User blog comment:Deafro/What makes RWBY Interesting/@comment-15108745-20130830202410

Just one thing, we do NOT know anything about Aura or Dust. We got a very cursory explanation from Pyrrha about Aura and we haven't seen the full extent to which those powers can be used. As for Dust, we definitely have no idea how that works. Nothing has been said in the story except that it represents "fire, water, lightning, energy" and that it's sold in stores and was key to mankind's victory against the Grimm. We still don't know anything about how Aura and Dust are used together.

As for the lack of intelligent and cunning Grimm: there have been quite a few theories thrown around about the nature of the Grimm. One theory states that the Grimm have a kind of "Gravemind" entity controlling them. Like a Grimm queen or something. If you look at it that way, these Grimm in the Emerald Forest have probably been isolated from the main horde and have probably been isolated for some time. They might have lost some of their former ferocity and by themselves these Grimm might not be the most cunning of opponents. But in large forces (which is probably how humanity in the past had to deal with these creatures) they become quite deadly.

Compare them to the goons that Roman has around him. They're nothing to people like Ruby and they can be defeated by the dozens. As for why the students are facing these kinds of opponents for the initiation, well this is just an initiation. It's probably done to weed out those people like Jaune who are completely incompetent. (Though Jaune himself obviously will end up staying at Beacon. How? I have no idea.) So it makes sense that Ozpin would pit the students against these creatures instead of someone cunning.

In other words, the real fun is yet to come.