What I like about Viera is that they're a proud race. Not like Elezen that are only proud in their wealth and believe in god/the church.

Viera is proud of the jungle, of being clean of corruption, and being quiet/they're not there to judge others. While Elezen will tell you you're a bad lala or a bad Hyur. Viera will not judge and will speak with actions.

There's no race like them. While Miqo'tes are wild they're not people of nature like Viera are. Miqo'te are a migratory/free race that settles in all the corners of Eorzea and adapts to all the city states. Personality wise they're night and day...Miqo'te are a happy race, Viera is stoic/reflexive race (it acts based on instincts).

Let's not forget that FFXIV steals a lot from FFXII, just like it stole a lot from FFXI (including the cat race).