The more I think about this, the more it bothers me. Why was the decision to make materia stats random made? For example, a quick look at Mooglebox reveals that Bloodthirst VI can have a +HP stat of anywhere between 55 and 70. +15 HP is like an extra gear slot or another materia. Why would anyone spend the millions it costs to buy a +55 HP materia, only to purge it later when they find a +70?

Even if YoshiP didn't think that was a big deal, there is also the additional problem that arises when trading non-standardized items. The Item Search Counter cannot tell the difference between materia of different qualities, so you have to enter the wards and go through each retainer. There is a reason why exchange traded assets are all standardized and this is that reason.

Usually when YoshiP has something implemented in a certain way, even if I disagree with him (like about forbidden materia crafting), he usually has some kind of reasoning to back it up, which was a welcome change from the seemingly random decisions of the previous team, however, this is one of those decisions that I simply cannot fathom. There is no upside, it pisses off min-maxers and it's incompatible with the current and potential future trading platforms. So why exactly was it done the way it was? Any ideas?

This is the second time he has done this, Dzemael Darkhold was the first. Does it make sense within the lore that the default course of action when entering a hostile dungeon is to madly run through hordes of monsters? No? Well, is it intuitive and/or good gameplay? Still no? So why?