Elzens, Roegadyns and Hyurs needs buff.

[Donjo]

Speaking more seriously, I think SE didn't put as much effort into making the races feel as different as they could have. Appearance is just one piece of what can make a race in an MMO, and they didn't even branch out too much on that: everyone in FFXIV pretty close to human, especially in contrast to races like Sylvari in GW2 or all the stuff WoW has. More importantly than general aesthetics though, I would have loved to see a greater variety in animations between the races. This was something we had even back in FFXI. In combat, the animations were different between the races...

I agree, and the races of GW2 are an excellent example to bring up I think. The most apt comparison I heard regarding those was "choosing human is akin to going to a buffet and only eating bread". I also think I read once that FFXIV 1.0 had different animation sets for every race for every class and that's one thing legacy players miss.

Regarding the populations of the races, this site seems to be doing pretty well with itself. 4 million+ characters scanned and counting!: http://xivsoul.com/

I don't know if there's a more complete(and recent) census than this one, but it serves the purpose here pretty well. Here's the breakdown of race rankings(irrespective of clan, it seems):

Hyur: 33.4%
Miqo'te:32.2%
Lalafell: 16.2%
Elezen: 11.3%
Roegadyn: 6.9%

So, yeah, Lalas and Miqo'tes combine together to be almost 50%(48.4), so your assumption there is pretty on the mark... but it's Hyurs that appear to be winning! I just wish that this particular site had clan and gender breakdowns for each individual race.

EDIT: I'm a female Miqo'te, obviously, and originally picked one because of CAT!, the lore, and the silliness around my original starting class of Pugilist leading to "I'm a Miqo'te attacking with my claws!". I might have chosen Lancer for the similar silliness of pretending that Jump is actually Pounce, but I poked stuff in beta so I decided to change it up. I chose female because I don't care whether or not it's an option, male Miqo'tes being playable violates the lore. I've stayed with it this whole time because I really like the fact that their running animation is just a casual jog. No frills, no unnecessary grace, just getting from A to B.

[Kamifubuki-Yoakesetsuri]

Glorious Miqote Master Race.
Haterz gon' Hate.

[TeaTimeBear]

...We are so gonna fight.

C-can I watch?

[Rydia13]

I used up all my Fantasias switching between all the races. I loved something about each one but in the end I had to return to Lala because it's kind of in my blood(was a Taru for 9 years on FFXI). Then I liked Hyurs, Miqo(female), Roegs, Elezen, and Male Miqo, in order from most to least. Male Miqos run makes them look like they're limping lol

The races are fine and each one appeals to different people.

[myahele]

I used to be a male hyur then I switched to miqote.

Why? They look human enough, its easy to make a good looking one. But most of all they have cat ears and tails.


For me they are exotic, but not overtly so.

[Anapingofness]

snip

o.O I don't recall having male miquote as a playable race being against the lore in XIV.
I know that Keepers of the Moon are a matriarchal society but even there I don't recall them saying that male miquote are somehow forbidden.

[Franchesca]

Not really sure how to buff Roegadyn females tho, not many people seem to like bigger women in general. Maybe the option to create a female Roegadyn character should be deleted afterall.

Buffs? How do you fix this gorgeous creature? My Roe is prefect~♡

[mero-ix]

...We are so gonna fight.

Oh shi--

I thought she was cute, though, but the lure of the cat boy was too strong.

[Lev_Decimo]

Im a miqote because I could make one that i like the look of. I would much rather be a highlander or roe but I couldnt make one that i liked. i see many awsome looking roe's and Highlanders but they look good cause im not playing them. Im not a very tall nor big irl so it felt awkward playing one.

[Tauu]

The player character designs are perhaps half of the reason why I play this game over other MMOs. Reading this thread reminds me of this. All of the races look fantastic.