Building a better Alphinaud

[tokinokanatae]

Because goodness forbid they give highlanders some eyebrows or put a Snow Villiers or Gladiolus like character in the spotlight.

Why should they bother when those characters can't even beat Alphinaud's popularity, nevermind the three I just mentioned?

[Theodric]

Why should they bother when those characters can't even beat Alphinaud's popularity, nevermind the three I just mentioned?

I thought representation was important? It sure would be nice to have more testosterone present in the game in the form of conventionally attractive male characters - especially for those of us who are drawn to masculinity for the sake of representation and/or sex appeal. Not everyone is interested in feminine or androgynous aesthetics, after all.

I know a lot of people who aren't all that thrilled by the lack of an ability to design a tall, handsome human who is muscular and with authentic eyebrows. It's one of the most common aesthetic choices in pretty much any major game.

[Eldtagg]

I thought representation was important? It sure would be nice to have more testosterone present in the game in the form of conventionally attractive male characters - especially for those of us who are drawn to masculinity for the sake of representation and/or sex appeal. Not everyone is interested in feminine or androgynous aesthetics, after all.

I know a lot of people who aren\\'t all that thrilled by the lack of an ability to design a tall, handsome human who is muscular and with authentic eyebrows. It\\'s one of the most common aesthetic choices in pretty much any major game.

It would be nice if FFXIV would give you the option to make a adult male that is more "normal" built.

And what I mean with normal built is not a dadbod, but rather a male that works out a little, has a bit of broad shoulders, slim arms, normal legs and have maybe 15-20% body fat instead of 8%.

I myself am slim and have muscular definition,
workout 1 hour a day (30 mins before breakfast and 30 in the evening).
I eat breakfast and lunch. Skip dinner, but I am absolutely not at 8% bodyfat. The majority of people that workout are not anywhere near 8% bodyfat.

Also... chest hair/facial stubble - which would go a long way in aging up the male characters.

[Dikatis]

It would be nice if FFXIV would give you the option to make a adult male that is more "normal" built.

And what I mean with normal built is not a dadbod, but rather a male that works out a little, has a bit of broad shoulders, slim arms, normal legs and have maybe 15-20% body fat instead of 8%.

I myself am slim and have muscular definition,
workout 1 hour a day (30 mins before breakfast and 30 in the evening).
I eat breakfast and lunch. Skip dinner, but I am absolutely not at 8% bodyfat. The majority of people that workout are not anywhere near 8% bodyfat.

Also... chest hair/facial stubble - which would go a long way in aging up the male characters.

I mean... okay as a customization option? But in-story it wouldn't make much sense given that WoL is a workaholic who exercises constantly either by fighting or obsessively training when they're not doing something else. In the Monk questline their exercise regimen is over ten hours of continuous exercise with ten-thousand reps of multiple fighting moves. Several cutscenes also have WoL exercising when not doing anything else, like doing squats whlie "eavesdropping" on Ryne and Gaia or doing pushups on a fishing boat. Numerous characters also comment on WoL having the "rugged looks" of an adventurer as well as how much muscle they've put on since their last meeting.

Dad bod WoL doesn't really make sense given their constantly active lifestyle.

I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail

You want to have a strong mind? Then build your body. Having a strong body is the very foundation for evolving your brain.

A great bookworm is someone that would both hit the books and the gym.

Urianger has strong arms to the point that his minion comments on them. Alisaie trains to be physically fit so she can handle the physical demands of being a red mage. Alphinaud is skinny because he's sixteen and has yet to hit Elezen puberty.

Any caster WoL is still canonically ripped from how much training they do.

[Theodric]

Dad bod WoL doesn't really make sense given their constantly active lifestyle.

On the contrary, it makes perfect sense as an option - there's tribal warriors who have the equivalent of a 'dad bod' but are ridiculously active and strong. Equally, there's many construction workers who are active every day of the week but boast such a figure.

ESO has body sliders to allow a wide variety of body types ranging from slim to average to muscular to obese.

