Female Hrothgar as a playable race. Show your support!

[Tsiron]

I can't imagine the devs not trying to maintain at least some degree of mainstream appeal, female designs are under a lot more "pressure" to be attractive, after all, so that may be just what get in the end...

[RyuDragnier]

I can't imagine the devs not trying to maintain at least some degree of mainstream appeal, female designs are under a lot more "pressure" to be attractive, after all, so that may be just what get in the end...

If they do that, they're going to get a TON of complaints, anger, and rage from the Hrothgar community, along with anybody else who wanted them to look similar to the males. I'd personally break my rule of "don't harass the devs" for this one.

[Midareyukki]

I can't imagine the devs not trying to maintain at least some degree of mainstream appeal, female designs are under a lot more "pressure" to be attractive, after all, so that may be just what get in the end...

That's not necessarily true. First, fan feedback is something they need to take into account. I KNOW that generally speaking they don't really lend an ear to Hrothgars, but given that a) we do have a thread on this, and b) members of other races have also given their input, they will at least keep this in mind. Even if the pressure to make attractive female characters exist, keep in mind that they usually tend to make races as similar as possible even when there is dimorphism so that they match. As well as how the inverse is also true: Male Viera look incredibly similar to Viera. Their original design for FF14 back in Heavensward shows that they considered more masculine-looking bodies, but as fans showed support specifically for "shorter males with similar attractiveness", they acquiesced.
I'm seeing them making one or two "attractive faces", and then go for more feral faces to cater to people who want them.

[Nestama]

I can't imagine the devs not trying to maintain at least some degree of mainstream appeal, female designs are under a lot more "pressure" to be attractive, after all, so that may be just what get in the end...

But like, that's why we have: Viera, Mid/Highlander, Elezen, Au Ra, Miqo'te and Roegadyn (yes, they're attractive queens).

Hrothgar women should appeal to the niche audience who want to play as beast women. Not Viera/Miqo'te 2.0

[Allegor]

While I have no doubt they'll try to make them waifus, I'm hoping that, just like how only face 4 of the males is an actual Ronso, one face will be the designated 'conventionally pretty' one while the others are literal cats. At least that's what I think it'd make the most people happy. Afterall, it's not like having a more human-shaped head makes the hat/hair situation any better *glances at Vieras*

This Tabaxi, for example, looks conventionally pretty imo - slim, feminine, gentle face, even has lipstick, but is still very much a 'monster' rather than a human with facepaint

[ronibosch]

I wish I had photoshopping skills, because I want to see how she'd look with more beastlike traits. To me, she looks a little too much like a fur-covered Miqo'te/Mithra. I think the face shape would work, but the facial features are a bit too human.

[SturmChurro]

That's not necessarily true. First, fan feedback is something they need to take into account. I KNOW that generally speaking they don't really lend an ear to Hrothgars, but given that a) we do have a thread on this, and b) members of other races have also given their input, they will at least keep this in mind. Even if the pressure to make attractive female characters exist, keep in mind that they usually tend to make races as similar as possible even when there is dimorphism so that they match. As well as how the inverse is also true: Male Viera look incredibly similar to Viera. Their original design for FF14 back in Heavensward shows that they considered more masculine-looking bodies, but as fans showed support specifically for "shorter males with similar attractiveness", they acquiesced.
I'm seeing them making one or two "attractive faces", and then go for more feral faces to cater to people who want them.

Personally, I would have preferred a much more masculine, or mature looking male viera. There is no option for a more masculine or mature face for male viera. With female hrothgar, I have read users saying that SE has decided on two (?) different potential looks for them? What I kind of wish SE would do is actually work with the community and gather feedback, during development, of course that's highly unlikely. We will get what we will get when they are released, and they might add some different options later.

[Midareyukki]

Personally, I would have preferred a much more masculine, or mature looking male viera.

GIRL SAME


Nothing wrong with having the option to play sleek and slim male characters. But in a game utterly invaded by those, the lack of these options are a lot more jarring since they're so rare. No wonder everyone says FF14 is too "anime"; if you want to play an older character, you either need one specific look or you go Highlander/Roegadyn. More... "appealing" characters end up looking far too jovial and cute.

I'd play the everliving hell out of that bottom right design. The Au Ra are meant to look demonic/draconic, but to me they just like they're Marrow from the X-Men but anime. We could have had demonic guys coated in dragon scales and look utterly terrifying, but instead we just got lean and simple guys with one admittedly pretty scale pattern that don't look intimidating at all.

The girls are even worse. They looked absolutely feral on the original design, which makes me think they'd fit women like Sadu a lot more than the petite lolita look they went for.

There is no option for a more masculine or mature face for male viera. With female hrothgar, I have read users saying that SE has decided on two (?) different potential looks for them? What I kind of wish SE would do is actually work with the community and gather feedback, during development, of course that's highly unlikely. We will get what we will get when they are released, and they might add some different options later.

I don't know where that "they decided on two looks" thing came from. Do they happen to have a source on that, because I'm curious to know in what context it surfaced.

But on the topic of female Hrothgar, hopefuly there's potential to satisfy everyone, though in fairness one needs to separate three things. 1 - People who will ACTUALLY play that race seriously. 2 - People who want to see the race fit the game and themselves (this includes male Hrothgar, for whom the addition of female counterpart is a big deal) from 3 - People who have an opinion on the race but aren't affected by its existence nor are interested in playing it (such as people who don't have an interest in it but still want them to match the rest of the game). And there's a sort of hierarchy. So if, for example, the majority of players who clearly want to play them don't want cutesy and humanoid looks, but the rest of the community does, Square needs to decide who they want to listen to. Discernment is on their side, since they're the ones developping the race.

As for Male Viera not having many masculine features, as I said, they did design some masculine features but then dropped them in favour of what we have now. I suspect this is because many people wanted the males to be shorter but similar to the females. And sometimes, what we see on the artwork is "prettified" on the actual models, so even if they design something one way, odds are the models will be too smooth and young for it to be expressed.

[LinaAkayomi]

While I have no doubt they'll try to make them waifus, I'm hoping that, just like how only face 4 of the males is an actual Ronso, one face will be the designated 'conventionally pretty' one while the others are literal cats. At least that's what I think it'd make the most people happy. Afterall, it's not like having a more human-shaped head makes the hat/hair situation any better *glances at Vieras*

This Tabaxi, for example, looks conventionally pretty imo - slim, feminine, gentle face, even has lipstick, but is still very much a 'monster' rather than a human with facepaint

Don't play with my heart like this... Tabaxi is one of my favorite playable races... You're setting my expectations way too high with this ahaha
But I agree, I do hope at least ONE of the face options is bestial AF

[Calacitea]

I'm a huge fan of the male Viera. But i can't really imagine the female Hrothgar. Before the male Viera were officially shown, people thought of them to be huge and have many big muscles. And now they're smaller than the femals and have normal sized muscles. I still love them though. The only thing i dislike is that they're standing backwards leaned. Seems like a ton of back pain.