Materia System

[Peregrine]

Running list of player critique of the Materia system, with proposed solutions:


Problem:
Matsui's new system focuses on rewarding the effort and innovation of players playing at their best, but this system seems to incentivize equipping low-grade equipment to battle. These focuses seem antagonistic to each other, and a player may be forced to choose between being at their best and getting materia.
Solution
You can attach to one tool, one weapon, and three armors at any given time. You do not have to be wearing said armor to attach.

Problem:
Jobs that have already hit the level cap sustain massive reductions in the amount of hits they perform on a given weapon or in a given armor set, relegating attachment to gear to a "grinding" activity like levelling or farming, which are either impossible for some or not fun for most.

Solution
You do not have to be on the job of the armor weapon or tool that you are attaching to
Diverse actions found in different playstyles cause attachment.

Problem:
Materia growing appears to be an activity that favors current unaddressed problems in the game: players who farm shards with bots will now have more incentive to continue this activity. Let's not pretend that shard bots don't exist, or allow a system that further rewards that behavior.

Solution
More positively correlate materia growth to activities with high impact value, less growth for menial grinding and timespamming.

Problem:
This system will eventually settle out to what outcome is common and what is rare as a means to distinguish materia on gear. For battlers, that rare event seems to be HQ'ing materia as their mechanism for power. For crafters, it seems to be that rare double materia attach. Where is the power-outcome for gatherers to give them equal weight?

Solution
-very rare catalysts
-Limiting common provisions to making common results.

Problem:
The system feels like an archaic MMO farm or grind activity, which this game must avoid if it is to rise above.
Solution
-Diverse actions found in different playstyles cause attachment.

Problem:
INVENTORY!
Solution
-new tab.

Problem:
If Rare/ Ex/ Rare Ex gear is consumable, it may drive rampant demand for bottleneck-supplied pieces.
Solution
-Rare/ Ex/ Rare Ex pieces do not produce materia, but very amenable to receiving materia.

Problem:
One Materia?!?
Solution
Two?

Problem:
Crafters may be able to double dip profits from this system, enjoying steady sales of their over-produced crap and charging ridiculous prices for materia inlaying and HQ inlaying.
Solution
Emphasize crafters' primary economic benefit to be to increase demand for their undesired final product production, not primarily from profit from materia activity.

Problem
If catalysts are made rare from gathering to give gatherers economic weight in the system, demand will drive overproduction of every other gathering material which is as big a problem as or a BIGGER problem than gear overproduction

Solution
-Separate catalyst aquisition from primary material aquisition
-Reduce incidental material-gets
-Place catalysts in secondary gathering locations