The Search for an In-Game Identity

So we're playing a game where you can try all jobs on a single character but I feel like certain races and jobs are more "me." Still, I'm a little unhappy because although I really enjoy the game, the current race/job offerings don't entirely suit me. I wonder how many of you feel the same?

I started off in beta with a Miqo'te WHM and liked that a lot. I was going to play a healer at launch but my partner wanted to do SCH and we wanted to a) start out in the same city together and b) be able to run 4-person dungeons together. So I gave WAR a try.

I thought the STR build would be the best (and I think for a while it was) and I'm personally a min-maxer so I went with a Highlander. To my surprise I really liked tanking, especially the WAR playstyle (I hated GLA at the time, found it so boring).

Anyway, I soon got bored with playing a human and switched race to Roegadyn (little more than a really tall human). Still, I've been mostly happy with that change. I feel more unique as a Roegadyn, I am VIT build now and Roe have the most VIT, and I can look like a badass woman instead of just something pretty to look at.

However, after SE changed WAR in 2.1, I enjoyed playing it a lot less. I feel like it became more effective which was a good thing but that a) it lost some of what set it apart (those big inner beast hits <3 ) and b) it still is not as good as PLD... :(

Long story short (not really haha) I made the switch to PLD and have liked it pretty well (not perfectly by any means) but it still doesn't really feel like "me."

I like tanking (I never really tanked in an MMO before so this was surprising), I love the fast queues :) , getting to determine the pace of the run (I hate being in a party with super slow tanks). I also love the roulette bonuses and the tank achievements (nice little perks).

I don't really like healing anymore (although I was debating going back to WHM for a time).

I dislike DRG quite a lot, kind of like MNK for its complexity, think NIN is great, but the ranged dps would be my picks: BLM, SMN, BRD. Of these I think SMN most suits me stylistically but feels kind of underwhelming to play.

Certain things make it hard for me to consider switching jobs (and in any case I don't know what I would switch to at this point): desynthesis (to me it just makes sense to max categories of gear that you can typically need on with your main), retainer jobs (to take over discarded gear), weekly lockouts (falling behind), and the relic quest (I mostly enjoyed the whole process but I don't think I'm ready to tackle it again soon).

So this is a really long description of my process to find a race/job combo that really suits me. So far, I've found a fair answer but it's not perfect. I'm hoping that the new race and jobs in Heavensward will finally solve my FFXIV identity crisis. I really like the look of Machinist and would definitely consider going that route if I switch to DPS but I love tanking as I said so I'm hoping that DRK will be for me what WAR could not. The new race looks really cool but I'm still leaning towards staying Roe.

Anyway, I apologize for the length of this (PSN is down, what can I say) but I was wondering if any of you feel like finding the right race/job is like a search for identity. How did you resolve it? Are you still searching? What are your thoughts on the Heavensward race and jobs?

Explosions and raw power are exciting, so finding my main class was pretty easy. I do however, have issues finding a specific race to stick to. Lala's are fun but, can't stay with them. Elezen are pretty, but I can't connect with a female character and the males are god ugly. Won't touch Roe's and Cats, so the only male class I prefer is Highlander males.

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Originally Posted by Skeith-Adeline

Explosions and raw power are exciting, so finding my main class was pretty easy. I do however, have issues finding a specific race to stick to. Lala's are fun but, can't stay with them. Elezen are pretty, but I can't connect with a female character and the males are god ugly. Won't touch Roe's and Cats, so the only male class I prefer is Highlander males.

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What do you think of the Au Ra?

I know I keep looking at the other classes when I keep getting disappointed by Monk attire. At the same time, I like the hand to hand fighting appeal of Monk. Will likely end up leveling up Ninja at some point though.

My main is MNK, and has been since FFXI. I like punching stuff! Even if I'm generally needed on WAR or WHM though...

I was a Hume in FFXI, Miqo'te in FFXIV. I'm not a min-max type of person, too tedious and expensive. I never play males because I find males in all MMOs to look boring and stupid. My tendencies are to go with what looks pretty. And that only leaves Hyurs, Miqo'te, some Elezen, and I am looking forward to the Au'ra.

I usually agonize over things like my race and job in any game I play, but almost always once I pick something I stick with it and before long I couldn't imagine playing as anything else.

That said, if you like tanking but paladin and warrior aren't looking out, I hope Dark Knight works for you. It's a neat looking job and Roe in particularly I think will be awesome as Dark Knights.

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Originally Posted by Purrfectstorm

What do you think of the Au Ra?

