So how exactly are soul stones made?

just curious because there's a lot we don't really know about these items and the various ways they're made and function.

Good question, the short of it is, we don't really know! (Incidentally many suns ago there was a thread in the now defunct 1.0 forum that asked this same question pretty much and sadly no one really could answer it.) :(

The only real clue we have is the description for the MCH Soul Crystal, which, unlike the Soul Crystal for every other Job in the game, MCH's one specifically says it has yet to be filled with the deeds and memories of MCHs - this is due to the Job being literally new born, created out of whole cloth by Stephanivien, basing it on Limsa musketry techniques (as in, the never implemented Musketeer class - MSK for short) but with Garlean magitek technology providing the underlying power source for the Job (namely, the aethertransformer worn on their hip creating bullets from the MCH's own aether rather than using primitive balls and gunpowder weaponry that MSK uses). Hence little wonder it's Soul Crystal is empty, it's literally a blank slate.

So you're experimenting with the Job based on Stephanivien's theories and the musketery techniques taught by Sthalmann Rostnsthal, all the while the Soul Crystal is being imprinted in a sense by your aether, effectively acting as a on-going record of your progress. So, it seems a soul crystal starts out as a special crystal that simply gains an aetheric imprint of a person's accomplishments in that Job, which can be then used later by someone else to act as a kind of, well, short-cut, in that Job, all the while continuing to gain even more memories, knowledge and experience as time passes and it's passed on from user to user.

Also remember all the other Jobs are (mostly) old Disciplines that either fell out of use years before or were outlawed, and thus they lack the more structured teaching system used for the starting Disciplines by their respective Guilds. Soul Crystals thus provide a helpful way of overcoming that obstacle, accordingly they could kind of be looked on as an ongoing record of that Job itself, that Job's legacy if you will.

Either way, that is how I interpreted it so it's likely to be wrong - someone more knowledgeable should be able to clarify or correct it. :)

"specifically says it has yet to be filled with the deeds and memories of MCHs"

could it be that soul crystals are a form of mateira?

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Originally Posted by Transient_Shadow

"specifically says it has yet to be filled with the deeds and memories of MCHs"

could it be that soul crystals are a form of mateira?

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It would make sense. Or some kind of stone with similar properties to aetherial items.

The Lvl. 70 SMN quest has some interesting things to add. There we see an Allagan computer "running" off of SMN soul stones and able to use techniques in the soul stones. Namely the techniques that have to do with making an egi. It seems that certain techniques are tied to soul stones (creating SMN egi, SCH fairy living in one, DRK's Darkside coming to life, etc.) and are primarily taught that way instead of "from scratch".

It also shows how old the idea behind Soul Stones are. Not only did the Allagans know what they are, but they had multiple soul stones all of the same job (other jobs with multiple soul stones are PLD and NIN). Given that societies at every level of technology have Soul Stones associated with them, they must not be that hard to make and relatively intuitive to figure out how to use/make. Otherwise I'd have a hard time seeing jobs like WAR associated with them...

DRK 60-70 quests make your soulstone split in half and it still functions, and the storyline straight up telling you that is because your aether have been taken. Maybe they are purely made by aether, could be different case for each job

Other things we know about them:
They are crystals, presumably in the same context as the elemental crystals and miscellaneous crystals we use for crafting. IE made of crystallized aether. Furthermore they are said to be multi-aspected, though exactly which elements they actually contain isn't specified. It seems likely that they either contain all six or a mix of elements appropriate to their class.

Maybe they're dug up as multi-aspected crystals, carved or otherwise shaped into the appropriate form and then filled with the aether of those that use them. A bigger question, at least to me, is how the heck they manage to carve any deeds onto them when they're maybe 1.5 inches in diameter at best.

Is it perhaps possible Job Crystals are made from Auracite?

If you look at the Auracite used in the Rabanastre Raid, it bears quite a resemblance to a Job Crystal, even having a symbol on it that represents what kind of thing is represents.
Mayhaps they even function the same, except an auracite holds the aetheric composition of a primal where as a Job Cyrstal holds aethetic imprints of memories.

