Please make the in-game Au Ra (Males) more muscular, reflective of the Artwork

Use a bigger picture for Au RA, and yes i can, i don't like elezen at all, i would play a roe over an elezen, no offense for elezens <.<, but the current design of Au Ra are makes them the perfect race, if you look at a bigger picture you will notice how they are more muscular and intimidating, and you can't say "barring their horns," because the horns, scales and tails are a big selling point for the race, but even without them there are difference, you can give, horns, scales, and tail to elezens, but i won't play them.

I think you're basing your opinion in the art and a single piece of armor, a good glamour could make them look more bulky, but enforcing a design change to make them appeal to you is simply wrong, if they were asking the players for their opinions to make a new race that is just on paper that would be ok, but the race is about to be released and has it's fans, and the modeling changes required to adjust gear and animations would take more than 3 months.

We don't really have a means of measuring the relative height of Au Ra versus other races yet, aside from Yugiri; I think they will likely be quite similar to Elezen in terms of height. And if you're relying on Glamour to look "bulkier", then could the same not be said of the Elezen? If they look similar without armor, then they will look similar in it, as well.

That's the point I'm trying to make. Making their shoulders and chest a little more broad will allow them to stand out a bit, even when wearing armor. Otherwise, you're going to have to actively *look* for the tail and horns to tell them apart, which makes for a pretty underwhelming "new race".

Easiest way to judge the two is to compare the blue Au Ra with the Duskwight Elezen. Similar pose for the upper body being the reason.

http://img2.finalfantasyxiv.com/acci...914.1422820943
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2.../Elezen_CG.png

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Originally Posted by Nestama

Easiest way to judge the two is to compare the blue Au Ra with the Duskwight Elezen. Similar pose for the upper body being the reason.

http://img2.finalfantasyxiv.com/acci...914.1422820943
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2.../Elezen_CG.png

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The pose of the light-skinned Au Ra is actually probably the closer to the Duskwight. Like I said, to me, they look virtually indistinguishable, with the exception of their horns. Their animations may some set them apart slightly, but once they're clad in armor, I doubt many will be able to tell them apart. Give them broad shoulders at the artwork depicts, though, and I don't think that would ever be an issue.

Here's a great comparison shot:

http://i.imgur.com/V0qbjEt.png

Seriously, tell me those guys don't look similar.

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Originally Posted by Terin

Here's a great comparison shot:

http://i.imgur.com/V0qbjEt.png

Seriously, tell me those guys don't look similar.

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honestly looking at it, the neck is thicker and smaller then he elezens, his arm seems much thicker intact he seems genuinely thicker then the elezens lath design, plus we have yet to see a Au Ra in game next to a elezen nor the customizable points on him, for all we know they could have a muscle slider to make them bulkier, until we get a hands on creation set with the au ra then all your doing is grasping at straws at things that has not been shown togeaver, its like asking who's bigger Donkey kong or FFxiv's sasquash.
if SE wants us to give proper feedback about the Au Ra design we need a hands on approch with in game comparisons between each race.

I agree, having hands-on with the race is the only way to be 100% of anything, but I'm hardly "grasping at staws", here. They look similar; I should think that much is undeniable. These are all official in-game renders, and that they should look *so* similar is disconcerting, if not damning.

I've said from the start, I have absolutely nothing bad to say against the quality of the Au Ra models, so much as they just seem very, very similar. Perhaps I'm wrong, or perhaps the Devs have refined them since Fanfest, or for that matter, maybe they're fine with them being similar. I just think it's better to voice our concerns as quickly and productively as possible, so that they might actually be able to take the feedback into consideration -- even if they ultimately disregard it.

Otherwise, if we don't say anything until Au Ra are actually IN the game, then the Devs will never change them. Thus, it will just be complaining then.

