How often do the different Races inter-mingle with each other?

[Kallera]

I just feel like the whole 'adventurers are more tolerant' thing is just an excuse to avoid touching on racism at all unless it's to add a stereotypical bad trait to an established antagonist.

I mean, there's a lot of lore hidden away that isn't showcased. Ul'dah screwed over the Beast Races and had them exiled from the city. It's barely mentioned in-game. Gridania in 1.0 was a lot more xenophobic...but again, it isn't really showcased in-game to the same extent.

I'm pretty sure there is some of that "keeping it on the down low because real life" going on too. Not that i'd want everyone to be jerks, far from it, it just seems like too convienient at times, and im sure its to keep player sensibilities in mind. Best not get any more specific.

[CyrilLucifer]

I'm tempted to agree with Theodric. Spoilering in case the topic has moved on, I haven't read the whole thread yet.

Honestly, the issues with racism and xenophobia in-universe are very diluted in ARR. Like, we're told that Gridania is xenophobic but I've never actually felt that way, even as a Duskwight.

Even doing something like the Archer questline where one character is all hostile and angsty towards outsiders, I never felt it. In fact, this hostile character was condemned. SE is sending me mixed messages here; Gridania is supposed to be insular, yet the one NPC that actually shows such behavior is scolded for it. I actually liked the guy, though, he was super cute and tsundere for you by the time the questline ended.

The same goes with Ishgard, really. Once we actually got in, I didn't really feel like they were terribly xenophobic.

It's kind of a big problem with ARR in general in that the city lore relies a lot of tell-don't-show. Which is really a shame for me, because I generally find inter-racial politics and long-standing grudges in fantasy to be extremely fascinating and they tend to be some of my favorite aspects of lore.

PS: Needs more sympathetic Duskwights. I guess Urianger uses a Duskwight model, so maybe he counts?

[Lauront]

Aye, agreed with all the above.

The treatment of the different races is kinda odd if there's supposed to be tension. XI handled racial tensions better. Non-Elvaan in San d'Oria? You'd be looked down on. Same with the Galka in Bastok - they were treated as nothing more than disposable labor forces. The Mithra and Tarutaru seemed to get along pretty well though. I always figured that Eorzea was a melting pot and that the differing races had gotten acclimated to each other.

And I just noticed that both games had a prevalent female human/elf hybrid.

They're a scourge. I'm bored to death of half-elves. And this is in a setting where they make a bit more sense than the majority of settings featuring them (usually with paper-thin lore rationale for it), given the possibility of many of the major races having a common origin. Still, the less I see of them, the better.

[CyrilLucifer]

I enjoyed how XI focused on the racial issues in a more show-don't-tell manner. For example, Galka were literally lower class citizens and they hated it, but you're never really told flat out that Bastok is "racist" or "xenophobic" or "insular" as XIV likes to throw the terms around. In fact, it's San d'Oria that is considered those.

Instead, with Bastok we're shown exactly how the Galka are relegated to one part of the city and the main foe you face in the vanilla storyline is the embodiment of their hate and grudges - and sadness, because Cornelia was his lover and she was murdered before his eyes. You draw these conclusions on your own, rather than being told them.

And with AU, you couldn't even enter half of the city even when you were finally granted access. When you were allowed to enter the other half, it was only in a CS, you had to have special permission, and you had to be guided.

(And yes, Sandy was a good deal nastier to foreigners than Gridania and even Ishgard.)

[Berethos]

I'm tempted to agree with Theodric.

Whether or not he's right about the story needing to do more with the issues of racism and xenophobia isn't actually what I was responding to...

It was the conclusion for why it was designed that way that I criticized, nothing more and nothing less.

Regarding Ishgard's xenophobia...most of that is concentrated in the 35-40 questing experience, and at that time we hadn't really proven ourselves to Ishgard. Once we have, via that story and the stuff in the 2.x patch cycle, our experience with them is going to be different...

Now, once you're actually in Ishgard? The main thing then isn't xenophobia, it's class division, which is very much present. Outside of cutscenes you never see the poor in the pillars, and while they spend their time worrying about whether so-and-so Lord's son noticed them or not, or the deal they got gold and silvery jewels, or even having trouble figuring out which store to go to because they spent too much time playing cards instead of studying (so even the kids live differently)...

Those in the Brume are dealing with hunger, and damage to the city, and injury, and the cold...

And those divisions between the rich and the poor, nobles and not, in Ishgard has been pretty central to the story so far. Ishgard's xenophobic nature really only applies when you're outside Ishgard, and is also the whole reason you can't go there until you've earned it in the story.

[VirusChris]

Just completed the Lv50 - 60 CUL Questline and it involves a female Lalafell who is (obviously) in love with a male Miqo'te even though she wants to knock some sense into him and become his old humble cooking self.

Another different race coupling in Limsa Lominsa and no one seems to mind, even the Captain mention their "lovers' farce" but is OK with it.


Do any of the other Crafting Quests from HW have other different race couples?

[Ehra]

Wineport has a Miqo'te and Hyur couple sitting on a bench together. There's a bitter Miqo'te woman standing across from them talking about how sick she is of seeing them being lovey dovey all the time.

[Theodric]

Whether or not he's right about the story needing to do more with the issues of racism and xenophobia isn't actually what I was responding to...

It was the conclusion for why it was designed that way that I criticized, nothing more and nothing less.

...and yet I still stand by my words. You don't really see any of the protagonists express the same views as many of the more conservative Ishgardians do. Even in regards to the disdain towards the poor whenever a character expresses contempt for those living in poverty they're almost always presented as an antagonist.

I'll admit, we've yet to see the actual resolution to the Ishgard storyline so there's a chance I may be proven wrong. I hope I am - because I want Ishgard's 'grit' and morally dubious nature to persist. I'm not a huge fan of the idea of sweeping changes to fantasy nations that lead to modern real world ideals becoming dominant. I want conflict and protagonists that are rough around the edges. Who aren't 'politically correct'.

[Belhi]

They make a point that both Gridania and Ishgard have become more open in recent years, particularly due to necessity. The need for adventurers forced Gridanians to accept outsiders into the Shroud and after a while all but the most hard core have become less standoffish. This would be particularly prevalent since the leadership has been driving a more open moderate cultural viewpoint. Its not like everyone in those places are going to be racist. In Ishgard its still pretty apparent but Ishgard has been facing a hell of a lot of cultural upheaval lately and we have seen people swing in both more conservative and more progressive viewpoints.

[Dalvy]

That and there's plenty interracial love in the Rising Stone: Ocher Boulder is sleeping with a Hyur and that Hyur seems to be interested in Hoary Boulder ... perhaps an upcoming 3 some. Her sister seems to be against it though.

Then there's the miqo'te male who (apperantly) has eyes for the hyur cnj ... who happens to be stalked by a female miqo'te hiding herself in the dividers

It's just before you speak to F'hammin, you can see a female miqo'te starting wistfully at a male hyur conj from behind a screen.

Just before you first talk to Hildebrand's miqo'te friend, there is also a lalafell stating wistfully at her from across the alley...

There's some new NPC chatter outside the AST trainer that involves a hyur woman being forced into a marriage with an elezen male, and afterwards she stares wistfully at another (poor) elezen

It seems to me like hyur and miqo'te are the ones most willing to interact with and bang other races