gear than skill....

[SilverRhythm]

i really love how people put more emphasis on gear than skill....

LOL, well agree. But the truth is still gears and ilvl is there for everyone to see and judge their first impression on you, skill is too subjective so most people just ignore it since there is no numbers writing Skill Rating on your character XD

[prymortal]

I still think HQ items should have iLvl +5 to them. Will it alleviate this issue? Not really but it would soften the issue slightly

Actually HQ lvl 70 items are equal to DL lvl 70. (with melds obviously higher stats.)
NQ lvl 70 items are closer to lvl 55 items, with higher stats. You need to look at the defence points, which is what really counts with high level gear.

[Matsume]

Actually HQ lvl 70 items are equal to DL lvl 70. (with melds obviously higher stats.)
NQ lvl 70 items are closer to lvl 55 items, with higher stats. You need to look at the defence points, which is what really counts with high level gear.

Accessories don't have defense points...

[ColeSlawter]

I agree with the OP and actually posted about this before, although it was right after housing prices came out so bad timing on my part.

What would stop you from penta melting water resistance to raise the iLvl then? Poor system.

Easy to deal with. Each materia is given an iLvl and adding materia to gear would increase that piece by the materia iLvl. DoH/DoL/Elemental materia would have an iLvl of 0 so adding it to gear would do nothing but waste a slot. Tier 1 would have an iLvl of .5 with each increasing tier increasing in iLvl by .5. 2 star gear penta melded with tier 4 materia would become iLvl 80 and be decent gear without becoming BiS. In addition to making crafted gear a little more valuable, 1 star gear would become more valuable as well for spiritbonding. This could actually help the economy.

[Allyrion]

I will say it again. Gearscore should be calculated by a weighted sum of item stats, such as defence, magic defence, primary stat, vit, etc. NOT item ilvl.

The item level of a gear determines its stat budget and is distributed according to the stat weights. All 90 gear has an equal budget, so it is essentially the same as the sum.

I agree with the OP though. Penta melded HQ crafted piece is around ilvl 80 and should be treated as such. It would help if the UI reflected as such.

[IzumiRaito]

All 90 gear has an equal budget, so it is essentially the same as the sum.

WRONG.
Its weapon (unless ur a tank) > armor = pants > helm = gloves = boots > belt > jewellry.
Look at how many stats each slot gives.

[prymortal]

Accessories don't have defense points...

LOL & someone liked your post & also thought it was true....

Yes tho do, Crafted NQ no DEF Points, Crafted HQ 1 DEF point same as DL & higher
http://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest...m/44c1bd16be7/
Click on the HQ symbol