Women and Armor!

[Remilia_Nightfall]

What if they were equally as skimpy/sexy on guys? Oh, you wouldn't like that?

I would not care at all, as I play a female Miqo'te :P

In protest of being told that showing skin is slutty and being objectified, I took my bra off. How dare you people.

You, my lady, clearly understand.

Also, pics.

:P

[seida]

Your whole gripe has been about revealing clothing being prevalent and slutty. I'm -glad- men find the female form attractive and enjoy looking at it. If they didn't, the human race would dwindle to extinction. Is that what you want? Wishing women to be covered completely is just as objectifying as saying women should be scantily clad.



In protest of being told that showing skin is slutty and being objectified, I took my bra off. How dare you people.

Oh my god, please READ THE THREAD, you sound ridiculous.

[TheCurls]

Oh my god, please READ THE THREAD, you sound ridiculous.

And you obviously don't understand sensationalism in humor. Who's being ridiculous?

[seida]

I would not care at all, as I play a female Miqo'te :P

Well, you said earlier something about it being disgusting.

I like there being cute and sexy things to glamour. I just wish UNISEX items were more equal. Not sure why that's such an offensive idea.

And you obviously don't understand sensationalism in humor. Who's being ridiculous?

Given you are parroting the views of others who also didn't read the thread, it came across as neither sensational or humorous.

[LineageRazor]

Try again. They are based on Mithra in XI which were not in any way fanservicey.

Waitwaitwait - hold the phone, here. I think you might be remembering FFXI through a bit of a nostalgia filter. Sexually dimorphic clothing was pretty common in FFXI, usually in that feminine versions of outfits would display some thigh (take for example, Paladin, Red Mage, Dragoon, most leather equipment sets as well).

And Mithra were VERY MUCH the "fanservice" race in FFXI. On Mithra, the thighs would scoop MUCH higher than on Hume or Elvaan, to an almost thong-like degree (google "FFXI Leather Vest Set" images and compare). Mithra also had the most revealing race specific equipment - and unlike this game where characters quickly outgrow RSE, in FFXI additional RSE was added at level 30, and then later on at levels 50 and 70 - many pieces best-in-slot for certain jobs and certain level ranges.

FFXI was not as tame as you seem to remember it being! Mithra may have been a bit more muscular and rugged than their wispy, stick-thin Miqo'te equivalents, but steps were definitely taken to make them the "sexy race". I don't disagree that Miqo'te get prodded a bit toward scanty clothing, but don't imagine that their precursors were any different!

Honestly, though, I don't have a problem with with the way FFXIV handles equipment. There's plenty of options to bundle up or to show skin as the player desires, and once you ding 50 you can dress pretty nearly however you want if best-in-slot gear doesn't suit your personal tastes. There are a few cases where I'm not happy with design choice (gawd, that DRG belly window...), but for the most part it's been pretty fair across genders - and when it's not, you can substitute other options.

[TheCurls]

The funny thing is that the belly window isn't the worst part of the dragoon AF. It's the fact that it's a harness and the black bra is entirely visible. That said, I still like the set.

[Aegis]

Honestly, though, I don't have a problem with with the way FFXIV handles equipment. There's plenty of options to bundle up or to show skin as the player desires, and once you ding 50 you can dress pretty nearly however you want if best-in-slot gear doesn't suit your personal tastes. There are a few cases where I'm not happy with design choice (gawd, that DRG belly window...), but for the most part it's been pretty fair across genders - and when it's not, you can substitute other options.

You can't get any gear that looks like the DRG AF but without the belly panel though. Or any gear that looks like the male coatee set.

Perhaps to get this back to one of my earlier points. It's not just the move towards gender dimorphism, it's the move away from the original aesthetic that was a bit more grounded, a bit more (I really want to avoid the word realistic because flying fire demons etc) ... gritty. At release, there were no weapons bigger than the Bardiche, and that was notable for its size. No glowy lightsabres of doom, no shoulder pads of epic manliness or battle-bikinis.

That was part of what I loved most about this game. It felt like a more mature, westernised, low-fantasy, FF game which is an aesthetic which is pretty rare. Sure, the palette was a little muddy but, along with the weighted animations, it felt more visceral, less floaty.

Now each patch brings more revealing gear, more gender-dimorphic revealing gear, foldy/shapeshifty weapons, more emo trenchcoats, more flashy disco-dance moves. If I squint when I'm wielding my Zenith Ninja weapon, I could be partipating in a 1990's dance off, complete with glow stick.

[Felis]

You can't get any gear that looks like the DRG AF but without the belly panel though. Or any gear that looks like the male coatee set.

You can't also get a harness for female that look like the male vesion (leather straps instead of a bra and full open in the front). You should add harness to your list if you want female gears to look exactly like male gear.

[Aegis]

You can't also get a harness for female that look like the male vesion (leather straps instead of a bra and full open in the front). You should add harness to your list if you want female gears to look exactly like male gear.

I see what you're getting at and I trust I don't sound like a hypocrite when I say that I don't mind gear being altered for practicality's sake. (ie: you wouldn't want them bouncing around free while fighting). If I thought the belly panel or the coatee's neckline were there for any real practical reason I wouldn't have a problem with them. Whereas they're quite obviously there for a bit of tacky titillation.

[Rbstr]

I like the idea that most of the gear should be roughly unisex and at least make some attempt at being practical. Especially raid gear and things focused around being a combatant.
But I also appreciate it being stylish sometimes. There are some more form fitting bits of armor. And armor, like harnesses, that, to me, feel like they belong even though they do expose some skin. Or the goatskin/toadskin breeches that fit sort of like low-rise jeans.

With the Noct Lorica: I didn't really care for the abs in particular or like to wear huge armor but I like that it exists! I was a big fan of the Noct pants as shorts/thigh-highs even though they aren't the most practical. When you think about the Lorica's big armored skirt-thing the pants did make quite a bit of sense.
The dragoon AF's belly-window is pretty silly to me.

It's fine to me that revealing outfits exist, especially certain glamor gear, but I do think items should look roughly similar between the sexes in most cases. If it's skimpy have it be skimpy on both. XIV does a reasonable job of this even if it's not perfect.
I really think the way the recent best-man stuff and plain skirt work is what they should keep doing. But they fell short on the bridesmaid dress: Make it all unisex-equipable, keep varying styles and skimpiness between sets, and let players choose for themselves.