Difference between revisions of "Materia"
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[[file: | {{#set:Has game icon=File:Materia I icons.gif}} [[file:extracting 1.png|thumb|400px|Materia Tutorial 1 (6.51)]] | ||
[[file: | [[file:extracting 2.png|thumb|400px|Materia Tutorial 2 (6.51)]] | ||
[[file: | [[file:extracting 3.png|thumb|400px|Materia Tutorial 3 (6.51)]] | ||
[[File:Materia icon1.png|baseline|link=]] [[Materia]] can be used to enhance your gear. You can attach materia into a piece of equipment with socket(s) to improve its attributes. | |||
Materia can be used to enhance your gear. You can | |||
Players can acquire materia by extracting it from pieces of equipment with 100% spiritbond. Spiritbond percentage increases as you use that piece of armor in battle, crafting or gathering. | |||
<br> | |||
==Creating Materia== | ==Creating Materia== | ||
{{main|Spiritbond}} | {{main|Spiritbond}} | ||
To create materia, you must first complete the | To create materia, you must first complete the quest: {{questlink|feature|Forging the Spirit}}. The quest giver is [[Swynbroes]], located at [[The Bonfire]] in [[Central Thanalan]] (X:23.9, Y:13.7). | ||
You can create materia from your weapons, armors and tools with [[spiritbond]] of 100%. You can increase the spiritbond | You can create materia from your weapons, armors and tools with [[spiritbond]] of 100%. You can increase the spiritbond percentage of a piece of gear by earning experience through battle, crafting and gathering while wearing that piece. You can tell gear has reached 100% spiritbond from the green equipment dots turning white at the bottom right of the screen (by default), and there is an audio cue sound effect plus a white visual flash effect when 100% is first reached. | ||
The type of materia you create from a piece of gear | The type of materia you create from a piece of gear depends on the gear's intended class. For example, when you extract from a piece gear designed for a [[pugilist]] or [[lancer]], you will receive materia that is ideal for physical, melee damage dealing. | ||
==Materia Tiers== | ==Materia Tiers== | ||
Lower level gear | Lower level gear produces lower-tier materia. Additionally, higher materia tiers require higher level gear for melding. | ||
{| | {| {{STDT| sortable align-center}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
!Tier | !Tier | ||
! | !Levels of Gear | ||
!Item Level Requirements for Melding | !Item Level Requirements for Melding | ||
|- | |- | ||
Line 33: | Line 28: | ||
| III || 30-44 for 10% <br> 45+ for 90% || 45+ | | III || 30-44 for 10% <br> 45+ for 90% || 45+ | ||
|- | |- | ||
| IV || 45- | | IV || 45-50 i60 for 10% <br> i60-i130 for 75%-80% || 55+ (DoH/DoL) <br> 70+ (DoW/DoM) | ||
|- | |- | ||
| V || | | V || 51-60 || 160+ | ||
|- | |- | ||
| VI || | | VI || 61-70 || 290+ | ||
|- | |||
| VII || 71-80 || 420+ (DoW/DoM) <br> 430+ (DoH/DoL) | |||
|- | |||
| VIII || 71-80 || 420+ (DoW/DoM) <br> 430+ (DoH/DoL) | |||
|- | |||
| IX || 81-90 || 560+ | |||
|- | |||
| X || 81-90 || 560+ | |||
|- | |||
| XI || 91-100 || 690+ | |||
|- | |||
| XII || 91-100 || 690+ | |||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
==Materia Conversions== | ==Materia Conversions== | ||
Different types of gear | Different types of gear produce different types of Materia. | ||
{| | {| {{STDT| sortable}} | ||
|- | |- | ||
!Gear Type | !Gear Type | ||
!Types of Materia | !Types of Materia Extracted | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Disciples of War]] || | | [[Disciples of War]] || {{item icon|Battledance Materia IV|x}} [[Tenacity]], {{item icon|Quickarm Materia IV|x}} [[Skill Speed]], {{item icon|Heavens' Eye Materia IV|x}} [[Direct Hit Rate]], {{item icon|Savage Aim Materia IV|x}} [[Critical Hit]], {{item icon|Savage Might Materia IV|x}} [[Determination]]. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Disciples of Magic]] || | | [[Disciples of Magic]] || {{item icon|Piety Materia IV|x}} [[Piety (Stat)|Piety]], {{item icon|Quicktongue Materia IV|x}} [[Spell Speed]], {{item icon|Heavens' Eye Materia IV|x}} [[Direct Hit Rate]], {{item icon|Savage Aim Materia IV|x}} [[Critical Hit]], {{item icon|Savage Might Materia IV|x}} [[Determination]]. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Crafting]] || Craftsmanship, Control, CP | | [[Crafting|Disciples of the Hand]] || {{item icon|Craftsman's Competence Materia IV|x}} [[Craftsmanship]], {{item icon|Craftsman's Command Materia IV|x}} [[Control]], {{item icon|Craftsman's Cunning Materia IV|x}} [[CP]]. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Gathering]] || Gathering, Perception, GP | | [[Gathering|Disciples of the Land]] || {{item icon|Gatherer's Guerdon Materia IV|x}} [[Gathering (Attribute)|Gathering]], {{item icon|Gatherer's Guile Materia IV|x}} [[Perception]], {{item icon|Gatherer's Grasp Materia IV|x}} [[GP]]. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