You still fail to understand that some people don't want to change them at all, also making comparisons based on poses is misleading, if you look closer you'll see how Au Ra's arms, hands, torso and neck are completely different, Au Ra are stronger and bigger, they are already more muscular than elezen, and look at the faces, Au Ra are sharp and intimidating, elezen are refined and skinny, if you could see them without the starting gear it would be even more evident, now add scales, horns and a tail, and boom! completely new race, even if you call them horned elezen, that's simply not true, they are anthropomorphous, you are just trying to use that argument to get things your way.

And to the devs, i don't want you to change them, and i'm sure i'm not alone.

And some people do want them to be changed. Though even if they were made muscular, I'd still dislike them because... well, they're not very interesting at all (they're still mostly "human", with dragon bits glued onto them here and there. Much like the Miqo'te). Making a (new) beastmen race playable would have been better, in my opinion.

You have to sit down and inspect them to see that they're different. That's my point. No, they're not *EXACTLY* the same, but they're similar enough that I'll wager most players would be hard pressed to spot the difference, unless specifically looking for those tell-tale signs of horns or tails (and even horns would be difficult to peruse, as many Heavy helmets have horns all their own).

Your defense is that "you like them as they are", which is fine, but doesn't mean the the many similarities don't exist. I'm as eager to see more of the Au Ra as anyone else, and maybe when we do, my fears will be alleviated. As it stands, though, they seem incredibly similar to Elezen, and just as you're not alone in wishing them to stay the same, I'm not alone in wishing they be made more unique. The difference is that I think it's better for races to be *more* unique from one another, than less. Even if they did a complete 180 and made them small and effeminate, like the females, at least it would truly feel like a *new* race.

When I heard there was a dragon race being added, I was hoping for something more along the lines of the Aman from TERA. I just see pretty boy Elves with horns slapped on their heads.

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Originally Posted by Terin

You have to sit down and inspect them to see that they're different. That's my point. No, they're not *EXACTLY* the same, but they're similar enough that I'll wager most players would be hard pressed to spot the difference, unless specifically looking for those tell-tale signs of horns or tails (and even horns would be difficult to peruse, as many Heavy helmets have horns all their own).

Your defense is that "you like them as they are", which is fine, but doesn't mean the the many similarities don't exist. I'm as eager to see more of the Au Ra as anyone else, and maybe when we do, my fears will be alleviated. As it stands, though, they seem incredibly similar to Elezen, and just as you're not alone in wishing them to stay the same, I'm not alone in wishing they be made more unique. The difference is that I think it's better for races to be *more* unique from one another, than less. Even if they did a complete 180 and made them small and effeminate, like the females, at least it would truly feel like a *new* race.

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First, don't use most to refer to others' opinions or how they see or feel about the race, you can't know

And last, there's no difference between your feedback and mine, just opinions, so don't start assuming that your opinion is more important than others, like you have been doing the whole thread.

If you can't see the differences between the races that's your problem, i still think you just want to get the race your way, what is not fair, because it have been already announced, and there's a lot of people wanting to play them as they are.

And don't even think everyone here against the current design is supporting your idea to make them more muscular, people like Nestama will just criticize the race because they have been against it since the announcement, that's not the same that wanting the Au Ra more muscular.

As i said before, they have announced a new race, it's not appealing to you, but it appeals to others, bad luck, ask for an option or wait for the next one, stop trying to ruin it for those who don't share your opinion.

He's not trying to ruin it for others at all. He's expressing his opinion that the character models do not match the artwork, which is quite self evident.

And not all opinions are equally credible; they do not all carry the same weight, some carry more than others, some carry none. Which is why he's gone to great lengths to justify his opinion, as any reasonable person that decides to give voice to his opinion should. That justification should not be causing you such obvious discomfort, and simply responding to his continued attempts to explain why he is of that opinion with 'your opinion isn't more special than others' is quite insulting.

I too think the males should be broader, thicker, more muscular. Reading back through this thread, and others like it, others do too.

