What does it mean to be a/n Soldier, Adventurer, or Scholar?

The professions are grouped by seemingly generic job descriptions. These designations seem as impactful as choosing personality; regardless of what the player selects, their character can join any order, excel in combat, and command an army. Even assuming the PC is an exception, the categories are still quite confusing.

• the words soldier, scholar, and adventurer are used repeatedly to refer to individuals who are not Soldiers, Adventurers, or Scholars, especially in the context of the Orders.
• some of my favorites are the non-Scholar Scholars, the Scholar Explorer adventurers, and the Adventurer Engineer soldiers.

edit:

• can Soldiers be academic, are all Scholars classically trained, e.g how universal are the descriptors to the associated professions?

I'm disinclined to think of them as in-universe categories at all, and they aren't used that way, except in places like the Elona Guide that are flirting with the gameplay template. If you used the word 'scholar' in Tyria, I don't expect anyone would take that to mean 'a category of professions including the elementalist, necromancer, and mesmer traditions'. They'd either think a generic person pursuing a lifestyle of study, or the specific rank within the Priory encompassing most of their basic members. Adventurer would be applicable to anyone who does what our character does, regardless of specific profession, and I wouldn't expect to see soldier used to refer to anyone who isn't part of some armed force, even if they hear the voices of ancient heroes in their head.

It is just an in-game naming/categorization system for the heavy, medium and light classes.

Y'know, trying to make the disction between the three seem less "vidja gajm mechanics"-based and more based in canon fluff.

I don't think there is any deeper meaning to it than that, really.

As the others have said, there's not really anything to the categorization of the soldier/adventurer/scholar classes aside from saying what armour they can use. Even that seems to be broken by some of the NPCs, like Kerida. There is sort of a philosophical difference between the three (scholars have mostly magical skills, adventurers tend to be highly mobile, and soldiers tend to be front-line characters), but the actual profession is more meaningful than this distinction.

As for the question about elite specializations, those never change what the profession actually does, but merely takes a different approach as another class might. It's also important to note that the specializations from HoT don't follow that rule as much as they did with those from PoF. The Druid is a highly magical class, but I wouldn't consider them necromatic, elemental, mesmery, or even guardian-like. Berserker is warrior taken up to its extreme. Chronomancer is completely out of left field. But even if you call the Spellbreakers warrior through a mesmer lens, it's still warrior tactics, but use some of the mesmer strategies. If you've ever seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, it's kind of like how Iroh studied waterbending techniques to come up with a new firebending strategy.

@Aaron Ansari.1604 said:

I'm disinclined to think of them as in-universe categories at all, and they aren't used that way, except in places like the Elona Guide that are flirting with the gameplay template. [snip]

That has no bearing on the questions I asked. The writers felt these categories were apt for grouping professions. I simply want to know more about them. Regardless I rewrote the original questions.

Here is are specific example of what I am trying to ascertain.

Was Scholar a reference to direct lineage between the Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer and the schools of Destruction, Domination, and Denial?

Do Kasmeer and Treaheane share any qualities in the development of their abilities?

Can a Guardian go into academia? Or would that just be a Monk?

You're confusing the "in-game job" of Scholar with the categorization of the classes.

The Durmand Priory are all scholars, despite the fact that they are not merely made up out of the Scholar professions.

The Vigil are all soldiers, despite the fact that they are not merely made up out of the Soldier professions.

Both factions have people in heavy, medium and light armour amongst their ranks.

from a lore perspective, i kinda view Engineer more as a scholar than an adventurer, but otherwise, i tend to agree that rev, guard, warrior are all soldiers, thieves and rangers are the adventurers, and that elementalists, necros, and mesmers need to study more. that's looking at the base classes, sans e-specs.

now, looking at the e-specs... it's quite clear that firebrands are more scholarly (than their base counterparts), reciting tomes, spellbreakers are much more mesmery, hence scholarly, dragonhunters are more adventury, chronomancers and reapers are more soldierly... for example.

as for any "hard distinctions"... you're thinking too much. Anet hasn't given us anything in game or lorewise other than simply categorizing the armour weights into the Scholar, Adventurer, and Soldier categories. Even then, it's only on the character creation screen, so technically, it's not even in-game lore.

