(10-17-2016, 10:00 AM)Val Wrote:(10-17-2016, 09:49 AM)Gegenji Wrote:(10-17-2016, 09:43 AM)Val Wrote: I still stand by the idea that the Soulstone thing is just a dumb mechanic for job transitioning that SE has to explain via bad writing, but that's just me. I tend to ignore/avoid talk of them IC if at all possible and assume everyone is just super well trainedÂWell, that circles back to something someone brought up earlier - the Soul Crystal helps you learn the abilities and whatnot in most cases. I remember someone likening them to arcane cliff notes that help spin you up to speed faster than someone who didn't have one. So, does that knowledge just... disappear from your mind once you don't have it anymore? I know mechanically you go back to your base class and whatnot, but what about from an IC perspective?
Do those memories and skill sets remain? Do they get sort of fuzzy and difficult to recall like dreams after waking up? Or are they just gone entirely, leaving you feeling like you KNEW how to do it but it's forever on the tip of the proverbial tongue?
See, this is the problem I have with SE. Ever since... FFX, maybe? They've had this stupid idea/thing where they have to immerse all of their game mechanics in in-game lore. I appreciate the effort, but some mechanics really just don't need it as I would hope/think people are intelligent enough to realize it is a mechanic.
..That being said, I would assume it's the latter of what you offered, based solely on the mechanic alone. The abilities a character is given are insanely powerful and require a great deal of skill and experience to pull off. The soulstone gives you that. I can imagine losing it would cause someone to lose the knowledge, but through experience you may be able to learn to do it without.
The problem is that some people would no doubt try to say they can learn everything without soulstones, although I guess we already have some that RP knowing everything with soulstones.
Massive lore comes with MMO territory, especially those with a progressing storyline and multiple xpacs etc.
You can get away with not having as much in a standalone console RPG.