Dear Devs, please help with a Lore-related question...

So, I've posted here in the past, and I'm sure some of you probably remember. Long-story short; I have OCD (actually diagnosed), and as much as I *LOVE* FFXIV, I've had a hard time really committing to the game since Heavensward came out, because I'm trying to decide which Class and/or City "fits" best for my Xaela to start out as.

I realize that Xaela were always kind of intended to become Dark Knights, but that still leaves the hiccup of determining where to start. With most Races and Clans, you can see their cultures kind of gravitate towards certain classes or cities, or at least general regions. The Xaela, on the other hand, are still largely kind of a mystery, as are the Raen for that matter.

What is the Xaela culture like? Would they gravitate more toward Ul'dah, as Gladiators and Paladins? Or more towards Limsa Lominsa, as Marauders and Warriors?

Obviously, the creative role-player can come up with a reason to make anything work. I also realize that none of these options will ever fit *PERFECTLY* for the Xaela, as they don't technically exist on Eorzea until much later in the game's story. Again, though, I'm just looking for what fits *BEST*, and thus far, I've been unable to reach any sort of conclusion.

I'm not asking for some officiall, definitive "Well, all Xaela would naturally start here", so much as as a vote of support like "We think this city or class probably resonates the most with the Xaela culture". As simple as it may sound, that alone would completely settle my mind, and let me finally get on with actually playing my character and enjoying the full scope of the game!

I think they'll fit into gladiators more. the gladiators can be anyone who want to test their skills in the bloodsands while marauders are mostly former pirates who become part of limsa's armada under the admiral.

Its my understanding that Xaela names and most of their culture are based on nomadic Mongolian tribes. This is talked about briefly in the naming conventions: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ng-Conventions .

With that in mind I think the two best classes that might fit for a Xaela would be Marauder and Archer. As far as city-states go, since they are nomads with the exception of 1 tribe any City-state would probably work, however, I would suggest Limsa simply because it is far more welcoming to outsiders than Gridania would be, and you could always pick up archer later once you hit level 10 without having your allegiance to Gridania.

I agree that Limsa is a good place to start. They're pretty cosmopolitan, and races seem to mix with relatively little strife. Most Xaela would probably love the chance to spar with Roes--they're the only spoken race we've seen who are bigger than male Au Ra.

My Xaela was originally a Duskwight. When I Fantasia'd him, I came up with a backstory to explain why he was in Limsa, but I probably didn't need to. Limsa's a good fit.

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Originally Posted by Terin

The Xaela, on the other hand, are still largely kind of a mystery, as are the Raen for that matter.

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You say that, but we actually know a significant amount more about the Xaela than we do the Raen. Give that link that Mxhunter provided a read - you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to defining the background of your Xaela, and you could make it fit pretty much any Job or city.

(It's also worth noting that "Xaela Culture" seems to be a less homogeneous thing than it is for most races. Many of the things that set one tribe apart from another seem like they would result in totally different social environments and tribal norms from any of the others. The most that any of them seem to have in common is "general location" and "nomadic" (and not even those are constants).)

I dunno; like I said, I know role-players could probably make up a story to make anything work, but I really want to make the choice that is closest to being "Lore-friendly" as possible. City-State and Grand Company are literally the only things that you can't change (Grand Company, in terms of replaying cutscenes), so I want to have the confidence of knowing I'm not going to feel like "Oh, I should have chosen the other one!".

But that's just it - the Xaela tribes have such a huge amount of variety to them that no single class best suits them as a race. You have one whose females are explicitly archers, ones that are more into hunting and gathering, several which are hardened and vicious warriors, and still others that prefer to keep entirely to themselves. You have a lot of freedom to play around with, here, and without knowing more about the background of your character, it's tough to say which class/Job suits them best lore-wise.

As for city-state, it's true that Limsa is the rough-and-tumble melting pot of the three City States, but it's also debatable how accessible it is from Othard, since Limsa is off the west coast of Aldenard and there's ostensibly an entire New World continent between it and Othard's east coast. As such, it may be more realistic for somebody from Othard to arrive in southeast Thanalan; indeed, this is precisely where the Doman refugees came ashore. Unless your character has specific business or training to seek out in Limsa Lominsa or Gridania (see above re: archers), I'd say Ul'Dah actually makes the most sense as a place to start for a Xaela character.

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Originally Posted by Hinoto-no-Ryuji

As such, it may be more realistic for somebody from Othard to arrive in southeast Thanalan; indeed, this is precisely where the Doman refugees came ashore.

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Except Vesper Bay is in Western Thanalan (which conveniently also has a ferry to the Arcanist Guild in Limsa, so its not terribly far from the island). South/southeast Eorzea is beyond the Sagolii, and east past the Burning Wall (from Camp Drybone) is the Amalj'aa homeland.

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Originally Posted by PArcher

Except Vesper Bay is in Western Thanalan. Southeast is beyond the Sagolii, and east past the Burning Wall is the Amalj'aa homeland.

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Oops! You're right, of course. It's still probably a shorter jaunt from Othard than Limsa, mind.

I wonder if there are any seaports in the Shroud? Though I imagine a route that goes straight across the Sea of Jade puts a traveler or refugee too close to Garlean territory to be of much use.

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Originally Posted by Hinoto-no-Ryuji

As for city-state, it's true that Limsa is the rough-and-tumble melting pot of the three City States, but it's also debatable how accessible it is from Othard, since Limsa is off the west coast of Aldenard and there's ostensibly an entire New World continent between it and Othard's east coast. As such, it may be more realistic for somebody from Othard to arrive in southeast Thanalan; indeed, this is precisely where the Doman refugees came ashore. Unless your character has specific business or training to seek out in Limsa Lominsa or Gridania (see above re: archers), I'd say Ul'Dah actually makes the most sense as a place to start for a Xaela character.

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The Haragin clan are seafarers, and the blurb on them suggests that they went at least as far as Ilsabard. It's not outside the realm of possibility for them to have run into a Sea Wolf ship originating in Limsa.

Right, sure, absolutely. I'm not saying Limsa is the outright WRONG choice, I was just making a case for Thanalan as well.

I know it's not exactly what the OP wanted to hear, but I really think that absent a definitive yes or no from the devs--which doesn't really seem like their style--there's no one right answer. Canonically, we know of three places where Au Ra have ended up in Eorzea: Thanalan, Coerthas, and the Black Shroud. Especially with the Xaela, who are a very diverse group given to wandering, you could make an argument for putting a Xaela WoL pretty much anywhere.

Also, the intro only says that the WoL is new to Eorzea; not that wherever the player starts the game is the WoL's first stop. I can easily see a Doman refugee landing in Horizon and deciding to go to Gridania to hone their archery skills.