Alternative to melding gear?

[Undrentide]

Just wondering if theres an acceptable alternative way of having good gear stats without having to resort to the materia system... Im not much of a crafter in FFXIV and i dont think i ever will be. To be honest the melding etc confuses the hell out of me....

[Raldo]

Use AF? Use dungeon gear? Buy the gear from other people?

[Undrentide]

i use AF and dungeon gear and GC but always seem to be told no dont use that item use this one with triple meld etc

[Trotsky]

You don't need to have ALL of your gear melded, but at least several pieces with a double IV is a must. It's not that hard to get either.

[PSxpert2011]

Classes can't use artifact gear and having a job fully leveled restricts a player from using abilities from other classes.

Do end-game I guess. Research gear and where they drop. Some are from dungeons and some from open world NMs.

It depends on what you like using during a situation(like soloing). There's gear that's better than the AF and could benefit a lot more if you stick to your class. Like I said, it's situational and makes sense if your in a low-man group. (though I don't know if anyone dared to low-man as their class in any situation)

[Mikita]

Just wondering if theres an acceptable alternative way of having good gear stats without having to resort to the materia system... Im not much of a crafter in FFXIV and i dont think i ever will be. To be honest the melding etc confuses the hell out of me....

AF gear is decent, but it doesn't seem to be good enough for certain endgame content where sheer DPS numbers are important.

If you cannot multiple meld your own equipment, it would be best to either make friends who can help you, or earn enough gil to buy it in the markets.

The prices in the market may seem exorbitant, but they are a reflection of the difficulty of creating the gear to begin with. Certain desirable materia is rare and therefore expensive, coupled with the low odds of success... it's just supply and demand at work.

But overall, unless you like the challenge and satisfaction of making your own equipment, simply buying it is usually cheaper.

[Alzelia]

Melded gear is usually a lot cheaper on the markets than what you would expect to normally pay.