Its really not good form to try to verbally abuse someone into submission because their opinion conflicts with your own, on a forum that has been established for discussion.

My way of discussion doesn't differs too much from his, and as he is asking to enforce a change instead of asking for an option to make his Au Ra different (which i would support) i think he is being more disrespectful. If you go back and read every post made by him you will see how he's trying to make the same point over and over trying to use "possible customers" and "individuality" as an excuse when he only wants a more muscular character.

You may be on his part, and i will respect that, but you have no right to say i'm verbally abusing, or tagging my opinion as "less weighted" just because your opinion conflicts with mine on a forum that has been established for discussion.

Also don't expect i'll be quiet, he want to change the race, i want it as is, so every time he post the same exact point he have been posting during the whole thread, i will post mine, after all, this is a discussion, and we are both fighting for something that is important for us.

To be fair not only the male Au Ra, but all the other males and females should reflect their artwork more. Look at the body of the other races ingame and the artwork, they dont match. Male Elezen are pretty handsome in all the artworks, but their ingame face choices are horrible, female Elezen has the same issues aswell.

I agree with OP, the male Au Ra looks alot more like Elezen with horns ingame, they should make it more muscle (or give players the option to change the body ingame) like the artwork.

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Originally Posted by Renik

My way of discussion doesn't differs too much from his, and as he is asking to enforce a change instead of asking for an option to make his Au Ra different (which i would support) i think he is being more disrespectful. If you go back and read every post made by him you will see how he's trying to make the same point over and over trying to use "possible customers" and "individuality" as an excuse when he only wants a more muscular character.

You may be on his part, and i will respect that, but you have no right to say i'm verbally abusing, or tagging my opinion as "less weighted" just because your opinion conflicts with mine on a forum that has been established for discussion.

Also don't expect i'll be quiet, he want to change the race, i want it as is, so every time he post the same exact point he have been posting during the whole thread, i will post mine, after all, this is a discussion, and we are both fighting for something that is important for us.

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The major difference between your methods of discussion is that he is continuing to debate his points, whereas you seem to have shifted to debating him and his intentions. One of the core tenets of healthy discussion is that you discuss the points brought up in a discussion, not the people presenting them. Doing so increases the likelihood of the discussion turning hostile and bitter.

I am not saying that your opinion counts for less than his, nor am I saying that you should be quiet on this matter. What I am saying is that you do yourself no favours by focusing on him and his intent rather than his points.

One person diluting the discussion by repeating their same points over and over just causes the community managers to either stop paying attention or close the thread.
So I encourage you not to do that, whether your position is to keep it the same or make it change.

Also, like the OP if you support it or the contesting points if you do not.

Am I against beefing up the Au Ra males a little bit? No
Will I play them either way day one? Yes

That said, I think beefing up the Au Ra males a little bit or even making one clan match the artwork while the others are what we see now in game. Looking at it, id say make the light skinned Au Ra match the artwork just a little more while the Dark Skinned ones can stay as they are. This way there is that option for Beef or chicken, lol.


Terin has made good points. Looking at the current official Renders for them, especially that side by side comparison below shows that if you were to take off the scales alone, the differences are in the arms and head. The Torso (shoulders, chest and waist area) are rather similar. So to say they are not is false right there. And even then, both models are clothed and standing in odd positions. To get a 100% accurate one would have to put them side by side in small cloths and get shots of them from various angles and then silhouette them. At this we could really lay to rest of if they are new models or retooled Elezens.
http://i.imgur.com/V0qbjEt.png

As for you Renik, I get your point of wanting to keep them as seen in their renders.... but that's the only real point you have made. All you have been stating is that and that alone while trying to tell him that his opinion on this wrong.

I believe that beefed up or not, the race will still attract more customers regardless, just not the ones who were looking for an athletic beefy that Terin has described. As well you will have people who will on day one change to an Au Ra because of how they look, and those who don't, and again this can include Terin's argument of their beefiness. You have both sides to this.

