Viera Race "Confirmed" for 5.0! Are you gonna change races?

[Berteaux_Braumegain]

If a Viera goes to the Limsa housing area, do they have permanent Berserk status until they leave?

[Corue]

If a Viera goes to the Limsa housing area, do they have permanent Berserk status until they leave?

[redcurrant18]

From a biological standpoint - Viera males must be adapted for harsh outdoor living conditions due to selective pressure put upon them by their own societal rules. Viera men must be strong and agile or else they do not survive their period of training under another Viera male master or their later isolation. A small and tender male Viera akin to a cute Lalafell cannot fulfill this role. Remember, they also live in jungles and shouldn't be small enough to be preyed upon by smaller monsters which we know have preyed on Lalafell in the past. However, that's not to say that as a child they can't look similar to females because of the period leading up to puberty.

At the end of the day people who want to play male characters should be able to have masculine features within the race, and should definitely look more masculine than their feminine counterparts. A tall amazonian warrior type such as Fran cannot have a childlike male as her counterpart. That just looks weird especially considering the gender roles the game has already assigned to them. Also, the only main difference between the two clans is skin color, leading us to believe that the males of each will likely be similar to each other. Besides, since this is a more bestial race we could probably diversify the character creator with more animalistic features and facial hair patterns, like Miquote have.

[Hestzhyen]

From a biological standpoint - Viera males must be adapted for harsh outdoor living conditions due to selective pressure put upon them by their own societal rules. Viera men must be strong and agile or else they do not survive their period of training under another Viera male master or their later isolation. A small and tender male Viera akin to a cute Lalafell cannot fulfill this role. Remember, they also live in jungles and shouldn't be small enough to be preyed upon by smaller monsters which we know have preyed on Lalafell in the past. However, that's not to say that as a child they can't look similar to females because of the period leading up to puberty.

At the end of the day people who want to play male characters should be able to have masculine features within the race, and should definitely look more masculine than their feminine counterparts. A tall amazonian warrior type such as Fran cannot have a childlike male as her counterpart. That just looks weird especially considering the gender roles the game has already assigned to them. Also, the only main difference between the two clans is skin color, leading us to believe that the males of each will likely be similar to each other. Besides, since this is a more bestial race we could probably diversify the character creator with more animalistic features and facial hair patterns, like Miquote have.

Why are you trying so hard to apply IRL biology to a game that clearly only cares about it as far as it matches the aesthetic it wants to present?

Lalafells have the same walk/run speed, same jumping height, and same capacity for physical damage as Roes. Dainty little Au Ra girls from isolated communities under the sea are just as fearsome and brutally strong as the most hardened Highlander from Ala Mhigo. And if those amazonian Viera women can't have small male mates, what the hell is up with the Au Ra? Pipin would be able to rough any of us the heck up and he barely reaches above my knee- would you consider telling him he wouldn't be able to survive outdoors because of how cute his race is? In short the lore takes inspiration from real life- it doesn't always abide by the reality we live in.

If you don't want small bunny boys as an option that's fine, no one would force you to use it. I myself would love to have a cute male that isn't a potato or a Midlander with cat ears. I'm not really into hypermasculinity or looking definitively like a dude in all circumstances, and seeing as we have an abundance of unmistakably male options with all the good variants of "tall and manly" represented, "small and slim" is a fine niche to fill with a subrace option.

[Corue]

From a biological standpoint - Viera males must be adapted for harsh outdoor living conditions due to selective pressure put upon them by their own societal rules. Viera men must be strong and agile or else they do not survive their period of training under another Viera male master or their later isolation. A small and tender male Viera akin to a cute Lalafell cannot fulfill this role. Remember, they also live in jungles and shouldn't be small enough to be preyed upon by smaller monsters which we know have preyed on Lalafell in the past. However, that's not to say that as a child they can't look similar to females because of the period leading up to puberty.

Funny you mention that. We already have a race which; are able to run long distances, have adapted to living in harsh conditions such as deserts and prairies, use their long ears to listen for would-be predators and prey and have taken rigorous customs for survival (i.e. poisoning their drinks to build up a tolerance).
Do you know what race that is?

[SannaR]

What's wrong with male Viera being like vorpal bunnies? Small, cute but omg will it kill you.

[Roda]

From a biological standpoint - Viera males must be adapted for harsh outdoor living conditions due to selective pressure put upon them by their own societal rules. Viera men must be strong and agile or else they do not survive their period of training under another Viera male master or their later isolation. A small and tender male Viera akin to a cute Lalafell cannot fulfill this role. Remember, they also live in jungles and shouldn't be small enough to be preyed upon by smaller monsters which we know have preyed on Lalafell in the past. However, that's not to say that as a child they can't look similar to females because of the period leading up to puberty.

At the end of the day people who want to play male characters should be able to have masculine features within the race, and should definitely look more masculine than their feminine counterparts. A tall amazonian warrior type such as Fran cannot have a childlike male as her counterpart. That just looks weird especially considering the gender roles the game has already assigned to them. Also, the only main difference between the two clans is skin color, leading us to believe that the males of each will likely be similar to each other. Besides, since this is a more bestial race we could probably diversify the character creator with more animalistic features and facial hair patterns, like Miquote have.

