Au'ra

[LisSquid]

Female roegadyn are often touted as amazing and valid and the best thing ever on the likes of Reddit and Twitter but in actuality they're the least played race/gender combination in the game.

If we really want to get to the nitty gritty of it, the majority of people who would play femroe but don't (like me) is that SE designs glamour the same way clothing is mass produced. If you aren't slipping your femroe into something very tight or revealing, then you can basically see the Midlander model underneath; as the outfit itself seems to be just scaled larger and not fitted to the nude frame of the Roe. It gets worse when there is any sort of skirt involved. You know how dresses poof around miqo and au ra for a cute aesthetic? Well, look no futher because it's now the size of the room on a femroe! Never mind that the cloth should hang off their hips.

In the case of Au Ra, I don't think we'll ever get better sliders. For any race, either. What I wish SE had done was allow horns to be used with different faces, though. Really sad we lost steam on that ye olde thread.

[Jin-]

If female aura were taller and bulkier their popularity would plummet. Most FFXIV, people playing games in general players like small and cutesy. Proof is there for everyone to see.

Also tall aura with current model and animations would just look weird, Uncanny Valley.

It's just echo chambers sites which make these ideas sound popular while in reality they aren't.

[Tsiron]

I wish you weren't right...

[Bright-Flower]

I know it probably wasn't feasible dev resource wise but I wish au ra had gotten a full highlander/midlander type split. With taller, fiercer xaela for both genders, and shorter, cuter raen for both genders. The concept art for female au ra was a lot more interesting than what we got IMO.

[KaijinRhada]

It would have been nice to see the original concept of female Au Ra in game, but alas, it was not meant to be. The female Au Ra we have now though is a popular model, so I would only want to have options added, not changed for those that do enjoy it.

That said, depending on the scope of a project as such, it may be similar to adding a new racial model. Perhaps, as Theodric stated, maybe with if we get additional customizations added would we see something, but I imagine that would be smaller in scale than a whole body type. I also agree with Jin- that the current model is as popular as it is, because of its aesthetic niche.

Going to be that person and say that the race name Au Ra, with a space, no apostrophe. ^^;;

[Theodric]

I know it probably wasn't feasible dev resource wise but I wish au ra had gotten a full highlander/midlander type split. With taller, fiercer xaela for both genders, and shorter, cuter raen for both genders. The concept art for female au ra was a lot more interesting than what we got IMO.

I quite like that male Raen are just as fierce and well-built as their Xaela counterparts, albeit with a more civilised streak to them.

The number of new players I see picking male Raen or Xaela is rather high - at least here on Chaos.

[Tsiron]

You make it sound as though they're not the exact same model lol

[Theodric]

You make it sound as though they're not the exact same model lol

There's subtle differences. Raen have blue tongues, for instance - and the difference in the hue of their scales and horns makes for a rather distinct counter as well. Regional differences are drastic, too. In terms of head canon/role-play opportunities then a Raen hailing from Doma, Werlyt or Hingashi is going to have a different vibe to a Xaela hailing from the Steppes - though the lore makes it clear that Raen aren't exactly weak. They just pick their fights better.

Though even putting all of that aside, the majority of people playing male characters typically lean towards playing male characters that are tall, handsome and masculine.

Whereas the majority of people playing female characters lean towards those that are short, dainty and feminine.

So has it long been the case and will likely always remain as such.

[Jin-]

You make it sound as though they're not the exact same model lol

They are, but Raen looks gentle :3

[Lauront]

There's subtle differences. Raen have blue tongues, for instance - and the difference in the hue of their scales and horns makes for a rather distinct counter as well. Regional differences are drastic, too. In terms of head canon/role-play opportunities then a Raen hailing from Doma, Werlyt or Hingashi is going to have a different vibe to a Xaela hailing from the Steppes - though the lore makes it clear that Raen aren't exactly weak. They just pick their fights better.

Though even putting all of that aside, the majority of people playing male characters typically lean towards playing male characters that are tall, handsome and masculine.

Whereas the majority of people playing female characters lean towards those that are short, dainty and feminine.

So has it long been the case and will likely always remain as such.

Correct, Raen lore (EE2 being the main source) has it that they are praised and desired as warriors within the Far East owing to their martial prowess.

Assuming they did do some form of subrace dimorphism like with Hyur, I'd leave Raen males as they are and maybe let Xaela be a bit bulkier, with some monstrous mutation options. Personally I'd have preferred it if they had rooted their lore to the dragons, with the two subraces linking to Tiamat and Hraesvelgr, or something along those lines. Granted, it wouldn't fit with how they handled things on the First, with exactly the same races but differently named, but I didn't care too much for that in the first place.

For the females, it is a pity they didn't employ a height slider with a wide range like the female Roe one, to allow for shorter options and maybe a height up to female highlander, or thereabouts. Just so you're not forced to pick something so shrimpy.