== | ==Types of Materia== | ||
{| | {{main|Types of Materia}} | ||
{| {{STDT| sortable align-center}} | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Name | ! Name | ||
! Color | |||
! [[Attributes|Stat Increased]] | ! [[Attributes|Stat Increased]] | ||
! Tier I | ! Tier I | ||
Line 68: | Line 77: | ||
! Tier IV | ! Tier IV | ||
! Tier V | ! Tier V | ||
! Tier VI | ! Tier VI<sup>1</sup> | ||
! Tier VII | |||
! Tier VIII<sup>1</sup> | |||
! Tier IX | |||
! Tier X<sup>1</sup> | |||
! Tier XI | |||
! Tier XII<sup>1</sup> | |||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Savage Aim Materia]] || {{item icon|Savage Aim Materia IV|x}} || [[Critical Hit]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +16 || +8 || +24 || +12 || +36 || +18 || +54 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Savage Might Materia]] || {{item icon|Savage Might Materia IV|x}} || [[Determination]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +16 || +8 || +24 || +12 || +36 || +18 || +54 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Heavens' Eye Materia]] || {{item icon|Heavens' Eye Materia IV|x}} || [[Direct Hit Rate]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +16 || +8 || +24 || +12 || +36 || +18 || +54 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Quickarm Materia]] || {{item icon|Quickarm Materia IV|x}} || [[Skill Speed]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +16 || +8 || +24 || +12 || +36 || +18 || +54 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Quicktongue Materia]] || {{item icon|Quicktongue Materia IV|x}} || [[Spell Speed]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +16 || +8 || +24 || +12 || +36 || +18 || +54 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Battledance Materia]] || {{item icon|Battledance Materia IV|x}} || [[Tenacity]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +16 || +8 || +24 || +12 || +36 || +18 || +54 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Piety Materia]] || {{item icon|Piety Materia IV|x}} || [[Piety (Stat)|Piety]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +16 || +8 || +24 || +12 || +36 || +18 || +54 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Craftsman's Command Materia]] || {{item icon|Craftsman's Command Materia IV|x}} || [[Control]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +7 || +10 || +9 || +13 || +12 || +18 || +15 || +23 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Craftsman's Cunning Materia]] || {{item icon|Craftsman's Cunning Materia IV|x}} || [[CP]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +8 || +7 || +9 || +8 || +10 || +9 || +11 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Craftsman's Competence Materia]] || {{item icon|Craftsman's Competence Materia IV|x}} || [[Craftsmanship]] || +3 || +4 || +5 || +6 || +11 || +16 || +14 || +21 || +18 || +27 || +22 || +33 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Gatherer's Grasp Materia]] || {{item icon|Gatherer's Grasp Materia IV|x}} || [[GP]] || +1 || +2 || +3 || +4 || +6 || +8 || +7 || +9 || +8 || +10 || +9 || +11 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Gatherer's Guerdon Materia]] || {{item icon|Gatherer's Guerdon Materia IV|x}} || [[Gathering (Attribute)|Gathering]] || +3 || +4 || +5 || +6 || +10|| +15 || +12 || +20 || +14 || +25 || +20 || +36 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[ | | [[Gatherer's Guile Materia]] || {{item icon|Gatherer's Guile Materia IV|x}} || [[Perception]] || +3 || +4 || +5 || +6 || +10 || +15 || +12 || +20 || +14 || +25 || +20 || +36 | ||
| [[ | |||
|} | |} | ||
*<sup>1</sup>Tier VI, VIII, X, and XII materia "cannot be melded onto a piece of equipment past the first [[Advanced Materia Melding|advanced materia melding]] slot." | |||
