I've held onto this type of idea since Guild Wars 1. Â Characters can certainly learn how to use a weapon, but mastering a weapon involves signing up with a mentor or trainer (hence the in-game classes). Â A class won't define the character, but some classes do attract certain personality types more than others.Â
Finding an incredibly happy go lucky thaumatage pacifist won't be a common occurrence; neither will finding a embittered hate-filled white mage who reverse-heals. Â Which is not to say it can't happen, just it isn't common.
So when I make a character, I consider what skills the would have learnt casually or on their own; followed by what class (if any) would their personality have led them to specialize in. Â In some cases, a character might've chosen a class they didn't fit into well, and that struggle could become a part of them. Â It's also important to remember that mastering a skill/class takes -time- and that needs to be considered in your character's backstory/age.
As for Jobs, that's a whole different can of worms, since mentioned before; some jobs simply aren't very usable like Scholar or Summoner. Â Most cases I tend to stick to the class and not the job.
Finding an incredibly happy go lucky thaumatage pacifist won't be a common occurrence; neither will finding a embittered hate-filled white mage who reverse-heals. Â Which is not to say it can't happen, just it isn't common.
So when I make a character, I consider what skills the would have learnt casually or on their own; followed by what class (if any) would their personality have led them to specialize in. Â In some cases, a character might've chosen a class they didn't fit into well, and that struggle could become a part of them. Â It's also important to remember that mastering a skill/class takes -time- and that needs to be considered in your character's backstory/age.
As for Jobs, that's a whole different can of worms, since mentioned before; some jobs simply aren't very usable like Scholar or Summoner. Â Most cases I tend to stick to the class and not the job.