@"Daniel Handler.4816" said:

• can Soldiers be academic, are all Scholars classically trained, e.g how universal are the descriptors to the associated professions?Sorry for not addressing this before, but I thought you'd already answered it. The Durmand Priory has scholars who are guardians, and the Vigil has elementalists and engineers fighting on the front lines. The descriptors might be generally applicable- e.g., guardians might, on the whole, be more inclined to visit battlegrounds than libraries, with the reverse being true for mesmers- but they're certainly not universally binding.Was Scholar a reference to direct lineage between the Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer and the schools of Destruction, Domination, and Denial?Meaning, did the devs use scholar to refer to professions that link back to one of the bloodstone schools? I'd say no, given that guardians inherited most of the monk's connection to Preservation, and almost every profession has at least one skill that belonged to a different profession in the first game.Do Kasmeer and Treaheane share any qualities in the development of their abilities?Not beyond all magic users, which would include guardians and revenants (and possibly rangers, thieves, and warriors). The only thing that'd set them apart is that neither individual would be used to tromping around in plate armor, but there's nothing stopping any given mesmer or necromancer from doing that.Can a Guardian go into academia? Or would that just be a Monk?Again, we see guardians in the Priory, in gladiatorial pits, in politics. There's nothing binding them to waging war.

@"Oglaf.1074" said:You're confusing the "in-game job" of Scholar with the categorization of the classes.

The Durmand Priory are all scholars, despite the fact that they are not merely made up out of the Scholar professions.

The Vigil are all soldiers, despite the fact that they are not merely made up out of the Soldier professions.

Both factions have people in heavy, medium and light armour amongst their ranks.

I am not asking about the in game jobs, I am asking about the categorization. I want explanation for their groupings.

Moreover, they are not all scholars, soldiers, adventurers by in game job either. Colleges have security staff, militaries have civilian officers, the Orders are no different.

@Daniel Handler.4816 said:

@"Oglaf.1074" said:You're confusing the "in-game job" of Scholar with the categorization of the classes.

The Durmand Priory are all scholars, despite the fact that they are not merely made up out of the Scholar professions.

The Vigil are all soldiers, despite the fact that they are not merely made up out of the Soldier professions.

Both factions have people in heavy, medium and light armour amongst their ranks.

Your question about whether or not Guardians can "go into academia" seem to say otherwise.

@Aaron Ansari.1604 said:

@"Daniel Handler.4816" said:

• can Soldiers be academic, are all Scholars classically trained, e.g how universal are the descriptors to the associated professions?Sorry for not addressing this before, but I thought you'd already answered it. The Durmand Priory has scholars who are guardians, and the Vigil has elementalists and engineers fighting on the front lines. The descriptors might be generally applicable- e.g., guardians might, on the whole, be more inclined to visit battlegrounds than libraries, with the reverse being true for mesmers- but they're certainly not universally binding.

The engineers aren't on the front lines, they operate siege equipment. And the Durmand Priory is a scholarly organization, but not all of its employees have the position of scholars. I'd have to click through those listed in the wiki, but I don't remember anyone with the Scholar rank in heavy armor.

Since the classes are called "professions" one would think the groupings are more rigid.

Was Scholar a reference to direct lineage between the Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer and the schools of Destruction, Domination, and Denial?Meaning, did the devs use scholar to refer to professions that link back to one of the bloodstone schools? I'd say no, given that guardians inherited most of the monk's connection to Preservation, and almost every profession has at least one skill that belonged to a different profession in the first game.

The guardian is not a direct link. It is a mixture ritualist, monk, and paragon. If it has inherited most of Preservation it does not show it.