*''NOTE'': Several categories of materia have been discontinued, including {{item icon|Fire Materia IV|x}} [[Types_of_Materia#Discontinued_.2F_Inactive_Materia|elemental resistance]] materia and {{item icon|Aurelia Kiss Materia I|x}} [[Types_of_Materia#Discontinued_.2F_Inactive_Materia|status effect resistance]] materia during [[Stormblood]]. With [[Shadowbringers]], {{item icon|Strength Materia IV|x}} [[Types_of_Materia#Discontinued_.2F_Inactive_Materia|core-stat]] materia was also discontinued. | |||
==Melding Materia== | ==Melding Materia== | ||
The easiest way to meld (attach) Materia is to find a [[Materia Melder]] NPC who will perform the | To meld materia onto a piece of equipment, the equipment must have at least one materia slot. | ||
The easiest way to meld (attach) Materia is to find a [[File:Materia melder map icon.png|32px|link=Materia Melder]][[Materia Melder]] NPC who will perform the service for a small fee. This method has no level requirement. You can find them near one of the [[Market Board]]s in major cities or [[Player Housing|player housing]] if the owner has purchased and placed a {{item icon|Materia Melder Permit}}. | |||
To meld Materia yourself, you will need to complete the {{questlink|feature|Waking the Spirit}} quest. The quest giver is [[F'hobhas]], located at [[The Bonfire]] in [[Central Thanalan]] (X:23.5, Y:13.9). You will need to be level 19 or higher with at least one [[Disciple of the Hand]] (crafter) to accept the quest. Once completed, you will unlock the "{{action icon|Materia Melding}}" action. | |||
In order to meld actual equipment, you need at least one [[Disciple of the Hand]] (crafter) of the same level as the piece of equipment you are trying to meld. Any crafter will work, and you do not change your class to the crafter while doing the actual melding. | |||
===Forbidden melds or Overmelding=== | |||
It is possible to meld more materia to a piece of gear than the available slots. Doing so requires completing the {{questlink|feature|Melding Materia Muchly}} quest given by [[Mutamix]], also located at [[The Bonfire]] in [[Central Thanalan]] (X:23.7, Y:13.6). You will need to be level 25 or higher. | |||
The quest involves melding 8 materia to gear in front of Mutamix. To save time, you can use one piece of materia and one gear socket. Simply meld the one materia, then right click on the item and retrieve the materia you just melded. Then, meld that same materia back into the same slot. Repeat for a total of 8 times. | |||
Materia older than the current [[expansion]] have a 100% retrieval rate. During ''[[A Realm Reborn]]'', all materia in the game at the time were "current" and this was not the case. | |||
Once complete, the "{{action icon|Advanced Materia Melding}}" action replaces the standard "{{action icon|Materia Melding}}" action. Advanced melds are better known as forbidden melds or overmelding. | |||
Forbidden melds allow you to meld up to 5 materia (i.e., "'''pentamelding'''") to a piece of gear. However, the chance of success is low, typically starting at 45 or 35%, to 17% for higher grade materia. The probability of success decreases further depending on the number of materia already melded and the grade of the current materia you are attempting to add. Going for a full five melds (pentamelding) typically ends at about 4-8% for the final meld. Players attempting pentamelds often lose lots of materia during the process unless extremely lucky. [[File:Materia melder map icon.png|32px|link=Materia Melder]][[Materia Melder]] NPCs cannot perform {{action icon|Advanced Materia Melding}}. | |||
Certain grades of materia (namely, grades VI, VIII, X, and XII) have restrictions when overmelding: they can only be applied to the first overmeld slot. This restriction is indicated by the phrase "cannot be melded onto a piece of equipment past the first advanced materia melding slot." The remaining overmeld slots will need to rely on slightly-lower-grade materia (usually grades V, VII, IX, and XI respectively). | |||
Due to its high cost, overmelding is not necessary in most gameplay situations, except when attempting savage [[raid]] progression in the first few weeks of a patch, for [[crafter]]s attempting to make [[Endgame Gear Guide|Endgame]] gear and consumables reliably or tackling [[Expert Recipe]]s, or for [[gatherers]] who want to maximize gathering yield and efficiency. | |||
Note that some equipment is not eligible for Overmelding - this is indicated by the phrase "Advanced Melding Forbidden" on the gear. Any gear that has no materia slots to begin with is also not eligible for Overmelding. | |||
