Regarding armor and rings and magic items

[Shyhelmoon]

I know that some gear like BLM stuff is said to help draw on ambient aether, and some WHM gear is passed down from A-Towa-Cant and others, but is gear actually magical in some way? Do rings have a mechanical effect in-universe? What about enchanted items?

Clearly some weapons (relic weapons) are better than others, and get improved by being charged up with Atma and memories of the dying and whatnot but what would that actually do?

Thank you for your consideration. I apologize if this is already covered somewhere, but if it is I can't find it.

[Vyrerus]

I'm not sure if he's still there, but in Ye Olde days of 2.0 in front of the Satasha dungeon there was an NPC that explained, "Aetherial Gear."

Gear in FFXIV that is aetherial basically has the soul and aether imprints of those who used it before who died while wearing it. While this mainly pertains to the gear from dungeons that is green(and formerly pink), it can be applied to raid gear and other gear as well.

More or less, every piece of gear in FFXIV has aether coursing through it, and can align with our aether (spiritbond). The relic questlines and weapons all involve imparting a prodigious amount of aether onto a weapon with varying forging techniques and other unique materials.

[Shyhelmoon]

I see. Thanks. Do you know what the aether in gear does in a technical sense? How differently would a sword with more or less aether function? Like a battery the user draws on or more durable? For instance, the Resistance weapons are unique for their inscriptions, which do... something. I don't recall exactly how it was described, but what would the difference between paladin sword from Gunhildr's blades be from a standard sword?

How does materia work - if you give a savage aim materia to a person irl, what sort of influence would it have on their... dexterity? Precision?

I realize this is going into pedantic detail, but it's been bothering me.

[Vyrerus]

I see. Thanks. Do you know what the aether in gear does in a technical sense? How differently would a sword with more or less aether function? Like a battery the user draws on or more durable? For instance, the Resistance weapons are unique for their inscriptions, which do... something. I don't recall exactly how it was described, but what would the difference between paladin sword from Gunhildr's blades be from a standard sword?

How does materia work - if you give a savage aim materia to a person irl, what sort of influence would it have on their... dexterity? Precision?

I realize this is going into pedantic detail, but it's been bothering me.

As far as materia go, I'd look at their at their names, and the fact that they are used in the original Relic weapon questline for the Novus/Nexus stage(somewhere around that I haven't made a Zeta since 2.5). The only way to get them is through the conversion of special clusters or by pulling most of the essence in a spiritbonded piece of armor(this used to convert the armor in the process). Materia is basically condensed soul aether.

Savage Aim - Imparts a high acuity for striking weak points and vital areas while also inhibiting restraint. Heightened intent to kill.
Savage Might - Ups all aspects of power. Makes you stronk... like bull.
Heaven's Eye - Originally the accuracy materia. Translated into Direct Hit now. Less glancing blows, no near misses.
Quickarm - Allows the manipulation of physically attuned aether more quickly.
Quicktongue - Allows faster casting and recasting of spells.

[Vyrerus]

I see. Thanks. Do you know what the aether in gear does in a technical sense? How differently would a sword with more or less aether function? Like a battery the user draws on or more durable? For instance, the Resistance weapons are unique for their inscriptions, which do... something. I don't recall exactly how it was described, but what would the difference between paladin sword from Gunhildr's blades be from a standard sword?

How does materia work - if you give a savage aim materia to a person irl, what sort of influence would it have on their... dexterity? Precision?

I realize this is going into pedantic detail, but it's been bothering me.

As far as the question about a sword with more or less aether... Well, physical objects in FFXIV all have an aetherial signature and composition. This is most relevant in the Corvosian ore used in the Garlean radios in the current EW MSQ.

As far as weapon property it wouldn't merely be just aetherial density that affects the weapon's properties, but the weave blend throughout and around it. In general though, more aether = more powerful. But certain aetherial signatures allow for different material properties and effects. I can't really list any, because there aren't a lot of examples.

But theoretically, you could make a sword out of the radio ore, and then if you charged lightning aether through it, it could ward Tempering.

It's not canon by any means, but that's the best I've got.