How to Overmeld in Final Fantasy XIV

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So, you have been playing FFXIV for a while, and something called Materia has taken up space in your inventory. You decide to look online to see what you can do with it, and here you have arrived.

Are you ready to learn everything you need to know about Overmelding and Materia? Hopefully, you are, so keep reading to learn about overmelding in FFXIV.

See how to take screenshots in FFXIV.

Melding vs. overmelding – what’s the difference?

Before we get into all the details on how to meld, overmeld, and the requirements, let’s first make clear the difference between melding and overmelding in FFXIV.

New players might find this confusing.

So what is overmelding exactly?

Melding materia means attaching a piece of materia to your equipment sockets to create better gear, whereas overmelding means attaching additional materia to a piece of gear than sockets available.

In other words, to get higher level gear, you need materia. And to get the best equipment possible, you need to overmeld.

Even with overmelding, there are still limits to the pieces of materia you can attach to your crafted gear, which I’ll discuss further in this article.

What is Materia in FFXIV?

If this is your first time playing FFXIV, you might be confused about Materia. So let’s take a quick look at Materia, and how it can help you craft high-quality pieces of gear.

Materia is a group of different materials that can be melded onto your equipment and is used to improve your gear.

Obtaining materia is a bit tedious since it requires you to extract it from equipment with which you already have a 100% spiritbond.

However, there are alternative ways, which I’ll get back to below.

Also, check out how to upgrade Shire Gear in FFXIV.

What is spiritbonding and how do you get 100% spiritbond in FFXIV?

Spiritbonding is creating Materia by gaining experience points (EXP). You get EXP from collecting resources, slaying monsters in the field, completing tasks, raids (such as normal raids and alliance raids), and crafting gear. 

Over time, your equipment will “level up” until it hits 100% spiritbond, at which point you can extract a singular materia from it. This process will reset the equipment to 1% spiritbond, making gathering Materia long and tiring.

High-quality items don’t give you more material than normal raid gear. But high quality equipment creates materia 20% faster than regular gear.

Also, for each materia slot you fill – aka meld – your gear will spiritbond 20% faster, speeding up how fast you can harvest the material gain.

Quests you need to complete before you can Craft Materia

To begin crafting Materia from your equipment, you must complete the “Forging the Spirit” quest given by Swynbroes.

He can be found by the Bonfire in Central Thanalan, and once you have completed his quest, you can begin crafting Materia from your equipment.

The materia crafted from your equipment will be related to the item’s intended class and will provide bonuses according to that class.

Quests you need to complete before you can meld Materia

Once you have completed the “Forging the Spirit” quest, you can undergo the “Waking the Spirit” quest.

Given by F’hobhas, found at the Bonfire in Central Thanalan, it has several more requirements than the “Forging the Spirit” quest.

To take on the “Waking the Spirit” quest, you need to be level 19 or higher and have at least one Disciple of the Hand. 

Once you have completed the “Waking the Spirit” quest, you can finally take on the sidequest Melding Materia Muchly.

You must be level 25 or higher and have at least one Disciple of the Hand to accept this quest from Mutamix.

Like the other quest givers related to materia and overmelding, he can be found by the Bonfire in Central Thanalan. 

Completing the “Waking the Spirit Quest” allows you to perform your first meld (the option in your menu will be “Meld”), while “Melding Materia Muchly” allows you to perform advanced melding or overmelding (the “Meld” option will be replaced by “Advanced Materia Melding”).

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Combat material vs. non-combat material. Additional Ways of Obtaining Materia explained.

While the primary method of obtaining materia is by extracting it from the equipment you have 100% spiritbond with, there are several other ways to obtain material.

How you go about getting materia will depend on if you need combat materia or non-combat materia, as both have different farming methods. 

If you need a lot of combat materia, trading tokens is the best way to obtain it. These tokens can be acquired from Treasure Hunting, Wondrous Tails awards, and Adventurer in Need bonuses.

For level 8 or 7 materia, you will need to trade Cracked Planiclusters and Cracked Stellaclusters. 

The Pixie Beast tribe will also trade you materia of your choice in exchange for Fae Fancies. 

