http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/22225-dev1017-Materia-crafting-system-Materia-A-Matter-of-Mystery-%2808-26-2011%29?p=341351#post341351Hello! Producer/Director Yoshida here.
This will be my last long post for the week!
As you have all been waiting patiently for info, the first half of this post will be about the materia craft concept and the latter encompassing the specifications. The numbers for the sample specs are still under adjustment, so please understand that these values may change before release.
Since this is a pretty lengthy amount of text, feel free to enjoy it in your down time over the weekend or in between playing!
The Aim of Materia Craft
The whole goal of materia craft is to create a system where crafters, gatherers, and battle classes can all play together. Materia is developed through battles and crafting, and attached to weapons and equipment that was created by crafters and gatherers. This plan was designed so that this relationship and style of playing will circulate endlessly even if higher tier craft items are added.
Below is a snippet from the synopsis I created.
Materia is an item that is made up of crystallized memories of a piece of equipment that you possessed a spirit bond with and deemed its role was finished. Materia cannot be used alone and it will become a material for crafters using the new synthesis system, "materia crafting." (Original text)
This has just about been implemented just like this.
Converting Weapons and Armor to Materia
In MMORPGs a ton of weapons and armor are introduced into the game.
Even for the items you earn when leveling your character, all players develop some sort of bond or memory with them much more for MMORPGs than console RPGs.
Even if you obtain really powerful weapons and armor, since you just obtained them, you won’t have as much of a bond or any memories like you do with the gear you are currently using. However, your memories and bond are bottled up inside the weapons and armor that you have been using until now. Materia is just that! A crystallization of those memories and bonds.
Since materia is filled with that bond, it will serve to power-up your next piece of equipment. This was essentially my thinking when this plan was formulated.
Materia Attachment to New Weapons and Armor
Attaching materia to a brand-new piece of equipment has a 100% success rate. The reason for attachment being 100% is ensure than you can inherit the memories and bond that filled the equipment you used up until now. Furthermore, it’s possible to attach materia to all 7 slots of your character equipment (besides accessories), so you will be able to make really significant enhancements if you attach materia to each slot.
However, since materia is solidly inserted, if you remove a materia that has been attached, it will be destroyed. With this said, make sure to carefully select which item you want to attach that materia which is filled with spirit bond.
Until this point, it is the pinnacle of casual as anyone that spends a bit of time can do this.
Forbidden Materia Craft
The "forbidden materia craft" was created to forcibly add multiple additional "memories" to a single weapon or piece of armor.
This craft is forbidden because adding more than one materia is pushing the limits of the item and includes a high risk alongside it. Therefore taking part in this will include a huge risk. If successful, a single weapon or piece of armor will be equipped with at least two materia, and the power of the materia will cumulate to strengthen the player’s abilities. However, if this process fails, both the gear and materia will be destroyed in the resulting explosion.
Upcoming battle content will be balanced based on regular materia craft. The forbidden materia craft will not be involved in balance considerations, so there is no need to worry. By using the forbidden materia craft, it may result in the emergence of incredibly strong players, but we think that this is well deserved considering the level of risks involved.
Materia Created from Weapons and Armor
Now I’ll discuss the specifications of the materia system.
We have plans to update the Lodestone announcement accordingly prior to the release of patch 1.19.
As we previously stated in the announcement, materia includes four tiers of potency:
Materia I (small effect)
Materia II (medium effect)
Materia III (large effect)
Materia IV (very large effect)
An equipment’s level will have an impact on what materia tier will be created, along with the chance of creating a higher tier materia. For example, if you were to transform a level 1 item into a materia, it will have a high chance of creating a tier I materia. In addition, it will have a very small chance of creating a materia one tier higher (in this case, a tier II).
On the other hand, a tier III or IV materia will not be created through a level 1 item.
Basically, the higher level the item is, the higher the chance it will create a grade III or IV materia.
In order to create a materia, the spiritbond level on the item must be maxed out.
The spiritbond level on an item is increased through usage, such as using them in battle. If the item is used in battle, the rate that spiritbond will increase will differ depending on the enemy you fight and if the item is optimal for your level. If you were to use an optimal item, the spiritbond level will be maxed out within a few hours of play time.
Once the spiritbond level is maxed, you will have the option of turning the item into a materia via command. It will not automatically turn into a materia upon the max level of spiritbond.
Generally, only crafted items can be materialized at max spiritbond level. Additionally, items with materia already attached can also be turned into materia. However, it will have no impact on the material that will be produced.
You will not be able to turn powerful items, such as unique/untradeable items obtained from notorious monsters, into materia.
Details Regarding the Different Types of Materia
We plan to implement about 80 types of materia in patch 1.19.
There will be various types of materia such as "Intelligence (increases INT)" and "Ironman’s Will (increases STR and VIT)."
The 80 types of materia are not randomly generated from weapons and armor. There is a pattern regarding what kind of materia is produced (i.e. INT materia will not be produced from swords and axes, etc.)
The Difference Between Materia I and Materia IV
I will use the “Vitality” materia to explain the tier differences.
Materia I / Materia II / Materia III / Materia IV - “Vitality”
Effect: Increases max HP
Where the materia can be attached: Shield / Body / Legs / Feet / Belt (5 locations total)
Maximum stat bonus obtained via combined materia: +280
Maximum stat obtained from a Materia IV: +28
The difference between a tier I materia and a tier IV materia lies in the amount of HP increased through a single materia. For example, a tier I will grant you +5 HP per materia and the tier IV will grant you +28 HP per materia.
In addition, not all tier IV "Vitality" materia will grant you +28 HP. In some cases, it may give you +24 HP, etc.
What Equipment Can Materia be Attached to
Materia can be equipped on the following seven parts:
Weapons(Main weapon/shield) / Head / Body / Hands / Legs / Feet / Belt
Any type of materia can be infused to a weapon (main weapon)/shield without any other materia with 100% success rate. When infusing materia, a catalyst item obtained by gatherers will be necessary. When removing materia from a weapon (main weapon)/shield, the materia will be destroyed.
Maximum Materia Limits
Multiple materia can be equipped at once, and using the forbidden materia craft will enable users to equip a higher number of materia. As such, each parameter will have an upper limit set up (example: HP increase will be capped at +280 for all gear equipped).
Success Rates for Forbidden Materia Craft
Success rates will be determined for forbidden materia craft, and success rates will differ based on whether two or three materia are infused. Whether or not the item to be infused with materia is HQ or not will also affect success rates. More powerful materia, such as tier IV, will have lower success rates, and the type of materia already infused will affect success rates as well. The system will calculate these success rates, and the rates will be displayed prior to beginning the infusion process.
Conclusion
This concludes my summary on the concepts and specs for materia craft. Information regarding the types of effects, stats, and locations of materia will be posted on The Lodestone when ready. As evident, the specs of materia craft are complex, and there will be many types of materia with different stats and applicable locations created from each gear item. I hope that crafters will be able to take on difficult requests from their Linkshell members and other players to create gear that offers both good looks and good performance using materia craft.
Materia craft, just like the other crafter/gatherer specs, will continue to be expanded, so we would like to continue development of materia craft following patch 1.19 incorporating user feedback!
Subject: materia 
Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:13 pm
