Crazy Idea: Alteration Materia

[Rydin]

Thats right... Materia that changes the look, name and stats of a piece of gear

Walk with me, Talk with me.....
Imagine Ifrit didn't drop Ifrit's Battleaxe

So how does Mr. Starting Marauder get the best weapon for his class/job?

Well at Lvl 48, you go buy some Cobalt, Jadeite, etc. and get someone to make you a Demilune Bhuj and continue leveling to 50.

At which point, you camp the Great Buffalo until you get a Bloody Bardiche head (Or just buy one). With head in hand (hehe) you go back to your buddy and get a Barbarian's Bardiche made... nice.... nothing new (this is in game now)... but grats...

Now for the interesting part.... You take your Bardiche into a Darkhold run and kill Batraal until you get his special "Void Catalyst" (Could be Unique/untradeable or not, doesn't really matter, plus there are already 80 threads regarding U/U so not really a discussion for this thread)

Now with Barbarian's Bardiche and Void Catalyst in hand.... You take on Ifrit... and instead of Ifrit's Battleaxe, you are looking for Ifrit's Materia

Ifrit's Materia is a special alteration materia that turns the Barbarian's Bardiche (Unmelded, of course) into the Ifrit's Battleaxe using the Void Catalyst. Ifrit's materia is obviously u/u, but fortunately, first melds can be done via bazaar, so "yay" for that.

In the example above... Ifrit could drop universal Ifrit Materia (i.e. Ifrit's Alteration Materia) or specific materia for each weapon (i.e. Ifrit's Battleaxe Materia), and would obviously only work on one specific weapon

I know, Ifrit drops the Ifrit's battleaxe, and thats not going to change... And I know the current content might not even be around in 2.0, what I was doing though, is using this example to illustrate the point. A new player needs a crafter AND has to do the Great Buffalo (Just buy him dinner first), Darkhold and Ifrit to get the best weapon. Old content meets new content, U/U meets crafted... Materia meets Primals... All beautifully working together.....

Say there are 20 separate pieces of content at 2.0 (I am obviously just pulling that number out of my ass... but hear me out), I want to have to do ALL of it to assemble the best gear (Weapons, armor, Accessories) ... and if they add new content 6 months later... someone who starts then should have to do the 20 pieces of content and whatever new thing is added to get a complete set of the best gear

I know, I know... Another way to keep old content relevant is to have each challenge drop gear that is needed to win the next challenge, so your gears gets progressively better as does the difficulty of the content. This is how it is done in pretty much every game.. and it works... but that doesn't mean it has to be done exactly that way every time. FFXIV could put a unique spin on it...

What if all 20 of the new content is needed to assemble a full set of Uber gear and that gear is very much needed to tackle, say, the Crystal Tower....

It would definitely keep people busy past the free month

I know some of you will hate this idea... that's fine... no love lost
Some of you will say "SE will never add this," which is also fine....
I'm sure whatever they have planned will be fun and challenging...
A little "What if" never hurt though

tl:dr Many U/U pieces could instead be U/U Alteration materia that is melded via bazaar and alters the look, stats and name of an unmelded crafted piece of gear.... so that crafters and U/U can all work together!!!!

[AlaulaTheGreat]

As a crafter I refuse to work with my pawns!
I rather it be trade able but only crafters being able to obtain them.
I sell for 2millions, and you sit there and take it.

But seriously, sounds good if not a tad bit complicated. xD

[Airget]

Honestly it sounds like you would be better off fighting Ifrit then going through that concept lol. It may sounds interesting on paper but the process to achieve the point seems a tad to complex. Having to obtain 3 things then ifrit's materia, would the materia be a drop rate in the same sense as the vampire cutting, dark matter, totems and weapons? If it's not 100% drop then it's just not worth the time to go through this process, you can easily run 3-4 Ifrits an hour with a good group rather then go through the process of going through other content just to obtain another new drop added to Ifrit.

The idea though sounds like what they want to do with legendary weapons. In the sense that the weapons model will transform if the stats fit the required stats for the legendary status lol.

[Rydin]

Honestly it sounds like you would be better off fighting Ifrit then going through that concept lol. It may sounds interesting on paper but the process to achieve the point seems a tad to complex. Having to obtain 3 things then ifrit's materia, would the materia be a drop rate in the same sense as the vampire cutting, dark matter, totems and weapons? If it's not 100% drop then it's just not worth the time to go through this process, you can easily run 3-4 Ifrits an hour with a good group rather then go through the process of going through other content just to obtain another new drop added to Ifrit.

The idea though sounds like what they want to do with legendary weapons. In the sense that the weapons model will transform if the stats fit the required stats for the legendary status lol.

I think maybe it sounds complicated because I like to talk to much.....

Essentially, what it boils down to, Instead of getting Ifrits battleaxe, Go get a Barbarian's Bardiche and Ifrit drops materia that turns it into Ifrit's Battleaxe....
It was just an example though... I am not suggesting Ifrit be changed... I'm just saying I'd like it if future content worked like this.... I wouldn't expect any current content be changed this drastically....

I just used Ifrit to illustrate how Materia could be used to "Upgrade" weapons and gear to keep older content useful

Its not that foreign a concept

3 items (Base Weapon, catalyst, Materia) needed to create a brand new weapon.... thats kind of how crafting is now....
In fact, that is EXACTLY what crafting is now... and it is admittedly complex... but thats the crafting/materia system we've all come to know and love/hate

The best gear should always require a serious ordeal before it is obtained

I think this is a good idea, but may want to have them create weapons other than instanced ones that already exist.

