Question for the Devs, please; what City or Class makes the most sense for the Xaela?

[Vidrian]

Okay, as the linked thread says: the Xaela are based on a Mongolian way of life.
Taking that there are options for all places.
Black Shroud: Mongolians conquered Moskovia and it resulted in a new 'breed' of the mongolian steppe and the moskovian forests. Your Xaela could be something like that, an offspring of steppe and forest life. On top of that, Gridiania has archers, and the Mongols were best known for their skill in mounted archery combat.
Limsa Lominsa: enough grass to have the herds of horses graze, and is viable considering Mongols conquered parts of Korea and China, which were close to the ocean.
Uldah: Rather barren for mongol hord, and lore wise a bit weird considering Uldah is using advanced technical progress to sustain itself, something the Mongols never did, nor did they converse with people in this stage of technical progress.
Just a take from a history student

[Phydeaux]

If you actually had OCD, you'd make sure to post in the appropriate section for this, which is "Lore". No need to make a story to mooch an answer.

[MomomiMomi]

This is actually the third or fourth time they've posted this question I think over the course of the year. No need to be rude. That's also not how OCD works.

[Terin]

Well, not getting my hopes up, but... it would sure be nice to get an answer -- or even opinion -- from one of the Devs

[Mahri]

A dev answer probably isn't forthcoming, but since Xaela culture is based on those of the Mongolians (and miscellaneous other steppe cultures) you can probably do some extrapolation.

If I had to just go off the cuff, the sparse and arid Thanalan region would feel the most "close to home" for many of the tribes, although they might feel Ul'dah's high walls and labyrinthine politics distasteful. Still, those kinds of situations might make for a more compelling character hook. Also worth noting: The Immortal Flames Allied Seal armor look great with Xaela scale colors.

Conversely, while the Shroud natives might turn a distrustful eye to a visitor as strange as a Xaela, the guilds of Gridania practice nothing if not familiar arts to one such as them. Foraging, tanning, archery and spear-fighting go hand in hand with the nomadic lifestyle, and as far as Conjurers are concerned: If Xaela spirituality bears any resemble to the Tengri shamanism of the ancient Mongols (and there's perfectly good reason to assume as much), they might view the Seedseers as nothing less than long-distant brethren, one with the wood as they are one beneath the sky, to put it poetically.

I can't think of a whole lot to connect them with Limsa-Lominsa, but it's easy to imagine the far-ranging Xaela finding friendship with the far-sailing Sea Wolves, and "marauder" certainly describes a favorite pastime.

<historical facts>

I like the cut of your jib.

[Atoli]

I dunno, I feel like most races, besides Hyur, generally gravitate towards certain cities. Miqo'te, for example, only have their own settlements in Thanalan, so Ul'dah makes a little more sense than the others, to me.

Miqo'te also have a very deep and long history with Gridania (the mooncat ones). The non-beady-eyed Lalafell are equally common in Gridania AND Limsa, and so on.
Also keep in mind that Au Ra are not from this continent (well, the others aren't originally either, but they've lived on Aldenard for hundreds to thousands of years, at least). So Au Ra can't gravitate to certain cities because there ARE no Auri settlements in Eorzea yet.

[Terin]

True, there's no "canon" starting point for Au Ra, I just figure there might be a "best" fit for them. Like... I could see the Raen fitting in pretty well in Gridania, at least based on the short blurb of their clan's biography on the character-creation screen. Xaela, on the other hand, I feel like could just as easily fit both Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa, but in other ways, don't really fit either.

Like I said, I wish there was some kind of "official" response. I know that the Au Ra aren't really canon prior to ARR ending, but again, just trying to make the best with what we have to work with. Clearly, the Devs put a ton of thought into their racial background, what with all those tribes they listed. Perhaps they have an answer for "Well, it isn't a PERFECT fit, but <X> city-state is a little closer to what we envisioned for the Xaela".

[jomoru]

True, there's no "canon" starting point for Au Ra, I just figure there might be a "best" fit for them. Like... I could see the Raen fitting in pretty well in Gridania, at least based on the short blurb of their clan's biography on the character-creation screen. Xaela, on the other hand, I feel like could just as easily fit both Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa, but in other ways, don't really fit either.

Like I said, I wish there was some kind of "official" response. I know that the Au Ra aren't really canon prior to ARR ending, but again, just trying to make the best with what we have to work with. Clearly, the Devs put a ton of thought into their racial background, what with all those tribes they listed. Perhaps they have an answer for "Well, it isn't a PERFECT fit, but <X> city-state is a little closer to what we envisioned for the Xaela".

They put alot of work into making each city mutiracial in contrast to most games and particularly ff 11. Each character starts as an outsider who has traveled to that city. So trying to get the Devs to play match character to city is going against the intent.

[Terin]

Not necessarily. We're clearly not going to be visiting Othard any time soon, so they might be able to shed a little more light on what the Xaela are really like. We have a ton of history behind their clans, but we don't know all that much about how they speak, or what they value. Individual players can always come up with their own lore-friendly stories, but most races still have kind of a "default". Like I said, Miqo'te generally are pulled to Ul'dah (well, Seekers of the Sun in any case), Elezen are generally found near Gridania... that sort of thing. The Xaela aren't really found anyone on Eorzea yet, but perhaps the Devs might have some idea which city they might initially gravitate towards/

Even if it's as simple as "This Terin guy has been whining for an entire year, let's just come up with an answer to shut him up" :P

[AnimaAnimus]

It doesn't matter...

"The Elezen once claimed sole dominion over Eorzea, their presence predating that of the other races,"

You are all trespassers anyway. SO GET OFF MY LAWN!