Dawntrail character graphics update - opinions, requests and discussion megathread

[Aco505]

But I do agree that making currently unique physical traits available between clans would just hurt individuality. People pick favorites, and we'd just see a whole lot of people picking and choosing the more "popular" traits that they couldn't access before.

Moon Keepers, for example, have hardly any representation in the game. Most Miqo npcs in the story are Seekers, and there's been no exploration of Keeper culture or settlements (Coeurlclaws are an anomaly if you know their lore so I wouldn't count them). If fangs were accessible to the more popular Seekers, it'd be taking away pretty much the one benefit we have: Our unique features. And there'd be less reason to pick less popular clans.

The problem here is twofold.

First, Keepers have less representation because the developers essentially forgot about them. How come there are none of them in Norvrandt or Tural? Why is it that none of those tribes are even surprised at the existence of Keepers or Seekers from another world or continent? The son of the Hhetsarro chief talks about our scent in the DT MSQ but says nothing special for miqo'te of either clan. One thing is for Keepers to be less common and another is for them to be forgotten. We have seen way more viera than Keepers for several expansions now and they are also supposed to be rare. The role quests presented us with people from several remote villages in Tural and none of them were Keepers. This is a writing and world building issue.

Secondly, what are the defining physical traits of a Seeker? Only the eyes. Every other trait described for them is shared by others, including heterochromia. There is more information describing their behavioral characteristics than their appearance.

On the other hand, Keepers are described with more physical traits but with many of them absent from the game. For instance, the fluffier ears or tails options that they are meant to have are nowhere to be seen.

Therefore, the main difference between miqo'te clans right now is the pupil shape, which is meant to represent their diurnal and nocturnal habits. There is also the different racial face paint options and the different skin tones: Seekers' are different shades of brown where Keepers focus on blue and gray tones but still have access to some brown ones. Finally, Keepers also have fangs.

I personally think Seekers should be allowed to have fangs because offspring of mixed heritage will exist in a world like this one. However, mixed traits are often milder compared to those of their parents so I believe that Keepers should be able to choose the size and shape of their fangs as a result but not Seekers, who would have a single type of fang (essentially what exists now for Keepers) if that option was chosen. On another note, the fact that miqo'te children have fangs but only the Seeker ones lose it as they age always felt like a weird trait to me, as if all miqo'te had fangs initially and Keepers were designed second and given the trait after.

Additionally, I would expand the physical traits of both clans. I don't know what specific things could be given to Seekers but I do know that Keepers at least should get their intended fluffier ears and tails options. We do have a fluffy tail choice but the ears are essentially the same for everyone, with some slight changes based on haircut. Decoupling ear shape and size from haircuts and making them standalone options (with Keepers having specific ones for them as stated) would be a good addition to the race as a whole, in my opinion.