While looking more seriously into non-combat gearing, I've noticed a discrepancy between combat and non-combat materia given out by the game. Let's start with a combat example.
Sources for Savage Aim Materia VIII:
Sources for Cracked Stellacluster:
Ok, now let's look at non-combat example.
Sources for Craftsman's Command Materia VIII:
Sources for Cracked Stellacrystal:
Hopefully now you can see what I'm getting at
The lovely choose-your-own-noncombat-VIII, in the form of Cracked Stellacrystal, is painfully infrequent -- just the weekly Wondrous Tails, really, while there are clearly several dynamic sources for its combative sister.
Instead of enjoying the open world and its high-end dailies and naturally acquiring high-end materia from time to time, a crafter must instead stop and grind the mini-game of either White Scrips or Skybuilders' Scrips. Let's be real, these are mini-games, and we're pigeonholed into acquiring non-combat scrips in this way.
Combat materia torrents are in stark contrast to the non-combat materia droughts. We could certainly use a lot more sources for non-combat materia.
Continue reading...
Sources for Savage Aim Materia VIII:
- Norvrandt shops for 240 Bicolor Gemstone (FATE ShB currency)
- Crystarium/Eulmore shop for 400 Sack of Nuts (The Hunt ShB currency)
- Il Mheg shop for 6 Fae Fancy (Pixie tribe daily quest; I believe you get about 5 and can do it 3x/day)
- Ul'dah vendor, might need BLU Masked Carnivale unlocked first, for 400 Allied Seals (The Hunt, esp the weekly soloable B-rank marks, perhaps from other marks; also from Blue Mage Masked Carnivale first-time and weekly rewards)
- A Tempest MSQ quest
- Crystarium/Eulmore shop for 1 Cracked Stellacluster
Sources for Cracked Stellacluster:
- Various high-end duties (not too sure here, I believe was once Copied Factory but is now just newest stuff?)
- Some duty roulettes, (Adventurer in Need, maybe others)
- Wondrous Tails (trade in commendations)
Ok, now let's look at non-combat example.
Sources for Craftsman's Command Materia VIII:
- Scrip Exchange for 500 White Crafters' Scrip
- Ishgardian Restoration vendor 300 Skybuilders' Scrip
- Two quests from Crystarium crafting chain
- Crystarium/Eulmore shop for 1 Cracked Stellacrystal
Sources for Cracked Stellacrystal:
- Wondrous Tails (trade in commendations)
Hopefully now you can see what I'm getting at
The lovely choose-your-own-noncombat-VIII, in the form of Cracked Stellacrystal, is painfully infrequent -- just the weekly Wondrous Tails, really, while there are clearly several dynamic sources for its combative sister.Instead of enjoying the open world and its high-end dailies and naturally acquiring high-end materia from time to time, a crafter must instead stop and grind the mini-game of either White Scrips or Skybuilders' Scrips. Let's be real, these are mini-games, and we're pigeonholed into acquiring non-combat scrips in this way.
Combat materia torrents are in stark contrast to the non-combat materia droughts. We could certainly use a lot more sources for non-combat materia.
Continue reading...