I think Enkidoh is on the right track. It seems a given that the majority of the Soul Crystal lore is utilitarian; duct-taping Final Fantasy jobs to 1.0 classes, explaining how you're learning things barely anyone remembers - quickly - and why this knowledge and power isn't readily accessible, and so on.

And it also seems a given that the lore deliberately vague so that it can be as versatile of a MacGuffin as possible. They impart knowledge and house faeries and project ghosts of your repressed feelings and malfunction when you need to go on an introspective journey to become worthy again. Your own personal pocket A WIZARD AETHER DID IT.

So I guess we take what information we can...?

I posit that they're dense, unaspected crystals that share certain qualities with aetheryte and auracite.

On one hand, they would be highly receptive to attunement, slowly becoming highly "magnetized" to the behavioral, psychological, and physiological profile of the practitioners of a given art. When the soul crystal is within the aetherial "aura" of someone who fits that profile, the crystal "resonates" with that and comes to life, creating a feedback loop of sorts that facilitates a connection between them.

On the other, there is a "vessel-like" quality to them, as well. As the aether of the owner (and sometimes their arts) flows through and interacts with the crystal, it takes on memories, spiritual impressions, and secures the essence of scholar faeries. Perhaps it's some kind of anima-based interaction.

But even Sidurgu cracks jokes like "Who knows how these even work."

What Enkidoh and Anonymoose have written seems to be right on point and appears to be supported by what’s written in the Encyclopedia Eorzea.

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“Ever since the height of the Allagan Empire in the Third Astral era, the practice of using crystals to store and impart knowledge has been prevalent in Eorzea. An adornment known as a “soul crystal” is worn close to the skin, where the uncommonly clear facets of the carefully cut shard catch and transcribe the ebb and flow of a soul’s aetherial composition—effectively capturing an imperfect echo of the wearer’s memories. This arcane tool engraved with the myriad deeds of heroes from eras past was employed by many of the disciplines of yesteryear to preserve and pass on the skills of successive generations of masters.

The wisdom contained in a soul crystal, however, is not so easily drawn forth—an untrained neophyte cannot simply pick up one of these gems and expect his mind to be flooded with the knowledge of advanced spell craft or combat techniques. Without first attaining sufficient proficiency and tempering one’s soul to mirror the maturity of the crystal’s contributors, a prospective student will be denied even the slightest glimpse of enlightenment. Thus, as is the case with more contemporary disciplines, the key to mastering the secrets of a soul crystal lies in diligent study and training.”

—Soul Crystals, pg 217

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Originally Posted by ObsidianFire

(other jobs with multiple soul stones are PLD and NIN)

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Also DRG (Alberic gives you his soulstone; Estinien presumably has one) and AST (likewise with Mace and Leveva), although that thought sets me wondering... do you *need* to have a soulstone to learn the disciplines, or does it just help? There might be limited numbers of those other disciplines, but one of the big plot points of the AST storyline is trying to introduce Sharlayan astromancy to Ishgard, and teach it to as many people as possible - and presumably they're not handing out soulstones to everyone, so what would that actually mean? Could the average person still learn all the techniques, or are they only going to be able to master the equivalent of conjury-instead-of-white-magic?

Related thought: it seems that when there are multiple soulstones available, each one 'belongs' to a particular person, but could they be shared around? It seems that would be how to get everyone's knowledge recorded onto every soulstone, instead of your mastery depending on how good your soulstone's previous owners individually were at their job!

Well, presumably someone had to figure out the techniques first in order to make the Soul Stone in the first place... Also, some Soul Stones function as "limiters" (BLM and WHM at least) and doing the those Job techniques without the Soul Stone is definetly possible, but it uses up too much ambient aether (BLM and WHM).

I see Soul Stones as a massive short-cut. While it would be possible to teach people to harness their Inner Beast, create Egi, form Fairies, channel Black Magic correctly, etc. from scratch, using a Soul Stone cuts out a lot of time and steps needed to learn how to do that. For people who have the luxury of not being in a hurry like the WoL is, they probably could figure out some of the Jobs just fine.

