JFrombaugh

For RPing, do you like for your characters to fit in with the stereotypes of different classes, races, etc.? Or do you like to completely mix it up by having them be the complete opposite of what one would expect for a given Job, race, etc.? My character Miranda is a Summoner, formerly Arcanist. And personally, I would say she does not really fit the stereotype of that class. While she is quite intelligent and has an intellectual streak, compared to Arcanists like Foreseer K'lyhia, Miranda is actually much more emotionally tuned than logically tuned, very introspective, and so forth, even if she doesn't really show it much outwardly - which would suggest she would find Thaumaturgy and Conjury much easier to learn overall. So why'd she choose to learn Arcanima? Well personally, I have always felt that there are more than a few reasons to believe that the Padjali are not nearly as benevolent as they may seem. A long time ago I remember Sounssy wrote an incredibly detailed post explaining Thaumaturges' connections with Ul'dah & Nald'thal (taken from 1.0's lore) in an attempt to debunk the myths that THM was less nation-locked than CNJ owing to being fueled by introspection. When you're an Adventurer who is used to being dismissed as a pathetic lowlife who has likely failed at getting a higher-paying job and therefore is looking for Adventuring as a way of making money (as Ul'dahn elites do), or having it made very clear that you are not trusted and are one slip-up away from the stake (as the Wildwood Elezen of Gridania do), a little respect goes a long way - the side job at Malvaan's Gate, in Miranda's eyes, was vastly superior to wandering around doing menial tasks and being looked down upon by the very same people she was trying to help - and Master Thubyrgeim proved to be a very affable teacher who was willing to work closely with Miranda and make sure that she understood the complex science and math behind this newly discovered magic art. And later on, after Miranda had joined the Scions, learned that these strange visions of a Crystal and flashbacks was in fact a holy ability, faced Ifrit, and become skilled enough in Arcanima to even consider picking up the Summoner Soul Crystal, she was eager to jump at the opportunity because not only was it a continuation of what the Allagan Summoners had done (using the power of the Primals against them), but a big part of her felt that summoning mini-Primals through channeling their unique elementally-aspected aether was a great way to stick it to the religious Ul'dahn and Gridanian elites. In short, Miranda felt the Arcanist's Guild cared about her (and the rest of its students), while the other two magic Guilds, for the most part, did not.

One of the things that is so amazing about the DRK storyline IMO is that Fray (the embodiment of the Warrior of Light's frustration) says literally almost everything that my own Miranda character usually found herself thinking in those kinds of situations (but rarely dared say out loud). In fact, I would say the only key difference would be: DRK storyline Fray - "Why does EVERYBODY in Eorzea feel the need to beg the Warrior of Light for help with some random menial task?!" Miranda Fray - "Eorzeans in general are arrogant, selfish, ungrateful pricks...why should I bother helping YOU when you're just a member of the scummy nation I hate the most?" But what about the rest of your characters? Would "Fray" have probably turned out pretty much the same way had your own character grabbed that Soul Crystal and become a DRK themselves? Or would he/she have been the manifestation of some other dark side of your character? Alternatively, if you RP a DRK yourself, what were the similarities (if any)?

Wow, I always thought that Thaumaturgy was the only discipline that actually used one's own internal aether to fuel spells (hence why Thaumauturges have to learn how to shift between Astral & Umbral states of mind to recharge), and Arcanima just used geometrical patterns to shape latent aether around the caster into spells. Though I guess when you look at the Aetherflow abilities and how you gain back MP by using it, it kind of makes sense.

