Materia is an enchantment in FFXIV that allows you to increase the stats of gear pieces. This is very useful later on when you max out the level.
To gain the ability to meld this materia, you first have to learn how to extract it from your items. You must complete a certain quest to learn this.
How to Get Materia in Final Fantasy XIV
Materia is a common item in FFXIV with ten tiers from I to X. To get materia, you can craft it, extract it, or purchase it from the proper vendor.
Marketboard
The marketboard has all materia available, but it’s the most expensive way to get it. That said, it’s the quickest, so if you need materia right away, it’s your best bet.
Retainer
Your retainer can bring you materia from regular quick ventures or from Field Explorations. They can bring you any materia, even for crafters/gatherers.
Vendors
There are vendors all over the map that sell materia. You can’t buy the materia with gil, but you can buy them with tomestones, scrips, and other currency.
However, unless you have extra currency, it’s not the best route to take because there are other items that are better to buy.
Quests
You can get a lot of materia in FFXIV just from completing quests. Many side quests, whether blue or gold, give you materia.
Gatherer/Crafter Materia
The primary way to get materia for gatherer and crafter tools is with Scrips. Lower tier materia is purchased with White Scrips while higher is purchased with Purple Scrips.
Do this at the Scrip Exchange. Alternatively, you can buy Cracked Anthocrystal from Khloe, but this is not recommended as there are better purchases.
Spiritbond
You can’t “craft” materia in FFXIV. Instead, you can create it by using your weapons. To do so, use your weapon until you get the notification that it is 100% spiritbond.
When this happens, you can then extract the materia. Before you can extract it, complete the quest Forging the Spirit in Central Thanalan.
Extracting Materia
Extracting materia is the original way to get materia in FFXIV. To do so, you must complete the appropriate quest and learn to extract materia from gear.
Forging the Spirit
Forging the Spirit is a level 19 quest in Central Thanalan that teaches you Materia Extraction.
Once you complete it, you can extract materia from spiritbond gear. The next quest in the questline teaches you Materia Melding, which allows you to meld materia into gear.
Items To Help Speed Up Spiritbond
- Better Crowned Pie – Increased Spiritbond Gain +2
- Spiritbond Potion – Increased Spiritbond Gain +3
- Potent Spiritbond Potion – Increased Spiritbond Gain +4 / HQ +5
- Superior Spiritbond Potion – Increased Spiritbond Gain +5 / HQ +6
- Squadron Spiritbonding Manual – Increases spiritbonding speed with Spiritbond Bonus: +3
Along with these consumables, there are jewelry pieces that increase spiritbond gain. These items speed up the process of spiritbonding an item but do nothing to help you extract materia.
The Extraction Process
Once an item reaches 100% spiritbond, it creates a materia for you to extract. The materia level depends on item level.
Once you extract the materia, the spiritbond goes back to 1%, and you can do it again. There is no chance of destroying materia you extract from spiritbond items.
Extracting materia and retrieving materia are two different things.
Retrieving materia is only for materia you melded into a gear piece.
Extracting materia is only for materia that you created through spiritbond.
You do both the same way. By right-clicking the item.
Now you know how to get and extract materia in Final Fantasy XIV!
Do you sell your materia or store it? Let me know in the comments!