Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-24993958-20160721222431/@comment-26397825-20160721235637

Yeah, Dust Use is the preference. That makes sense, but I'm not entirely certain how to word that you have to list all their preferred Dust usesand add those to the tally.

Unless...we could have a list of the different ways to use dust and simply say each different way is one point. So at most you'd still only get five points, but it wouldn't be an automatic five points for using pure dust. Instead it'd depend entirely on how many different ways your character uses dust.

As for the Dust Manipulation thing, I believe the "Weiss level" was because she often uses her sword as a conduit for the dust, and then shapes it after it leaves her sword. So the sword acts as a focusing device which gets the dust flowing, then she shapes it as it leaves the sword. Now that I really think about it, that really should be lower on the list - it's not even a basic dust use as you're using your weapon to activate it.

Perhaps the order of the list should be something like "Channeling through weapon, combining with semblance, basic dust spells, remote activation, mastery."

Channeling through weapon would be exactly what it sounds like; using your weapon as the catalyst, you shape the dust as it leaves. Combining with semblance I would put underneath basic dust spells because it seems to be an automatic reaction; the dust is automatically combined with your semblance to create the effect.

Then basic dust spells is your standard 'using dust that is close by you or in hand, in either crystal or dust form'. Basically casting the elements like Materia. Remote dust activation is exactly what it sounds like; basic dust spells but at a distance. So Cinder's fire blast from her arrows when she was fighting against Amber, and Glynda's ice storm when she was fighting against Roman and Cinder. And then mastery basically means there is nothing else for you to learn; your control over dust is so fine tuned that any advancements are miniscule in scale and basically just refining your technique so it takes less aura to cast with it.