Au Ra physiology and other lore.

[lololink]

To those saying cute/petite can't be scary or tough...look at Harley Quinn. >.> she is one of my favorite characters, she's petite and can be pretty tough :3

That only works because of the way she makes her looks like, Female Au Ra won't have that kind of emotes, way of moving or acting.

[Kedrah]

There are still no real answers about that, their motifs are demons is the only thing we know, we should raise money and send someone to Japan ask the devs.

It's really all over the place. They've said both (at the event in Europe a couple days ago they said dragons).
And the concept they decided to go with says Race_Dragon.

[Iromi]

That only works because of the way she makes her looks like, Female Au Ra won't have that kind of emotes, way of moving or acting.

As an actor I have played characters like this. You can do shy/reserved body language and be a complete psycho. Just have to open the mind a bit You never know what someone is thinking or will do. We have yet to see all their fighting animations but meh im not worried. ^^

[Cilia]

Unless those girls are also the ninjas and being petite helps in stealth during assassinations. I'd have a hard time taking a male Au Ra seriously as a ninja in the same way I doubt many take male Roegadyn seriously in the same position.

What about Elezen of either sex, highlanders and Roe Females?

Well, that's... a bit contextual. As it stands, pretty much any race is going to be a better assassin in Eorzea than the Au Ra, purely because they're so few in number. Assassination requires either being able to blend in or remain undetected; the former is highly difficult for the Au Ra in present Eorzea, even in "casual" clothing. Stealth is something every ninja is trained in, but if we were to go with "realistic" stealth / assassination missions (a la my favorite stealth game ever, Deus Ex: Human Revolution), you'd need to be good at hiding. Otherwise, we've got Assassin's Creed-style assassination / stealth missions, and to do that you need to be able to blend in... which no Au Ra can presently do in Eorzea.

The present "stealth" mechanics don't... don't count. A toggle to be invisible isn't proper stealth. You only get one proper stealth mission as part of one NIN quest.

The Ninja fighting style, though, is another matter. Due to its emphasis on acrobatics and swift movements, a more trim physique is probably best for being a Ninja. Elezen would have no problem with it, since they have very lithe physiques, and despite being a bit bulkier than Midlanders Highlander Hyur shouldn't have too much trouble with it. Roegadyn of both sexes are rather stocky, and due to the extra energy required to move all that mass probably aren't well-suited to the job.

That's not to say a character can't break the mold (female Au Ra Dark Knights, Lallafell Warriors, Roegadyn White Mages, etc.) and for gameplay purposes any character can be any class, but... yeah.

If archery would be so preferred method of combat, then why aren't the boys also just as lithe and small? Warfare isn't a subject of preference really, it's what works best, there wouldn't be a case of "woman preferring archery, men just don't" it'd be "archery is more effective, you will learn archery as your main technique" applies to both boys and girls.

Well, it's a little complicated and we need more information. We don't know how long ago it was, but it's very likely that the Xaela are the Au Ra "template," so to speak, and there simply hasn't been enough genetic drift since the Raen split from them to show any major differences. Perhaps the women are all cavalry and the men make up the bulk of their infantry? /shrug

[Raminax]

(Though you could be joking in which case, sorry! >.> )

Well, half and half. It's just that I regularly see Xaela being touted as the ones who should be the 'brawnier' clan because of their warrior nomad, and I feel that isn't strictly true. Or not true, but not as one-sided as some people would think. Saw those discussions happen regularly in another thread on the general forums claiming that Xaela should be closer to the concept artwork, while Raen could stay as they are.

And indeed, there's a lot of assumptions on my side. Gods know, maybe the Xaela are wandering really bountiful lands. Or perhaps it's as bad as I imagine? And maybe they enjoy a bit of deceit and trickery on the side of combat (which could compensate for less impressive muscles), or are they silly berserkers who charge naked into combat? Maybe they even sleep beneath the stars without silly huts.

Naturally, the Church of Moe is just a joke.

Or is it? ConspiracyAu'raFemalesAreActuallyBehindTheAscians

[zuzu-bq]

Do you all expect any difference on character creation from Benchmark to the actual expansion?

