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g0ne · **04-15-2015, 02:06 AM**

See topic.Â

I want to start preparing for my Novus relic stage, and... other than buying, because omigosh, look at those prices!! O.o what's a good way to get Rank 4 materia. Erm, especially Crit and Det ones.Â

Oh, and another question! What would be a good stat meld for an Artemis Bow?

Meena · **04-15-2015, 02:19 AM**

(04-15-2015, 02:06 AM)Eleni Wrote: See topic.Â

I want to start preparing for my Novus relic stage, and... other than buying, because omigosh, look at those prices!! O.o what's a good way to get Rank 4 materia. Erm, especially Crit and Det ones.Â

Oh, and another question! What would be a good stat meld for an Artemis Bow?

Mindlessly spirit binding i50+ battle items. (Militia Gear)

Edda · **04-15-2015, 02:22 AM**

Sadly the materia you produce from spiritbonding is completely random. HQ gear only increases the rate at which gear bonds, not the rank or type materia you get. Spiritbonding, especially if you can craft your own gear is generally the cheapest way to get your own materia if you need it. Either way, for the top of the line melds, you are looking at either a lot of time, a lot of money, or both.

As for the best melds for bard, as it is with any damage class, Crit and Det are your number one gunners. Skill speed is really not all that great, especially for a TP guzzler like Bard. Accuracy is neither here nor there. It makes good filler and depending on the kind of gear you have currently, is very helpful when meeting accuracy checks in Coils. However, it is important to note that how you meld your bow is really up to you. Crit, det, skill speed, accuracy... They all serve a purpose, and so long as you aren't throwing shit like piety on there, you will have a decent bow.

Of course, if you want to get that step over with and move onto lights as soon as possible, there is no shame in making a Welfare Relic, and replacing the materia as you are able to buy them at a later date. You can switch materia at any step in your relic quest line, even with a Zeta! It is very easy and not costly to do if you do so at your own pace. All it requires is materia, alexandrite, and another sphere scroll, so do not so worry about having the best materia all at once.

Merri · **04-15-2015, 02:24 AM**

Spiritbonding is, naturally, the cheapest way to go about getting materia. Ideally, i70-i90 crafted gear will give you the best returns on IVs, but I believe the low end is i45, granted it's a much smaller chance of converting into a IV. Urth's Fount, Castrum Meridianum, and BCoB T4 are generally the routes people go for SBing.

That being said. Honestly, I'd recommend saving your gil, and your time. Min-maxing a relic this close to Heavensward won't really do you much good. No content in this game comes even remotely close to requiring it, and at the end of the day it's definitely a luxury as opposed to a necessity. The difference on a parse from a maxed out relic versus one up to IIIs is pretty negligible in the grand scheme of things. Player skill and adequate current tier equipment is more than enough for any content in-game right now. I mean, my Ninja isn't even BiS and I'm pushing over 600 sustained solo, no food, no potions. Those numbers are significantly higher (about 100 or so) than what T13 and Savage are tuned for, so at the end of the day, had I maxed out my relic I would have been looking at bumping my sustained up 5, maybe 10. To me, that isn't at all worth the fortune.

If you have the money and want to do it, you can certainly go for it, but it's not really necessary at all. Personally, I wasn't about to drop that kind of cash on something that will be outclassed come Heavensward, so I went for Det III, Crit III, and capped the rest with accuracy. Which incidentally wound up being a good choice, as I've been far too lazy to farm up my BiS on Ninja and can't actually use my Dreadwyrm Daggers in T13 because I'm not acc capped with them.

Det/crit is the BiS route for all physical DD and tanks. It does, however, have a value of several million gil, or more if you have bad RNG with the melding process. If you're going to finish it at all, my personal recommendation is the route I went. Det III, Crit III, and Accuracy to the scroll's cap. At the end of the day, the accuracy melds will give you a bit more variation in choosing your build outside of sacrificing det and/or crit food for accuracy.

