Spiritbond

[Eirthi]

I'm trying to spiritbond an old pair of boots so I can turn them into materia but they won't move past 1%.
I'm trying mobs at the item level (50) and nothing. Why won't it move?

[Eirthi]

Nevermind. I realised the item was non-convertible. Derp

[EveK]

Convertible or not, you can still accrue spiritbond (though it's obviously useless when the item is not convertible).

Update: it is, indeed, the level of the item. Seems like the change was made to prevent people wearing inappropriately-low gear in duties rather than their actual (more potent) gear.

[ChameleonMS]

Spiritbond only work if the enemies are within +/- 10 levels of the item level of the item being bonded.
Figuring out the enemy level is simple: The enemies in a dungeon have the same level as the iLVL of items in that dungeon.
The amount of spiritbond gained is affected by the difference, so, to get the fastest bond possible, always kill enemies 10 levels above your item level.

I used to do this a lot to get materia for the ARR relic and crafter materia.

[Hasrat]

Good to know. Would explain why my old i90 job quest gear wasn't gaining much.