It's really all over the place. They've said both (at the event in Europe a couple days ago they said dragons).
And the concept they decided to go with says Race_Dragon.

Yup, even though the lore says they aren't dragon related, the initial concept was a dragon race.

[Raminax]

Yup, even though the lore says they aren't dragon related, the initial concept was a dragon race.

Well, key word would be that their relationship with dragons have been disputed, not disproven.

My money is on that Squeenix likely just wants to keep it a mystery for the Heavensward storyline. Ain't all that weird that we might learn something more meaty about their origins during it, or some other sidequest. We've gotten lots (well, lots is subjective, I suppose) of chances to get to know our current races and clans, after all.

[Samcaesar]

Snip

It's ambiguous currently. Concept art that says Race_Dragon for the design that's closest to the in game model and the staff during the European press conference claimed them to be reptilian. On the other hand, there's been repeated "There motif is demons" sort of stuff, but people aren't sure if that was just their initial design theme, them going too far with the "Succubus like look" comment, or something else. Early in the thread someone posed the idea of them being based off the creation myth of the Vietnamese children, being born of dragon and Voidsent/Aetheric being in FFXIV's universe, which might actually have some credibility. Currently in game their exact nature is debated among scholars.

Personally I'm going with (and hoping) a draconic nature simply because I like dragons over demons >.>

Snip

Harley Quinn isn't a bad example, however the character herself has also been written rather terribly at times imho >.> Plus she's fictional, therefore certain characteristics like muscular strength can be thrown out of the window for artist interpretation and wants with how they wish the character to look. That's still no excuse due to the fact that if we are to expect things to be a bit believable and immersive then they should function in a similar way, ie physically tough people have a body that shows muscle growth and density.

Honestly a better example would be Samantha Wright, a professional weight lifter, the issue is Au Ra girls clearly don't have her body shape at all.

Snip

Psycho =! Tough though. Sure they could be /scary/ but the question is why aren't the girl Xaela as imposing and tough looking as the men? It's less of a "petite/cute girls can act tough!" issue and more of a "Why aren't the warring nomads tough looking?" issue.

Snip

That's a reasonable answer on why the Raen and Xaela don't look very different actually, however it doesn't answer the question of why are the Au Ra so different structurally/anatomy wise between their men and women. Segregating your armed forces like that isn't the smartest ideas tactics wise, it means entirely separate training camps for people who should be learning the same skills to be as effective as possible.

Plus, cavalry still need to go through intense training in other forms of combat anyways, otherwise if you're without your horse or bow you're a sitting duck. Bringing it back to the mongols' cavalry troops, while their main weapon was the bow, it was generally the idea that they'd also have a sword or hatchet to also use to also use in the field or as backup. Arrows will have a limited supply, but a dull sword still has a sharp point and all.

Snip

Well, look at the Hyurs, the Highlanders growing up in a much more tougher environment therefore had to develop to be larger in appearance, while the Midlanders grew in more moderate environments and therefore had less of a sociological/biological reason to bulk up. Why shoulder the Xaela, growing in a tougher environment, be tougher anatomy wise?

I really don't get why people want that >.> The other concept art for the Au Ra (specifically the girls) isn't too different, just weird arms/feet, massive horns, actual ears, it's not too different that what we've got.

Heck, because I'm enjoying learning about Mongolians, everyone in the thread might be interested to read up on a Mongolian warrior by the name of Khutulun! She was immensily strong in combat and also pretty darn beautiful from what I'm been reading, while her story is a little bit mythological-like, it's still kinda interesting.

Do you all expect any difference on character creation from Benchmark to the actual expansion?

No, I'm saying it makes little sense from most perspectives that the Xaela girls are so petite and waifish. I don't expect them to change it ever, but it sure as hell would be nice if they did.

[RomildaRayne]

Are we still posting Benchmark Au Ra?

[zuzu-bq]

Are we still posting Benchmark Au Ra?

I don't know. But I'll post mine when I can.

Also, looks like Xaela is really more popular over Raen. Lore-wise, makes more sense. That's a good thing.
I really like female Xaela's skin tones option more than Raen too. But I've the inverse opinion for males.