===Historical=== | |||
Carbonized matter [[catalyst]]s were once used for {{action icon|Materia Melding}}. This requirement was removed in [[patch 4.06]]. {{item icon|Grade 1 Carbonized Matter}} remains in the game due to class quests requiring its collection, but is useless aside from completing these quests. | |||
==Interaction with Item Level Sync== | |||
{{see also|Item Level}} | |||
When level synced in a duty, '''any gear that exceeds the duty's maximum Item Level will deactivate all materia melded to it''', and the gear's default stats are synced down to what the duty's Item Level allows. | |||
Most gear (excluding [[Relic Weapons]]) increases at most 2 "substats" (stats other than [[Vitality]] or the class/job's primary stat) by default, with one of those substats already at the maximum allowed for the gear's item level. Therefore, the value of melding materia comes from maximizing the second substat, as well as potentially adding a third and/or fourth substat that would otherwise not be on the gear. | |||
A high-level piece of gear that's synced down may be able to maximize both substats, but will be missing out on the third or fourth substat that materia can offer. This gap of potential stats generally doesn't matter when running synced-down casual content, but can be important in high-difficulty synced-down content such as old [[Ultimate Raid]]s. Gear that can maximize substats when synced-down also tends to not be available until 1 or 2 expansions after the release of the target content, meaning materia can hold importance here for a while. | |||
==Materia Transmutation== | |||
'''Materia Transmutation''' was released in [[Patch 2.25]]. To unlock Materia Transmutation, players must complete the level 19 [[quests|quest]] {{questlink|feature|Marvelously Mutable Materia}}. Players can talk to [[Kokosamu]] in [[Central Thanalan]] (X:23.8, Y:14.2). Players must have completed {{questlink|main|Life, Materia and Everything}} before starting Marvelously Mutable Materia. | |||
== | ===Mechanics=== | ||
Players can trade [[Mutamix Bubblypots]] in [[Central Thanalan]] (X:23.7, Y:13.6) 5 pieces of any kind of materia and he will give you one random materia in return. The returned materia is guaranteed to be a different type than the starting five, which can be mixed to improve the odds of getting the type the player wants. Occasionally players will get materia that are higher grade than the ones they have traded in. | |||
==Removing Materia== | |||
You can remove materia from items using the item context menu. While doing so, there is a chance of preserving the removed materia for further use. As of [[Patch 7.0]], this chance is 100% for materia grade X or lower. | |||
==Achievements== | |||
''Main article: [[Materia Achievements]]'' | |||
Materia are associated with several [[achievements]]. | |||
[[Category:Materia]] | {{Other}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Materia]] [[Category:Items]] |
Latest revision as of 06:20, 5 November 2024
Materia can be used to enhance your gear. You can attach materia into a piece of equipment with socket(s) to improve its attributes.
Players can acquire materia by extracting it from pieces of equipment with 100% spiritbond. Spiritbond percentage increases as you use that piece of armor in battle, crafting or gathering.
Creating Materia
- Main article: Spiritbond
To create materia, you must first complete the quest: Forging the Spirit. The quest giver is Swynbroes, located at The Bonfire in Central Thanalan (X:23.9, Y:13.7).
You can create materia from your weapons, armors and tools with spiritbond of 100%. You can increase the spiritbond percentage of a piece of gear by earning experience through battle, crafting and gathering while wearing that piece. You can tell gear has reached 100% spiritbond from the green equipment dots turning white at the bottom right of the screen (by default), and there is an audio cue sound effect plus a white visual flash effect when 100% is first reached.
The type of materia you create from a piece of gear depends on the gear's intended class. For example, when you extract from a piece gear designed for a pugilist or lancer, you will receive materia that is ideal for physical, melee damage dealing.
Materia Tiers
Lower level gear produces lower-tier materia. Additionally, higher materia tiers require higher level gear for melding.
