Is WoL the only one able to master/handle all the classes at once?

[Minnel]

I did notice that npcs are very capable of handling soulstones and developing talent toward a specific class, but are "average joes" able to handle multiple classes like WoL?
Also is there like a lore explanation to how WoL swaps class and gears instantly? Cause I hope WoL isn't stripping naked in the middle of a street then changing into different gears

[Morningstar1337]

Interestign question. I'd mentionthe Scions but they were in classes prior to SB (lyse and alisale) and Shadowbringers (everyone still alive)

[Edax]

Tataru Taru is both a Receptionist (spy), a failed miner and a failed Summoner (at least level 70) if you can call that taking on multiple jobs.

[EdwinLi]

We see in the Shadowbringer Cinematic that the WoL can switch between his/her different jobs naturally through magical means so it is most likely a magical ability he/she has that allows for job switched.

Being a adventurer is a multi-skill job so it is common for adventurers to be skilled in multiple areas of talents. The creation of the Adventurer Guild was to not only open up a job opportunity for people with different types of talents but one of the major requirements for being a Adventurer is to be talented in multiple areas of crafts, gathering, and combat skills as mentioned by Louisoix when he was summarizing the events of 1.0 when he talked about the founding of the Adventurer Guild

While non-adventurers tend to focus on one job to specialize in for their daily life and earnings, Adventurers focus on having multiple skills for multiple "jobs" and "classes" for their different freelance jobs.

[Enkidoh]

FFXIV 1.0 also showed a npc switching classes mid battle during a cutscene (in the 1.0 GLA class quests there was a cutscene depicting a fight in the Colleseum in Ul'dah, and the GLA npc tried cheating by switching to MRD mid fight - it still didn't help him though and still got his lalafell butt handed to him). Given how the Armoury System works, it's not surprising this is the case, as it's based around the use of a weapon or tool - Soul Crystals work in tandem with that.

[Morningstar1337]

Also explains why the Cross-class system was a thing in both 1.0 and 2.0-4.X(?)

[Cilia]

Soul Crystals are used to speed along the process of learning a new class. We don't just pick up a weapon and master it instantly, we're using the combat memories of the stone's previous owners as our own. (Garlemald's new Weapon program aims to achieve something similar, albeit using much more horrifying methods.)

It's plausible the Echo has something to do with it, but there's no reason anybody with a soul crystal wouldn't be able to pick up on the advanced techniques we use as well. (Except for MCH, which as a completely new discipline has no memories stored in its soul crystal.)

[Enkidoh]

Soul Crystals are used to speed along the process of learning a new class. We don't just pick up a weapon and master it instantly, we're using the combat memories of the stone's previous owners as our own. (Garlemald's new Weapon program aims to achieve something similar, albeit using much more horrifying methods.)

It's plausible the Echo has something to do with it, but there's no reason anybody with a soul crystal wouldn't be able to pick up on the advanced techniques we use as well. (Except for MCH, which as a completely new discipline has no memories stored in its soul crystal.)

Along with BLU, which is stated as having been made literally out of whole cloth on the spot, and the spells you learn for it are you basically winging it (Martyn after all was being accused of being a conman for selling fake Soul Crystals for BLU to unsuspecting adventurers by the Limsan authorities, and hoped that total sucker the WoL would actually exonerate him accordingly by showing the Soul Crystals were real and the Job legitimate. Instead we basically created the Job ourself based on what he told us and our own initiative and Echo filling in the blanks).

MCH is an odd case though, in that although it's Soul Crystal is empty and the Discipline is new, it's technically based on an earlier Discipline, the Limsan Musketeer class (MSK for short), that was never implemented gameplay wise (Merlwyb is a MSK for instance), and combined with Stephanivien's revolutionary theories of magitek (for creating the 'bullets' from the users own aether, rather than using ball and gunpowder that MSK uses for their guns), thus creating the new Discipline of MCH.