1, that's not how sapient evolution works? You can be small and pretty and still be smart enough to survive. You don't have to have a mean-looking aesthetic to be able to survive on your own. With this logic, female xaela wouldn't look like tiny waifus.
2, being "soft" is not unmasculine. A man can still be masculine without looking like an angry bear.

[stormygabe]

From a biological standpoint - Viera males must be adapted for harsh outdoor living conditions due to selective pressure put upon them by their own societal rules. Viera men must be strong and agile or else they do not survive their period of training under another Viera male master or their later isolation. A small and tender male Viera akin to a cute Lalafell cannot fulfill this role. Remember, they also live in jungles and shouldn't be small enough to be preyed upon by smaller monsters which we know have preyed on Lalafell in the past. However, that's not to say that as a child they can't look similar to females because of the period leading up to puberty.

At the end of the day people who want to play male characters should be able to have masculine features within the race, and should definitely look more masculine than their feminine counterparts. A tall amazonian warrior type such as Fran cannot have a childlike male as her counterpart. That just looks weird especially considering the gender roles the game has already assigned to them. Also, the only main difference between the two clans is skin color, leading us to believe that the males of each will likely be similar to each other. Besides, since this is a more bestial race we could probably diversify the character creator with more animalistic features and facial hair patterns, like Miquote have.

Lots of "shoulds" here. First, this is a fantasy race. Second, this is a Japanese game. The standards of masculinity are different than we have here in the west. Just because Fran is amazonian doesn't mean her male counterpart HAS to look like he-man. If you've seen any actual jungle tribes in the real world, the men generally have a leaner look. Finally, a lot of people who play male characters probably want the more bishi look. It's not even that hard to make a character like that look tough. Toughness doesn't necessarily equate to beefiness. If I were stuck in the wild I'd take a weedy 5ft. 4in. wilderness genius over a 6ft. 3in. bodybuilder who only knows his way around a gym.

[redcurrant18]

Yes, sorry to burst your bubble but evolution does work this way. I just like to back up my thinking with logic. There is significantly higher selection pressure put on males and drives them to physical extremes (think Au Ra males compared to females) because these traits are associated with long term evolutionary fitness and being able to keep passing on genes throughout their generations. There are lots of examples of these traits in nature, such as lion manes, peacock feathers, and even fish coloration. It takes more energy to produce these traits, which means the male is more adept at acquiring resources, which helps them later in reproduction.

If female Viera are looking like Fran, it only makes sense for males to look either close to or more masculine than her. This is a general trend in biology especially in certain species, which FFXIV has cast as predators in the jungle instead of weak bunny people that hide from dangerous animals. Instead, they are confrontational and extremely difficult to dominate. Having a cutesy or childlike male next to what we've seen looks bizzare and awkward. Of course a cute/ less rugged face for males should be available as an option - but the body type as a whole should not be physically inferior to Viera females.

[Roda]

No worries, my bubble remains thoroughly unburst.
Let's unpack this.
Lions' manes? Evolved to be sexy. No practical application for the hunt.
Peacocks? Evolved to be sexy. Minimal actual drag for flight, requiring little to no strength difference to compensate compared to the females.
Fish? Evolved to be sexy. Can still use camouflage and cover to evade prey.
Following this logic Viera men should be the prettiest boyes ever. And I agree. Graceful curves, longer ears, bright colors for hair and dazzling patterns on their skin. It is definitely an interesting dimorphism, reminds me of Wildstar's Aurin.

If I wanted to join you in this cherrypicking animal examples (and oh boy do I):
They could be like hyenas, where the females are bigger, stronger, and have a bigger member than the males. Kick out their male offspring once they mature. Only hang out with mature males when they want to mate. Sounds familiar.
Or like bald eagles, a large brown and white species of bird, whose males are 2/3 the size of the females.
Or like angler fish, where the females are wildly larger and more vicious looking than their males (not to mention their absolutely bonkers reproductive strategy. Oh viera bang once every five years? Try once, but it's going on until you die.)

And another thing to consider: They're not beasts. They're sapient beings who know how to make and use tools to aid in their survival. They don't need to be hulking beasts to survive in the wild fighting threats head on.
Honestly, being solitary creatures in a dense wooded area, being hard to find unless they want to be found, it makes more sense for them to be small and unassuming to aid in their stealth. Hunting and killing intruders by ambush, then ducking away into the underbrush. Smart predators are opportunistic, and being of human or higher intelligence, they can utilize tools, traps, and magic to cover up for being less physically imposing than a jaguar and reap all the benefits of being small and stealthy.

And also, let's get this straight, I do not want kidboy viera males. It's creepy and bad.
That being said, not being more physically imposing than the females does not mean that they are "less masculine" than the females. They can be smaller and still be plenty masculine. Height and muscle mass does not a man make.