For non-combat materia, you can turn collectibles into Rowena for scrips, which is generally the preferred farming method. Those scrips can then be used to purchase the materia you require, at any level. 

Use your Timers Menu to find out when the turn-in times are, and keep an eye out for any starred. Turning in at starred times will give you more scrips for your collectibles, allowing you to get more materia. 

Materia Types

In FFXIV, there are 13 different materia types, and each one affects a different stat when you meld it onto an item.

Below is a helpful table showing all 13 materia types and their benefits. Note: VI, VIII, and X materia can not be melded past the first overmeld melding slot. 

Materia Name	Stat Increased	TierI	TierII	TierIII	TierIV	TierV	TierVI	TierVII	TierVIII	TierIX	TierX
Battledance Materia	Tenacity	+1	+2	+3	+4	+6	+16	+8	+24	+12	+36
Craftsman’s Command Materia	Control	+1	+2	+3	+4	+7	+10	+9	+13	+12	+18
Craftsman’s CompetenceMateria	Craftsmanship	+3	+4	+5	+6	+11	+16	+14	+21	+18	+27
Craftsman’s Cunning Materia	CP	+1	+2	+3	+4	+6	+8	+7	+9	+8	+10
Gatherer’s GraspMateria	GP	+1	+2	+3	+4	+6	+8	+7	+9	+8	+10
Gatherer’s Guerdon Materia	Gathering	+3	+4	+5	+6	+10	+15	+12	+20	+14	+25
Gatherer’s Guile Materia	Perception	+3	+4	+5	+6	+10	+15	+12	+20	+14	+25
Heaven’s Eye Materia	Direct Hit Rate	+1	+2	+3	+4	+6	+16	+8	+24	+12	+36
Piety Materia	Piety	+1	2	+3	+4	+6	+16	+8	+24	+12	+36
Quickarm Materia	Skill Speed	+1	2	+3	+4	+6	+16	+8	+24	+12	+36
Quicktongue Materia	Spell Speed	+1	2	+3	+4	+6	+16	+8	+24	+12	+36
Savage Aim Materia	Critical Hit	+1	2	+3	+4	+6	+16	+8	+24	+12	+36
Savage Might Materia	Determination	+1	2	+3	+4	+6	+16	+8	+24	+12	+36

How to meld materia in FFXIV

There are two ways to meld materia in FFXIV: find an NPC to do it for you or meld materia yourself.

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Method #1: Use a Materia Melder

Finding Materia Melder NPCs are the best option for new players, as you don’t need to be at a specific level to do so.

Materia Melders such as Master Mutamix in Ul’dah – Steps of Thal will melt material from your gear for a small fee.

Materia Melder NPCs can be found near a market board in the market wards of the main cities.

Later in the game, if you purchase a house, you can even have your own player housing Melder living with you, ready to do your bidding.

Method #2: How to Meld Materia yourself

Melding materia to gear pieces yourself is a process that takes a long time and is an endgame option.

To meld materia yourself, you must first reach level 19 with one Disciple of Hand (DoH) aka crafter of sufficient level for the materia you want to meld.

Then you must complete the Waking the Spirit quest by F’hobhas at the Bonfire in Central Thanalan.

You’ll get the Materia Melding action when you’ve completed the quest.

To meld anything, you right-click a piece of gear, click meld, then choose a materia.

What is Overmelding?

As I mentioned, overmelding is attaching more materia onto a single piece of gear than its number of slots. This is also known as forbidden melds.

However, even with overmelding, there is a maximum of how many materia can be on a single piece of equipment, and even overmelding can not exceed that number. Typically, it will be a max of five materia per equipment piece with overmelding. 

It does not matter what your class is; every class can overmeld a piece of equipment. You must reach level 25 and complete the “Melding Materia Muchly” quest.

To complete this quest, you must meld eight materia in front of him, which is easier than it seems. Simply meld one materia into an empty gear socket, retrieve the materia from the item’s dropdown menu, and repeat. 

An important thing to remember regarding overmelding is the extremely high fail chance. Typically you will have a success rate of 35 – 45% in the beginning, and it only decreases the more melds you place on an item.

When you reach the final meld to complete your pentameld (5 overmelds), you will have a success rate of 4 – 8%. 

