Talk:Forma/@comment-124.6.183.212-20131130164007/@comment-115.132.112.122-20131202081143

I think it's a matter of progression. Forma effectively allows you to increase the total number of mod ranks you can have on any one piece of equipment, thereby increasing its effective "level", as it were. Think of it like this:

Enemy levels range from 0-100, if I'm not mistaken. Equipment on its own only goes to rank 30. With Reactors/Catalysts, that increases to a max of 60 mod ranks you can put on something. Those with polarities on them already can get a little bit more. This puts each piece of equipment at an effective max "level" of between around 60-70ish.

With the introduction of Forma, you can halve the costs of each and every mod equipped, effectively allowing you to potentially double the level of your weapon if you polarise every slot (so, an effective max of 120). This could be considered the highest stage of progression in the game.

If you were allowed to Forma things without having to re-rank them, it would effectively allow players to skip 50-60 levels worth of high-end progression. I suspect it would nullify the challenge of the levels bypassed, make Forma dispropotionately valuable and remove DE's ability to credibly introduce new content with gradually increasing difficulty, to name a few points. In the end, I'd agree that it's inconvenient - but on the whole, probably for the better.