While it wont affect what I do in game. I am with the OP on this case. They do look similar enough that you would have to look at them for their Emotes, Tails or Horns when in armor. Which depending on how helmets work for them may get thrown out with the scales as those are hidden beneath armor and cloths and be left to tails and emotes. Which I think is bad design in that case. A new race should be able to look different enough from the current in game races that its silhouette should be unique to it while still maintaining their ideal of similar body builds, which in this case is humanoid, without the added features.

To add to my point about scales being useless to tell the race apart
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...ht-image-2.jpg

hell someone do a side by side with this with an Elezen and we might actually see some points
http://i.imgur.com/480tvU4.jpg

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Originally Posted by Radacci

you mean like lalafell vs roegdyn, are similar in proportions?
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(wow it's been a while since i checked this thread)
No, let me explain better.
There are 5 races. Each of the 5 races have "set" proportions. Any future races, such as the upcoming Au'Ra, will be a variation of the proportions of these 5 races. Thus, while we have the possibility of sexual dimorphism we're getting, don't expect the silhouettes to change from the 5 we already have.
To put it another way, we're more like to get a race where the males look like lalafell and the females look like male Roes than a proportion that deviates from these 5.

Terin claims he wants the race to look different, but if you make it more muscular the result is a bigger highlander with horns and tail, or a more stylized roe with horns and tail, when what we have now is as you say, a stronger elezen with horns and tail, i'm questioning his intentions, because the change he wants won't make the race look any different than the rest of anthropomorphous races we have, the only difference would be making them more appealing to a kind of player or another.

I can say for sure i won't be playing an Au Ra if they are more muscular, the same some won't be playing an Au Ra if they are not changed, the difference, Au Ra are already made and are appealing to a sector of the player-base.

Also, as i said comparing by poses is missleading

http://i.imgur.com/h1S3dwQ.png http://i.imgur.com/yYhsdnP.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/su3pQoZ.png

The most similar part is the long neck, which i guess is necessary to avoid clipping with those horns.

i'm not seeing the same race, i decided to put the elezen in small clothes so you can compare the undressed parts of both, they are obviously different, Au Ra are already stronger and thus different, the only reason to change them more is to appeal to a different group of players, and as i said, we were here first.

I have said i have my gripes with the race, but i'm not trying to change it, i appreciate what i have because it's closer enough to what i want, and it shouldn't be changed to match my expectations ruining the race for someone else.

EDIT: decided to post another pic with the elezen in starting gear so you can't say i'm cheating it.

An option to bulk up s'more is all that's needed.

And a scaly-face option would be nice but that would just be a nice consolation...

Their body type IS ridiculously similar to Elezen.

Could use some protein drank & a core workout.

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Originally Posted by Terin

snip

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I <3 Terin.

See, the artwork of the Au Ra looks quite a lot different from the Highlanders, to me. Highlanders are very lean, but not altogether "more muscular" than Midlanders, as the proportions are much the same. I don't have a problem with Highlanders, of than many of the shared animations are still a little effeminate to me (which, to be fair, is part of what makes Hildibrand so charming). The Au Ra in the artwork has even broader shoulders, but a thin waist, which I think would give them a pretty unique silhouette.

Also, Renik; I think it's a bit hypocritical to claim that people support the in-game Au Ra, but then scold me for pointing out that others prefer the artwork. It's clear that there are supporters on both sides of the fence (as well as people that will be happy either way, and others who won't care either way).

The reason I say that it's *better* to have variety is because, from a game-design point of view, variety is hugely important in MMO's. In all honesty, we have quite a lot of variety already, but Lalafell and Roegadyn being such extreme body-types, I think there's still a lot of room to "fill in the gaps". Again, from a purely-logical point of view, the game would really benefit from something super-effeminate (as some have voiced, wishing for more of a "male Yugiri"), and something smaller than Roegadyn. It is for that reason, I think the artwork Au Ra is a *better* option, because it helps round-out the options a little more.