This might also lead to people forgetting how those techniques (some of which are very dangerous if done incorrectly) were initially done in the first place. And after enough repeated attempts at doing a Job without the Soul Stone ended in disaster (thinking of BLM and WHM in particular here) that Job would get banned all together.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

that thought sets me wondering... do you *need* to have a soulstone to learn the disciplines, or does it just help?

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It's probably not required. After all, someone had to invent the job and create the first soul stones. Like others have said, soul stones probably act as short cuts by letting you access stored knowledge. Presumably there's nothing stopping someone from going out and learning all the skills on their own. It would just take way longer.

There's one big question mark with that theory though, and that's scholar faeries. The faeries are part of, and specific to individual soul stones. How did the first scholars summon (create?) them and link them to the soul stones in the first place? With that knowledge being lost, is there an actual limit to the number of potential scholars in the modern world? (Do the tonberries know how to do it, or was it already lost knowledge by the time Nym fell?)

Soulstones probably function essentially like brain USBs.

You have downloaded like the launcher for a game but everything else is on a USB your friend gave you. So while the USB is in you don't have to do the rest of the download. Just replace download with train, launcher with weapon, game with job, and soulstone with USB.

The USB is a decent analogy, but the question then is, what happens when you remove it? Are you learning those skills permanently as you make use of them, or would you be suddenly at a disadvantage in battle if someone stole it from you? The game-mechanics answer says yes, since you can unequip it and lose all those skills entirely, but I assume it would work somewhat differently 'in reality'? If you're learning and gaining understanding from performing those actions rather than simply tapping into the stored skill without really knowing how it works.

(Could work like equipment in FF9 I guess, where you gain skills by equipping certain items and gradually 'earn' them until you've fully mastered it and can keep the skill without that gear equipped.)

It's probably pre-installed practice, like the difference between knowing it in theory and knowing it in practice.

If you didn't have a soul stone you'd like still know the how it's just you wouldn't be drawing upon the experience of your predecessors.

We've essentially got our bodies on Autopilot when using the Job Stones and using associated abilities.

That being said there are abilities that are expressly only possible with the stones.

I see this thread talking about combat soul stones, but nothing about the crafting ones that you have to buy and then get infused and may give insight. That you get a blank soulstone, then have to have it infused for your specialty gives an idea onto the USB analogy having merit as those blank soul stones are useless until you have them imprinted for your specialist crafting.

Was checking back over the machinist quest script, and when Stephanivien gives you the soulstone he explains, "I based the design on the more traditional soul crystals, and it will act as a focal point for the energy conversions performed by the aetherotransformer."

So... somehow aether channels through the crystal as you use it? (and etches your actions into the crystal as it does so?)


I do have to wonder how we are physically 'equipping' the soulstones though. Is it attached to something, or do we just have it in our bag/pocket? It seems to just be a loose crystal when we're shown holding it.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I do have to wonder how we are physically 'equipping' the soulstones though. Is it attached to something, or do we just have it in our bag/pocket? It seems to just be a loose crystal when we're shown holding it.

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The Encyclopedia Eorzea entry on Soul Crystals state that they’re ‘worn close to the skin’, so I take that to mean that they’re worn as a pendant under our shirts or kept in an inner shirt or pants pocket. Perhaps the closer the contact to ourselves the more readily it absorbs/transmits impressions.

I figured the soul stones were crystals that use aether to imprint a sort of genetic (aetheric?) memory into them.... they mix with the holders aether picking up their skills (which use aether on some form or another) and then passing that "aetheric muscle memory" onto the next holder and the cycle repeats...

I had a discussion with a friend on this subject and she brought up an interesting analogy.

A soul crystal is like a well trained warhorse that you just inherited. The original owner/trainer might have spent considerable time and effort to raise the horse and teach it how to obey commands, leap obstacles, and charge fearlessly into battle without throwing its rider. The horse and rider might have fought dozens or hundreds of battles, the two of them learning and gaining experience together.

The original owner might have fallen in battle or has retired from the frontlines and this horse is yours now. You still need to know the basics of riding a horse and what commands/signals to give, but the horse is already a veteran and knows what to do when you tell it to do so in the right way. You don’t need to teach the horse how to fight - the horse teaches you how to use it.

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Originally Posted by Random0

I had a discussion with a friend on this subject and she brought up an interesting analogy.

