Ran'jit's strength makes no sense

[LineageRazor]

I wonder how much of the complaints about Ran'jit and similar characters stem from some people being bitter that their glassy eyed waifu characters are actually given a run for their money and can't just cut through anything and everything put before them? I found him to be a pretty interesting character - a former hero with a tragic past broken by the bleak fate of the world.

To be fair, I never wanted my glassy-eyed waifu to instantly be the best at everything she does. I much preferred the FFXI paradigm, in which my character was involved in some incredible things, and certainly talented, but at the end of the day was just another adventurer among many, and treated as such.

I've come to terms with the fact that Lineage is a paragon among paragons, though, after having it beaten into me for so many years. It's thoroughly baked into the game, and there's not much point in complaining about it now. However, this means that when an exception occurs, like Zenos or Ran'jit, I ask WHY. It's not an unreasonable question to ask. What makes these challenges so exceptional, after having successfully faced what we have?

Personally, I'm satisfied with Ran'jit's explanation. He's a thoroughly seasoned warrior utilizing an esoteric fighting style unfamiliar to us. It begs the question as to why we've not run into similar seasoned warriors on the Source (None interested in facing us? Not even for coin, hired by the Garleans?), but it makes sense that a century of experience could give him an unexpected edge. Zenos's overwhelming strength is a bit less palatable. He's pretty much that strong just because of natural talent, honed by sociopathy and narcissism.

With Ran'jit I just... didn't feel it.He just kept beating us and coming back and beating us again to the point where it was almost annoying, like a hound dog just chasing us, and the whole time he's got me wondering how? How's he doing it? What technique is he using, what power does he have that we don't know about? And then. Nothing. He's just an ordinary (well trained and experienced) guy, and we kill him in a relatively short and easy 1 on 1 battle because... reasons, I guess.

To be fair, we only fight Ran'jit three times (once as Thancred), and in those there times, he only beats us once. Thancred's is a narrow victory, and WoL's final bout is decisive. It's why the "secret trick that only works once" theory some have holds up.

So it's entirely possible he's been able to prolong his life and effective combat ability through either magic, or sheer badass-ness.

I think the timeline works out, all right. If we assume that Ran'jit is 120 now (a remarkable lifespan, but not outrageous) and that he was talented beyond his years at 20, he may have been assigned to work with the first Oracle of Light when she appeared. When she passed, and a new Oracle appeared, he may have been assigned to her by default due to his previous experience working with an Oracle. And so on, over time becoming the Oracle "subject matter expert", as it were.