After a lot of deliberation, going back and forth, and having no luck in finally deciding on my character's class, I'm wondering if I may have finally found the lucky break I'm looking for... As I've already stated, Miranda will be a Disciple of Magic of some sorts. However, I finding that no matter which one I choose, I run into some kind of dillemma: -Conjurer and Thaumaturge are confirmed to both be very cohesive within their city-states, so commitment and loyalty would probably be an issue with either one - like I've said before Miranda would not be very willing to "cozy up" to a city of hypocritical jerks. -Arcanist is the class that nearly everybody else suggested, but that class's MO kind of goes against someone who is more emotionally tuned than logically tuned. In other words, while she would probably get along just fine with the other guild members, it's her ability to actually learn the art and apply it in the field that I would question - unless she was lucky enough to find a soul of the Summoner or something I really don't think Miranda would have the patience or natural desire to learn arcanima when she can just use her willpower and a staff to channel the elements. At first, when the Astrologian was revealed, I thought that it would be yet another dead end, because everyone initially assumed that it would be "nation-locked" to Ishgard based on the astrologer NPCs already in-game in Coerthas. However, a recent interview confirmed that it's actually a Sharlayan class in origin: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/213013-What-s-in-a-Name-%28Astrologian-Ver.%29?p=2694997 If SE plays their cards right (pun very much intended ), I think this class could be a very interesting fit! -Y'shtola is originally from Sharalya, and she is probably the NPC who is the most similar to Miranda personality-wise. -Astrologian uses star readings rather than formulaic maths to devise strategies so it would fit better with her personality than Scholar. -It fits the introverted bent of my character, as it's confirmed in-game that Astrologians spend a lot of time alone studying -It doesn't have a base class but yet it uses its own weapon so it will probably be suitable enough for RPing, unlike most of the other Job classes -The concept artwork of the six cards depicts all of the Twelve in some form so it would probably fit in very well with a character who considers herself more allied with the Scions than the Grand Companies. Obviously we won't know for certain all the lore behind the Job until Heavensward is released, but needless to say I've got my hopes pretty high. If it turns out for whatever reason that astrologian would go against my characters' nature, then I guess I will likely settle for her being a "Sage" (skilled in both conjury and thaumaturgy, sees both sides of the coin).

I agree with everyone else. Virtually every bit of lore that isn't purely informational is there to show just how terrible life in Eorzea is. In ARR, thousands were enslaved by the Garlean Empire under less than humanitarian conditions and until the PC came along there was nothing anyone could do about it. In Ul'dah I would imagine that for the most part only heavily armed cheaters prosper, and if you get fired from your job or quit you will starve to death because no way are you getting another job and the government is not too keen on the idea of welfare. The Sultansworn and Syndicate constantly at each others throats threatening a brutal civil war haven't helped matters either. Limsa Lominsa has a standard of living comparable to Bangladesh, the constant threat of the Shagain & Kobold beastmen, and a young government rife with corruption and internal politics. At times it's difficult to say whether being a "Bad Boss" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BadBoss) is the exception or the rule in Gridania. Kan-E-Senna is shown to disagree strongly with this trope, but the PC almost always has to deal with various townsfolk and Wood Wailers that do fit the trope. Things ain't looking too peachy in Ishgard anymore either since the start of the War against the Dragons, a brief threat of civil war and dictatorship on the horizon of possibilities. And this isn't even counting the threat of the Primals and the Ascians.

I'm REALLY hoping that Dark Knight will be similar to Ninja in that it will be more on its own side than Ishgard's. Lorewise both seem to be right on track for my second character (Keeper of the Moon or Duskwight, based on Amarant from FF9) Historically the Job has always had a strong independent streak which has set it apart from it's counterpart the Paladin. Astrologian seems to be just a glorified Scholar without a fairy, was really hoping for more. Gameplay wise, I will of course hold judgement until I see the abilities, but RPing wise it wouldn't fit my characters because they wouldn't be willing to cozy up to a city-state of fascists.