A soul crystal is like a well trained warhorse that you just inherited. The original owner/trainer might have spent considerable time and effort to raise the horse and teach it how to obey commands, leap obstacles, and charge fearlessly into battle without throwing its rider. The horse and rider might have fought dozens or hundreds of battles, the two of them learning and gaining experience together.

The original owner might have fallen in battle or has retired from the frontlines and this horse is yours now. You still need to know the basics of riding a horse and what commands/signals to give, but the horse is already a veteran and knows what to do when you tell it to do so in the right way. You don’t need to teach the horse how to fight - the horse teaches you how to use it.

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And at the same time, you need to form a relationship with the horse, get it to trust you as it did its former master.

Brilliant analogy.

I have had 1 question since Alexander: what if u meet someone using ur exact soul stone, like just the stone somehow time traveled? (be it stone sent to past after u "passed" it on & someone else is using it or someone from the future coming back with it to meet one of its user's as they have "Question's/problem's"). Time Paradox duplicate theory aside I'm wondering if it could be used as a future Job Quest line & what would happen to both stones (& user's) as a result... I know stupid thought but understanding possible Time Travel shenanigans is entertaining to me

srry for the derail question, plz continue &/or ignore

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Originally Posted by The_NPC

what if u meet someone using ur exact soul stone, like just the stone somehow time traveled?

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Probable-but-boring answer: not much, as long as you don't directly cause a paradox by destroying the 'first' version of the stone or something. Which you probably can't if a stable time loop is in effect (as it is in the Alexander plotline) because the 'second' stone exists, therefore you can't have successfully destroyed it prior to that point in its existence.

Probably the worst thing you can do is manage to record a technique that you learned from the stone onto a time-traveller-from-the-past's earlier version of the stone (which will 'later' be used by past-you to learn that technique in the first place). Which is still stable, if paradoxical, so even then it probably won't break anything.


Of course it depends on a lot of magical variables too, but....

- multiple people CAN use the same stone over time

- how 'bonded' is the user to the stone? It seems they can be passed on quite simply without any dramatic effect on either the old or new owner.

- are the two versions of the stone still able to be considered the "same" stone? Or would they behave just like any two separate stones?

- do people's soulstones actually affect each other? (Paladin Lv50-60 plot had some weird thing with stones reacting to each other but it was never really made clear what the effect of it was. That whole plot was really badly explained.)

yah thats about what I figured u'd eather learn a "future skill" from the future stone (which is the reason said stone even knows the skill) or absolutily nothing, just figured the idea of meeting someone using the future version of ur actual stone would be fun plot wise.. even if the only reason the user was there in the 1st place is they damaged/having-trouble with theirs & there was no way to solve the problem in the future (lazy, knowladge of crating that "older" stone type lost, etc.)

to be fair the mear finding out that one of the past user's of ur soul stone is the fricking WoL would be mind blowing enouf

Soul Stones are basically magic SSHD.

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Originally Posted by zuzu-bq

Soul Stones are basically magic SSHD.

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I wonder about that?

If we take the text from the game (here for WHM) :

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Upon the surface of this multi-aspected crystal are carved the myriad deeds of white mages from eras past.

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Does this mean that it take the memory of every WHM who possessed this crystal?
Or does this mean that all of the white mages memories are in it, without care if they possessed or not said crystal?

In the first case, that would mean that the soul crystal from a legendary white mage is actually holding much more value than that random mage that died falling from his stairs back in Adampor.
In the second case, every crystal would have the same value and be somehow linked together. But then that would raise further questions.

I believe it is actually on an ownership basis, as there is importance placed on the owners of the Soul Crystals for Black and White Mages, the Scholar Soul Crystal is unique enough that it produces a specific fairy per Scholar, and in the Summoner Questline the machine is powered by many Soul Crystals to increase it's summoning power. Overall it appears to be on a single stone basis.

is it possible (( for the sake of role playing )) to fake a soul stone?

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Originally Posted by hunterx767

is it possible (( for the sake of role playing )) to fake a soul stone?

