Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-24993958-20150311232923/@comment-25588729-20150412175217

Wait... so now we're speculating as to the possible points of origin or 'trees' from which all known semblance types might branch off of? This seems like an endeavor that could use a little more data, otherwise it's little more than conjecture.

Still, I'm willing to offer up my own opinions, although it'll likely mirror points already discussed:

Elemental: While there seem to be few examples of this type, with the majority of elemental displays being dust-based in origin, one such example could be Yang's 'flaming' aura, or Cinder's affinity for fire and fire-based dusts (though her semblance is still unknown at this point in time). Pyrrha's polarity and Glynda's telekinesis could potentially be grouped under this.

Physical: Something that enhance's a user's natural senses (Faunus abilities aside). While a highly general category, this could likely be further subdivided into 'passive', 'active', 'healing', 'shielding' etc. depending on the particulars one one's semblance. Obvious examples of such a type would be Ruby's and Yang's semblances. Jaune's may be too, albiet of a more defensive sort - data pending.

Illusory: Anything that doesn't directly affect the user or a target physically. I would have initially cited Blake's 'Shadow' for this, but seeing as she's able to use her projections to provide a momentary physical advantage or shield in combat, this would not be the case.

Construct: A sort of catch-all category that likely is the most incomplete in terms of specifications. Semblances of this type seem to be energy-based, but unlike 'Illusory' technqiues, can physically interact with their environments. Such examples could include Blake's 'Shadow', Weiss's glyphs, or Sun's spectral clones (or whatever you want to call them).