Tier | Levels of Gear | Item Level Requirements for Melding |
---|---|---|
I | 1-14 for 100% 15-29 for 90% |
15+ |
II | 15-29 for 10% 30 - 44 for 90% |
30+ |
III | 30-44 for 10% 45+ for 90% |
45+ |
IV | 45-50 i60 for 10% i60-i130 for 75%-80% |
55+ (DoH/DoL) 70+ (DoW/DoM) |
V | 51-60 | 160+ |
VI | 61-70 | 290+ |
VII | 71-80 | 420+ (DoW/DoM) 430+ (DoH/DoL) |
VIII | 71-80 | 420+ (DoW/DoM) 430+ (DoH/DoL) |
IX | 81-90 | 560+ |
X | 81-90 | 560+ |
XI | 91-100 | 690+ |
XII | 91-100 | 690+ |
Materia Conversions
Different types of gear produce different types of Materia.
Gear Type | Types of Materia Extracted |
---|---|
Disciples of War | Tenacity, Skill Speed, Direct Hit Rate, Critical Hit, Determination. |
Disciples of Magic | Piety, Spell Speed, Direct Hit Rate, Critical Hit, Determination. |
Disciples of the Hand | Craftsmanship, Control, CP. |
Disciples of the Land | Gathering, Perception, GP. |
Types of Materia
- Main article: Types of Materia
Name | Color | Stat Increased | Tier I | Tier II | Tier III | Tier IV | Tier V | Tier VI1 | Tier VII | Tier VIII1 | Tier IX | Tier X1 | Tier XI | Tier XII1 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Savage Aim Materia | Critical Hit | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +16 | +8 | +24 | +12 | +36 | +18 | +54 | |
Savage Might Materia | Determination | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +16 | +8 | +24 | +12 | +36 | +18 | +54 | |
Heavens' Eye Materia | Direct Hit Rate | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +16 | +8 | +24 | +12 | +36 | +18 | +54 | |
Quickarm Materia | Skill Speed | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +16 | +8 | +24 | +12 | +36 | +18 | +54 | |
Quicktongue Materia | Spell Speed | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +16 | +8 | +24 | +12 | +36 | +18 | +54 | |
Battledance Materia | Tenacity | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +16 | +8 | +24 | +12 | +36 | +18 | +54 | |
Piety Materia | Piety | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +16 | +8 | +24 | +12 | +36 | +18 | +54 | |
Craftsman's Command Materia | Control | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +7 | +10 | +9 | +13 | +12 | +18 | +15 | +23 | |
Craftsman's Cunning Materia | CP | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +8 | +7 | +9 | +8 | +10 | +9 | +11 | |
Craftsman's Competence Materia | Craftsmanship | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +11 | +16 | +14 | +21 | +18 | +27 | +22 | +33 | |
Gatherer's Grasp Materia | GP | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +6 | +8 | +7 | +9 | +8 | +10 | +9 | +11 | |
Gatherer's Guerdon Materia | Gathering | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +10 | +15 | +12 | +20 | +14 | +25 | +20 | +36 | |
Gatherer's Guile Materia | Perception | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +10 | +15 | +12 | +20 | +14 | +25 | +20 | +36 |
- 1Tier VI, VIII, X, and XII materia "cannot be melded onto a piece of equipment past the first advanced materia melding slot."
- NOTE: Several categories of materia have been discontinued, including elemental resistance materia and status effect resistance materia during Stormblood. With Shadowbringers, core-stat materia was also discontinued.
Melding Materia
To meld materia onto a piece of equipment, the equipment must have at least one materia slot.
The easiest way to meld (attach) Materia is to find a Materia Melder NPC who will perform the service for a small fee. This method has no level requirement. You can find them near one of the Market Boards in major cities or player housing if the owner has purchased and placed a Materia Melder Permit.
To meld Materia yourself, you will need to complete the Waking the Spirit quest. The quest giver is F'hobhas, located at The Bonfire in Central Thanalan (X:23.5, Y:13.9). You will need to be level 19 or higher with at least one Disciple of the Hand (crafter) to accept the quest. Once completed, you will unlock the " Materia Melding" action.
In order to meld actual equipment, you need at least one Disciple of the Hand (crafter) of the same level as the piece of equipment you are trying to meld. Any crafter will work, and you do not change your class to the crafter while doing the actual melding.
