New Player

[Bixby]

A bit of an update, I'm level 21 now. I managed to make it through 3 dungeons this weekend to advance my story line quest. I did notice some of my armor seems to have slots for materia, but I haven't found any materia yet at this point. I'm curious as to exactly where I would find some materia. I'm also curious of what the soul link to my armor does. At least, that's what I think it was called.

Once armor is 100% spiritbound, it can be converted to materia. (Unless it's non-convertible, which is generally anything with a green or blue background, some special unique gear, etc.) There's a quest at level 19 that unlocks the ability to convert gear. It starts with Minfilia in the Waking Sands, and she sends you to Central Thanalan for another quest that actually unlocks the ability. You may need to get to a certain point in the main scenario; can't quite remember.

Generally, the type of materia you get is based on the type of gear you're converting. Tank gear can give parry, vit, etc. Mage gear can give spell speed, int, etc. Pretty much anything has a chance to give elemental resistance materia. You can also find materia created by other players on the market boards.

There's another quest at the same place when you reach level 19 on any Disciple of the Hand (except Culinarian) that unlocks the ability to affix materia to gear. And then another at DoH level 25 that teaches you to overmeld gear (any gear that can hold materia can hold up to 5, but only the sockets have guaranteed success; materia meld attempts past the # of sockets have a chance to fail).

You can also request melds from other players. The DoH that's listed as the gear's class for repairs on the tooltip is the same one that can meld materia to it. E.G., you need a Weaver of the appropriate level to meld materia to cloth armor. Once you have the materia and the appropriate catalyst (Grade 1 Carbonized Matter for a level 1 materia, grade 2 for a level 2, etc.), you right-click on the player, select "Request Meld," select the gear and the materia you want added to it, put in a tip amount if any, and proceed, and the meld happens automatically.