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Yes, because that is technically how you actually unlock BLU - Martyn was a con artist peddling apparently fake BLU soul crystals to unsuspecting adventurers which the Limsan authorities soon hear about and quickly dispatch the WoL to investigate the reports of adventurers with fake soul crystals of a Job no one has yet heard of. Martyn promptly gives you one simply to save his own hide as well as give his scam a little credibility, which comes back to bite him hard when the WoL's powers actually make that 'fake' Job real.

It's somewhat softened though that what he thought was fake crystals really weren't (and were based on a legitimate Job from the Far Western continent), but just 'empty' ones that needed someone with a potent enough aetheric signature to 'awaken' - which of course the WoL satisfied (it's worth noting that the description in the Character screen for the BLU soul crystal is identical to the MCH one, that it is "yet to be filled with the records of past deeds").

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Originally Posted by hunterx767

is it possible (( for the sake of role playing )) to fake a soul stone?

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I mean, so long as anyone is gullible enough to fall for it, yeah. Just take a crystal, carve some arcane symbol into it and start going on about how it gives you amazing powers. Martyn of the Blue Mage questline was under suspicion of peddling false soul crystals by the Yellowjackets during the introductory quest for similar reasons.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

Yes, because that is technically how you actually unlock BLU - Martyn was a con artist peddling apparently fake BLU soul crystals to unsuspecting adventurers which the Limsan authorities soon hear about and quickly dispatch the WoL to investigate the reports of adventurers with fake soul crystals of a Job no one has yet heard of. Martyn promptly gives you one simply to save his own hide as well as give his scam a little credibility, which comes back to bite him hard when the WoL's powers actually make that 'fake' Job real.

It's somewhat softened though that what he thought was fake crystals really weren't (and were based on a legitimate Job from the Far Western continent), but just 'empty' ones that needed someone with a potent enough aetheric signature to 'awaken' - which of course the WoL satisfied.

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Uh. Unless they like, completely changed his story with the additions to Blue Mage or I'm completely misremembering, you're rather off base. Martyn's soul crystals were real and blue magic is a New World practice. Guy went out and learned from the Whalaqee (or something similar) on an expedition, came back and decided to spread the knowledge of blue magic. The only con going on is him having his Mamool Ja companions help make the sale by "attacking" so he can show off the more powerful/visually impressive blue magic abilities to apparently easily drive off enemies.

Martyn, Out of the Blue:

"Say what you will about our sales technique, but there's nothin' dodgy with the merchandise!
I'll have you know I poured my heart and soul into those crystals, and the spellbooks explain how to learn the magic. It ain't my fault if the buyers can't be arsed to read them.
And if you're thinkin' about clappin' me in irons over the outfits not providin' enough protection, I can assure you they were tailored especially with the needs of a blue mage in mind. I'll admit, I had to cut a few corners to keep the cost down, but still..."

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

Yes, because that is technically how you actually unlock BLU - Martyn was a con artist peddling apparently fake BLU soul crystals to unsuspecting adventurers

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Not quite. Maryn was selling empty soul crystals. They were real job stones, they just didn't have any skills on them yet. You had to go learn everything yourself the first time. MCH works the same way. It's a brand new job so you start with an empty stone and your experiences creates something that can later be passed on.

It's the difference between getting a pre-owned tablet already loaded up with apps and videos and music, and getting a brand new one with nothing on it yet. The new, empty one isn't fake or broken, it just doesn't have any history so you need to fill it up on your own.

The Archangel Tyrael took pieces of the Worldstone, and then fashiong the Soul Stones from them. He bestowed responsibility of using them to contain the three Prime Evils upon the Horadrim. In their attempts to contain the Prime Evils, each Soul Stone was fragmented, and thusly required a human to play host to each stone and the evil soul contained within.

The Worldstone was a massive mountain-like artifact, once contained within Pandemonium (the scar of warped reality located at the birth of the universe). It was said to have the powers of creation, and one of its other names is, "The Heart of Creation." It is, in fact, the Eye of Anu, the first being to ever exist, who created all other beings by purging his inner evils and then fighting their manifestation, Tathamet, to the death.


Diablo references aside...