Do Kasmeer and Treaheane share any qualities in the development of their abilities?Not beyond all magic users, which would include guardians and revenants (and possibly rangers, thieves, and warriors). The only thing that'd set them apart is that neither individual would be used to tromping around in plate armor, but there's nothing stopping any given mesmer or

necromancer

from doing that.

They both come from traditions associated with schools.

Can a Guardian go into academia? Or would that just be a Monk?Again, we see guardians in the Priory, in gladiatorial pits, in politics. There's nothing binding them to waging war.

All of which seem combat/leadership related. Are they using their abilities as a Guardian for academic purposes?

In our universe, we have former athletes in politics. It doesn't make athletics scholarly.

@Daniel Handler.4816 said:

@Aaron Ansari.1604 said:

@Daniel Handler.4816 said:

• can Soldiers be academic, are all Scholars classically trained, e.g how universal are the descriptors to the associated professions?Sorry for not addressing this before, but I thought you'd already answered it. The Durmand Priory has scholars who are guardians, and the Vigil has elementalists and engineers fighting on the front lines. The descriptors might be generally applicable- e.g., guardians might, on the whole, be more inclined to visit battlegrounds than libraries, with the reverse being true for mesmers- but they're certainly not universally binding.

The tacticians, who very much are on the front lines, default to medium armor and use thief skills (along with, admittedly, a warrior warhorn skill). The warmasters tend disproportionately toward norn elementalists in heavy armor. And many of the charr officers- either warmasters or Pact commanders- are engi/warriors, kitted out in heavy armor but wielding a pistol in their main hand. Very much on the front lines.

That said, though, a siege engineer is still a soldier, not an adventurer.

As far as Scholars go, you may be right. The guardians are, in fact, light-armor elementalists. How, the Scribes and Historians- both ranks I'd readily classify as 'scholars'- are often held by medium and heavy armors.

Since the classes are called "professions" one would think the groupings are more rigid.Again, I think you're just reading too much into the flavor text of a mechanic here. What we see in-game doesn't reflect any rigidity at all.

Was Scholar a reference to direct lineage between the Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer and the schools of Destruction, Domination, and Denial?Meaning, did the devs use scholar to refer to professions that link back to one of the bloodstone schools? I'd say no, given that guardians inherited most of the monk's connection to Preservation, and almost every profession has at least one skill that belonged to a different profession in the first game.

Do Kasmeer and Treaheane share any qualities in the development of their abilities?Not beyond all magic users, which would include guardians and revenants (and possibly rangers, thieves, and warriors). The only thing that'd set them apart is that neither individual would be used to tromping around in plate armor, but there's nothing stopping any given mesmer or

necromancer

from doing that.

Can a Guardian go into academia? Or would that just be a Monk?Again, we see guardians in the Priory, in gladiatorial pits, in politics. There's nothing binding them to waging war.

@Aaron Ansari.1604 said:

@Daniel Handler.4816 said:

@Aaron Ansari.1604 said:

@Daniel Handler.4816 said:

• can Soldiers be academic, are all Scholars classically trained, e.g how universal are the descriptors to the associated professions?Sorry for not addressing this before, but I thought you'd already answered it. The Durmand Priory has scholars who are guardians, and the Vigil has elementalists and engineers fighting on the front lines. The descriptors might be generally applicable- e.g., guardians might, on the whole, be more inclined to visit battlegrounds than libraries, with the reverse being true for mesmers- but they're certainly not universally binding.

Are you saying Dalia and Forgal (the Norn Warmaster) are Elementalists?

And many of the charr officers- either warmasters or Pact commanders- are engi/warriors, kitted out in heavy armor but wielding a pistol in their main hand. Very much on the front lines.That said, though, a siege engineer is still a soldier, not an adventurer.

Double professions don't really answer the question of what one profession can do. However, the PC is able to become a frontline scrapper, and apparently the U.S Army Engineers are called Soldiers, so I believe you are right.

That said, given that every profession has combat skills, and PC is in the military, I am more interested in downward mobility from Soldier to Scholar.

