Please do NOT alter Dark Knight AF for female characters.

[Alacran]

so lets compare, shall we?



I know sexiness is somewhat subjective (depends upon whether you're looking at it from a male or female perspective) but of the two above, who looks more physically powerful?

Entry No: 251 of this thread a previous post of mine:

You are correct as a person you are entitled to your taste in fashion ma'am. Quite simply i would like the job to come first and foremost, i am a DRK fan, i believe altering a great design would be damaging to the lore of the character. Uniformity lends wight to appearance, the old saying you never get a second chance to make a first impression comes to mind.


(this is a uniform i wear in my professional life)

Obviously the officers here are of different appearance and gender, however i feel without question they are of the same profession.


These are male Police officers.




All jokes aside (and yes there are many (and yes that has a dual meaning)), can you honestly tell me that is a proud female Police officer? This was found with the following goggle image search "female police uniform".

[FrejyaAthenes]

so lets compare, shall we?



I know sexiness is somewhat subjective (depends upon whether you're looking at it from a male or female perspective) but of the two above, who looks more physically powerful?

Bit of a difference since Chris bulked up to that degree specifically to fight Wesker, while Sheva didn't know what a Wesker was. Before that, Chris was rather averagely built. A better example would be Leon and Claire/Helena/Ada. Either way, all I'll think when you show me Sheva is "Stop picking up my mines! I laid those for a reason!"

[Isklexi]

these are masculine traits. They are not feminine ones

The funny thing is that masculine and feminine are cultural concepts and vary between cultures (and in Eorzea's case most likely between species as well).

[Souljacker]

Looking powerful isn't the same as being powerful.

This is pretty true. I can name at least five males that have fifty pounds on me because they bulk up quite nicely at the gym - but I could put them on the floor in less than ten because of superior training.

I get it; I really do. Some guys get really, REALLY nervous around women who are imposing and threatening. It makes you feel small and unneeded. It makes you feel badly inside. But don't confuse your personal feelings with reality. The reality is that a woman can absolutely be threatening and dangerous and there's no reason why a female dark knight character shouldn't be every bit as intimidating as a male one. Big muscles don't automatically mean you are biggest baddie on the strip. If that were the case, humans wouldn't be ruling the world. Last I checked there were a boatload of animals that could rip us to shreds.

[MirielleLavandre]

Back on topic ^^ These are screens I found somewhere of the i170 gear -- the PLD and DRK are posted -- if you look, it looks like they pretty much cover everything, just as they will on the male armor (the model is, I think, female Au Ra). So, I don't think we have much to worry about, I hope ^^

[Eloah]

I have a slight interjection, that I hope doesn't get me bashed for no good reason. While a lot of people on this thread have made a lot of good points, I only read a few though, I think some people are missing a key piece of information; and as I say this keep in mind this is a Japanese game.

People have to remember that cultural and social perspective play a part in how we view men and women. Case in point, this is a Japanese game, and in their culture women who are "sexy" are viewed as powerful/intimidating/strong. Is that true for everyone or everything, no, but its a general consensus. And similarly, in American it's considered that a woman has to be either sexy or strong, not both. In America there is sometimes a backlash between having a strong female character dress sexy; well obviously they are just turning her into a sex symbol, and having her dress more menacing; well she's obviouly just a man with boobs; again just a general consensus.

Truthfully, there can be arguements for both sides, but seeing as how this is a Japanese game, their view point will probably be the one to win out.

[Riastrad]

This is pretty true. I can name at least five males that have fifty pounds on me because they bulk up quite nicely at the gym - but I could put them on the floor in less than ten because of superior training.

I get it; I really do. Some guys get really, REALLY nervous around women who are imposing and threatening. It makes you feel small and unneeded. It makes you feel badly inside. But don't confuse your personal feelings with reality. The reality is that a woman can absolutely be threatening and dangerous and there's no reason why a female dark knight character shouldn't be every bit as intimidating as a male one. Big muscles don't automatically mean you are biggest baddie on the strip. If that were the case, humans wouldn't be ruling the world. Last I checked there were a boatload of animals that could rip us to shreds.

Not sure if you are talking to me or him. But, I agree with you. There are so many factors that go into someone's impression of what can be called intimidating. His seem to be only fixated toward some ill conceived notion that women can't be scary as hell.

It is as if he's never heard about a mama bear utterly destroying something that picks on their young. The same applies to female humans. It's not about looking scary, anyone can do that. It's about being strong and intimidating when it is called for. Not puffing yourself up all the time. Though I imagine he tries very hard.

[Souljacker]

It was directed very generally toward the boys who could step back and have a look at themselves, not you at all. You sound pretty secure, actually.

Those pics posted are nice but those pants are awful. Goddess, I won't be wearing those.

[MirielleLavandre]

@Maeror - yep ^^ I just didn't get them to post correctly the first time :P

[Alacran]

@Maeror - yep ^^ I just didn't get them to postcorrectly the first time :P

Right, that armor looks very awesome. Really shows alot of great detail and function (secretly hoping it confirms Samurai as a tank... but that's just me being salty with DRK going the same route).

At any rate the discussion was originally only on the aspect of the Dark Knight AF honestly. I personally feel the same could be extended tome gear but that's just way i feel (from the screens it seems that indeed is what was chosen).

I have said before many times now on this exact thread, i have my own female alts in tankinis's as it has been called, i am a guy after all, and i can appreciate the female form as much as any straight male from the 80's. My only issue is with the idea that the iconic look of the character be only available to the male character using player base, revealing armor created for the sole purpose to be reveling is not a bad thing, it is not inherently wrong to express oneself as an attractive sexy powerful female. What I and many others (352 up votes for OP, as of this post) are simply asking is the AF be left in it's amazingly detailed,epic form for both genders.