This could be a questing side event whereby you upgrade stuff through morphing it via materia. Once it has the materia on it, it could change when its spritibond fills, and maybe have a specific path of materias to upgrade and slowly create better and better weapons. (with the final tier being oh my goodness, since it would take time)

--> quest for a beginning weapon, do the event that drops the materia, acquire and have someone meld, play with it until morph, then get the next materia that it goes with

just another idea to flesh it out

I agree completely... maybe I shouldn't have used Ifrit as an example... I am not asking that they change it... it was just an example to show what I meant.... I KNOW for a fact, the current content would never be changed that much..... I meant this system for future content... just using Ifrit since everyone is already familiar with it

[Volsung]

I think this is a good idea, but may want to have them create weapons other than instanced ones that already exist.

This could be a questing side event whereby you upgrade stuff through morphing it via materia. Once it has the materia on it, it could change when its spritibond fills, and maybe have a specific path of materias to upgrade and slowly create better and better weapons. (with the final tier being oh my goodness, since it would take time)

--> quest for a beginning weapon, do the event that drops the materia, acquire and have someone meld, play with it until morph, then get the next materia that it goes with

just another idea to flesh it out

[Volsung]

actually in all honesty, i see a million ways they could use materia beyond the current iteration

special season event materia

rare materia that tends to bind more tightly to things that don't normally carry materia (accessories)

materia with uncommon stats from events

materia used in quests, for example our first lvl cap raise quest could be a certain old man that states "young lad I'm in need of a favor, if you do this I'll teach you the beginnings to pushing your body further. All you need to do is have someone meld this here speical materia onto this low level weapon im giving you, then build the spirit bond full, and the knowledge shall be yours!"

perfect combinations, of materia that we stumble upon that further enhance gear, that SE keeps secret

Tansforming gear like you said

special effect over time materia

materia that enhances members of your party

etc, its kinda boundless, just takes a lil thought

[bobbygunz]

I agree with alteration materia (and it's been suggested before under different names). All these stupid dungeons that drop ready made gear should drop materia or materials instead so crafters remain relevant in endgame.

[Urthdigger]

It's an ok concept, but if you're going to force people to go and do EVERY type of endgame currently available (Ok... well you didn't have them need something out of a stronghold coffer), it should probably be better than an Ifrit weapon.

[Rydin]

It's an ok concept, but if you're going to force people to go and do EVERY type of endgame currently available (Ok... well you didn't have them need something out of a stronghold coffer), it should probably be better than an Ifrit weapon.

I know... I was just using that as an example

You guys want more examples?

Any unmelded piece of the cobalt plate set (Cobalt Celata, Cuirass, Gauntlets, Sabatons, Plate Belt)
plus "Reinforced alteration materia" from killing the Iron Giant NM
using the "Scorching Forge catalyst" obtained from Ruby Dragon
will get you the corresponding piece of the Fortified Plate set (Fortified Celata, Cuirass, Gauntlets, Sabatons, Plate Belt) with better stats

The Cobalt-plated caligae
Plus the "Ancient Prayer Materia" from an Ancient Undead Monk NM
Using the "Spiritual Release catalyst" obtained from a dungeon of some holy temple ruins
will get you the "Ancient Caligae." Not only does it have better stats, but when you use "Spinning Heel" to add kicks to your auto-attack, the kick portion of the auto-attack does 50% more damage

The Felt Hat of Intelligence
Plus the "Aetherial Surge Materia" from an underground labyrinth with an aetherial river flowing through it
Using "Stolen Sorcery Catalyst" from a special Mimic NM that takes the form of an Aetherial Node (That has a chance of replacing any random node in a particular zone if certain conditions are met)
will get you the epic "Aetherial Headdress."

Mosshorn Scale Mail
Plus the "Rock hard materia" from Adamantoise at the end of a dungeon buried deep underground, hidden by cave ins and rock slides
Using the "Soulless Rebirth Catalyst" from Dark Phoenix NM
You'll get the "Impenetrable Scale Mail," which has improved stats and uses your STR stat to boost your defense.

I could go on all day with this

[Rydin]

I know... I was just using that as an example

You guys want more examples?

Any unmelded piece of the cobalt plate set (Cobalt Celata, Cuirass, Gauntlets, Sabatons, Plate Belt)
plus "Reinforced alteration materia" from killing the Iron Giant NM
using the "Scorching Forge catalyst" obtained from Ruby Dragon
will get you the corresponding piece of the Fortified Plate set (Fortified Celata, Cuirass, Gauntlets, Sabatons, Plate Belt) with better stats

The Cobalt-plated caligae
Plus the "Ancient Prayer Materia" from an Ancient Undead Monk NM
Using the "Spiritual Release catalyst" obtained from a dungeon of some holy temple ruins
will get you the "Ancient Caligae." Not only does it have better stats, but when you use "Spinning Heel" to add kicks to your auto-attack, the kick portion of the auto-attack does 50% more damage

The Felt Hat of Intelligence
Plus the "Aetherial Surge Materia" from an underground labyrinth with an aetherial river flowing through it
Using "Stolen Sorcery Catalyst" from a special Mimic NM that takes the form of an Aetherial Node (That has a chance of replacing any random node in a particular zone if certain conditions are met)
will get you the epic "Aetherial Headdress."

Mosshorn Scale Mail
Plus the "Rock hard materia" from Adamantoise at the end of a dungeon buried deep underground, hidden by cave ins and rock slides
Using the "Soulless Rebirth Catalyst" from Dark Phoenix NM
You'll get the "Impenetrable Scale Mail," which has improved stats and uses your STR stat to boost your defense.

I could go on all day with this

Anyone else have any ideas for new Gear/Alteration materia/catalyst combinations?