Forbidden melds or Overmelding
It is possible to meld more materia to a piece of gear than the available slots. Doing so requires completing the Melding Materia Muchly quest given by Mutamix, also located at The Bonfire in Central Thanalan (X:23.7, Y:13.6). You will need to be level 25 or higher.
The quest involves melding 8 materia to gear in front of Mutamix. To save time, you can use one piece of materia and one gear socket. Simply meld the one materia, then right click on the item and retrieve the materia you just melded. Then, meld that same materia back into the same slot. Repeat for a total of 8 times.
Materia older than the current expansion have a 100% retrieval rate. During A Realm Reborn, all materia in the game at the time were "current" and this was not the case.
Once complete, the "Advanced Materia Melding" action replaces the standard " Materia Melding" action. Advanced melds are better known as forbidden melds or overmelding.
Forbidden melds allow you to meld up to 5 materia (i.e., "pentamelding") to a piece of gear. However, the chance of success is low, typically starting at 45 or 35%, to 17% for higher grade materia. The probability of success decreases further depending on the number of materia already melded and the grade of the current materia you are attempting to add. Going for a full five melds (pentamelding) typically ends at about 4-8% for the final meld. Players attempting pentamelds often lose lots of materia during the process unless extremely lucky. Materia Melder NPCs cannot perform Advanced Materia Melding.
Certain grades of materia (namely, grades VI, VIII, X, and XII) have restrictions when overmelding: they can only be applied to the first overmeld slot. This restriction is indicated by the phrase "cannot be melded onto a piece of equipment past the first advanced materia melding slot." The remaining overmeld slots will need to rely on slightly-lower-grade materia (usually grades V, VII, IX, and XI respectively).
Due to its high cost, overmelding is not necessary in most gameplay situations, except when attempting savage raid progression in the first few weeks of a patch, for crafters attempting to make Endgame gear and consumables reliably or tackling Expert Recipes, or for gatherers who want to maximize gathering yield and efficiency.
Note that some equipment is not eligible for Overmelding - this is indicated by the phrase "Advanced Melding Forbidden" on the gear. Any gear that has no materia slots to begin with is also not eligible for Overmelding.
Historical
Carbonized matter catalysts were once used for Materia Melding. This requirement was removed in patch 4.06. Grade 1 Carbonized Matter remains in the game due to class quests requiring its collection, but is useless aside from completing these quests.
Interaction with Item Level Sync
- See also: Item Level
When level synced in a duty, any gear that exceeds the duty's maximum Item Level will deactivate all materia melded to it, and the gear's default stats are synced down to what the duty's Item Level allows.
Most gear (excluding Relic Weapons) increases at most 2 "substats" (stats other than Vitality or the class/job's primary stat) by default, with one of those substats already at the maximum allowed for the gear's item level. Therefore, the value of melding materia comes from maximizing the second substat, as well as potentially adding a third and/or fourth substat that would otherwise not be on the gear.
A high-level piece of gear that's synced down may be able to maximize both substats, but will be missing out on the third or fourth substat that materia can offer. This gap of potential stats generally doesn't matter when running synced-down casual content, but can be important in high-difficulty synced-down content such as old Ultimate Raids. Gear that can maximize substats when synced-down also tends to not be available until 1 or 2 expansions after the release of the target content, meaning materia can hold importance here for a while.
Materia Transmutation
Materia Transmutation was released in Patch 2.25. To unlock Materia Transmutation, players must complete the level 19 quest Marvelously Mutable Materia. Players can talk to Kokosamu in Central Thanalan (X:23.8, Y:14.2). Players must have completed Life, Materia and Everything before starting Marvelously Mutable Materia.
Mechanics
Players can trade Mutamix Bubblypots in Central Thanalan (X:23.7, Y:13.6) 5 pieces of any kind of materia and he will give you one random materia in return. The returned materia is guaranteed to be a different type than the starting five, which can be mixed to improve the odds of getting the type the player wants. Occasionally players will get materia that are higher grade than the ones they have traded in.
Removing Materia
You can remove materia from items using the item context menu. While doing so, there is a chance of preserving the removed materia for further use. As of Patch 7.0, this chance is 100% for materia grade X or lower.
Achievements
Main article: Materia Achievements
Materia are associated with several achievements.