Materia system should be streamlined and based on FFVII.

[Arkine]

I don't have any great ideas as to how to adapt the system so that it's both interesting -and- fulfills the design spec of "keep crafters relevant", and frankly I'm sceptical about the Materia system /ever/ not making me rage, but I think it's important when criticising the system to consider why it was set up the way it was set up in the first place, and what the developers will be definitively unwilling to change.

Even if it turns into a sloted luck-free system, you'll still need a crafter to do the slotting for you and maybe make it that there's a chance that a materia can break off your gear if you die (low chance, maybe a crafter can fix the broken materia then reattach it? sounds like a decent death penalty).

Crafters will stay relevant, Gatherers will stay relevant, and the demand for materia will still be decent.