Materia
- See also: Types of Materia
Materia can be used to enhance your gear. You can affix materia into a piece of your armor with socket(s) to improve its attributes.
- Materia affixing can only be done by specific crafting classes.
Players can acquire materia by converting a piece of your gear that is 100% Spiritbond to you. Spiritbond percentage increases as you use that piece of armor in battle, crafting or gathering.
- Note that the materia conversion process permanently destroys that piece of gear.
Creating Materia
- Main article: Spiritbond
To create materia, you must first complete the Forging the Spirit quest. The quest giver is Swynbroes, located at The Bonfire in Central Thanalan (23,13).
You can create materia from your weapons, armors and tools with spiritbond of 100%. You can increase the spiritbond percent of a piece of gear by battle, craft and gather while wearing that piece.
The type of materia you create from a piece of gear is based on the gear's intended class. For example, when you convert a piece gear intended for pugilist and lancer, you will receive materia that is ideal for physical, melee damage dealing.
Materia Tiers
Lower level gear converts into lower tier materia. Additionally, higher materia tiers require higher level gear for melding.
| Tier | Item Levels of Converted 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 | 45-60 for 10% 60+ for 75%-80% |
55+ |
| V | ?? | 160+ |
Materia Conversions
Different types of gear are converted into different types of Materia.
| Gear Type | Types of Materia Converted into |
|---|---|
| Disciples of War | Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Parry, Skill Speed, Accuracy, Critical Hit Rate, Determination, Elemental Resist |
| Disciples of Magic | Intelligence, Mind, Vitality, Piety, Spell Speed, Accuracy, Critical Hit Rate, Determination, Elemental Resist |
| Crafting | Craftsmanship, Control, CP |
| Gathering | Gathering, Perception, GP |
Types of Materia
Melding Materia
To meld (attach) Materia, 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, y:13). You will need to be level 19 or higher in at least one of Blacksmith, Carpenter, Goldsmith, Weaver, Armorer or Leatherworker to accept the quest, and unlocks the "Materia Melding" action.
You will need Catalysts named Carbonized Matter to meld Materia into your armor. You can find these catalysts while gathering with botanist, miner and fisher.
The Carbonized Matter must be greater than or equal to the Materia tier.
- For example, Grade 3 Carbonized Matter can be used to meld Materia tier III, II and I.
Higher Materia tiers require armor with higher item levels.
- For example Tier I Materia requires a piece of equipment with item level of 15 or above while tier 5 materia requires a piece of equipment with item level of 90 or above.
Advanced Materia Melding/Forbidden Melds
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, who is also located at The Bonfire in Central Thanalan (x:23, y:13). You will need to be level 25 or higher in at least one of Blacksmith, Carpenter, Goldsmith, Weaver, Armorer or Leatherworker to turn in the quest. Note that you can accept it at level 19, but can't turn it in until 25 (though you can turn it in as any lvl 25+ class, including Disciples of War or Magic). The quest involves melding 8 materia to gear in front of Mutamix. It helps to bring the requisite number of materia and enough gear to meld them to before accepting the quest to save time. This replaces the "Materia Melding" action with "Advanced Materia Melding". Advanced melds are better known as forbidden melds.
Forbidden melds allow you to meld up to 5 materia to a piece of gear total, however the chance of success is low, typically starting at 45 or 35% and going down from there, depending on the number of materia already melded, the number of materia of that specific stat melded, and grade of materia and carbonized matter used, Going for a full five melds (penta melding) typically ends at about 4-8% for the final meld.
Forbidden melds are often required for crafters for the highest tier of crafting recipes, since the unmelded gear is not enough to meet the minimum requirements for those recipes, even when high quality. Crafters attempting penta-melds often lose many materia doing so, which requires either a lot of time spiritbonding for materia or a lot of gil to purchase materia on the market board.