Greetings and salutations! I have a question about the various schools of magic on Hydaelyn and how people approach their limitations and peculiarities.
For ease I want to focus on the three base schools of ARR - Thaumaturgy, Conjury and Arcanism. I would characterize Thaumaturgy and Conjury as being (at least in gameplay terms) two sides of an element-based magic, with different methods of access and a focus on destruction and healing respectively. On the face of it Arcanism seems to be concerned with entropy, both the propogation and reversal of it, and the strategic application of a carbuncle companion.
If these characterizations are even remotely accurate, how much can they be said to dictate what a student of any one school can or cannot do within the scope of their studies? I think I'm right in saying that in 1.0 Conjury encompassed the entire elemental wheel, but now they are limited to Earth, Wind and Water. Do these kinds of distinctions inform what your character can do, or are they largely gameplay concessions? Could, for example, an Arcanist learn a spell to conjure a fireball using the Aetherial Geometries, or are they limited to the kind of entropic viruses and unaspected blasts we see in their ability tree? Could a Conjurer cast a spell to put somebody to sleep? Could a Thaumaturge erect a protective shield? To what extent do people allow for the schools of magic to cross-over or use different methods to achieve the same result?
For ease I want to focus on the three base schools of ARR - Thaumaturgy, Conjury and Arcanism. I would characterize Thaumaturgy and Conjury as being (at least in gameplay terms) two sides of an element-based magic, with different methods of access and a focus on destruction and healing respectively. On the face of it Arcanism seems to be concerned with entropy, both the propogation and reversal of it, and the strategic application of a carbuncle companion.
If these characterizations are even remotely accurate, how much can they be said to dictate what a student of any one school can or cannot do within the scope of their studies? I think I'm right in saying that in 1.0 Conjury encompassed the entire elemental wheel, but now they are limited to Earth, Wind and Water. Do these kinds of distinctions inform what your character can do, or are they largely gameplay concessions? Could, for example, an Arcanist learn a spell to conjure a fireball using the Aetherial Geometries, or are they limited to the kind of entropic viruses and unaspected blasts we see in their ability tree? Could a Conjurer cast a spell to put somebody to sleep? Could a Thaumaturge erect a protective shield? To what extent do people allow for the schools of magic to cross-over or use different methods to achieve the same result?