We can look at older Final Fantasies for some of the answers to the questions we have about Soul Crystals. The first Final Fantasy to make use of the crystals as job providers is Final Fantasy III on the NES/Famicom. The will of the Crystals of Light bestow upon the four chosen children the powers of Warriors of Light from the past. Each crystal provides a different set of jobs, each crystal's jobs more powerful than the last. Two powerful jobs, considered too powerful for humans, are sealed within Eureka. Those jobs were Ninja and Sage. Eureka itself was sealed beyond a dimensional gate contained in the basement of the Crystal Tower.

The next series to sport crystals giving jobs is FFV. This time the crystals each rupture, from humanity siphoning their nearly unlimited energy in order to power technology. The crystals bestow their light on the party, as well as their crystal shards, and the shards themselves contain jobs. It's revealed much later in the game that the crystals were originally born of The Void, and became the source of life for the world. There's no limit to who can equip what job, and once the abilities given by the jobs are mastered, these abilities may be used across any job(conditions apply). Learning job skills is a separate ability points based exp system, opposed to your actual level, which is the standard EXP system.


In XIV, as far as I understand it, back in 1.0 we had a physical level and a class proficiency level(rank). So your rank determined the skills you could use, while your physical level determined your attributes. Later on in 1.1 something or other, they removed physical level, and changed rank to job level, I think. I only have secondhand knowledge of 1.0.

Soul Crystals were introduced after they removed physical level though, and the jobs originally required you to have alternate jobs level half way, in order for you to unlock the jobs. Like Paladin required Gladiator 30, Conjurer 15. These requirements changed in 2.0, and they were scrapped in 4.0.

So it seems to me that Soul Crystals are something intended to impart advanced knowledge of combat related arts upon veteran fighters. The arts aren't always tied to the weapons, as is the case with classes. The better the fighter, the more memories that are imparted upon them, as Musosai tells the WoL in the Samurai questline:

"Ah, yes, in your gaze I see the stirrings of a newborn samurai. 'Tis plain the stone has already bequeathed some of its memories unto you.

Yet having the memories is one thing, mastering them quite another. We shall see how well you fare against me. Prepare yourself, young samurai, we begin as soon as you are ready.'

The stone harbors the techniques of the samurai. You must draw them forth.

To draw such strength from the stone in so short a time... You are no ordinary man."

After you satisfy Musosai, his victory prize is his mentorship in Samurai techniques. As each job proves, some techniques cannot be learned without first undergoing some form of training, despite still being contained within the stone. Basically, undergoing each Job's questline has you come to a realization about the techniques contained therein, or receive direct instruction on how to draw forth the skills.

Best example of this is actually the DRK line, where Sidurgu teaches you the level 52 and 54 skills, Salted Earth and Plunge, but for 56-60, the events of the questline have you realize the skills on your own. "Your Darkside stirs in the presence of pain..." Abyssal Drain learned!

As for soul crystals and how they interact in deep dungeons... mmm... maybe there's something to be said for wielding weapons and armor made entirely from aether, and in POTD's case at least, being in a place that's sort of a zombie purgatory... closer to the planet core/Lifestream? Or maybe it's a function of the wards the restrict your power?

It's all wishy washy and vague intentionally so that they can have something flexible to weasel our skills around on. Also to have something that differentiates us from other people wielding the same weapon... I guess.

Edit:
As for how they're made? Uhh... My guess would be through some form of not too complex aetherochemistry, that realigns the aetherial poles of the crystal such that they resonate with particular types of aether without binding. They're the only piece of gear that doesn't spiritbond, after all. They basically compile our deeds, adding to the concept of what each job is, for future generations. Also, they strike me as the sort of thing that's intended to make it easier to replicate special forces style fighters, without having to spend months or years personally instructing the fighters.

As for how they store fairies, well aren't those just aetherial constructs made with aetherial geometry? I suppose it's as simple as their precise geometry being stored and named in the crystal.

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Originally Posted by Vyrerus

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Where's my Horadrics Cube , dudes leg and a book of return portals for my Secret cow level... moo...

Anyway nothing to add to this I just want my Secret moo level

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Originally Posted by Rannie

Where's my Horadrics Cube , dudes leg and a book of return portals for my Secret cow level... moo...

Anyway nothing to add to this I just want my Secret moo level

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