Having only ever been in fights (even though one was written instead of RP'd) on Ganale and Chao, they're the only ones I can speak to. For Ganale, I reference the various WAR moves by having him perform an action that visibly resembles what the in-game animation looks like, but I rarely, if ever, refer to them as their actual names. I am also prone to using a phrase that sounds similar to the skill name in the action's description: tempestuous circle for steel cyclone, et al.
Chao pitches all the MNK and BLM moves out the window. She has a Shoulder Tackle-esque move that's called shundo, which I actually imported from her original source material. Shundo as came from the source is literally instant movement (it's in the name) and has a more variable range than 10-20y. She in fact used it on someone at point-blank range to break through a manawall. There's an 'upgraded' shundo called "void instant movement" that lets someone change direction in mid-move and can even move in midair. (Funny side note, the NIN movement skill actually exists under the same name in Chao's source material, used by a ninja even, but absurdly more powerful) For actual hand-to-hand combat, Chao is also different from MNK/PGL in that her fighting style is more based on kicks than strikes.
Her magic combat also completely doesn't use the astral/umbral dichotomy. She's specialized in fire magic so she gets a flat boost to her fire spells, but she doesn't have others. Sure she can do a plinky little ice or lightning spell, but they're not going to be of any real use. She uses a much wider variety of fire-based spells as well, all of them incantation spells spoken in Garlean (Latin). She hasn't yet learned her Flare-equivalent spell, but that day is on the horizon.
Chao pitches all the MNK and BLM moves out the window. She has a Shoulder Tackle-esque move that's called shundo, which I actually imported from her original source material. Shundo as came from the source is literally instant movement (it's in the name) and has a more variable range than 10-20y. She in fact used it on someone at point-blank range to break through a manawall. There's an 'upgraded' shundo called "void instant movement" that lets someone change direction in mid-move and can even move in midair. (Funny side note, the NIN movement skill actually exists under the same name in Chao's source material, used by a ninja even, but absurdly more powerful) For actual hand-to-hand combat, Chao is also different from MNK/PGL in that her fighting style is more based on kicks than strikes.
Her magic combat also completely doesn't use the astral/umbral dichotomy. She's specialized in fire magic so she gets a flat boost to her fire spells, but she doesn't have others. Sure she can do a plinky little ice or lightning spell, but they're not going to be of any real use. She uses a much wider variety of fire-based spells as well, all of them incantation spells spoken in Garlean (Latin). She hasn't yet learned her Flare-equivalent spell, but that day is on the horizon.
Chris Ganale | R'tahz Tia | Yuuna Akashi | Chao Lingshen | Seno Nakakami | L'dran Cresnoble | Garon Crayson