I'm not trying to say my preferences are any more important than yours. From the big-picture, though, the game *needs* a slightly-larger race, which I've been saying since the ARR Beta.

EDIT: For the record, I honestly do respect your opinion. I don't really agree, but as said, it's a board for discussion, and if nothing else, we're covering both points of view very well. Regardless of which direction the Devs go with the Au Ra, I don't think anyone would ever accuse us of not being passionate :P

Tell me Terin, why can't you just ask for an option instead of trying to enforce it? BigPapaSmurf made a thread asking for an option to have them fully scaled, and i liked it, i won't be using that option, but i liked the post because having options is always a good thing.

If they are in time to change them, they can also make it an option or make one of the clans more muscular to please both sides, if i'm being aggressive towards you, it's because you want to enforce the change for everyone else. It has be proposed in the thread several times, and you still ask for a mandatory change instead.

I've said many times in this thread, I totally support additional options. I just know that the other races don't have that much customization, and I don't think they would treat one race as being so special. If they're willing to add more options, though, I'm happy to have them!

Assuming the possess similar limits of customization as the other races, though, then I believe they should be made closer to the artwork. You claim that I'm "forcing the change upon others", when the reality is that NOBODY is an Au Ra yet. They don't exist yet, so nothing is being forced onto anybody. We were shown two different interpretations of the Au Ra; the in-game renders, and the artwork. I prefer the artwork, you prefer the in-game depiction, but neither exists in the game. There's nothing wrong with us have different opinions, but don't act like I'm somehow affecting people negatively, when we don't even have a race to play as yet. That's why I'm suggesting this now, as opposed to after they've been released.

But there's a finalized work, the 3d model shown is already made, and the gear is already adjusted for them, because, you don't do that in a few months, even if you see them similar to elezen, they are not, their proportions and sizes are different, and this requires adjusts on every piece of gear. what is not made already is all the work to make them look more similar to the art, it's not one or another, if the can adjust the gear and the model to make them more muscular, they can as well use the already finished work.

I don't know if you're familiarized with game development, but at this point they must be in the testing and localization phases, what was shown in the fanfest is the final product, but this doesn't meant the can't add another option if they want.

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Originally Posted by Renik

But there's a finalized work, the 3d model shown is already made, and the gear is already adjusted for them, because, you don't do that in a few months, even if you see them similar to elezen, they are not, their proportions and sizes are different, and this requires adjusts on every piece of gear. what is not made already is all the work to make them look more similar to the art, it's not one or another, if the can adjust the gear and the model to make them more muscular, they can as well use the already finished work.

I don't know if you're familiarized with game development, but at this point they must be in the testing and localization phases, what was shown in the fanfest is the final product, but this doesn't meant the can't add another option if they want.

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I understand what you are saying.. and you are right.. they are finished as a race..

But for me they are a huge disappointment.. we dont need an other "muscular" huge race..

Male elezen are tall, Highlander male are tall, Roegadnys are tall and so now the Au Ra males..
and the males dont even fit very well to the females..


I kind of wished we get a race of a size between hyur (humans) and lalafells.. like the padjals.. they are smaller than hyur.. but much bigger than lalafells..


as i already posted before:

[IMG]

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Originally Posted by Tonkra

We need effiminate males.. http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...male_Au_Ra.jpg
(imagine with scales on, different horns and white/red eyes) http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...E-Sumi-Yan.png
/edit something like *lol* ... :
http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/7...1422835289.jpghttp://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/9...1422835305.jpg http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...aGeomancer.png

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[/IMG]


Au Ra males almost look like a copy cat (concerning body stature) from highlanders/elezen... nothing really new.. its a pitty.. and a missed chance.. we wont get a new race that fast..


i mean.. for what do we need an almost self sized race like that??
http://i.imgur.com/V0qbjEt.png

It's possible to adjust things without having to alter every piece of gear. It's not like they custom-animate every piece of gear for every single animation on every single race; a lot of that stuff is tied to the model's skeleton, and it's relatively easy in some cased to make adjustments. That's not to say it's completely trivial to alter the model, but probably not as much work as you're implying (although I can't be 100% sure, as I don't know what kind of tools their animators are working work).

