Gender locked race?

I really do hope they will reconsider this and add in male viera, and female hrothgar. I was quite let down by the reveal.

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Originally Posted by PangTong

I was already pretty much certain that this would be the outcome all the way back during Paris fanfest when they were so clearly avoidant about mentioning male Viera, but I wanted to wait until it was officially confirmed to make my statement about it.

Obviously, this is a massive and frustrating disappointment. I had no personal stake in male Viera, I wasn't interested in playing one. However, I'm not so blind that I cannot recognize when something is an obviously good decision. When you run a business, selling a product, the feedback you receive from customers about that product is a valuable asset. When customers overwhelmingly give you direct, earnest, specific and voluminous feedback about specific changes they want to see, you should be thanking the gods for your luck. An obvious choice, a clear path on which to direct your work, that you know for certain will please your customers, drawing praise and attention to your product and business.

Square Enix did not do that.

In a game that secured its entire existence and success on the concept of correcting past mistakes and humbly listening to your customers, it feels like nothing less than a total betrayal for them to fly in the face of such overwhelming feedback. The customers and community, in this instance, were patently ignored. There's no other way to slice it, the fans were totally ignored. Square knew what the fans wanted, but ignored them. For what reason? Nothing but the whims and caprice of the producer and director? This decision appeases (effectively) no one, and does nothing but attract criticism and bad press to your game. Yet they went ahead and did it anyway.

It is so frustrating that my only route for feedback is this insignificant, impotent little post that will simply be buried and ignored under thousands of posts just like it. What I really want to do is grab Yoshida by the shoulders and shake vigorously while yelling "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Can you actually give satisfying reasoning for your business decision, or was it purely a flight of fancy? To not only deny the choice that your users are asking for, but to go with something that has never been introduced, mentioned, or even hinted at, in a style (big beefy dudes) that both historical polls and in-game data suggest is not at all popular or desired?

Based on previous interviews on the topic of Viera, this whole thing reeks of something Yoshida did on his own, against the advice of his co-workers, which only makes it all the more baffling. After building the game this far, carried by the good will of the users and an honest intention to correct the mistakes of the past and deliver something that people want to play, it's nothing short of shocking and depressing to see this team repeat the mistakes of 1.0.

If Yoshida and the dev team have any respect left for their players, they must offer the following: A formal apology for introducing genderlocked races against the will and wishes of the community, and a promise that the missing genders will be introduced and implemented into the game before 6.0. Obviously they will not do this, so I can only hope instead that a large number of people cancel their subscriptions and their Shadowbringers preorders. I hope that Yoshida is made to see the rewards that pride and arrogance earn him.

To addend: This is bigger than just some genderlocked races. It's a decision that shows without a doubt that this dev team does not care, and will not listen. It shatters the good will and confidence of the users they had built up over so many years. Even if it's not something that bothers you personally, your faith in the game should be shaken. Yesterday it was limited jobs, today it's genderlocked races. Tomorrow, who knows? Certainly nothing good.

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I agree 100%! It was clear that people were asking for Viera, both female and male. I get the feeling that choosing to not have male Viera was really Matsuno and Yoshida's choice. Because of their own personal hangups about how males should be designed, we didn't get male Viera.

If there is one plus that can be taken from this - despite the disappointment - it is that those who wanted a more beastly race, got it.

But, that does not mean what they have done is right. Personally I think at some point they should address the outcry. If the Lore is the problem, they have the power to sort it by bringing about a change that would force the custom to change, would force the Viera to leave the woods. I hope this is their intention, because lets face it, the Rak Tika is burning in the trailer. If that doesn't displace them, and force the males to leave, nothing will.

But it in itself is also an issue. If they are being attacked, where are the males who are supposed to be the protectors? My hope is that we see at least some sign of their existence and that perhaps following the events of ShB MSQ - within the patch cycle they add the other genders.

But above all, given the level of disappointment that has been shown i think they should address this and give some indication on whether we can expect to see the other genders added or not in the future.

End of the day, this game is about playing a role and stepping into the shoes and appearance of an avatar of our choosing. Limiting that basic function unnecessarily is a mistake on their part, but a bigger mistake will be pretending the backlash isn't real. They risk losing credibility and the confidence of a community that not so long ago was ready to walk away from the game.

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Originally Posted by Beckett

Sure looks that way, and it fits the lore they've set up.

https://i.imgur.com/A9CQXfu.png

Really unfortunate choice on SE's part. We're supposed to be past this.

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With the First around the corner they can kind of tweak the lore though. I mean, lala's are a beast tribe and you're trying to restore darkness instead of light. They should switch it up in the first so that females are rare instead of males.

Having 2 new gender-locked races is fine.
Having 2 new non-gender-locked races would've been better.

Since the Au'ra debacle I don't trust SQEX to implement a true male/female equivalency between genders anyway.
So yeah, instead of miqo'te with bunny hears or elezens not with scales but with fur, we get Hrothgar. Seems to me like the better alternative.

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Originally Posted by Edzntroeg

So yeah, instead of miqo'te with bunny hears or elezens not with scales but with fur, we get Hrothgar. Seems to me like the better alternative.

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hrothgar are just roegadyns with low quality animal heads and tails

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Originally Posted by Tenil

hrothgar are just roegadyns with low quality animal heads and tails

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Different basic idle stance, facial expressions, and walking/running animation too (and I didn't get the feeling they were sliding while running at least).

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Originally Posted by Edzntroeg

Different basic idle stance, facial expressions, and walking/running animation too (and I didn't get the feeling they were sliding while running at least).

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So same applies to male Viera? Comparing existing races to new ones will always outplay each other.
What matters right now is not Hrothgar or female Viera, but genderlocks being considered and lore being used as excuse.
Its obvious the dev team (even if not all of them but the majority) disliked the concept of male Viera.
Female Hrothgar is just an issue they caused by themselves now. Those both missing parts leave a bitter taste.

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Originally Posted by Tenil

hrothgar are just roegadyns with low quality animal heads and tails

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Male viera are just elezen with rabbit ears.

Well. now we're getting close to 400!

I think at this point the most constructive approach would be to request that the devs add the other gender for each new race. Although I am annoyed about the gender lock, and the design of male Hrothgar, if just one of the two was the issue, I'd be less disappointed.

Anyone got a poll up on sentiments on the gender lock yet btw?