Golden Sun...?!?!

Oh, it was an ankh. You do know that even in vanilla GS, ankhs and staves are different, right? That'd be the source of my confusion then. I was ctrl+F'ing for staff. I wish GS had more in the way of Ankhs, though - there's a whopping three of them across the whole series.

In vanilla, there's a different sprite for ankhs and staves. Test it real quick - give Mia a staff, then give her something like the Blessed Ankh. Notice that in battle, her sprite changed to reflect the different weapon type. In DD, they have different attack icons as well. In fact, the confusion aspect gets a fun new partner in the Knuckle weapons vs Claw weapons thanks to Sveta. Yet, they all have their own proficiency gauge. You could be mastered in staves, but be at 0 with ankhs. Finally, there are some adepts who can wield staves, but not ankhs - Karis and Amiti can wield blades, bows, and staves, but not ankhs. Knuckles and Claws, of course, are both exclusive to Sveta for no good reason.

In vanilla, these things don't really seem very different apart from that. Like usual, the only thing that matters between weapons are their attack stat and unleashes. They tried in DD with Weapon Proficiency, but... it doesn't work the way they had intended. I mean, we're gamers. Of course we'll master everything. That's why my system takes inspiration from Disgaea and gives each weapon a niche and purpose. An axe is powerful, but leaves you open to attack. Spears pierce defense. Swords have more unleash options. Scythes are all about ailments. Daggers are weaker, but can give you crits to attacks that normally can't crit. You don't have to follow these rules per se, but doing so would help give your choices purpose. I mean, why pick one weapon type over another otherwise?

For staves and ankhs, the general idea is that Staves will be more offensive, while Ankhs more defensive. It could easily be spinned as the kind of energies flowing through them. Marida hasn't learned to work with said energies, but Roland has. Likewise, Roland may not know how to wield or channel with a scythe, but Marida has. Sure, either one can pick the weapon up and use it, but it doesn't mean they are good with it. Don't ask Marida to know how to use a rapier, for example. She's never trained with one, so she's likely to get herself killed if she tries.

Excellent idea, Ms. Rolinsa! To be honest, I do that sort of thing too in my free time (albeit much, MUCH less detailed).

Not... really. I'm gonna be gone from Wednesday to probably Sunday. I can't speak for Amara though.

Yes. Yes we are.