Need help getting back into the game...

[Onidemon]

I stopped playing a few weeks before 1.19 was released. Got my GLD at LVL28 and now i feel a bit confused and need some clarification regarding some new features.


First with the gear stuff... i understand that everything named "dated" is the old stuff and i should be looking for the new gear as it has improved stats and that matters a lot more now. This easier said then done.... i can't find anything good at my level, some things like gauntlets only have dated stuff available on my server. So without the new gear my character feels damn weak and i'm having a hard time doing anything alone.


Guildleves.

I thought you could stack them, accumulate leves up to 99 of them? But i guess i completely misunderstood the whole system as i'm still limited to 8 and can't pick up any more. So maybe if someone could explain this a bit i'd appreciate it.


Materia,

I've been told to turn old gear into materia.... sure..... but how?



Last.. well if you have any tips or suggestion for me I'm all open for it.

[Renshi]

I stopped playing a few weeks before 1.19 was released. Got my GLD at LVL28 and now i feel a bit confused and need some clarification regarding some new features.


First with the gear stuff... i understand that everything named "dated" is the old stuff and i should be looking for the new gear as it has improved stats and that matters a lot more now. This easier said then done.... i can't find anything good at my level, some things like gauntlets only have dated stuff available on my server. So without the new gear my character feels damn weak and i'm having a hard time doing anything alone.


Guildleves.

I thought you could stack them, accumulate leves up to 99 of them? But i guess i completely misunderstood the whole system as i'm still limited to 8 and can't pick up any more. So maybe if someone could explain this a bit i'd appreciate it.


Materia,

I've been told to turn old gear into materia.... sure..... but how?



Last.. well if you have any tips or suggestion for me I'm all open for it.

Heya!

Concepts are pretty easy:
You could check the Market Wards for a research of equips that could be good for you. If you wonder how to craft them, use the Lodestone in the section Synthesis. It helps a lot!

About the Guildleves, they are simply stackable to 99, but that is the Allowance. You can accept up to 99 leves, but you can stack 8 of them each. Everytime you complete a levequest, the Guildleves at the reception get a refresh so you can take more of them after you've finished the first 8 ones. Give it a try!

For the Materia, there's an NPC located at Ul'dah near the Repair NPC who gives you a Quest that sends you to Mutamix. Complete it and follow the tutorials of the Carriers of the Cauldron. For more in-depth explaination on how to create and meld Materia, check this link.
You can transform every equip into Materia, without looking at your level or attributes, and just caring about fulfilling (100%) the Spiritbond, which replenishes in the equipment based on the EXP you receive. But once you want to meld it into an equipment you have to check the Equip Slots the Materia wants to be placed and the Level of your Crafting Class that requires the gear.

Hope this helps, have fun!

See ya!

[Holy_Dragoon]

You'll find things have vastly changed. For starters, sick to fighting mobs much closer to your level. Equal or + 1/2 levels.

With the new gear, many people are focused on making the higher end gear at the moment. Smart crafters will sell gear for lower levels and make a decent profit. They just have not realized it yet. You might have a tough time finding gear just yet. Many materials can be farmed though and you can ask someone to make the item you need.

You can only pick up 8 Guildleves at a time, once you use up some leves go back to the counter. You will find you can take more of them right away.

Materia, there are a couple quests you should start. In Ul'dah there is an NPC wearing something close to chefs gear, speak to him and he will send you on a quest to Deliver items to a Goblin named Mutamix (forget the spelling). To find him head out of Ul'dah and head north towards the first Camp. You will see coloured smoke in the sky, head to it. Here you will find a small camp with NPCs to talk to, which will allow you to start converting Items that you have Spiritbonded. Keep in mid that you need Catalysts in order to actually add materia to gear.

Dated gear can become materia, but it can not have materia added to it.

EDIT: and renshi beat me to it while I was typing this up.

[Vahzl]

Hah didn't actually know that about the leve restocking, have been porting around all 3 cities to get new ones!

I am going to botanise the hell out of Ul'dah later.

[Onidemon]

Thanks a lot guys, this will be very helpful

[syntaxlies]

some of the dated stuff is still good and can be bought for a bargain. After a few lvls you'll be able to turn that dated gear into materia which you can sell to buy new gear or equip to your new gear. My advise is to lvl in a party. if your not in a LS find one as soon as possible. A good Link Shell should be your main priority as they will be you in game help and party members.

[Vahzl]

I do get the feeling that Materia is going to be the path to things like relic weapons and gear too, using forbidden materia. Already seen some wildly potent combinations, and hopefully in future we will see certain materia actually change the look and name of your weapon/gear too.

For example: Iron Spatha + Tier V Legend of the Pokemon Materia ===Meld===> turns into Legendary Pokemon Gutter

[Holy_Dragoon]

Check your dated gear carefully against a similar level new item. Sometimes it is worth it to hold on to that gear a while longer. At least until you can slot in some good materia into the new piece. I've noticed a trend of gear that starts out weaker, but can become much stronger via materia.