My words may not change a thing but here's hoping...

I've slowly slowly very slowly... been trying to meld my crafting classes to max melds and I must say the amount of materia to attain is quite excessive after all the failed melding attempts.
I know I'm not the first to gripe about this and I wont be the last I'm sure, but I really think that failing a meld should be taken out of the game entirely. Even without failed meld attempts Materia will still sell well on the MB since its used in so many classes/crafts.
That being said, it is a huge deterrent to levelling up crafting classes in particular. Max melds are a necessity to be able to successfully synthesize 1,2 and 3 star items, let alone have the potential to HQ them. As recipe levels require higher and higher stats to synthesize, the more frustrating levelling up and melding crafting classes becomes. I'm muddling through right now, but Im considering giving up entirely since the amount of gil I generate using my crafting class is far less than what I'll ever have spent trying to meld it up. I'm starting to feel like I'd have more money in the long run, just not bothering and buying things from other players. Which is a real shame because I'd rather make my own stuff. At the rate I'm able to attain and meld materia's it will be several months if not years before I get my crafts melded enough to do 3-star melds. By then, there will be new gear to meld and even higher level recipes thus repeating the cycle probably...