Okay, enough about Miranda for now. I've come up with an idea for a character that shares a lot of similarities with her, yet is different in certain ways. He will be either a Duskwight or Keeper of the Moon who has become an outcast from Gridania due to both his species and the fact he is an Adventurer, and found the Rogue's guild an ideal "haven" due to his skill with weapons and the fact that he tends heavily towards preferring a looser structural organization in general. My Miranda character eventually will end up meeting him and although their initial relations may be rocky (see below), she would immediately sympathize with him due to her having much the same experience and sharing his bitterness towards the city-state governments in general. I haven't played through the storyline yet, but I imagine many of you on here have. I've heard reports from those who have played the storyline that the Rogues guild is frequently at odds with the Yellowjackets, which raises one very important question that I need to take into account: Are the Rogues enemies with the Arcanists as well? It seems like they would be...If so, Miranda would probably have to be a Conjurer, unless I can come up with a very good background story on why these two became close friends. Of course this does open up a good avenue for an ironic twist of fate, because if Miranda DID choose to switch classes and become an Arcanist, it would have been because she felt that Gridanians in general had failed to live up to their reputation as a peace-loving people and that they lacked the respect for outsiders that the Arcanists showed her - thus, she no longer would have any desire to be bound to serve Gridania as Conjurers (more or less) are. The customs job would have provided Miranda with an alternative to adventuring because Adventurers in general are not well-liked in Eorzea, which as I've already established, is one of the core reasons these two get along well ultimately.

One of my personality traits is that I tend to spend a lot of time deliberating, yet reach decisions only with difficulty. Miranda's story is heavily based on Squall Leonhart from FF8. She fights because she wishes to make the world a better place, not because she believes the people of Eorzea genuinely deserve it. In fact, she sees the city states as little better than the Garlean Empire. While she responds well to thoughtfulness and amiability, she has a strong stubborness and resentment that surfaces when she is treated unkindly (which as I've pointed out, is most of the time up until the final 5% of the Main Scenario). She is also fairly independent-minded in general, refusing to be inappropriately dominated, and mainly decided to join the Guild because the harsh reality of being an Adventurer is that just about every person you come into contact with is a mean S.O.B. She tends much more heavily towards empathizing with peacemakers rather than warmongers and is not well suited to military duty for these reasons (with the exception of the Scions). The way I see it: Conjury - Would best fit my character's ideals, and Kan-E-Senna happens to share a lot of my character's key traits - namely the dislike of war and "disagrees with the harsh treatment of outsiders" parts. The irony of course is that the Guild is located in (and swears fealty to) the city that has the highest number of bigots. Miranda would be especially appalled that someone like Raya-O-Senna's brother would be allowed to be a White Mage. Arcanima - While Miranda would probably get along with the guild members for the most part, it's her ability to cast the spells and perform the duties of the order that I would question. Arcanists seem to be more "sciency" rather than "philosophical" with their magic, and like I said my character tends to trust her heart more than her head. Thaumaturgy - Seemed like the "best of both worlds" fit (filling similar role to WHMs, but with the Void & minus the rigid codes of morality)...until I learned about their 1.0 storyline. Ul'dah would probably be the least ideal city for my character to live in since it seems to embody the most dysfunctional aspects of both Gridania and Limsa... Just FYI, I think this decision would be a LOT easier if Red Mage was a class in this game. EDIT: Interesting fact - I chose the name Miranda because it was the name my parents would have given me if I had been a girl, but just the other day I found out the name Miranda actually means "she who must be admired" - and that certainly describes my character!

There seems to be a lot of confusion about whether or not Thaumaturges are actually as "strongly associated" with Ul'dah as Conjurers are with Gridania. At first glance they seem to be two sides of the same coin. However, one of the core themes of the BLM storyline is Ququruka and Lalai calling the others in the Guild out for being heretics who simply see their magic as a leverage tool and are kind of blowing off the whole "in service to Thal" aspect. After all, there are a lot of enemy Thaumaturge NPCs who don't seem to have any connection with Ul'dah, and the storyline implies that sufficient internal aether reserves and mental discipline are the primary skills one needs, unlike Conjury which seems to come about as a result of the elements agreeing to do your bidding. It seems to me like, using each discipline's approach to going to Wizarding School: Arcanists - Studied really hard for those As Thaumaturges - Managed to get As without studying Conjurers - Never went to wizarding school, instead being raised within the church & Gridanian religion If this is true, then I think my character would probably be a better fit for Thaumaturgy than Arcanima, as she tends to see magic as more of an "art" than a "science". But I never got to experience the 1.0 storyline, and those who have played it seem to insist that THMs are essentially Ul'dah's CNJs...very much priests. So what do you think? I've already decided my character will start out as a Conjurer, but I was thinking about having her switch Jobs halfway through her career (kind of like Cecil from FF4) due to coming to feel that Gridanians in general preach a good sermon but are by and large arrogant, hypocritical jerks.

