(12-30-2014, 12:29 AM)Ashren Snow Wrote:(12-29-2014, 04:31 PM)Kage Wrote: ((I already forgot what the tattoos mean. oops. Also iirc, Circle of Knowing + Path = What we have now?))I don't recall them EVER explaining what the tattoo meant in 2.4, so maybe it got pushed to 2.5?
The meaning behind the tattoo was very briefly explained in the 2.4 quest "A Simple Plan" with the arrival of Moenbryda. It wasn't said in a cutscene though if I remember correctly, but if you talked to Yda or Y'shtola while they're standing around Minfilia's desk they'd tell you. But anyways, the gist is that the tattoo signifies the wearer has achieved the highest learning on a specific subject. Kinda like earning your Doctorate IRL. Moenbryda is a specialist in aetherial manipulation and aetherytes, for example.
(12-29-2014, 03:34 PM)Ashren Snow Wrote: In 2.0 the focus is primarily on the Archons, Minfilia, and you with little acknowledgement that there are supposed to be others out there who have your gifts, and the fact that the Scions are now primarily focused on fighting Primals and Ascians, and no longer concerned with the protection and nurturing of people with the Echo it makes it feel even more like they are trying to make the PC into a special snowflake for having it.
As for the whole Echo thing...
In 1.0, the Path of the Twelve (as has been said already) was an organization composed entirely of people who possessed the Echo. In 2.0, the Path of the Twelve combined with the Circle of Knowing (Archons) to form the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.
My theory on why the Scions of the Seventh Dawn are less "Echo-focused" as you say, is because shortly after you join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn in the MSQ, the Garleans invade and kill everyone, leaving only the former Archons alive and a few scant members of the Path of the Twelve. So seeing as how really the only survivors of the MSQ "All Good Things" were Circle of Knowing members it would make sense that the Scions' goals during the majority of the MSQ are more akin to 1.0's Circle of Knowing goals.