I think it's more likely that it's an aesthetic the game is reluctant to embrace. 'Realism' doesn't strike me as the reason for the absence of dad bods when the game has everyone equally capable of everything despite their height or other attributes...and if the game is willing to handwave those differences with 'aether' or 'dynamis' then such could be expanded elsewhere anyway.

[Dikatis]

On the contrary, it makes perfect sense as an option.

Eldtagg explicitly says "works out a little" with slim arms and 20% body fat. Not a powerlifter or a powerfully built and active man with a healthy layer of fat.

Could there be more character customization options? Sure, I guess. Does their NEED to be more character customization options and is FFXIV missing out on a large chunk of potential players because of it? No.

Besides, if you want that body type, there's the Vanu Vanu outfit.

[Eldtagg]

SNIP

That exactly what I said though?

I said that I am not looking for a dadbod. What I did say is that it is completely unfeasible that WoL would be able to keep up 8% bodyfat with the life they live.

Look, you can workout as much as you want at the gym, but without the correct regiment; training/eating and cutting every single bad stuf like alcohol and sugar also add 8 hours quality sleep every single day you won\\'t ever look toned and lean.

You will look doughy and soft like most people that run or lift weights 4 days a week do.

Our bodies adapt to what we are doing constantly to make the next repetition/swordslinging easier to handle.
How you build muscles is that you "shock" the muscle as Arnold says; you constantly switch up your routine so the muscle never know what is going to hit it.

This is difficult because we are creatures of habit and most people do not want to feel like they are about to die every single workout day.

You are also not going to swing around your weapons on a constant state of 8% bodyfat because you need the fat storage and water storage for the body to be able to function under stress for longer times.

Also low water weight is dangerous and is something you only do for competitions.

Actors uses more performance enhancers than you think to be able to get in shape for their roles.
Case in point; why are wrestlers like Kevin Owens able to run around with the likes of The Rock? Because they specifically have trained to perform in a small square circle.

Is Kevin Owens able to keep up with a marathon runner? Absolutely not, but Kevin Owens is a much more realistic bodytype for our WoL than you may think.

The He-Man /She-Ra body and 8% is completely unrealistic for our guys/gals if we are going with semantics.

I'm not asking for dadbod, I am asking for a masculine option instead of the teenage Ken-dolls we have.

[CrownySuccubus]

I thought representation was important?

Why do you care, though? Because going by your posts in other threads, you're steadfastly against adding LGBT and minority characters strictly for the purposes of representation.

Once again, you're bringing up a perceived "double standard" which you're only against when it stops you from getting what YOU want.

[Lauront]

Why should they bother when those characters can't even beat Alphinaud's popularity, nevermind the three I just mentioned?

Why should they bother adding Hrothgar, by that logic?

[Graeham]

There is not enough of the representation of traditional proto European men in the story due to the system oppression against the majority groups that happen everywhere. Tradition value is important. The value about the superiorly of monarchy like the Garlemald and the Ascian people above the inferior race is not respect by writers and they try to drag down. As the humble Garlemald soldier myself who love monarchy I am disappoint by this. Why can the Garlemald not have the Czar Nerva instead of the voting. This is not the place for the university campus politics statement with the high cost coffee and the burger.

I find this suspicious that the game take away the eyebrow of the high minestrone race like Highlander and only give back the drawn marker eyebrow. Yet they do not make the character lose the head hair because of the high minestrone. How can you be the Garlemalding player otherwise??

They can use WOW: Battle for Azurite system with the Allied Beast Tribe to give more race customing. Introduce the Garlemald and the Ascian as Allied Beast Tribe system so when you do the quest you can play with the alternate start. Can be similar on the Highlander except with the third eye and with the eyebrow. I know this is move away from the Alphanaud post but is important to say.

This is fiction story and I do not see why some post want to force the view just because the player force like the Yoshi World. Don't agree? Disagree to agree then.

I think if the Alphanaud was Garlean soldier this would not happen. He would not have time for the books and democracy because he have to do pushup and lift the bench.