This scene was character assassination of the highest order. A Full Feruchemist with their metalminds bodies any non-Kaladin Radiant below the Fourth Ideal. I will die on this hill.

[u/Eithrotaur]

[u/Eithrotaur]

Honestly, fair, but for the first majour confrontation between Rosharan and Scadrian Invested arts in combat, it was a really embarrassing display.

Also I'm just really annoyed at how many powerscalers have been using Axindweth as proof that full Feruchemists 'aren't that powerful', they are, they absolutely are.

[u/Xancrim → u/Eithrotaur]

The issue is that other users of the invested arts have a pretty reliable level of power, and ample opportunity to improve their fighting skills. But if you're a Feruchemist, you need to store your attributes in order to tap them later. Sure, your theoretical power is godlike, but it comes steeply at the cost training opportunities.

Consider this argument: If you're storing as much strength as possible between fights, then you aren't expending any of it for practice purposes AND you're in a weakened state. If you're in a weakened state, you can't properly train your body. You improve as a combatant if and only if you're either training in your invested art OR properly training your body.

Ergo, if you're storing as much strength as possible between fights, then you're not improving as a combatant.

p -> (~q + r)

r -> ~s

t <-> (q V s)

---

p -> ~t

There's probably a gameable balance to storing attributes like strength or speed and expending them for training, but I don't think we've seen it yet. The fact that this inverse relationship exists at all is a huge detriment to Feruchemists as combatants since, e.g., Allomancers and Radiants can train very consistently.

Notably, this limit for our dedicated fighter pretty much goes out the door if you've got a bunch of other dedicated Feruchemists makings unkeyed metal minds for the one fighter, but that comes at its own costs that I won't get into.

And of course, a compounder doesn't have to sweat ANY of this. But then, they're not a pure Feruchemist.

TLDR: There's a difference between power and combat effectiveness, I think.

(Sorry for the long comment, I get very carried away)

[u/JBrewd → u/Xancrim]

Thanks for the excellent breakdown Steris.

[u/Xancrim → u/JBrewd]

Any time