There's no doubt, the model shown at Fanfest was late in development, but it definitely wasn't final. For one, they always use the disclaimer "this stuff may not be finalized", but there was a video where the horns weren't totally attached to their head, so it wasn't "finished" then. The amount of change I'm suggesting is fairly minor, but would have a profound impact on their silhouette.

@Tonkra: Like I said, it wouldn't be my first pick, but I definitely agree, the game needs a race like that. I'm almost positive the next expansion will have something almost exactly like you're suggesting, with the except of dragon-themed features. More likely, I would bank money on the Padjal being playable, or something very similar.

I wonder if the Au Ra WAR AF will have four horns on the helmet...

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Originally Posted by Tonkra

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You have misunderstood my post, the OP wants them more muscular, i was saying we can have the current one and the more muscular version, because i want the one already shown.

I'm not against what you ask, would gladly play a gria or a padjal, honestly, they please me at the same level Au Ra does.

It's not too late to apply a few changes to add another option, but making a smaller race now would require about a year of work, i encourage you opening a thread to gather feedback to make this race the next one.

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Originally Posted by Terin

snip

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If they don't adjust the gear you would see chunks of meat clipping with the armor, it takes a lot of work, but it can be achieved if the modeling team has enough manpower available for it.

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Originally Posted by Renik

It's not too late to apply a few changes to add another option, but making a smaller race now would require about a year of work, i encourage you opening a thread to gather feedback to make this race the next one.

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well i think the Au Ra could have been that race... not gria... still "Au Ra" but the males with the same size as the female version..

im really not happy about the males.. the players who want to play a muscular race already have highlander and roeg. this male Au Ra version is completely unnecessary, especially with almost the same size as elezen. (picture above)

but well.. different opinions and tastes. SE cant please everyone. but im slightly disappointed.. especially because the females look awesome and filigrane

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Originally Posted by Renik

If they don't adjust the gear you would see chunks of meat clipping with the armor, it takes a lot of work, but it can be achieved if the modeling team has enough manpower available for it.

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It's certainly possible, I would just be kind of shocked if they're having to manually model every article of clothing to suit every single character-model.I think it would be more likely that they simply set the dimensions of the character-model itself, and just sort of fine-tune it from there. Still a fair bit of work, but I don't think it would be excessive, should they choose to alter the base model. Like I said, it just depends what their internal tools look like, or if they even deem the Au Ra in need of changing. As said, there are clearly people on both sides of the fence.

I agree with OP, I wish that they had a body structure a bit more muscular, with a wider chest and broader shoulders (maybe more similar to the Ronso of FFX), like this:

http://oi58.tinypic.com/kdr30o.jpg

For now, they are really just Elezens with tail and horns.

Exactly! A small change to the model could make a pretty profound difference in feeling "different", without compromising the overall "identity" they're supposed to have. I'm not asking for a complete overhaul or anything; just changing their proportions ever-so-slightly.

We will have to agree that we all have different tastes when it comes to how muscular we like our FFXIV males to be *amused*.

I think what triggered a large discussion was the (perceived) implications that Au Ras *need* to be changed. They could have been different to satisfy different people, but then the players who currently love them would be disappointed. In the end, it's simply a matter of personal tastes, and there's no right or wrong.

Also, since this is a Japanese game, you can expect that most of the character designs will fit the Japanese tastes, which is exactly why I'm playing this game and not any Western one. In that sense, it's not surprising that the Au Ra race is very much of my liking, and I can guarantee that I'm absolutely fascinated by it. I do find the Au Ra different and very inspiring, and I've been so obsessed with them from the very moment I saw them. As a roleplayer, I'm dying to RP an Au Ra, while I've never cared about elezen.

