Gender locked race?

[Alice_Chrystal]

I am fairly certain that we will never get anything really beasty. The lore is one thing, but more so the work they would have to put in for the gear. The demand is way to low for that amount of work :/ BUT i talk about beasty like...wild-tribe-beasty. I thing a humanoid, kinda more beastly race would be possible. Maybe with a more...beast like face? Maybe they would have to lock the option for showing helmets but i think that would not be that much of a problem. I think a Forum-user called Shougun posted nice examples from the game bless online. How a beasty race *could* look like...without straying too far away from the Humanoid formula. And I think they are still quite pleasant to look at That will always be an important factor in my opinion. I think the crowd that would enjoy ugly-beasty races would be to small in ff14. I guess there will always be the need to some degree of attractiveness or pleasant appeal.

[Lacan]

The other thing to keep in mind is that WoW is still a western MMO. FFXIV is still an eastern MMO at the end of the day. I can't imagine them designing a race that their primary audience isn't going to like very much just to try and attract these "WoW refugees" to the game. I mean, are they that hard up for money? :v

[Theodric]

I wouldn't consider the demand to be 'low' at all. That's a common argument, though it's worth noting that the demand only appears to be low because there's a very vocal portion of the forum community who rush to shoot down anything that isn't pushing for more of the aesthetics that they enjoy.

[Lauront]

Yes but also notably you should consider that no. The most played in total races are the pretty races, and that seems to be true everywhere.

However if you total the beastly races against pretty then nearly half of the playerbase is beastly. Also looking at older statistics it looks like this "other group" stays pretty consistent but spreads out as more options are added.

So it is true that pretty is a high demand item but it is also true that there are A LOT of WoW players who play a non-standard "pretty" race.

It's closer to 30%, and that is in a game where they have very well established background lore. I mean, what are "non-standard pretty" races? Draenei more or less have the same faces as blood elves, who in turn, along with night elves, boast some rather unique features... they are just also conventionally attractive in all three cases. Gnomes are cutesy, like lalafell. Dwarves are not the most beautiful race but neither are they bestial or ugly. If we really dig down as to where the "bestial" races are most popular, it's orcs, tauren and forsaken, which have a pretty strong lore presence in the earlier Warcrafts. I know there's plenty of "muh old Horde" er... "devotees", who have some sort of superiority complex because they don't play a "pretty" race (even though they'll use the prettiest face pick on their troll or orc femme), but it's a bit odd to surmise that merely adding a race closer to what they would play will suffice to lure them to the game, when it's not just the race but its history and lore in the setting.

Au ra are a non-standard pretty race, as it is.

I just question the logic that adding a race will be the incentive to lure such players over. Female Viera will probably do far more in that regard given the average WoW player's preferences.

The other thing to keep in mind is that WoW is still a western MMO. FFXIV is still an eastern MMO at the end of the day. I can't imagine them designing a race that their primary audience isn't going to like very much just to try and attract these "WoW refugees" to the game. I mean, are they that hard up for money? :v

And that's only the subset of those WoW refugees who simply want a more "bestial" race and that's the only thing preventing them from subbing. I think it's a stretch, to say the least.

[Theodric]

The other thing to keep in mind is that WoW is still a western MMO. FFXIV is still an eastern MMO at the end of the day. I can't imagine them designing a race that their primary audience isn't going to like very much just to try and attract these "WoW refugees" to the game. I mean, are they that hard up for money? :v

FFXIV is very much a hybrid between a Western and Eastern MMO in terms of aesthetics, though. Furthermore, it's tied to the Final Fantasy franchise and JRPG genre. A genre which hasn't been shy about having the occasional bestial party member. Off the top of my head:

- Freya in FFIX
- Kimahri in FFX
- Mog in FFVI
- Mareg in Grandia 2

[Lacan]

It doesn't help that a lot of hairstyles and casual glamour options just don't fit many of the playable races particularly well. An unfortunate consequence of some very vocal players pushing for everything to be 'unisex' even though 'unisex' is often code for 'feminine' and 'androgynous' aesthetics.

I don't think that's the result of players being vocal though, that's the result of SE not wanting to design separate armor sets for males and females. It is especially apparent with the AST lvl 60 JSE. That's like literally a dress they've got guys wearing. You can barely call it robes. Thankfully SE has realized this to an extent and made the JSE armor distinct where necessary. Like, the lvl 70 WHM and AST armor actually has a different design on guys. You get pants and lose the pantyhose (thank god).


Pls stop making me wear dresses SE.

[cicatriz313]

Anyone else kind of amazed how much a little bit of new info like a chibi art reveal for g'raha creates so much conversation in this thread lol

[Alice_Chrystal]

I wouldn't consider the demand to be 'low' at all. That's a common argument, though it's worth noting that the demand only appears to be low because there's a very vocal portion of the forum community who rush to shoot down anything that isn't pushing for more of the aesthetics that they enjoy.

I hope i don't sound condescending or mean :/ I certainly don't want to make it sound like i want to put the wishes of others down. I was just thinking about the statistics that some people posted (and what i see in the game)- and that large playerbase seems to prefer attractive races, with Miqote, Au Ra and Hyuran beeing at the top and something like Roegadyn more on the latter side. So the prospects, considering the amount of work seem to be rather grimm.

But I would be happy for you if I am wrong and you get it one day!

[Lacan]

FFXIV is very much a hybrid between a Western and Eastern MMO in terms of aesthetics, though. Furthermore, it's tied to the Final Fantasy franchise and JRPG genre. A genre which hasn't been shy about having the occasional bestial party member. Off the top of my head:

- Freya in FFIX
- Kimahri in FFX
- Mog in FFVI
- Mareg in Grandia 2

That's very true, but those are single player games. I think people's perspectives are different when you're the one making the character and playing as them. The vast majority of players seem to choose the pretty/handsome races from the player census at least. There is a community that wants more bestial/"bara" races, true, but they seem to be the minority (unfortunately). I can't imagine them making a race to complement the female only viera that would only appeal to a small fraction of their audience. Sounds like a recipe for backlash.

[Theodric]

I hope i don't sound condescending or mean :/ I certainly don't want to make it sound like i want to put the wishes of others down. I was just thinking about the statistics that some people posted (and what i see in the game)- and that large playerbase seems to prefer attractive races, with Miqote, Au Ra and Hyuran beeing at the top and something like Roegadyn more on the latter side. So the prospects, considering the amount of work seem to be rather grimm.

But I would be happy for you if I am wrong and you get it one day!

I'm not particularly set on getting a beast race. If they were added, I'd want something closer to Byakko in design - albeit without the weird arm. Something still recognisably 'human' but with fur, fangs and claws. Xaela and Raen men are monstrous in some ways yet still aesthetically pleasing enough to be considered attractive. I'd expect a potential 'bara cat' race to conform to the same designs.

If they do end up being designed to be monstrous, I won't play one myself - but I'd be happy for those who do like the aesthetic. I think they deserve a bone thrown in their direction.