A letter to the Devs, Producers, and whoever else has a say

[Alleo]

Sometimes I wonder if you people even realize what stuff you say here.....

Why? The only reason why we got the male bunny suit was because people constantly asked them about this. The same with egi glamour (at least for carbuncles..) and the fallout after the shirogane housing drama was more than enough to give us like double the amount of wards in all regions! Of course it should be done without insults but talking about this a lot and asking about this, is the only chance we have to change something.

Making yourself heard is 1 thing, making countless threads and start screaming though. While i first agreed we shouldve gotten a female and male version or a new healer or current healers changed so they felt like new jobs, regardless of me being not interested in male viera nor playing a healer, im now just hoping SE starts closing these countless threads and lost all sympathy and couldnt care less. Not directed at you personally btw!

Daily post limit ftw..

Of course its bad that we have too many threads about the same thing (but the other side is also quite good at creating threads that are just there to bash those that are disappointed) but this happens all the time something major happens that attracts bigger disappointments. Its sadly one of the negatives on this forum. But that does not mean that people should stop posting as long as its not with insults.

Its just sad that we on one hand dont have any other means to give SE feedback (surveys would be perfect for that) and on the other hand it just feels like we are only heard when the forum is verbally burning.

[SabaQu]

Just wanted to sign as well.

Forcing even more gender stereotypes on people when we already have enough races with slim sexy women and huge muscular men is just tiring. Also from the standpoint of a roleplayer it just makes everything harder with genderlocked species. If both where lorewise entirely male/female and reproduced idk though magical mitosis or something I would be fine with it but if there are male Viera and female Hrothgar so let me play as them. Don't forget the RP part of your MMORPG.

I'm just really disappointed. My incredible hype for Shadowbringers that made me stay up to 3am to watch the fan fest stream just washed away. I'm angry at myself for spending that much money for the preorder and just having subscribed for a new month just some days ago. I wish I hadn't because I just can't touch FFXIV for a while just out of utter disappointment.

[WizzNL]

Why? The only reason why we got the male bunny suit was because people constantly asked them about this. The same with egi glamour (at least for carbuncles..) and the fallout after the shirogane housing drama was more than enough to give us like double the amount of wards in all regions! Of course it should be done without insults but talking about this a lot and asking about this, is the only chance we have to change something.

Making yourself heard is 1 thing, making countless threads and start screaming though. While i first agreed we shouldve gotten a female and male version or a new healer or current healers changed so they felt like new jobs, regardless of me being not interested in male viera nor playing a healer, im now just hoping SE starts closing these countless threads and lost all sympathy and couldnt care less. Not directed at you personally btw!

[Gwenorai]

Making yourself heard is 1 thing, making countless threads and start screaming though. While i first agreed we shouldve gotten a female and male version or a new healer or current healers changed so they felt like new jobs, regardless of me being not interested in male viera nor playing a healer, im now just hoping SE starts closing these countless threads and lost all sympathy and couldnt care less. Not directed at you personally btw!

Understandable, I was like that previously with how people were acting. Don't let the 'extremists' sway you - there are a lot of folks who are being very constructive and polite about the ordeal. OP is a prime example. Honestly, I just took a step away from the forums and came back. It does indeed look like a mess in here, and while I can't blame people for raging, the way they're going about it - at least for some - is making me sigh, this goes for those in both 'camps' as it were. Those who wish the gender lock to be lifted; those who don't - and those who are here just to stir-the-pot as they have nothing better to do.

[secretsofthelily]

People are insanely selfish in their demands, hiding behind notions of right and wrong to try and get what they want, attacking and accusing the dev team of homophobia and the like, it's sick.

If the Devs decide to implement male/female Viera and Hrothgar, we're going to lose out on future content due to time constraints. I guarantee it! These requests/demands don't come without a cost! Damn fools...

What future content are you worried we'll lose, exactly? Do you even know? Are you part of the development team and know exactly what they'll axe if they implement both genders for the new races? Personally I'd rather have the content we know we're missing than have some mysterious phantom content that we haven't even been told about yet.

I've not said anything about homophobia either, I don't see homophobia in this. If someone else is saying its homophobia take it up with them, don't assume everyone who wants male viera and female hrothgar all have the same reasons.

[Binahel]

i second that too

this is SE decision is completely insane and sexist. it's beyond me how it could happen for real

[kidalutz]

Stahp pressing insecurities as the driving force behind all the arguments.

But the Concept Art shows... Yes yes it does concept art does not mean final decision and choice case in point Luke Skywalkers Concept was a Female in the beginning then a grizzled old man neither turned out to become the final product.

This is why concept art should not be taken as definitive nor ever assumed that it will be the final product.It is not a guarantee of what will be, but a possible glimpse into what could be.

Farthermore you continue pushing the agenda that your headcannon that you imagined is what the reality was going to be and when this mindset turned out to be wrong, you dont just get upset. You become absolutely livid and start slinging every histironic you can think of and claim insult because that's not what YOU envisioned. Just let an artist create and appreciate it for what it is.

Bottom Line It Was Never Promised. No content was removed it simply wasnt done past a certain phase of creation

[Araxes]

and you promised never to make races genderlocked again, but now you've gone back on your promise.

Thats not the first time though. Why are people still surprised?

[Iskander]

People keep calling it sexist as if the dev team wouldn't have just made the "bunny boys" have muscular bodies similar to the Male Au Ra and very imposing faces. Even if male viera existed, they'd still follow the same norms as most other male races in the game. They would never just be female vieras with male face features and no t-n-a. The fact of the matter is, people developed an unrealistic expectation based on no evidence supporting that expectation and were upset when that expectation was not met. Regardless of the reason (viera ownership issues, logistical issues in the company, etc.) they went the route they did instead.

It's just like Dancer. A leak happened revealing dancer. People developed an expectation based on a leak that was not confirmed by the dev team. So when the dev team revealed that they were instead evening out the ranged job numbers with a ranged dps, people got upset that their unsubstantiated expectations were not met

[BiddyBatnana]

People keep calling it sexist as if the dev team wouldn't have just made the "bunny boys" have muscular bodies similar to the Male Au Ra and very imposing faces. Even if male viera existed, they'd still follow the same norms as most other male races in the game. They would never just be female vieras with male face features and no t-n-a. The fact of the matter is, people developed an unrealistic expectation based on no evidence supporting that expectation and were upset when that expectation was not met. Regardless of the reason (viera ownership issues, logistical issues in the company, etc.) they went the route they did instead.

It's just like Dancer. A leak happened revealing dancer. People developed an expectation based on a leak that was not confirmed by the dev team. So when the dev team revealed that they were instead evening out the ranged job numbers with a ranged dps, people got upset that their unsubstantiated expectations were not met

Exactly, this ^ 100%
They brought it upon themselves.