As far as Scholars go, you may be right. The guardians are, in fact, light-armor elementalists. How, the Scribes and Historians- both ranks I'd readily classify as 'scholars'- are often held by medium and heavy armors.

Since the classes are called "professions" one would think the groupings are more rigid.Again, I think you're just reading too much into the flavor text of a mechanic here. What we see in-game doesn't reflect any rigidity at all.

You may be right. It's annoying they were called professions instead of classes when we aren't presented with some sort of unified education/employment.

Was Scholar a reference to direct lineage between the Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer and the schools of Destruction, Domination, and Denial?Meaning, did the devs use scholar to refer to professions that link back to one of the bloodstone schools? I'd say no, given that guardians inherited most of the monk's connection to Preservation, and almost every profession has at least one skill that belonged to a different profession in the first game.

Paragon, monk, and ritualist draw from the same bloodstone, the first two entirely, and the latter to an unknown extent. Prot./Heal./Smit. is not unique, its just expressed differently because the professions were created in somewhat isolation of each other. When they came together Guardian was formed as "a pile of Elonian protection magic, mixed with a little monk training, wrapped up in some crazy ritualist hoo-ha from Cantha. ..."-Macha

• Virtues, heavy armor, tactical prowess, and a selfless defense is taken directly from the paragon. It's the foundation of the profession.
• the blue-white light that heals/burns/blocks/enhances came from monks, the construct manipulation came from ritualists
• I don't know what a lot of monk training would look like, maybe Firebrand? But there is not enough to call them direct monks or a scholar.

Do Kasmeer and Treaheane share any qualities in the development of their abilities?Not beyond all magic users, which would include guardians and revenants (and possibly rangers, thieves, and warriors). The only thing that'd set them apart is that neither individual would be used to tromping around in plate armor, but there's nothing stopping any given mesmer or

necromancer

from doing that.

I am assuming the word scholar refers to pure spellcasters. Paragons were not spellcasters (though they did use magic), and assassins were hybrids. Though they combined/descended from pure spellcasters (monk/ritualist and mesmer) to become Guardian and Thief it does not make the latter two scholars.

Kasmeer and Trahearne probably have much more education than Braham or Caithe.

Can a Guardian go into academia? Or would that just be a Monk?Again, we see guardians in the Priory, in gladiatorial pits, in politics. There's nothing binding them to waging war.

If the professions are not comments on employment, then they must be referring to education.

You would think the soldiers all have basic training, and the scholars take core classes? Adventurer doesn't really sound like a profession in our world, so idk.

@"Daniel Handler.4816" said:

Are you saying Dalia and Forgal (the Norn Warmaster) are Elementalists?

Nah, I meant that many- most?- of the generic Vigil Warmasters in the game are male norn with staves and heavy armor who exclusively use elementalist skills in between their bear forms.

Double professions don't really answer the question of what one profession can do. However, the PC is able to become a frontline scrapper, and apparently the U.S Army Engineers are called Soldiers, so I believe you are right.Yep. I'm no expert, but I'm told that everyone enlisted in the Army is a soldier by definition, regardless of specialty. Between being trained in the basics of combat and taking risks to contribute to military success, it doesn't matter that they aren't usually assigned to go shooting on the front lines.That said, given that every profession has combat skills, and PC is in the military, I am more interested in downward mobility from Soldier to Scholar.Meaning, is a guardian still a guardian if they choose to go spend their waning years in a library? I'd be inclined to say so. The profession titles can be used to describe what someone does- e.g. a warrior goes to war- but they're also a description of skills, regardless of how they're used. That's more obvious with some of the more magical ones- for example, the word elementalist is almost entirely about what kind of spells they can cast without saying much at all about what they might be used for- but a thief can be a scout or a spy as often as someone who steals for a living, and back in GW1 rangers were more often just archers than someone who actually ranged. (Not many generic rangers in GW2, so it's hard to say based just off the current game.)

