All Good Things...

So ends phase 3 of FFXIV beta. This was my first real exposure to XIV in any capacity, and I was pretty impressed with the game so far. It's what pushed me over the fence into pre-ordering it. After quitting XI last year, I wasn't sure I'd get back into MMO'ing, despite Fuji's many attempts to get me to play with him, Arkaru, and Ascy in various other MMO's.  It just felt like I had so much more free time while not playing an MMO. Well, I can forget about that now! If the beta is any indication of my playing habits to come, then I'm in BIG trouble. /Goodbye free time! D:

This week saw the return on Wutang Warrior! Haven't seen him in years since he was banned 
from FFXI! Good to see old faces again. I also logged onto Coeurl server where some of the other AP members were and did a couple of FATES with them. Aque is still a Taru, Foosh is still a female (although a cat now :3) and Debris is a female Galka! Fun times.

Being the last week of phase 3, not having a wiki to rely on (/stare FFXI wiki), and just wanting to do stuffs in the name of science, these are my week 5 findings. So it goes without saying, that these are my own opinions and thoughts... so they should be regarded as truth.

Technical-ish Observations


So You Want to Be A Melder?

At level 25 of a crafting job, you can go to The Bonfire area where you first learned how to materia meld, and learn how to do Advanced Materia Meld from the Goblin there. He'll want you to meld materia 8 times in his presence, so make sure to have 8x grade 1 carbonized matter, 8x pieces of materia, and some gear that needs melding (or you can opt to use trash materia and trash gear like me) on hand and start melding.

 Our old friend Mutamix Bubblypots at The Bonfire camp teaching me his secrets

 Materia Melding is now replaced with Advanced Materia Melding.

This upgrades your melding ability to allow you to attach additional materia to a piece of gear, exceeding the slots available. For example, if a body armor has 2 slots for materia and you've filled those slots with materia, advanced meld will allow you to put in a 3rd, and possibly 4th or 5th, but all at reduced chances of success.

Going for the gold. 14% chance of success on a 5th materia!

After burning through a few materia, success! +3 Advanced Melds

I was able to successfully advance meld my body piece I used for crafting 3 times. The first two melds were regular melds, with guaranteed success rate of 100%. The 3rd materia (1st advanced meld) had a success rate of 45%, 4th materia (2nd advanced meld) at 24%, and 5th materia (3rd advanced meld) at 14%. At this point, the meld option was grayed out and no further melding was possible...sad face.


Advanced Melding is what really makes materia shine. I'm still not a fan of melding gear for your main storyline job due to stat caps, how quickly you outgrow gear, and dungeon drops being better. However, melding for Crafting and Gathering jobs grant some nice benefits. I haven't seen any pink craft/gather gear and the only green craft/gather gear I've seen are Grand Company stuff at level 25. That stuff was okay if you don't have access to melding, but Advanced Melding is pretty much the way to go for crafting and gathering gear, especially using HQ gear.


No Need to be Racist

With the help of Ascy, I was able to get her Hyur level 35 MRD stats and compare them with my Lalafell level 35 MRD stats. I had read a post somewhere that race plays a smaller role in your stats than it did in FFXI, but wanted to confirm it first hand. And I did!

Midlander Hyur top. Plainsfolk Lalafell bottom.

Although we had different weapons equipped, they had similar main stats (+7 STR, +7 VIT). Coincidentally, we also happened to have the same allocation of bonus stat points at MRD 35 (+8 STR, +7 VIT). Great minds think alike... or something?

The results confirm that race plays a small role in your stats, compared to FFXI at least. At 35 MRD, the total amount of primary stat points (STR, DEX, VIT, INT, MND, and PIE) are equal for both races, 532 (or 503 if you subtract the bonus points noted in the previous paragraph). Basically, whatever the differences you see in starting stats, that's exactly how much your stats will differ at endgame. That is, if Lalafell's VIT stat is 2 VIT less than a Hyur at level 1, then at level 50, you can expect the difference to still only be 2.

This makes me rethink my choice of race for retail, which I originally was going to pick Miqo'te, because I did not want a repeat of FFXI, where my Taru had a small HP pool. That's not the case anymore. Since HP is determined from VIT, there won't be a huge discrepancy in HP.  Here's some fun facts:

-Lalafell Plainsfolk have the same starting VIT as Wildwood Elezen (18 VIT)
-Lalafell Plainsfolk have the same starting STR as Keepers of the Moon Miqo'te (18 STR) /flex
-Lalafell Dunesfolk have the same starting VIT as Keepers of the Moon Miqo'te (17 VIT) (despite their size, these Mi'Quote aren't built to be strong or durable are they?)

So if you really want to optimize a particular stat, you can still do so by picking the appropriate race, but you may be sacrificing aesthetics to do so. Since, at most, a particular stats will only differ by a maximum of 5 points, I personally put more weight on aesthetics.  Lalafells are just awesome anyways!!! There's also something to be said about their 'unique' perspective too... something I like to call Lalafell Vison! XD


Item Stat Bonuses

I was browsing my armory to see what I could convert to materia when I noticed I had two pink items with the same name... only they had different bonuses.