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Originally Posted by Hammerfist

I agree with OP, I wish that they had a body structure a bit more muscular, with a wider chest and broader shoulders (maybe more similar to the Ronso of FFX), like this:

http://oi58.tinypic.com/kdr30o.jpg

For now, they are really just Elezens with tail and horns.

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That's gross, but it's just my opinion.

http://i.imgur.com/utIr0nk.png

Fixed, everyone's happy now.

Why would anyone give mi'qote muscle sliders? See this cat on steroids, that could've been a mi'qote!
http://static.fjcdn.com/comments/und...4ad893e790.jpg

One of the things that turned me off about the male Elezen was their idle stance and animation style. I believe the male Au Ra should be noticeably bulkier, more muscular than Elezen. Face-wise Roegadyns have the best options imo for intimidating looks. Ultimately, my favorite Race would have the Highlander everything with Roegadyn face options like the ones below. Extra's like Horns, Tale, Scales etc are fine too. However since its Elezen, Thats ok. So long as the ANIMATIONS are NOT identical for the male Au Ra. Something turns me off about the Elezen style stance and it doesn't appear intimidating at all if it were attached to the male Au Ra. As of right now the Highlander has thee most intimidating stance in the game. Found ways around the ugly no eyebrow thing I hate so much with Highlander, so not too bad. Roegadyn's have the most potential for intimidating looks though.

http://i.imgur.com/fSthhMy.jpg http://i.imgur.com/q4gLIEF.jpg

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Originally Posted by Clover_Blake

We will have to agree that we all have different tastes when it comes to how muscular we like our FFXIV males to be *amused*.

I think what triggered a large discussion was the (perceived) implications that Au Ras *need* to be changed. They could have been different to satisfy different people, but then the players who currently love them would be disappointed. In the end, it's simply a matter of personal tastes, and there's no right or wrong.

Also, since this is a Japanese game, you can expect that most of the character designs will fit the Japanese tastes, which is exactly why I'm playing this game and not any Western one. In that sense, it's not surprising that the Au Ra race is very much of my liking, and I can guarantee that I'm absolutely fascinated by it. I do find the Au Ra different and very inspiring, and I've been so obsessed with them from the very moment I saw them. As a roleplayer, I'm dying to RP an Au Ra, while I've never cared about elezen.

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I can respect that. My point has always been, though, that as much as I love this game, I've always found the playable races hard to cope with. I've always acknowledged that I'm a bit of a stereotype when it comes to my taste in characters, but as good as the game looks, few characters look genuinely "tough" in FFXIV, to me. The Roegadyn are big, but have always struck me as being more "loveable" than "dangerous". Highlanders are probably the closest to something I would be happy with, except their animations seem very effeminate (because of being shared with Midlanders).

As such, I landed on Miqo'te, simply for having better animations. For that reason, I'll probably wind up switching over to the Au Ra either way, simply because for a truly imposing character, to me, the bar is fairly low. The artwork looks absolutely phenomenal, but I just thought the in-game render still looked "skinny". Which, true, is very common for Japanese games, I just sort of wonder, is there really anybody who likes the Au Ra, and *doesn't* like the other three humanoid Males?

au ra is setting up to be a dissapointment imo
nothing they have screams "dragon people" to me
the horn and the tail could easily be attributed to another animal and the skin looks more like a disease than a cool trait

what we really need is a proper beast race like the charr in GW2
now thats how you do a human/beast race hybrid

Will say that I did win a bet with this race, when Yugiri first appeared I had bet that the race was dragon type while friends had bet rat. Though I must say that I hate that even the female starting gear looks nicer than the miqote's female starting gear. Seriously just because they are cat girls doesn't mean they need to wear such skimpy outfits.