Paragon, monk, and ritualist draw from the same bloodstone, the first two entirely, and the latter to an unknown extent. Prot./Heal./Smit. is not unique, its just expressed differently because the professions were created in somewhat isolation of each other. When they came together Guardian was formed as "a pile of Elonian protection magic, mixed with a little monk training, wrapped up in some crazy ritualist hoo-ha from Cantha. ..."-Macha

• Virtues, heavy armor, tactical prowess, and a selfless defense is taken directly from the paragon. It's the foundation of the profession.
• the blue-white light that heals/burns/blocks/enhances came from monks, the construct manipulation came from ritualists
• I don't know what a lot of monk training would look like, maybe Firebrand? But there is not enough to call them direct monks or a scholar.

That's one way to break it down, but not the only way. For example, 27 of the base guardian's skills go back to GW1's time. Of those, 19 are monk skills. One is paragon. One is ritualist. Six are warrior. Having 70% of their directly inherited abilities coming from the monk feels, to me, like enough to call the guardian a successor.

I am assuming the word scholar refers to pure spellcasters. Paragons were not spellcasters (though they did use magic), and assassins were hybrids. Though they combined/descended from pure spellcasters (monk/ritualist and mesmer) to become Guardian and Thief it does not make the latter two scholars.

Meaning characters who rely solely on spells for damage, instead of weapons? Not a bad way to look at it for GW1, but GW2 blurs that line, too. Necromancers and mesmers both have skills that involve stabbing people with swords, which would put them in that same hybrid category as guardians.

Kasmeer and Trahearne probably have much more education than Braham or Caithe.I'd agree, but I'd equate that to their backgrounds. Kasmeer is a noble, and Trahearne is a scholar in every sense of the word, beyond just being a necromancer. On the other hand, Braham is a teenager of a race not known for formal school, and Caithe is a lone wanderer. Compared to Trahearne she might not be as scholarly, but I'd expect her to know more than a sylvari necromancer who's four days old. Similarly, I wouldn't expect Kasmeer to be better educated than a nobleborn ranger or guardian- unless someone with guardian skills who doesn't spend their life on a battlefield doesn't count as a guardian, of course.

If the professions are not comments on employment, then they must be referring to education.

You would think the soldiers all have basic training, and the scholars take core classes? Adventurer doesn't really sound like a profession in our world, so idk.

The way the races differ from each other would kinda prevent that. Standardized training and core classes kinda run contrary to norn culture, whereas charr fahrars seem to run cubs through essentially the same training regardless of whether they become an elementalist or a warrior. Meanwhile, the average asura will be more educated than the average human in almost all respects, again regardless of profession.

I think there is a certain degree of separation between mechanics terms and lore terms.

The terms "scholar, adventurer, soldier", when referring to groupings of professions, seem to essentially be a way of avoiding just simply calling professions light, medium, and heavily armoured, respectively. One could say that there are trends in behaviours among the groupings: warriors and guardians are more likely to be battlefield soldiers, mesmers, elementalists and necromancers are more likely to be researchers, and rangers, thieves, and to a lesser extent engineers are more likely to be the type to go out on "adventures" (which I'd characterise, for the purpose of this discussion, as less organised outings into potentially dangerous situations as individuals or small groups), as opposed to spending their time in a library or as part of an army.

(I've left revenants out deliberately, since lorewise they seem to be too few in number for any trends to be formed.)

However, these are broad tendencies, not universal characterisations. Any player character profession can contribute on the battlefield as a soldier, or go out on their own or in small groups as an adventurer. Any profession can benefit from, and potentially contribute to in turn, scholarly pursuits - engineers and firebrands in particular clearly require at least SOME academic inclinations to support their skills and abilities.

I was once an adventurer but than I took an arrow to the knee.

Those are the 3 classes of profession. The terms can be used interchangeably with "Heavy armor class", "Medium armor class" and "light armor class".

But it's not a term used in-game by NPCs, and it's not even used in gear.

Most uses of these terms are from interviews, old blog posts, old texts in the website, etc. They are largely unused.