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They look menacing enough to portray darkness sometimes associated with Black Mages. Will be fantasia'ing to them when they are released, but will need modifications for them to look "mage-like".

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Originally Posted by Skeith-Adeline

They look menacing enough to portray darkness sometimes associated with Black Mages. Will be fantasia'ing to them when they are released, but will need modifications for them to look "mage-like".

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My Miqo looks great regardless of which Job i'm on (Biased opinion ftw!).
Whether it be swinging a pick at a Mineral Deposit or an Axe at Ifrits face, i feel like my character looks good.
The only Job i cannot seem to get into the swing of is Black Mage. It just feels odd. I still look smexy in my robes. /pose.

That said, I will be an Au Ra for sure. The only thing i like more than cat people is dragon people. lol.

I find myself playing Elves a lot, so playing Elvaan in FFXI made sense at the start. Then I discovered that Elvaan were elitist, snobby jerks with more muscles than brains and I KNEW Elvaan was the race for me! Elezen was a natural migration (Still arrogant and clearly superior, though I went Duskwight, which are more brainy and evadey like traditional Elves), though I was rather tempted to change it up and roll a Manthra. I can't bring myself to main a female toon since I'm not female and my avatar is an extension of myself (though I've no problem making female alts, should I need them).

I initially wanted to play BLM in XI, but ended up going WHM. My experiences as a WHM made me bitter and angry so I picked up the Greatsword (And Scythe) and started lopping heads as a DRK, which was initially a compromise between the BLM blasty power I wanted and the Melee effectiveness I needed to solo at least somewhat effectively (Mostly for farming purposes). So when XIV came around I decided it was time to revisit my dreams and go BLM. Now with the announcement of DRK coming, I'm a little torn between the job that I love to play in XIV, and the job that I fell in love with in XI. I'll probably end up trying to dual-main both DRK and BLM, but since Tanks are usually in higher demand, I'm afraid once I start playing DRK I'll be stuck on it (Until I refuse to play it any more. :P)

Have you tried SCH? I find it a lot more fun to heal with than WHM. Getting a crit Adloquim on the tank, switching to DPS as your pet covers healing for a while, makes it, imo, more versatile. Also WAR is as good as PLD, in some cases better XD Especially paired with a SCH. More effective Lustrate due to a bigger HP pool means you can stay in cleric stance longer, plus the +20% to recieved heals means crit adlo is 40% more effective shield than on PLD.

Albeit it is night and day between a good WAR and a bad/lazy WAR who doesn't use any cooldowns ^^

I couldnt decide on one job and one race, so to me the following combos worked:

Mage/bard/healer seeker of the sun Mi'qo, who is more a scholar than anything since i can just see mi'qos as being natural summoners/playing support roles since they often live and hunt out in the unpopulated areas with a trusted team or companion by the side.

Monk midlander, solitary and quiet, yet garbed in bright reds with complex facepaint to pay homage to where his power comes from, which is long and hard battles and dreams that haven't been. (as follows from monk job story)

Paladin lala, since they get more fired up the shorter they are, and have the resolve to go toe to toe with foes twenty times their size.

Dragoon/warrior/nin keeper of the moon Mi'go, since they can only rely on themselves but have a lot of hidden power.

I have to admit, when I started playing I never expected I'd end up maining healer. I started during beta phase 3 (long before I migrated to PC) and rolled a THM. It was fun, sure, but after a while I decided to go to gridania and pick up Protect and Cure to make soloing easier on myself. A short while later I figured that I had this other class so I might as well try dungeoning with it, and found that I loved it. When Phase 4 and release rolled around, I rolled up a CNJ this time and I've never looked back.

As for race... Lala all the way! <3

I went Bard main when I started and have stuck to it while gradually improving as and gearing White Mage because healing was more fun than I initially gave it credit for. Same problem, though, in that I don't think the right class for me to really call a "main" has been introduced to the game yet (although I'm having a lot of fun with the two I juggle between). Astrologian may change all that, since it seems like it'll hybridize healing and support and has an incredibly awesome weapon and concept - I can't even tell you how excited I am for it. So I guess we'll see!

I play a male lalafell named Tobii Maru because I made/named it after my puppy: Tobimaru. As for the class, I play whatever I have fun with. I wanted to play a ninja because it seemed fun, and the class suits my puppy's personality a lot (he is a shiba inu breed, and is pretty much a cat stuck in a dogs body) but since 2.4, all I ever see are ninjas everywhere.... so I main a monk and play my paladin when ppl need me to