Arcanist Japanese names

[Allyrion]

Questioning the Summoner using dots is a dead debate now, but I'd like to add some insight on what I've found from switching the game to Japanese. Suddenly the Arcanist class seems like a much more consolidated design than it does in English.

This might be long.

Note: This will not appease people who want Summoner to be something else. All it will do is to show the consolidated theme the class is built on, which doesn't seem obvious (to me at least, but hey I might be slow) in English.

I posit that the Arcanist is actually based on Final Fantasy 13 (to some extent, though FF13 is not the point). Now this is not to say, the general concept did not exist beforehand, just that that's the last evolution from which FF14 takes cues from.

The evidence isn't absolute, but I consider it convincing.
Let me first start which scholar terms as it is the most obvious:

Sacred Soil is not sacred at all in Japanese. The kanji used references a defensive circle formation. The actual circle is just a visual representation for the scholar telling the party to form a defensive formation.

Similarly, Adloquium and Succor are much more connected to army morale and uses references to the Chinese Three Kingdoms Tale.

The Scholar is ACTUALLY a war Scholar. It comes across as somewhat priestly in the English version, and I believe they chose this simply as a familiar localization.
Scholars are common characters in Japanese and Chinese who study the art of war by Sun Tzu and other strategists and they hold a high place in the army.

This is why Scholar works as a support class, cause it's not really that magical at all. The fairy is there to add flavor to an otherwise very pragmatic class. In english, it seems to fit the priest-like theme. In Japanese, it's actually a contrast.

Now you might be wondering where FF13 fits in. Well, the same language is used in FF13's paradigm system. Both are very concerned with formation and battle strategies, using similar kanji and references.

When I first tried ACN out, I always wondered what Ruin is. I forgot about it being in FF13, and it hasn't been used in ANY OTHER GAME. I always wondered what is this thing I'm casting.
Now I still don't know what it is, but now that I remember it being used by Commandos in FF13 it's a little less out of place.


None of this really explains SMNs though. Honestly, the connection is simply the Arcanist class.

The class itself is based on battle formation, warfare and strategy. The quest dialog, if you 50s remember, were all about just that. Arcanist are not really your normal magic users. They are not concerned with power or mysticism in any way, they use magic subtly(dots and commands) to manipulate the battlefield. As strategists, they don't get too involved. When they do need more direct influence, they have a minion to do their dirty work.

I believe SMNs got grouped into this class as the minions work with their focus on commanding and because summoning is under 'techical magic' and perhaps 'practical magic'. I may be able to add more, but I've been leveling as a scholar so I haven't gotten to take a good look at SMN.

Thinking of it in terms of FF13 (even if you don't like to think of FF13, lol) makes the whole thing much clearer and consolidated. Aside for the terminology and naming being the same, the two jobs follow as well.

The Scholar acts as a Synergist support as well as a Medic, helping with defensive commands and formation. In contrast, Summoners are offensive, subtly turning the tide of battle as something of a Saboteur in combination with their summon.

Being able to summon is the highlight of their offensive strategy, but I don't believe it's much more than a tool in their arsenal. The fact that summoners were put in the ACN class made things much less about the summon since it is a pragmatic class. If you agree with that choice or not is another thing.

I'm not here to justify the choice or what it should mean to be a Summoner. I'm just giving some insight because I didn't really understand the centralized theme when it came to ACN, SCH and SMN. They have dots and pets, but there was little substance that I found outside of that in terms of class/job identity.

So maybe someone else will find this as interesting a revelation as I did.

[EasymodeX]

That's a pretty legit assessment. I have no idea if it's true, but it sounds good!

[NeonC]

Well the Scholar story mode kind of corroborates this. They were the strategist using fairy's to heal the warriors, hence the job quest from a warrior.

[Allyrion]

Well the Scholar story mode kind of corroborates this. They were the strategist using fairy's to heal the warriors, hence the job quest from a warrior.

Yep, SCH is really a dead give-away for this in a lot of ways. I have done the first two scholar quests and it all collaborates.
Summoner, on the other hand, I haven't done any quests for and I haven't taken a deep look at. But being connected to SCH and under ACN, it's a decent process of association.
It would be weird if they're somehow a completely different concept/identity.

That's a pretty legit assessment. I have no idea if it's true, but it sounds good!

Thanks!
I'm not sure if it's true either, but I'm fairly convinced.
Playing a SCH in Japanese, you have no doubts about what you are. A war scholar.
I think it's much more interesting since the WHM is already priestly. The SCH identity is unique or could've been, if they translated more directly.

Sidenote:
Paladins are more like Knights. Like Hallowed Ground is called Invincible(not a translation, they use english).
Seeing how they choose to localize things is pretty interesting to me.
EDIT:
The difference is subtle though, as both have fairly strong convictions. The main thing is just that all the religious references are absent.

[pandabearcat]

This is a really neat assessment!

I hadn't really thought of it like in terms of FF13, but thanks for reminding me of the nature of the class quests and such.

Though it does highlight how silly (imo) the summoner job quests were in comparison.

(spoilers)

Well at least the other summoner has his priorities straight, he's looking for the ultimate mcguffin, but you beat him with a piece of popcorn (no offense titan egi, i love my popcorn), and his giant super summon is pretty useless. Sadface.

TBH I really really like arcanist as a whole more than summoner. The analytical such and such is totally what I imagine them being, and their lore makes sense.

[Sylari]

Makes sense, and it sorta fits with the whole study and strategizing thing the base class emphasizes so much. And it matches up with the scholar's relic title (still don't really understand the summoner's).

Would have been nice for those themes to be played up a bit more in ability names and job quests though.

[Allyrion]

This is a really neat assessment!

I hadn't really thought of it like in terms of FF13, but thanks for reminding me of the nature of the class quests and such.

Though it does highlight how silly (imo) the summoner job quests were in comparison.

(spoilers)

Well at least the other summoner has his priorities straight, he's looking for the ultimate mcguffin, but you beat him with a piece of popcorn (no offense titan egi, i love my popcorn), and his giant super summon is pretty useless. Sadface.

TBH I really really like arcanist as a whole more than summoner. The analytical such and such is totally what I imagine them being, and their lore makes sense.

I'll have to do the SMN quests to really get an idea.
Since the SMN uses the same things as the ACN, it's basically its successor. SMN gain power that facilitates offensive strategy well, while the ACN is a little more broad (allowing for branching into SCH) but still a dps so it leans to the offense.

Perhaps the SMN quests don't focus as much on strategy, but ACN is the root of the job so I can't imagine it being a whole different thing.
Maybe it's assumed you carried on the strength of strategy into being a SMN. I think you can still think of them as an offensive tactician.
Unless this is contradicted in the quests.

The class quests, lorewise, seem to teach you things you need to carry into your job.
Pugilist - Resolve
Lancer - Courage
Thaumaturge - Responsibility of Power

It usually translates well to the job. SCH is obviously has this. SMN might be less so but you can't take anything but being tactical from ACN.
And part of being a SMN is being an ACN.

[pandabearcat]

Well I won't get too much into it, but you basically ditch the whole strategy, calculation thing, and it becomes a trite power grab.

[Mekhana]

While LNC is about true courage and not recklessness as your character is taught to differentiate both, DRG is about taking an arduous and solitary path and resisting the corruption that may consume and ultimately destroy her.

[ColdestHeaven]

I wish there were more threads like these. Knowing original names and their meanings always fascinated me - and this sort of sheds a new light to the class and its jobs. Thank you for the infos.