Space Magic?

I'm guessing since these items aren't labeled as Unique, their stats can vary, and you can carry multiple versions. Something I didn't know about /derp.  Not that it matters, but one was found in a dungeon, and the other was found in a coffer during a leve (not sure which was found where).


Enough talk, screenshot dump of week 4 and 5 incoming!

 

 Playing around in the desert

 Chillin' with a Miquo'te

Sightseeing in the middle of a Brayflox run. Go ahead guys, I'll be right behind you, I swear!

Ballroom 2.0? Some appear shattered... ouch!

 My favorite area in the beta, visually. Costa Del Sol. Home of the Courtesan FATE too! =D

Some nighttime views are just as cool as daytime ones

 Checking out floating islands with Wicked and Ascy. Avatar anyone?

Valharin, Ascy, and me staring at a floating castle

Chillin' after Wicked, Ascy, Zurar, and me had an emote party for like an hour. Wicked completely broke the cuteness scale with her emotes. So cute! She introduced me to my favorite Lalafell emote /sit > /doze

Why the suspicious looks? Oh right, I'm using my Lalafell Vision...

An interesting site near Ceruleum Processing Plant...

With interesting enemies! Reminds of FFVI

 I hope that box doesn't say "Danger! Flammable!" in Eorzean speak

 Shiny

 Staring contest with a Goobue

Do you even lift?

 

 How YOU Doin'?

 Ladies. Ladies. There enough Vanh to go around ;o

Cameraman, you're fired! How dare you capture me with my eyes closed! Goodbye beta phase 3!

Materia Melding

These are my own personal findings regarding one aspect of crafting in FFXIV, Materia Melding. Last week, after hitting 20 Weaver, I hit a wall for the level 20 quest. NPC wanted me to attach materia (aka meld materia) to a piece of gear then turn it in. I didn't know how to go about doing this until this past weekend. In addition to requiring my craft class to be leveled up, it also required me to do some gathering too. This was the missing piece to my puzzle.


Do You Even Craft/Gather?

I've only played around with both for a little bit. I currently have 21 Weaver, 15 Armorer, and 16 Miner. I'm trying to take full advantage of the beta and trying as many different aspects of the game as possible. I am by no means an expert at anything, so don't be surprised if something I say is inaccurate.



Melding

 My own personal line of clothing. Vanh wear!

At level 15, you will start to see gear having slots for materia, and a craft level required to meld it. Melding is a crafting skill, and is the process of attaching materia to gear. It requires you to have the appropriate craft leveled and to have a catalyst for the process to work. To get past the level 20 quest for your crafting class, you will need the ability to meld.



Quest...for Glory?

To be able to attach materia, you will first need to be level 19 of a craft (except cook) to gain access to the quest. Visit npc F'hobhas at The Bonfire area, to the northeast of Black Brush in Central Thanalan to get the quest and talk to her again to complete it.

NPC and quest log will tell you that you will need a Catalyst for each meld

Materia Melding will be available in your Actions and Traits menu

Alternatively, it can be accessed while browsing your inventory or armory, as a subcommand

Catalyst. Not Just a Linkin Park Song

In order to meld, you will need to obtain a Catalyst. The Catalyst comes in the form of an item called Carbonized Matter, and like Dark Matter (used to repair gear), this item comes in various grades of quality, starting at grade 1. However, unlike Dark Matter, Carbonized Matter cannot be bought from an NPC.

So where do you get it? From gathering. So break out that pickaxe or hatchet and let's go gathering! Or you can find a friend that has gathering leveled to 16+. My personal experience is from mining, and Carbonized Matter is a level 20 gather. This means that it will not appear in your gather log, and gather locations will not be be available to you until you reach level 16 as a miner. At 16, your chances of success are low, but give it enough attempts and use your skills and you can mine yourself a decent amount of Carbonized Matter. You won't be needing a whole lot either. One chunk will allow you to meld one piece of materia.

Mining location in Middle La Noscea

Once you have the needed Catalyst, you are ready to begin melding! /joy

Interface
 
Every type of gear will have an associated crafting class, e.g. weaver for cloth armor, armorer for heavy armor, blacksmith or carpenter for weapons, etc. Switch to the appropriate crafting class for a particular gear to Materia Meld.

 This is what you see when you open Materia Meld. You will need some materia on hand to proceed

You will need to select the gear with available slots to begin with from the left hand column. Then you will need to select a materia you want to meld from the right hand column.

Confirmation screen that you want to meld. You will need a chunk of Carbonized Matter for each meld process

Yatta!

Materia - Y U No Give Stats?

Sometimes attaching materia will yield no gains, i.e. you attach materia that will provide no beneficial stats. I don't know the exact mechanics, but attaching materia to low level gear sometimes gives you +0 stats.

Trying to put a level 1 Strength materia (+1 STR) into a level 18 armor. It can be done, but notice the red and orange text telling me the +0 STR it will provide

I've already attached a STR materia that provides +0 str to a level 15 armor. Why does this armor even have slots if materia is useless in it?