So going by what Sounsyy said, it sounds to me like my character actually should be an Arcanist - because that art does not require "respect" for your city state's religion and traditions as such. But like I've said to death already, she only chose Conjury because she was attracted to it and thought it would fit her philosophy of life - but then the natives kept letting her down.

But the thing is, even if THMs are followers of Nald'Thal, I always got the impression that they had a lot in common with Shadow Priests in WoW: http://www.wowwiki.com/Cult_of_Forgotten_Shadow In other words, I always thought the main difference between the "teachings" of Nophica and Nald'thal was that Conjurers (and by extension White Mages) absorb greatness from nature and reflect that onto others, while Black Mages believe that power comes from within themselves; they use this power to shape the universe. In the story Ququruka actually calls the brothers of the guild out for being heretics and not showing true faith or devotion.

There's a famous saying "A few bad apples spoil the barrel" Gridania is much the same way - while Kan-E-Senna herself is confirmed to believe that it is best for Gridania to learn to accept outsiders, there's a lot of Wildwood Elezen who believe they are an inherently superior species, that the best form of government is tyranny, and that Adventurers in general are lowlifes who cannot be trusted. There are quite a few nice folks who are native to Gridania, but just like with Ul'dah, it's the jerks that get noticed. And really, I've always found it difficult to tell if the "negative stereotypes taken to an extreme" are the exception or the rule. Kan-E-Senna herself does not fit the stereotype of arrogance like I said, but your character almost always has to deal with various NPCs/questgivers that do fit the stereotype. No offense to the rest of you guys on this forum obviously, but I've always felt that FFXIV's universe is a LOT like the online gaming community in this regard - there's obviously plenty of cool and helpful high-end raiders, but the so-called "elitists" are the ones who give communities that bad name - to the point where many new and casual players alike just flat-out refuse to Heal or Tank in Duty Finder, because they don't want to be the victims of rudeness while they're still learning the ins and outs of their role.

I find that fits well with the whole aesthetic of Ul'dah compared to the others, which is that you rise and fall on your own merits, and primarily about rising your position. Honestly, I felt the aesthetic of Ul'dah was more along the lines of selfishness, apathy, and violence. Only a select few Ul'dahns manage to rise above their base nature to become something better, but the kernel of darkness is still inborn. If there isn't a profit to be made by making the world a hellhole, they might not, but if conditions are tolerable it certainly isn't due to any inborn altruism on the part of those in charge. If your character is not prepared to deal with someone who he/she grew to know as a close friend over months or even years turning out to have been lying the whole time in an effort to get into position to rob them of every last Gil they've accumulated, he/she shouldn't live in Ul'dah. If you ARE that someone, congratulations, you're living up the Ul'dahn life exactly as intended. But with Gridanians causing so much emotional harm to Miranda, it was hard for me to tell where else I should put her. So I came up with the idea of her getting lucky and having the thrill of becoming a Job class (namely the one that has the most relevance to the Main Scenario), or just finding a way to learn Thaumaturgy without having to go through the Guild. But whatever the case, my character is definitely allied with the Scions and not the City States.