Bottom line, I feel like it's just not worth the millions of gil this close to Heavensward.

Domri Blackblade · **04-15-2015, 02:36 AM**

Are you on Balmung? I can spot you the materia. Been cleaning out my retainers and have ridiculous loads of materia from before they nerfed SBing.

Aris · **04-15-2015, 10:37 AM**

I've been wondering about this as well! Am just in the book phase of my WHM relic and realise I need start saving some gil. Tongue

It's a huge relief to know there isn't a huge difference between min/max, and that things can be changed later. ._. I think I'll work on making a cheaper one for now.

If you don't mind me asking on your thread - how long does it take to spirit bond an item, in a SB party for example?

g0ne · **04-15-2015, 10:59 AM**

(04-15-2015, 10:37 AM)Aris Wrote: I've been wondering about this as well! Am just in the book phase of my WHM relic and realise I need start saving some gil. It's a huge relief to know there isn't a huge difference between min/max, and that things can be changed later. ._. I think I'll work on making a cheaper one for now.

If you don't mind me asking on your thread - how long does it take to spirit bond an item, in a SB party for example?

Cute lala demands answers! Everyone stop doing everything else and answer her! Smile

Â

Do it! Do it, I say!

**Unnamed Mercenary** · **04-15-2015, 11:10 AM**

If we're assuming lv45 gear, HQ, you can SB about 4-5 sets a day in Urth's Font or FATE grinding.

...you'll just want to be able to craft it, or have crafting friends make you a few sets. (The mats aren't too expensive).

While I refuse to do the relic weapon, I like materia. (they're shiny). I've helped craft people gear for free (provided they supply mats or give a good materia after the fact)

KitKat · **04-16-2015, 03:56 AM**

(04-15-2015, 10:37 AM)Aris Wrote: If you don't mind me asking on your thread - how long does it take to spirit bond an item, in a SB party for example?

I find crafting and spiritbonding the i90 caster sets to be the best source of IV materia. HQ pieces with one junk materia melded onto them takes 2 Qarn HM runs or 10 Turn 4s.

Personally, I prefer the T4 route because it gives a chance at some nice allagan mats for 4 star crafting/selling.

If you can't make that, there are several crafters, myself included, that would make the stuff for you for a smaller fee than what the items cost on the market board. The mats are rather cheap these days. If I go the lazy route and just buy every single mat, it costs me maybe 100k to make a complete set. And that's accounting for stacks of items that aren't sold in singles like I'd need.

Marisa · **04-17-2015, 03:28 AM**

Honestly, most sources I see anymore say that the negligible amount of dps you gain from using Rank IVs isn't worth the money sink. Unless you're crazy competitive about dps (which seems unlikely with the expansion so soon), I'd say just stop at rank 3 and add another stat.

Aris · **04-23-2015, 08:55 AM**

Sorry I'm late in replying, but thank you for the advice Smile

I apologise o lovely Eleni for hijacking your thread! Blush

**Unnamed Mercenary** · **04-23-2015, 09:22 AM**

(04-23-2015, 08:55 AM)Aris Wrote: Sorry I'm late in replying, but thank you for the advice

I apologise o lovely Eleni for hijacking your thread!

It was a relevant question though! Most people get their grade 4 materia from spiritbonding. (Since our retainers will never steal enough during ventures)

g0ne · **04-23-2015, 09:23 AM**

(04-23-2015, 09:22 AM)Unnamed Mercenary Wrote:
(04-23-2015, 08:55 AM)Aris Wrote: Sorry I'm late in replying, but thank you for the advice

I apologise o lovely Eleni for hijacking your thread!

It was a relevant question though! Most people get their grade 4 materia from spiritbonding. (Since our retainers will never steal enough during ventures)

Not that I'd mind anyway, Aris, Franzie. :3

Halp... Rank 4 materia

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes