Character Personalisation and the Community

[Ignnis]

This is going to sound weird but my honours years project is about character design and popularity with the community of players. Basically I'm trying to figure out why people like certain characters and why people like customising their characters.

Just wanted to ask various gamers on forums about why they like customising or not customising their characters. Do you spend lots of time and gil to get that perfect set or just gloss over it without paying any attention and just roll with whatever you have on. Also if you like an npc why? Is it appearance, personality, the voice acting etc?

Feel free to add in any more details if you want.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it and thanks for answering.

[Haprimac]

I like tweaking my main character (female roegadyn) a lot. Her hairstyle changes almost monthly depending on my mood, but her colours stay the same: pale pink and white. At the same time I have a male miqo'te alt that has stayed the exact same since I created him. I suppose males are easier to be satisfied with than females. x')

I spent a lot of time (and some gil as well) gathering materials to craft myself several gear pieces, augmentations, dyes and glamour prisms. I like having different outfits for each class and several roleplaying outfits. I also dislike running into lookalikes, so if there's a day when I see a lot of female roes with the same hairstyle as me, I stomp to the inn room for a change. Same applies for outfits, I try my best to be unique, even if it might be a lost cause.

My favourite NPC is Skaetswys from the Kobold beast tribe line, a sassy Maelstrom soldier who acts all tough, but is a softie inside.

Even though I don't speak a word of French, I have the voice acting chosen as French as I couldn't handle the flat tone of the English voice acting. Merlwyb, Nanamo, Livia, Alphinaud and Gaius all have amazing voices. Livia is my favourite deceased NPC just for the scene when she raids the Scions' HQ. That voice. That commanding presence. Awesome!

[Chihaya]

Some people view their char as an extension of themselves, play dress up/plastic surgery to fit their mood, to be what they want to be.

Some people view their char as a separate entity, as like another person. You grow to like/love them for who they are and not for them to change to fit for you.

I still got my 2 free fantasias and only used the aesthetician once to get a new hairstyle.

[16bitBounty]

I like Human styled characters and I'm a thigh guy so F. Highlander. I am constantly second guessing myself even though I know that I have a nice looking character in comparison to a lot of Highlanders out there. This is mainly because of the hair choices and the poor glamour options available in game.

[Ignnis]

Would you guys like it if the glamour system didnt restrict class armour (mages in heavy armour), didn't restrict level and you could dye more sections of the armour?

Curious because I know people have mixed opinions on this and it could impact on some gameplay aspects, not being able to distinguish classes etc. Also for things like staffs do you think it would make sense for them to allow whm and blm to use each others staff skins?

[16bitBounty]

I think I'd be happier if there were just more clothing options in general. The racial specific items come to mind. There is a lot of potential there and it really forces you to play 1 race just for glamour options *cough cough Miqo'te*. I love the Highlander for instance but the Miqo'te loincloth goes amazing with some shoes I've picked out so I'm constantly contemplating going to Miqo'te. They also get the hair option that I like which isn't available to any other race. It's all very restrictive and as an Aesthetically driven player I feel that being able to enjoy the way I look in game is more important than any content.

Honestly with the class specific AF sets I'm okay with those being for the class. They have a deeply rooted history in the Final Fantasy series and while it would be neat to wear a PLD set on a WHM for example I think just the Hempen sets and the racial starter outfits alone with the non AF/Myth sets should be cross-race.

[Ignnis]

Was more thinking for the cross class glamour things like the vanya robes and scylla robes so not things that are job gear, just everything else

[Wings]

I have a few alts, and some of those I've switched up the appearance on (only once have I use a Fantasia, and that was to change a voice that made me cringe once I heard the full laugh), but my main has never even changed hairstyle and definetly not haircolour. So far there's no hair that matches the one she has, and I'm very pleased with her look. Nevermind that her race is one of the most played, I'm not trying to be the rarest of the rare there, all I want is to be happy with what I'm looking at every day. It was visually painful, having to wait until 50 to start glamouring.

I too am a very aesthetically driven player, and I can spend hours picking the right shade of dye for my outfits. As for the outfits, I find the game sadly restricting both when it comes to the items themselves and the glamour system. Because the glamour system is tied to specific items, you can't have different looks for all jobs once you get beyond the gear that is for one job only. I would love it if you could have a look for each of the two tank, healer or caster jobs. Tanks are the ones that currently have the most items available to them for glamour, since they can glamour any tank, melee AND magic user gear of all levels, as long as it isn't job- or race-specific, while magic users don't have access to most non-magic user things. It would be great to have access to the other races' hempen- or race-outfits, and I know a few people (including myself) who'd enjoy mixing it up with crafting or gathering gear!

Ideally, in my eyes, all of these restrictions would be removed when it comes to glamour. Diversity is the spice of life, and the more options people have, the more creative they can be.

If there absolutely HAS to be some kind of restriction, I'm happy if it just remains as the weapon. That's plenty to distinguish what job someone is. (But I would agree with some who've wanted to be able to have a bare-fist look for their Pugilist/Monk, however that would be within one class/job.)


Edit: And YES to being able to dye more gear. There are so many things that are red or have red details, and that just doesn't go with my skintone. Non-dyable gear makes me Q.Q

[Hurlstone]

I adore customizing my character. It literally took me two hours on the creation screen to finally settle on a design! Creating the character personality and weaving in elements of your own is something I look out for in a good RPG/game. In the creation aspect of the game, I like how wide the net is.

Normally in an MMO, I am also very obsessed over my cosmetic wares. SWTOR is a game in particular in which the clothes and style are extremely important in molding the character personality and traits. For FFXIV though, I have been rather slow in this area. I think it is mostly because the glamor system just fees to restricted in many ways (In terms of verity and price). Cosmetics should be a simple and fordable aspect of the game, I think. To be fair, I very much doubt I would change how my character really looked anyway at this moment in time. I mean, look at that hat? It is beautiful!

As for NPC, I adore Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn for many reasons. I love strong, female characters and she certainly is that. Her style is great and works well, what with the white skin and black clothing. I also thing there is a good amount of depth to her personality. In the Leviathan patch, there is a wonderful scene with her and Y'shtola (Another great character) where they debate, and it ends up being a wonderful character moment for them both. Her voice actress is fantastic too, encompassing her personality well.

I hope this answer your questions!

[kyuven]

Since we play in 3rd person, I like having a character that I can look at for hours upon hours upon hours and not feel bored.
A unique personal flair is a must, but at the same time she's made to MY tastes.
No big hooters, no "fifty shades of pale" skin tone...
I guess in a way I design my characters to be the ideal I want for myself...but not what I myself want to be.