Benchmark 1.1 Feedback - Female Au Ra Face 3

I wanted to make this post to share my thoughts on how face 3 for female Au Ra looks in the updated benchmark.

I don't see people talk about this face as much as the other ones, but it's the face I've loved and have used on my character for many years now. Unfortunately, this face now looks extremely different and there are a few things that I feel look off. While I understand that all characters are going to look somewhat different with the graphic overhaul, there are 2 things about face 3 that I'm unable to overlook.

https://i.imgur.com/vXZ7WnK.png



1 - Eye Bags

https://i.imgur.com/a7AWnLN.png
https://i.imgur.com/ql12VBZ.png

For some reason, this face was given very prominent eye bags when there was no indication of them being there before.

In the current game, the skin underneath the eyes is smooth-looking and is the same color as the rest of her face.
In the updated benchmark, the skin underneath the eyes looks very puffy and is noticeably darker.

I don't quite understand why such prominent eye bags were added to this face, but they are very unappealing. Face 3 now gives the impression that the character is sleep-deprived. The eye bags are extremely noticeable no matter what lighting the character is in and there appears to be no way to lessen their appearance, which is very upsetting.



2 - Mouth Shape

https://i.imgur.com/xwoGYaY.png

The mouth shape was heavily changed, and not for the better.

In the current game, the lips have a unique shape and the corners of the mouth curl up. The lipstick also has a very noticeable shine.
In the updated benchmark, the lip shape has been heavily simplified and the corners of the mouth are straight. The lipstick has almost no shine, no matter what lighting it is viewed under. The top lip also looks too short compared to the bottom lip.

Face 3 has always stuck out to me because the mouth gave the character a slight smile for their resting expression, but now that is completely gone. The original mouth shape was very unique and played a big part in what gave face 3 their identity, so it's very disappointing to see that be lost.

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I am someone who has been playing for a very long time and I've gotten very attached to my character's appearance, as it has remained the same for almost all of my play time. My character currently looks calm and friendly with her always smiling face, but when Dawntrail releases, she's going to look permanently exhausted with terrible eye bags and a blank expression.

I was originally very excited about Dawntrail, but after seeing how my character was going to look, a lot of my excitement went away. I can only hope more of the player feedback for character appearance is taken into account and more changes are made, even if it's after the expansion releases.

Thank you for reading.