Hi Optimo,

Welcome back.

Some great information by some of the board veterans above. One other thing since it's been over a year since you logged in:

Yoshida-san added in his version of FF VII's Materia System. In a nutshell, all crafted gear and some U/U gear can be worn and "spiritbonded" and turned into Materia. You wear the gear, earn some EXP and when its bar fills up to 100%, you can turn it into Materia if you want.

For "Max Level BLM Gear" after you earn your AF, you can work on getting some crafted gear and meld a Single Tier III or IV Materia (the highest grades / types) which is 100% success rate. You can then try for Double Melds when you feel financially comfortable to try.

Also, you'll want to try and wear gear that's Level 41 or higher for a chance to have it convert into Tier IV materia (anything below Level 41 has zero chance of turning into Tier IV).

Here's a guide on Materia on Lodestone if you missed it:
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...materia01.html

Here's a Conversion Table:
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com...materia03.html

Here are 2 great websites for helping you browse current available Gear / Recipes and other helpful things about XIV:

http://mozk-tabetai.com/

http://mooglebox.com/includes/

Enjoy!