And to make things worse, you do not get the materia back if the meld fails. That is why it is so incredibly difficult to complete a pentamelded gear.

So if you are looking to max out your equipment, ensure you are overmelding only on your most powerful equipment, and prepare for many hours spent crafting materia and attempting melds. 

Why Should You Overmeld in FFXIV?

Before reaching max level, there is no real reason to bother with overmelding, primarily because overmelding does not affect you in the game’s early stages.

That does not mean you can not try it before you reach the max level to see how it works; you should save your materia for the later stages of the game. 

You should save your materia for the endgame gear because you will need every little advantage to defeat the late-game bosses, savage raids, and extreme trials.

Do not worry, though. You receive a fair amount of materia from the late game content, so you will have plenty of material to work with if you save your early game materia for the endgame. 

While overmelding benefits everyone, it is especially beneficial if you participate in an alliance raid and other combat-heavy tasks. Especially during the late game and endgame content, you will face bosses with the enrage ability.

If you do not kill the boss before their timer runs out, the raid will be canceled, and you have to try again.

If you are a crafter or gatherer, you can benefit from using lower-leveled materia on your equipment. It is cheaper overall, but you can still reach skill levels high enough to perform crafting and gathering tasks easily.

However, warriors and other combat classes must use the highest-level materia possible to stand a chance. 

Overmelding Process and chances of a successful meld

So, you have completed the overmelding quests, you have gathered a ton of materia, and you have the equipment you want to meld.

Now you need to know how to overmeld and the best way. Overmelding is a powerful process; if you do not make the most of it, you will have a harder time in the endgame. 

What else do you have to have to meld? Well, when overmelding, there are four primary levels of materia you will be working with from level 5 to level 8.

Level 5 and 7 materia can be used freely to overmeld, while level 6 and 8 materia are restricted in their usage. That is why level 7 materia tend to have lower stats than level 6 materia. 

Since level 8 and 6 materia are restricted, you should use level 8 materia for your guaranteed melding sockets in your equipment.

Past those guaranteed materia slots, you can only overmeld one additional level 8 materia to the equipment.

After that, you must use level 7 or 5 for the remaining overmelding sockets. You should use level 7 to get the most out of your overmelded equipment. 

Note: Level 7 & 8 materia require a base item level of 420 to meld. 

Step-by-step Overmelding

Here is a quick step-by-step on how to pentameld, the most powerful form of overmelding, and what you should strive for when overmelding your equipment in the late game. 

1. Open your armory or character window, depending on if the equipment is currently being worn;
2. Right-click on the equipment piece you wish to meld;
3. Select “Advanced Materia Melding;”
4. If you do not have “Advanced Materia Melding,” you will need first to complete the “Melding Materia Muchly” quest;
5.  Choose the materia you wish to meld onto the item from your inventory;
6. Click “Meld.”

Remember, there is a very low chance of success when overmelding. If the melding fails, you will also lose the materia you try to meld onto the item.

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Answers To Some FAQ Overmelding Questions

Q: Can I overmeld on dropped items?

A: No, you can only overmeld on items you have crafted yourself. You can not overmeld on any item that has been dropped or purchased. 

Q: Is it possible to extract materia once it has been melded? 

A: You can technically extract materia from an item after it has been melded, but the materia itself will be lost in the process. The item, however, will be returned to you, so this can be useful if you decide to meld new materia to an item. 

Q: Can you request a meld? 

A: Yes, you can request a meld from a melder if you can not perform the melding yourself. However, this will cost you a fair amount of Gil, and it is not guaranteed that the meld will work. 

Q: Is there a stat limit on items for melding?

A: Yes, there are stat caps or melding caps, if you will. If an item has too much of a certain stat, you cannot meld materia to its materia slots that increase that stat. For example: If your shield has maxed out on tenacity, you can not meld Battledance materia to it as that would increase its tenacity. 

Q: Can I meld different types of materia onto a single item?

A: There is no restriction on the type of materia you can meld to a single item, as long as it does not exceed the materia slot limit. 

Q: How many materia slots are available for overmelding?

A: There are five materia slots available when overmelding, hence the name “Pentameld.”