Either way, both Jobs you're indeed making it up as go along in a way by the Crystal recording your experiences and imprinting the abilities you're inadvertently creating as you theoretically experiment through trial and error what works and what doesn't.

[Wyssahtyn]

The WoL is somewhat unusual in that they're relatively quick to draw out a given soul crystal's memories and such. Such things typically require diligent study and training for the average person as "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" .

Anyway, in terms of classes, that is, GLD, THM, ARC and so on, the average person should ostensibly be able to pick them up given enough time and dedication. Whether they would considering other factors in their lives is another matter. Note that adventurers aren't necessarily representative of the population at large either.

Jobs, I would say, are another matter really, since they're either scarce, have certain cultural ties/requirements, and other such factors in their availability. Then there's the obvious time commitment as well. Like, MNKs were part of the Fists of Rhalgr, so the average MNK would have spent an X amount of time training as a novice, after which they were given a soul crystal. Then they would have to spend X amount of time training further to attune to the crystal's memories and open their chakras. It wouldn't, or at least realistically shouldn't, leave much time to, say, go learn how to be a RDM, which itself requires a foundation in thaumaturgy and conjury, even with a soul crystal, which we know since a certain NPC is stuck having to start over from the beginning as it were after certain events.

Basically, in a vacuum with infinite time, the average person probably could learn all the classes and jobs to the same degree as the WoL. However such circumstances are obviously impossible. Most folks will probably specialize in one or two other things at most that are probably related to whatever their primary interest/profession is. A culinarian, say, might go and pick up some knowledge of alchemy so they can source some of their own ingredients like oils and natron and perhaps botany too to get herbs and spices.

[EdwinLi]

The WoL is somewhat unusual in that they're relatively quick to draw out a given soul crystal's memories and such. Such things typically require diligent study and training for the average person as "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" .

Anyway, in terms of classes, that is, GLD, THM, ARC and so on, the average person should ostensibly be able to pick them up given enough time and dedication. Whether they would considering other factors in their lives is another matter. Note that adventurers aren't necessarily representative of the population at large either.

Jobs, I would say, are another matter really, since they're either scarce, have certain cultural ties/requirements, and other such factors in their availability. Then there's the obvious time commitment as well. Like, MNKs were part of the Fists of Rhalgr, so the average MNK would have spent an X amount of time training as a novice, after which they were given a soul crystal. Then they would have to spend X amount of time training further to attune to the crystal's memories and open their chakras. It wouldn't, or at least realistically shouldn't, leave much time to, say, go learn how to be a RDM, which itself requires a foundation in thaumaturgy and conjury, even with a soul crystal, which we know since a certain NPC is stuck having to start over from the beginning as it were after certain events.

Basically, in a vacuum with infinite time, the average person probably could learn all the classes and jobs to the same degree as the WoL. However such circumstances are obviously impossible. Most folks will probably specialize in one or two other things at most that are probably related to whatever their primary interest/profession is. A culinarian, say, might go and pick up some knowledge of alchemy so they can source some of their own ingredients like oils and natron and perhaps botany too to get herbs and spices.

It is certainly abnormal that WoL is learning fast and if I remember right it was mentioned sometimes in the Job/class storylines that the WoL is a fast learning compared to normal people that joined and focus on that job/class for their daily life income or personal hobby.

Though some of our quick learning is due to our Master for our Jobs/Classes putting us through a more advance level of training (for example, Monk Job story in 2.0 was basically us being put right into locations full of Chakra to quickly open the Gates in the name of Science when normal Monks spent years searching for those locations to awaken those Gates by themselves) and being adventurers we are "leveling" faster than the normal people due to constant experiences we get through our journey compared to the normal people who get most of their experience by training in the Guilds and only getting experience from tasks given to the Guilds.

Even with current Job story, we see majority of the people we knew from the past Job/Class storylines still have not gone beyond the Guild for their experience and are still focusing mostly on gaining experience through training in the Guild and only tasks provided to the Guild.