Materia System

[Physic]

This new 'Materia' system is sounding more and more like a hybrid between WoW's enchanting and gem socketing systems.

It's also going to encourage a little trick done in WoW to skillup two professions at once.

One common profession combination is Tailoring and Enchanting. You use your tailoring to create pieces of gear that can be disenchanted (getting tailoring skillups). You then disenchant the gear (which destroys it and extracts enchanting materials). You then take your new enchanting materials and enchant your good gear with it (getting enchanting skillups).

If this is more of the intent, to make the more common gear able to be broken down into materia, it makes perfect sense. However, the whole affinity aspect (meaning I have to wear the stuff) still seems a little wonky.

didnt play wow, but it sounds like its intent is different, this seems to be more aimed at making customized gear, there probably wont be much reason to make gear, soley to destroy it. not en mass anyhow.

Its probably more like a item destruction mechanic, with a reverse incentive, instead of your gear simply being destroyed, you destroy it yourself for a gamble, it takes items out of the reselling market, and encourages a small amount of buying of the same level gear.
You got a crab bow+3 with +4 attack, its been fully attached for awhile, you find a deal on a crab bow+3, or you make one yourself, buy a new one and gamble your old one. but this will probably happen fairly rarely.

Voluntary item wear/destruction.