@Aaron Ansari.1604 said:That's one way to break it down, but not the only way. For example, 27 of the base guardian's skills go back to GW1's time. Of those, 19 are monk skills. One is paragon. One is ritualist. Six are warrior. Having 70% of their directly inherited abilities coming from the monk feels, to me, like enough to call the guardian a successor.

Names are not the only part. You have to also look at the animation, effect, etc. And when that fails just read official interviews. I forgot about this one:

www.engadget.com/amp/2011/01/31/behind-the-scenes-with-the-guild-wars-2-guardian-massivelys-in/

With the turmoil in Elona and the spread of the Order of Whispers into other lands, more Paragon teaching showed elsewhere in Tyria. These teachings melded with other traditions....

I think the Guardian is much more of a pragmatic and tactical user of a magic as opposed to an Elementalist, who is a pure student of magic. The Elementalist casts discrete spells, and you have the feeling that there is a heritage and body of knowledge behind those spells. Guardians seem to use magical energy in the heat of combat, from the front line. That sense of immediacy sets the Guardian apart from more traditional spell-casters and allows for a heavily armored magical character.

This strongly implies the scholar connection.

As I see it, a Guardian is a paragon who weaponized smiting, spawning and protection but never grasped the true intricacy of restoration. The Firebrand is a superficial return to a body of knowledge.

@draxynnic.3719 said:I think there is a certain degree of separation between mechanics terms and lore terms. [snip]...

Would people in-game refer to them as professions? If not, why was the mechanic term created?

As far as I can tell Jennah is a Queen who happens to be a Mesmer.

There was another interview around the time the Guardian was revealed where they explicitly said it started as a collaboration between paragon refugees from Elona and monks who were fed up with being the first ones targeted in battles and wanted to make themselves a bit less vulnerable. Unfortunately, that one didn't last very long online - nobody's been able to find it again for years.

@Daniel Handler.4816 said:

@"draxynnic.3719" said:I think there is a certain degree of separation between mechanics terms and lore terms. [snip]...

It's a good question.

There have been some indications from ArenaNet, in fact, that the lines aren't demarcated as well as they are in-game. The more martial professions such as rangers, thieves, and warriors generally aren't clearly distinguishable, and there's probably nothing stopping someone from dabbling a little in engineering, particularly among asura and charr.

Some specific abilities, such as thieves shadowstepping, might seem to be giveaways, but might also be something where it's already possible, lorewise, for someone who isn't mechanically a member of the thief "profession".

Even magic isn't necessarily a giveaway, since lorewise it's possible, albeit uncommon, for someone to specialise in one form of magic while dabbling in another.

On the whole, I'd guess that Tyrians usually use "profession" to mean what a person actually does. Jennah is the Queen, who just happens to be a mesmer. A Warden Shield is a soldier first, notwithstanding that they happen to be elementalists. Aria Venom would be considered to be necromancer because she doesn't appear to have a role in society beyond "being a necromancer".

That said, it is possible that Tyrians do use the term "profession" in both senses, relying on context to establish which usage is in play. So Jennah's profession is "queen" when the word is used to denote what she does, and "mesmer" when the term is used to identify what she brings to a fight.

@draxynnic.3719 said:

@Daniel Handler.4816 said:

@draxynnic.3719 said:I think there is a certain degree of separation between mechanics terms and lore terms. [snip]...

I disagree, the out of game descriptions are pretty clear. https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/professions

Combined with the devs comments on interdisciplinary mastery it appears professions got too deep for dabbling to be any different than a core class, or certificate. Not worthy of an official credential.

I'm sure the martials have overlap, so do all professional athletes, but the end result is quite different. In our world an acrobat is physically built differently from a solider. In their world an acrobat might also have to learn shadow magic.

I was more asking whether this advanced vocational training is a job or a title.

On the whole, I'd guess that Tyrians usually use "profession" to mean what a person actually does. Jennah is the Queen, who just happens to be a mesmer. A Warden Shield is a soldier first, notwithstanding that they happen to be elementalists. Aria Venom would be considered to be necromancer because she doesn't appear to have a role in society beyond "being a necromancer".

