Lore-wise how do you explain your job's nerfs/inexplicable loss of skills/spells?

[Clethoria]

Can someone help me out with MNK? I'm at a complete blank because I can find 0 lore logic in making everything you do weaker. Maybe our supple flesh turned to butter from shoulder tackling gods all day.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Tetsujin]

If I were writing a story per say, these things would never be lost. That being said, as Dragoon for example, I like to think (ironically) that the WoL optimized, his DoT is missing because he/she can place it in one attack, he/she no longer needs to mentally or physically prepare for a stronger jump as it'd now be natural, etc.

[Ryannex]

Personally, I like the idea that the WoL has just evolved and developed new tactics. The spells aren't lost, they're still there -- evidenced by the fact that a lot of NPC's still use skills that have been removed.

[TheCount]

Surprisingly, there's many reference in the stories that seems to indicate that in most encounters, the WoL actually holds himself/herself back often.

That would be because there's a vast power level difference sometimes in the kinds of foes we battle. For example a primal slayer would surely have to hold back when he's fighting just some shmuck or he'd outright kill them with his attacks. The Warrior of Light isn't cruel :P

[Grimr]

Lore wise is because an evil Troll named yoshida whom hides under a bridge somewhere and has the unique ability to alter those around it stats buff etc

[Okamimaru]

Optimization... you don't use redundant skills in exchange for using new skills and combining older redundant skills to improve performance overall... start with easy skills and improve what you've learned from others after many countless battles... the WoL has developed and changed his skills based on experience against many foes

[DRKoftheAzure]

DRK 60-70 questline, crystal breaks in half due to another part of the WoL taking on a form of it own which is the desires of being forgiven as opposed to the first DRK trainer from 30-50 who is basically a manifestation of their true feelings (edgelords have it rough to begin) and logic dictates that we should have gotten those old abilities back but didn't... from a balancing standpoint should have given DRK more abilities to work with but make it feel more complete at 70 like PLD but they failed to do that... DRK nerfs were really unjustified in my opinion and should have made DRK better by giving them more damage mitigation debuffs as well as parrying magic damage... and let them keep their 3rd combo finisher...

[Belhi]

A lot of it probably has to do with a mix of equipment and Aether use. It might be extremely difficult to channel Aether through your Chakra while using Inner Beast for example, or worse, it could potentially cause injury. I remember when we get the crafting Soulstones the guy says you cant use more than one at a time because the differences in Aetheric usage is potentially harmful. There is also the fact that a lot of equipment is tailored for using Aether in particular ways and will likely be far less effective, or even detrimental, if used with other techniques.

[Aosha]

"Y'know, it doesn't feel like I'm dodging stuff with Featherfoot at all. This is the third time this week that Cruise Chaser slaps me even when I'm trying to dodge. Might as well not use it. And since I can't dodge that well, Haymaker's gonna be pointless too."
One-ilm Punch got optimized to have maybe some use sometimes.
I've got nothing on Touch of Death. If they'd buffed Demolish to compensate I'd just say we added the former to the latter for optimization but eh.

[Alleo]

Well my summoner is really just bad with math and logic so she truly just copied all the spell from others...and made the mistake to lose one of the sides..she does not feel like asking one of her arcanist NPCs friends to let her copy the missing ones because that would totally show that she had no idea from the beginning. (She just bribed the Carbuncle with Cookies all the time to make it obey.) When she is asked why she does not use certain skills anymore, she just adjust her glasses and tells them that they dont pay her sub.

Also for derplander, he is simply called that way for a reason. Thanks to having a low attention span and because he often finds himself losing interest in a job, he likes to switch them (and Dragoon totally looked just cool with dragons). Thanks to that he starts to forget some of the attacks because there are simply way enough to remember. But who needs to remember all the skills if one has the echo right?