Square Enix have released the outline for the upcoming patch 1.17 that will be coming on Thursday. ome of the bigger changes include a reduction in the max party size to 8, the introduction of new NMs and balancing of guildleve rewards. The post on the materia crafting system is interesting but it's important to note that it will not be in the 1.17 patch. Full details of both are below.

Patch 1.17

[dev1002] [dev1003] The implementation of new sidequests
[dev1011] The balancing of guildleve rewards
[dev1020] Adjustments and additions to the party system
Maximum party size has been reduced to 8 members.
Parties with 4 to 7 members are now called "light parties."
Parties with 8 members are called "full parties."
Special status enhancements will be granted to light and full parties. (Changes to party member display UI still under consideration.)
[dev1021] Adjustments to battle content in conjunction with the new party system
Adjustments to behest difficulty and bonuses to accommodate new full party size of 8 members.
Adjustments to the behest schedule.
[dev1029] Adjustments to environment collision detection
[dev1030] Adjustments to enemy distribution
[dev1031] The addition of new notorious monsters
[dev1038] The implementation of new equipment and items
[dev1039] The reduction of randomness affecting the approach phase in gathering
[dev1040] Adjustments and additions to active icons

A more detailed report can be found in the 1.17 patch notes, scheduled for release on April 14.

Materia Crafting

"Hello everyone, this is Yoshi-P!

This is the first post on fixes to the game economy that the crafting and gathering teams are working on under the leadership of Komoto. Sorry it’s taken so long to post, and thank you all for the great feedback!
In regards to crafting, there have been a number of discussions in a number of threads, but before I actually reply to any of those individually, I’d like to first give you a summary of the current crafting system and the direction we’re taking it.
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Among all synthesis-related fixes, our top priority is revamping existing recipes. We currently see the following problems bogging down crafters:

Too many recipes requiring too many materials
Unbalanced rank requirements for obtaining materials and crafting items


We’re making considerable changes, all aimed at bolstering the role of Disciples of the Hand in Eorzea’s economy. Once the revised recipes are worked out, I’ll be sure to post in this thread again.
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We also plan to introduce the below adjustments to the Discipline of the Hand “character arc,” together with the recipe changes mentioned above:

Ease of solo crafting activities up to rank 20
More focused crafting and economic activity from rank 20 on


To start, we’ll be making progression to rank 20 for Disciples of the Hand and Land relatively easier. Beyond rank 20, we’ll have crafters participating in the market, and playing a more active role in the in-game economy.
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We are planning a number of adjustments to the stats on crafted items, aimed at the following two ends:

Create a characteristic uniqueness for Disciples of the Hand
Allow Disciples of the Hand to craft items in high demand


For any given rank, there are differences between the important stats on pieces of gear suited for different classes. In line with this, we will be making adjustments that let crafters tweak the stats on crafted gear to customize it for certain classes. (Of course, we’ll be balancing Discipline of War and Magic classes at the same time.)
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I mentioned this in one of my previous letters. These new concepts are not limited to simply new elements in the synthesis process, but also aim to stimulate the economy as much as possible. Through crafting, we plan to breathe new life into the game’s economy by improving gilflow and the distribution of items, and ultimately improving both the merits of, and motivations for, all classes.
Among the devs, we are tentatively calling this the Materia System, though that name may change. This new system will allow Disciples of the Hand to fuse materia to weapons and armor using special catalyst items gathered by Disciples of the Land.

Disciples of War and Magic can customize and personalize their gear
Disciples of the Hand can answer the materia-fusing needs of others
Disciplies of the Land can gather catalyst items to meet the realm’s demands


I’ll be posting more details on the Materia System at a later date.
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We’ve received a lot of feedback from players regarding the crafting gauge. So we actually tested the synthesis process without a gauge, and had our quality assurance team do the same. In the end, we thought it would be fairly simple to do away with the gauge altogether. We’ll be checking this out more carefully, however, so that future additions to the system will not negatively impact gameplay. This might take some time, so I have to ask for your patience until I’m in a position to write more about the direction we decide to take.
On the other hand, we’re thinking of bringing in some low-level “instant” crafting—quick recipes players can bang out without having to invest too much time.
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Last but not least, we have the repair system. While the current repair system serves as a way for crafters to put themselves in demand, it’s also obvious that it’s not very popular among Disciples of War and Magic. But, after the release of the Materia System (see above), I think that the repair system will begin to balance itself out a bit more. It’s going to take some time before that system is ready, though, so in the meantime we’ll be reassessing the required materials for making repairs.
We’ve also received feedback on the high costs of repairing items via NPCs, but ask that you give us a little more time to keep an eye on this. Unfortunately, there aren’t many ways to take gil out of the game right now, but once we get a few more in, we’ll look at adjusting repair NPC costs.
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By ushering in all of these changes, we’ll be drawing sharp distinctions between quest rewards, loot from battle, and the fruits of gatherer and crafter labors. In addition, it will also help to create more specific demands within the game economy. As always, we’re looking forward to your continued feedback and further discussion! For now, this is just an overview, and I’ll be making more posts in individual threads later.

Thanks!"