My own character Miranda started out her career as a Conjurer. She was drawn to Gridania for its peace, and Conjury out of her desire to be respected. However, she resented the harsh treatment from the natives and by the time she defeated Ifrit she had decided that Gridania's arrogance proved that they weren't really a peace-loving breed and decided she'd rather work for the Scions, possibly switching classes in the process. I was thinking about having her switch to Summoner by finding a Soul Crystal and then learning Arcanima, but honestly, I got the impression that Thaumaturges were far more "on their own side" than their City State's. Prior to unlocking BLM's story, the whole "religious" side of Thaumaturgy seemed to be far more shoved to the background in the story compared to Conjurer - whereas Conjurer and Arcanist focus around directly serving your City State in some way, Thaumaturge's storyline centered more around your individual training, and felt a lot more like the type of magical art that a typical adventurer would learn for their own purposes, one who may or may not be interested in actually praying or being in service to Thal, unlike the Conjurers who have to develop trust with the elementals.

The class to RP my character Miranda as...it was a very, very difficult decision. Just as a reminder, the most defining traits of my character are: -Strongly disagrees with tough love. Believes respect is not something that should have to be earned. Bitter and angry at many of the townsfolk for treating her like dirt just because she is an Adventurer. -Peaceful by nature. Isn't exactly opposed to fighting in of itself, but very much hates the chauvinistic side of war. Not well suited to joining a Grand Company for these reasons. -Shows much greater skill and interest in magic than physical fighting. -Prefers to be alone, but can work with others if the situation calls for it. Several people I asked believed the best class would be Arcanist. But after much thought, I have reached a decision. Miranda's class is... CONJURER! As far as the class stereotypes go, I actually think that Miranda has many traits that are commonly seen in THMs and BLMs in the series alike - strong introversion, introspective, a certain degree of underlying bitterness, independent-minded. For me, what I ultimately had to do to decide on a class was to ask myself, "Why does my character Adventure? What is worth fighting for in her eyes?" Some people do it as a way to make money, others for glory, thrill, and many other reasons, but for my character, deep down, she is self-conscious - that is, she cares what everyone thinks of her. Thus, along with the fact that she would rather fight for peace rather than personal glory or fortune, she really has a deep need to be respected for what she does and who she is, which, unfortunately, is what leads to said resentment and cynicism over a good portion of the story. There are several major Conjurer NPCs in the storyline that display these key traits as well. For example, Kan-E-Senna is shown to strongly disagree with the Elezen's bigotry, believing that Adventurers are the salve Gridania needs. And Y'shtola calls out the people in the Titan storyline for using your character as a rug, and then there's the Conjurer adventurer you meet after Deepcroft who nearly gives up on her career after the tragic incident of letting the Tank die and losing the respect of her friends. And the other thing I had to bear in mind is this: At the start of her Adventuring career, what did Miranda know about what it was like to be any of the Disciplines of Magic? She'd barely spent any time in Eorzea, she didn't know the various Guildmasters, the most hardened Elezen, the "experience", shall we say, all she knew was that Conjurers apparently worked to maintain peace and balance, Thaumaturges were evidently the darkest & most aggressive of the three, and Arcanima was an entirely new branch of magic that somehow involved shaping aether through geometry. Miranda decided that she preferred channeling elemental powers through willpower rather than formulaic maths, and she just didn't want to live in a city controlled by money or join a guild that had a "bad reputation", whatever that entailed...thus, she became a Conjurer. I'll write a more detailed biography on her later, but for now that's my decision on the class.

I'm not sure what the problem is? You can play whatever you like, and there's nothing in-game to suggest that people can't switch classes or jobs. I was simply pointing out that Conjury and Arcanomancy are not the same thing. Okay, but just out of curiosity, which do you think would be more "realistically" possible? The storyline I've described, or someone being skilled in both Conjury and Thaumaturgy (leaving Jobs out of the equation)?

