Ask Questions for Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XVIII! (FFXIV: ARR)

[Vespar]

Are there any plans to make a high level crafting gear set that does not have materia slots?
I ask this because new players find it extremely overwhelming to catch up to the new standards of crafting and lack the resources to buy or spiritbond for the materias necessary to do so within a timely manner. The new artisan's gear was a step in the right direction, but it still requires another high level master crafter to make, and some very expensive and hard to attain items to craft them, and also still includes materia slots (albeit fewer are needed). So the cost to make one and max meld it, is still out of the reach of newer crafters.