That said, it is possible that Tyrians do use the term "profession" in both senses, relying on context to establish which usage is in play. So Jennah's profession is "queen" when the word is used to denote what she does, and "mesmer" when the term is used to identify what she brings to a fight.

Like the word Doctor? Jennah has the qualifications of a Mesmer but might not be a practicing Mesmer?

And would practicing Mesmer be a scholar?

It was actually policy in the novels not to identify the professions of characters that didn't use obvious magic. In part because they're not so obvious and clearly-defined as they are ingame (including that "soldiers" are able to wear lighter armour) and in part because Tyrians don't actually necessarily automatically recognise it.

Obviously magical professions are obviously more distinct, but in the post-bloodstone era, sticking to one profession is more of a "you only have time to learn so many things" than a strict limit. The comparison was made in an interview to getting a PhD in physics and then turning to do chemistry instead - there's nothing to stop you from doing it and the principles do have some crossover, but not many people are going to spend years mastering one discipline and then turn around to start again almost anew in another. There's also been mention of there being risks involved in combining different branches of magic - however, history has shown that magical experimentation within the current schools of magic could also be dangerous, so this is probably a matter of the current schools being well-trodden ground where the dangers are well known, while mixing them is less known and thus more dangerous territory. That said, a little bit of cross-discipline training is likely possible - just like a physicist can always read up on a bit more chemistry without going for a full PhD, if they were interested or thought it might be useful.

Certainly, we've seen long-lived characters that appear to have mastered multiple schools. Just off the top of my head, Lazarus we were explicitly told uses both elemental and necromantic magic. We're not explicitly told that in Livia's case, but she uses a mix of necromancy and mesmerism, although her skills are a little old-fashioned.

It probably would be reasonable to compare Jennah to someone who has an advanced degree in a particular field, but whose job does not generally require that expertise.

In the case of the practising mesmer... I think it depends on what they're doing? If the mesmer is researching new applications of mesmer magic, then yes, they're a scholar. If they're using their skills in order to fight as part of a military unit, then they're a soldier. If they're doing magic shows for an audience, then they're an entertainer.

@draxynnic.3719If I understood your post correctly. The professions are more like Esquires than Doctors.

• they are titles recognizing completing training of a particular level
• that level is unknown but is likely higher for spellcasters
• there can be overlap before that level is achieved
• they do not denote jobs, a Thief works as a thief, not a Thief

But now I am confused. You said:

@draxynnic.3719 said:It was actually policy in the novels not to identify the professions of characters that didn't use obvious magic. In part because they're not so obvious and clearly-defined as they are ingame (including that "soldiers" are able to wear lighter armour) and in part because Tyrians don't actually necessarily automatically recognise it.

I don't have the books so I looked through the excerpts on the Gw1 and they constantly refer to Devona, Aidan, Cynn, and Mhenlo by their profession. And unnamed characters are occasionally identified.

For instance:

"They're here," said one of the archers on the wall.The other rangers standing nearby nodded their understanding, not taking their eyes off of the approaching red cloud.

• none of the archers were using rituals or pets

Are you referring specifically to dialogue?

"They've killed the clerics," shouted an archer from his perch atop the wall.vs They've killed the monks.

IMO:

• GW1 is not a valid reference for Gw2. Too much has changed.
• Soldier, Adventurer and Scholar are off-world classifications designed to facilitate the explanation and promotion of the game to buyers.
• The professions are also mainly off-game constructs destined to structure game mechanics. They are used here and there to spice characters, but they aren't hard limits in-world.
• Many uses of the same word can pile up, split apart and even contradict themselves. This happen in real world, and also in Tyria. I don't think it has any real sense to try to classify everything in Tyria in relation to promotional, mechanic or merely ornate words: I would love for Tyria and its "reality" to be more clearly defined, with sharp rules and creative use of loopholes. But it is not.