I think some people may have misunderstood a few key things: -For the first 50% of her story, including up until having a part in the defeat of Ifrit, my character was a Conjurer. -To the best of my knowledge, the ability to summon the Egis is a lost Allagan art, contained within the Soul Crystal like any other Job's abilities. -My character does not initially find Limsa Lominsa an appealing city, nor does she find using patterns of aether to disrupt bodily function as appealing as calling upon the elements. But after finding the crystal and being constantly put down by the native Gridanians, she at that point has an incentive to switch classes. -Thus, she switches weapons and levels up Arcanist exactly like any other Adventurer would, except that instead of using a Carbuncle she uses her Egis contained within the Soul Crystal, and being the free-spirited person she is, she elected not to take up a side job as a customs agent. Honestly, I think this could be a great story, if it is possible. The other option pretty much is for her to just stay a Conjurer, albeit retaining her personality.

OK. Hopefully this should be the final thread I have to post for RPing advice before I FINALLY make my decision The basic problem I'm having with creating my character's background story is: I've established her as an Adventurer, peaceful at heart, but strongly disagreeing with tough love. Thus, she would become disillusioned when she realized that there's more than a few reasons to believe the Conjurers aren't as good as they seem, and although Limsa Lominsa is the most freedom-loving city, my character likely wouldn't naturally want to live there long enough to learn Arcanima from the get-go due to all the alcoholic cussing sailor types that live there, and she may not be all that interested in taking up the cargo inspector job on the side. However, unlike WHM and BLM, the Summoner Job is very different from your standard Arcanist, combining elemental powers with arcanima, and it has a certain degree of relevance to the Scions' storyline. So I had this crazy idea: What if my character were to choose Gridania and Conjury at first for the peace and beauty, develop said disillusionment through her life experiences there, join the Scions, and then by chance stumble upon a Soul of the Summoner (or be given one after defeating Ifrit), and by extension have a reason to learn Arcanima from the Arcanist's Guild in order to help "control" her newfound powers, thereby bypassing the customs agent part of the ACN story??? Although your subclass is technically THM, lorewise, I would think that at least a fundamental skill in Conjury and knowledge of the elements would be required to master summoning, just because of the way it uses elemental aether to call forth the Primal Egis. The character you work with in the SMN story is a Conjurer herself, and your base of operations is in Gridania, after all, so it's possible my character could have known her while learning Conjury and then she called on her after learning of her defeat of the primals seeing as how that's a prerequisite to being able to summon. I think this could be an awesome background story, and it would make full use of your ability as a RPer to sort of work around the class storylines, as well as for the most part "get around my blocks without knocking them over" as one other poster put it. So do you think that would be doable? Or would it be too Sue-ish?

Strictly speaking, gameplay-wise I like SMN and WHM the best. Carbuncle definitely made the first 30 levels of levelling THAT much more annoying, but I really liked how Summoner tied in elements of the other two disciplines with the maths of Arcanist, such as being able to channel the elements to summon your Egis. I've already established that my character is a bitter Adventurer angry at the establishment much like Squall Leonhart, and ultimately ends up allied with the Scions. Several others believe the most fitting class for my character is Arcanist, based on a number of other key traits I have listed. Becoming a Summoner would satisfy her need to be independent and unique, but the real questions are whether or not Miranda would be willing to live with all the brigands and alcoholics in Limsa Lominsa long enough to learn Arcanima, would she show much of an interest in it to begin with, and how common Souls of the Summoner are. On the other hand, Miranda would definitely get along well with Kan-E-Senna, and there ARE a number of other Conjurer NPCs in-game that display some of her key traits, namely the disbelief in tough love and desire for peace. This would fit her ideals, but Gridania's tendency towards rude comments and threats makes it seem like the worst possible place for her to live. If I went this path she would definitely be a CNJ and not a WHM, because lore-wise it is confirmed there is only one non-Padjal WHM. The problem is further compounded by the fact that I have decided that I find it too tiring to level more than one class on a single character, because there's just not enough quests and you have to resort to grinding out FATEs and Levequests, which gets repetitive fast. Everyone on this board seems content to give me full authority to decide which course to take - if I believe Conjury would be a good fit for my character, will everyone here fully support my decision?

