As I see it, there are several reasons why people prefer to develop one project over another. The order of these priorities can vary for the same person over time, but in big strokes the arguments can be summarized as:
- Immediate usability. Basically, you want to do the project for the tech itself, to get more powerful or varied attacks or to get an specific ability. For example, I want to do Bear God because I want to be able to summon a giant bear for Sixiang to possess. We also did the Vault project so we could better steal things.
- Narrative resonance. It's when you choose a project because it's theme really fits an Action. The most obvious example is Hidden Scribe+Paying Respects. There has been other cases as well, even if sometimes the resonance is a bit dubious.
- Concept advancement. If there is a Concept about to level up, people may be compelled to choose an art Project that gives the requiered experience. Learning new Concepts like Void also falls into this category.
- Gaining Insigths. This is less common because Insights are only gained when completing an art. If there is only one or two projects to finish an art, some people will naturally want to push for it. On the other hand, if people like an art but there is a lot of projects left, there is an argument to steadily do it's Projects to eventually gain it's Insigth.
These reasons aren't exclusive and oftentimes are mixed with each other. Regarding Raising the Bastion, a lot of it is for it's eventual Insight, with Usability being a good part of it and Narrative as justification to pair it with a particular Action.
Instead, Social Arts are centered in philosphies about how to deal and relate with other people in a conversation and which negotiation tactics to use. Yrs does a fantastic job integrating Ling Qi's social traits in her dialogue. Throughout all the conversation, you can see how she combines Dreaming Muse's Rapport and Hidden Smile to project sincerity without revealing too much herself at the same time she probes the other party for reactions that could unveil their secrets and true thoughts. All that in an organic way without applying an "external mental influence" (techs) to obtain the desired outcome.
The same applies with Spirit Seeker. Ling Qi understands a spirit core nature and adjust her approach accordingly.
However, this passive, all-encompassing feature of Social Arts also makes it harder to advocate for taking their Projects. Ling Qi isn't going to suddenly become inept when discussing with someone, like unwittingly revealing sensible information, because she has Hidden Smile 4 instead of 5.
Narratively, it also lacks the impact of mastering a new tech and using it for the first time in a dramatic situation. No matter how good Yrs is, he can't feasibly attune Ling Qi's dialogue to reflect that she has improved Dreaming Muse's Rapport from 6 to 7. At most we would get a +5% success chance in a vote. Useful, but underwhelming.
Last I heard, the idea was to "eliminate" Social Arts and turn them entirely into traits. These traits would be improved by successfully applying their underlaying philosophy to an appropriate social clash, instead of through investing into Projects.
I quite like the idea. It doesn't make much sense to Ling Qi to not improve her social skills despite employing them so often and with such great results.
Raising the Bastion is the odd one out, since it's an active technique with direct, tangible effects.
One argument to do Bastion is precisely to remove it and allow the transition of Social Arts into Social Traits.
