Dragoon Theorycraft

[Riven]

NX7QNWEGcNI Dragoons and dragoons-in-training practice a version of parkor for official and unofficial training purposes. 

 

So just picture dragoons and trainee dragoons jumping about Ishgard even more literally now-oftentimes in full armor, as to better break in the suit and build up muscles/agility/speed.

[Sylastair]

I have a theory that a lot of early Dragoon training involved the use of soulstones in combination with this training, utilizing the old memories and knowledge to offset the inexperience at first, then as a Dragoon gets more and more comfortable/capable they use the stone less and less, relying on their own skills as confidence is built. 

 

As for the training regiment I think kind of stuff fits really well. A few of the people I've trained or trained with, I tend to allude to lots of running through cities and in different areas where agility & focus on getting from point A to point B in the fastest way possible are the priorities (Versus free running with a focus on the fancier gymnastic's type moves).

 

Personally, I don't see people being cool with Dragoons in full armor flipping around the city as training because: 

 

1. Training implies mistakes, and in this case mistakes could mean their death and the death of others. For a country so focused on keeping the image of an elite force, you wouldn't want the common person seeing them suck. 

 

2. People who've lived in a perpetual state of war or who are ready to evacuate/protect themselves might see this as a sign some fighting is about to ensue, and could stir people into a panic. 

 

3. People hate living near bases and dealing with training exercises in the real world, and this kind of stuff would probably get real old real fast in Ishgard as well. Destruction of roofs, awning and houses would probably irritate and already edgy people more than their government would want. 

 

TL;DR - I agree mostly, and it could go this way. Personally, I think with all the cliffs and elevation changes in Central and Western Coerthas that we've seen, training would probably be better done outside the city and away from people for a few reasons.

[Aden Dellebecque]

Agreeing with Flynt here, as much as I want dragoons jumping around the spires of Ishgard in full armor. Parkour is great and all, until it's your roof they're running on. You hate squirrels in your attic? Now imagine a squirrel as tall as an elezen and in full armor.

 

Nevermind Flynt's excellent and very serious analysis of the concept, annoyance factor alone would be enough that I doubt it's a training thing. Idiot trainees out of armor doing it to challenge each other and probably getting in trouble afterward? Definitely. Something that happens when there is a direct threat that merits it? Absolutely. A drill that has been run at some point? Probably, but the populace would be notified beforehand and it would probably be done in such a fashion as to limit impact.

 

Now I wonder if there's an official whose job is just to analyze and come up with ways to limit collateral damage from dragoons dragooning. BRB, rolling an alt who is completely done with life.

[Sounsyy]

To add lore to theorycraft, there's a goodly portion of lore about Dragoon training regimens from Ishgardian Temple Leves, which I've compiled in the Dragoon Lore thread. I'll copy the relevant in the spoiler below:

 

When we make our rounds to the Congregation's training facilities to choose hopefuls for the Knights Dragoon' date=' I have noticed the uptick in lowborn numbers among the new recruits. While it is good to give them the benefit of the doubt as their desperate situation allows them to take more risks than their highborn counterparts, sense it does not make to give candidates quality armor from the start—they have a nasty habit of dropping.[/quote']

 

House Durendaire did not become known for the most powerful dragoons in Ishgard by blindly following old ways. Unlike many High Houses of that mistrustful theocracy' date=' it seeks new knowledge—such as whether a Lominsan harpoon can be adapted against an airborne beast.[/quote']

 

A dragon's natural armor may seem impenetrable to an untrained eye' date=' but a true dragoon knows well whence the vulnerabilities lie - a darkened spot, a bent plate, or if one is lucky, a barren patch. These days, too many youngbloods sign up for the training to join our noble ranks without showing a shred of decent talent, hence I have decided to thin out the crop through a trial. If the men can identify and destroy the spots on targets wrapped in scaleskin, they may continue their training. If they fail, they are to relinquish their weapon and accept pursuit of a less virtuous craft.[/quote']

 

We dragoons are a proud sort who often charge into the heat of battle' date=' but that is not to say discretion is without merit. When shadows abound, we sometimes make use of wooden dummies with arms and wings manipulated by gears which resemble dragons from afar, to create an illusion of comrades in the vicinity. However, we lack the material to replicate dragon scales. We seek an experienced adventurer willing to journey to the Churning Mists and skin Dravanians for this purpose.[/quote']

 

The candidates for the Knights Dragoon are always under intense pressure that leaves both their heads and faith pounding by the end of a training session' date=' to which some forget even the most common of sense. One of the youngbloods was daft enough to place his sallet next to a roped and very well-fed chocobo during his training respite. Needless to say, no amount of water or prayer is going to get the unholy smell of droppings and shame scraped out of the metal. He will need a replacement helmet posthaste.[/quote']

 

As their training forces the Knights Dragoon to respond violently to the screams of dragons' date=' the candidates to join the ranks prefer to use sallets of titanium. Rumor has it that not only is the headpiece as light as a feather, but as the wind blows through the crevices, it mimics such a wail and allows the wearer's hatred to course through their veins tenfold at the mere sound.[/quote']

 

The Ishgardian legend of Saint Daniffen tells us that the dragoon would oft practice his lancework on the shores of the mighty Coerthas River. To better his aim that it might always be true' date=' he sought only the nimblest of seema to serve as his marks.[/quote']

 

At last' date=' the final trials for the knights dragoon are upon us, and this year's candidates have proven to be the most propitious in quite a long time—all from fine bloodlines, all burning with acrimony towards their scaly adversaries. They call the trial a "mock battle," yet the only thing mocking about it is that their adversary is not a full-grown wyrm. They will have full reign to demonstrate their skills, thus the birth of a dragoon merits celebratory armor for use in the test.[/quote']

 

Elder members of the Knights Dragoon are known to prefer lances smithed from pommel ore' date=' a hard substance that, while difficult to wield, is believed to make the finest, sharpest heads. Unfortunately, the locations of the few remaining veins in Dravania were known only to the Sharlayans who took the information back with them to the Old World fifteen summers ago. If you were to find a vein of decent quality, I would pay much for the material.[/quote']

 

Among the aspiring Knights Dragoon are a talented few who practice jumping attacks in equipment crafted from adamantite' date=' the weight of which will help them to crush a dragon's skull as an eggshell. Alas, one such youth misstepped during his training and landed among the crags, breaking both his legs and armor in the impact. Though his injuries will heal, he requires a new pair of leg guards, and I would entrust none other but a skilled craftsman with the task.[/quote']

 

The dragoons of House Durendaire are on maneuvers' date=' and the deaths already begin to mount. Many are too fatigued to take much nourishment at the end of the day, and so succumb to cold, a fall, a thrust they may otherwise have parried. Steaming bowls of cawl cennin may make all the difference.[/quote']

 

 

 

 

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Now I wonder if there's an official whose job is just to analyze and come up with ways to limit collateral damage from dragoons dragooning. BRB, rolling an alt who is completely done with life.

 

Probably this poor sap who commissions all these levequests, Ser Brucemont of the Knights Dragoon.