I ended up melding a very basic level 1 STR materia to level 15 armor that ended up giving me +0 to STR. Apparently the armor was too low level to accommodate such a "high level" materia. I received similar warning messages when considering to add +1 Determination materia or +2 Skill Speed materia, all of which were level 1 materia.

WTF? So you're saying even though armor has slots for materia, said materia might not even do anything? Looks that way.



Can You Remove Materia?

Yes indeed! Maybe not personally, but there is an npc that can remove unwanted materia. You will need to travel to The Bonfire area, which is the same area as the Materia Meld quest giver in Central Thanalan. The process will end up destroying the materia being removed.

Mutamix Bubblypots will hook you up with removing materia

Final Thoughts

Currently, it is not worth spending time to attach materia to gear. I'm sure this will change by the time retail rolls around, but for now it is a big investment of time, for sub par results. Repairing and melding other player's gear does not seem to be implemented yet, as those options are grayed out when examining other players. I've had to level weaver and armorer to 15+ and mining to 15+ in order to be semi self-sufficient in materia melding. I say 'semi' because this will only allow me to meld gear that belong to weaver or armorer discipline. If I wanted to meld materia to say a piece of jewelry, I'd need to level up goldsmithing to 15+. Weapons? Blacksmithing to 15+ or Carpenter to 15+. You can't rely on someone else to meld for you, unless it is gear that has not been worn yet, and not bound to you.

Dungeon gear will provide better stats than slotted gear (even HQ ones), and don't quite have the prereqs that is needed to be able to meld. Since materia may not even provide any benefit, it becomes no contest in which items are superior. This is something SE will need to balance (or fix if it's a bug) before slotted gear becomes viable. Of course if you do not have access to dungeons or are unlucky with drops, materia melding may be for you. However, with the recently implemented Duty Finder, obtaining dungeon gear is just a matter of spamming the appropriate level dungeon.

Notes to Self

Aethernet for each town and Teleports used so far. Locations of interest for each location noted.

-Ul'dah
 Aetheryte Plaza - Steps of Nald (Pugilist's Guild, Grand Company)
Adventurer's Guild - Steps ofNald (Airship)
Thaumaturges's Guild - Steps ofNald
The Coliseum - Steps of Thal (Gladiator's Guild)
Miner's Guild - Steps of Thal
Alchemist's Guild - Steps of Thal (Near Chamber of Rule)
Weaver's Guild - Steps of Thal (Markets, Retainer)
Goldsmiths' Guild - Steps of Thal
The Chamber of Rule - Steps of Thal (Airship)
Gate of Sultana - Western Thanalan
Gate of Nald (Central Thanalan [North])
Gate of Thal (Central Thanalan [South])

-Thanalan (Ul'dah)
Ul'dah - Steps of Nald
Horizon - Western Thanalan (Copperbell Mines, Vesper Bay[Waking Sands])
Black Brush - Central Thanalan
Drybone - Eastern Thanalan (Halatali)
Little Ala Mhigo - Southern Thanalan
Forgotten Springs - Southern Thanalan



-Gridania
Aetheryte Plaza - New Gridania (Adventuer's Guild, Grand Company, Carpenter's Guild)
Archer's Guild - New Gridania
Leatherworker's Guild - Old Gridania (Market, Retainer)
Lancer's Guild - Old Gridania (Boat to East Shroud)
Conjurer's Guild - Old Gridania
Botanist's Guild - Old Gridania
Mih Khetto's Amphitheatre - Old Gridania
Blue Badger Gate (Central Shroud)
Yellow Serpent Gate (North Shroud)

-Black Shroud (Gridania)
New Gridania
Bentbranch - Central Shroud (Haukke Manor, Tam-Tara Deepcroft)
Hawthorne Hut - East Shroud
Quarrymill - South Shroud (Toto-Rak)
camp Tranquil - South Shroud
Fallgourd Float - North Shroud





-Limsa Lominsa
Aetheryte Plaza - Lower Decks (Airship)
The Aftcastle - Upper Decks (Adventurer's Guild, Blacksmith & Armorer Guild, Grand Company, Airship)
The Bismark - Upper Decks (Culinary's Guild)
Arcanists' Guild - Lower Decks (Docks to Costa Del Sol)
Fisherman's Bottom - Lower Decks (Fishermen's Guild)
Coral Tower - Upper Decks (Maurader's Guild)
Hawkers' Alley - Lower Decks (Markets)
Zephyr Gate (Middle La Noscea)
Tempest Gate (Lower La Noscea)

-La Noscea (Limsa Lominsa)
Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks
Summerford Farms - Middle La Noscea
Moraby Drydocks - Lower Noscea
Costa del Sol - Eastern La Noscea
Swiftperch - Western La Noscea
Wineport - Eastern La Noscea (Braflox's Longstop)
Aleport - Western La Noscea (Sastasha)
Bronze Lake - Upper La Noscea