The problem is that I'm having a very difficult time deciding, as all of them have their own set of pros and cons. The way I see it: Conjurer would make the most sense in terms of my character's ideals, but Gridanians in general seem to most prominently favor the harsh treatment of Adventurers my character is resentful of; thus, she would be bitter about being bound to serve the same people that victimized her (at least at the start of the story). Thaumaturge I have always felt would be a good fit for a "Shadow the Hegehog" type character. It seems to be the most "outcast", as well as have the loosest structural organization of the three, but the only thing I would trust Ul'dahns with is exploiting people for profit. Caveat Emptor, my friend.

A lot of people have suggested Arcanist would be the best fit for my character, but I'm actually leaning more towards THM or CNJ. My character Miranda tends to be ruled by her heart more than her head, so I think it's very possible she wouldn't want the hassle of having to perform all kinds of geometric calculations when she can simply use a staff and her willpower to hurl rocks or fire at enemies. Judging by the fact that there are far fewer Arcanist NPCs than THM and CNJ, I don't think she would be alone in her thoughts there. Another thing is that I tend to lean towards the Job classes being "non-canon" for RPers more likely than not, and the Job storylines simply involved heroes who proved themselves worthy in some form (for example the only non-Padjal WHM). So while SMN or SCH would allow her to be completely separated from others in her own category, I really don't know if becoming a customs agent for the first 30 levels would really be up her alley. Overall I would say she is like a cross between Squall from FF8 and Terra from FF6.

I'd suggest it's the latter. People learning how to cast spells are probably prone to being distracted and screwing up from loud noises, and that's probably more true with arcanima, given its emphasis on linguistics and mathematics. I would think that would be actually be more true of the other Discplines, which is partly why it surprised me. For example, Conjury emphasizes the need to get into a meditative state to commune with the elements, while Thaumaturgy is powered by introspection (in fact one of the brothers in the guild is always startled whenever you talk to him).

I discovered when you walk down to the training ring in the Arcanists Guild with Carbuncles in it a guy says to you, "Keep your voice low lest you disturb the summons." So do you think he's saying that Carbuncle is actually sensitive to loud noises, kind of like some breeds of dogs? Or do you think he's referring more to the art of summoning one and the concentration involved? That would be ironic IMO, because Carbuncle's squeals are one of the most annoying sounds in the game. But do you think they're actually not as loud as the game makes them out to be, given that they're a fairly small creature?

So far almost everyone I've talked to has suggested otherwise, but right now I'm leaning towards Conjurer and/or Thaumaturge for my character Miranda's class. She would definitely get along with Kan-E-Senna the best of the three city leaders, and those two classes focus more on your individual training rather than serving the Limsa Lominsan IRS. Plus she may prefer willpower-based casting rather than science/math-based... Then again the Arcanist Jobs would allow her to be completely separated from others in her own category. Decisions, decisions!

Actually, I am well aware that many alcoholics are actually very intelligent people. In fact, one of the biggest reasons people become alcoholics is depression, which many intellectual people do in fact suffer from! However, there have been many scientific studies that show that binge drinking does in fact damage the brain, namely the pre-frontal cortex, which is responsible for things like planning and deciding. I'm not kidding, I saw this in a serious program, it was more about how potentially harmful various drugs are than alcohol abuse specifically. (I remember they said alcohol actually is far more dangerous than many illegal drugs like Ecstasy) And in a way, I'm kind of referring more to the "social" aspect of it in this case. I think that as a class, Mages would be more likely to make the decision to try to avoid alcohol after seeing what drinking does to their friends (bar fights, impaired judgement, etc.). If they did end up alcoholics, it would probably be more due to something like trying to escape depression, rather than getting drunk "just for the sake of it" the way pirates do. That's just my 2 Gil anyway. And in case you didn't know, alcoholism isn't something people develop immediately. It takes time. Lots of people can have one or two drinks socially and be perfectly content.