Some of the RNG is nuts...we need to get rid of it

[dspguy]

They've made melding easier and easier over time.

• It used to be you'd lose the gear if you failed to meld.
• It used to be that materia only came from spiritbonding in which you'd lose the gear in exchange for materia
• Then they added a multitude of ways to earn materia, even some where you pick exactly which materia you want (scrips, for example)
• Then they removed the loss of gear from spiritbonding. You can have your cake and eat it too.
• Then they removed the time investment necessary to meld when you have dozens or hundreds of unsuccessful melds

The RNG is fine the way it is. That's the whole point. Even with the RNG they do have, they made it more palatable by making the cost (time, gil, whatever) less than it used to be. Since you no longer lose gear when spiritbonding, materia prices have plummeted. Going through 50 Tier IX materia still hurts less than going through 50 Tier III materia in ARR.

[SeverianLyonesse]

RNG is a staple in most games because it is a damn easy way to force replayability. Go through a dungeon have a chance to get an item, yadda yadda. Fine, not to huge, but....RNG on crafting to a point where you could fail 100 times is too much.

I am talking about pentamelding. It is a bit out of hand, and really feels punitive. I get that it is totally optional and all that but it feels tuned wrong.

I would suggest an opposite version of RNG for things like this. Have an RNG chance, that is quite low of getting it early, and then just tell us how many materia it takes to put it on there. So say first slot top tier materia, costs 15, but you have a 5% chance of getting it instantly with every attempt. Just something to make it not feel like a bottomless pit of screw you.

I agree with this, assuming I understand you. There are other RNG things in FFXIV that I think horribly waste players' time, like Bozja field notes. And it hurts because so many other things in FFXIV at least have "pity drops." Leveling dungeons will drop one piece of equipment for your job every run. Totem and tokens let you purchase gear that wasn't dropped from trials and raids.

I'll be honest: melding is a huge reason why I don't want to get into current tier raiding. It's unnecessarily slow and expensive enough as it is, and the RNG on top of that just sounds too frustrating to be worth it. Not to mention, conceptually the idea of "overmelding" is utter nonsense to me.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

I agree with this, assuming I understand you. There are other RNG things in FFXIV that I think horribly waste players' time, like Bozja field notes. And it hurts because so many other things in FFXIV at least have "pity drops." Leveling dungeons will drop one piece of equipment for your job every run. Totem and tokens let you purchase gear that wasn't dropped from trials and raids.

I'll be honest: melding is a huge reason why I don't want to get into current tier raiding. It's unnecessarily slow and expensive enough as it is, and the RNG on top of that just sounds too frustrating to be worth it. Not to mention, conceptually the idea of "overmelding" is utter nonsense to me.

But... Pentamelding is only required for people pushing week 1 clears (or world first clears).

You don't need it to raid, at all.

[Deceptus]

Penta Melding is just a way to make sure materia gets deleted from the game. If it was always a 100% chance to go in then there'd be too much materia and it would clog inventories in an extreme case.

1-2% increase on every failed meld wouldn't be the end of the world and would still get rid of a ton of materia.

[SeverianLyonesse]

But... Pentamelding is only required for people pushing week 1 clears (or world first clears).

You don't need it to raid, at all.

You still need to meld generally though, correct? I dislike the melding system as a whole, and even if it's not required, I imagine there is a lot of shaming in current tier raiding if people don't have melded materia slots.

Also, there are other reasons why I don't raid independent of the melding system. Not enough time to practice, not enough availability for a static, etc. etc. But that doesn't change the fact that I really don't like the way the melding system is designed.

[Simple_Barghest]

You want to know what I want RNG removed from?
Dancer's rotation + AST's fucking cards-into-Astrodyne mechanic.
You can make the argument both jobs do their job (heal and ranged DPS + buffs on both sides) effectively enough without their bonuses. And I can agree with parts of that argument. But coin-flipping every time you hit a button to see if you're lucky enough to land heads and get access to your direct-to-DvD explosion, or rolling a 1d3 every card draw for a chance at lottery symbols lining up to get 1 of each and getting cucked out of Harmony of Mind is just.

It's just stupid. Yknow?

Edit: And yeah you can make the argument that the other jobs similar, e.g. White Mage and Bard, are also partially RNG-dependent. Except Freecure is legit useless past a certain level, which I also argue needs to be changed altho I'll fully admit I have no idea what you could replace it with.
And Bard.
... God I have a whole essay to type up about Bard.

[sharknado]

You still need to meld generally though, correct? I dislike the melding system as a whole, and even if it's not required, I imagine there is a lot of shaming in current tier raiding if people don't have melded materia slots.

1-2 slots that are 100% to meld and the materia is everywhere. Materia slots allow for some stats customization. The gear we get is job type specific so best stats can vary between jobs... although it can also be a problem - when Warrior doesn't share melds with other tanks so all those pentamelders have a problem.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

You still need to meld generally though, correct? I dislike the melding system as a whole, and even if it's not required, I imagine there is a lot of shaming in current tier raiding if people don't have melded materia slots.

Also, there are other reasons why I don't raid independent of the melding system. Not enough time to practice, not enough availability for a static, etc. etc. But that doesn't change the fact that I really don't like the way the melding system is designed.

Melds are 100% guaranteed outside of overmelding. The game throws materia at you.

I'm not really sure what toy don't like about it tbh.

[LittleImp]

I imagine there is a lot of shaming in current tier raiding if people don't have melded materia slots.

There totally is, but people aren't exactly in the wrong to do so. It's perceived as a basic element of raid-prep, and a token of respect towards your party. It can make a pretty substantial impact on your output compared to the effort it takes to set up, which is basically 5 minutes of your time and a few clusters or gil. When you're trying to beat an enrage, every % you can get matters, especially if it's totally passive and low-cost like melds.

[Knot_D]

Why do you still want to Penta melding gear?

Crafters don't need it right now because all "new" and "hard" to craft stuff is already extremely cheap on the market board, and not much new will come with the next patch.
For fighting classes you can just use 2 melts because penta meld gear is just really needed in the first 4 weeks.

You need it right now because 6.1 is gonna be new crafting/gathering on left side, if the pattern is same with SB/ShB...