Au Ra, what are they?

[Nyghtmarerobu]

Just like the title says, I'm curious about wether or not Au Ra or related to demons or dragons, or maybe just lizards in general. I've looked around for some information, and I have to say that I haven't seen anything. If anyone has any information I'd be glad to see it.

As for me, I think they're more like lizards since they have varying horn and tails that seem adapted for their enviroments. Example being the big flat tail, thats much like a crocodiles, that I could see being used to help them swim with ease.

[AnduinLynn]

I want to know why they don't have any ears, and how they can hear.

[dejiko_san]

I want to know why they don't have any ears, and how they can hear.

Don't they hear via vibrations with their horn?

[LystAP]

Don't they hear via vibrations with their horn?

Yes. Au Ra listen with their horns. They're like a form of extra-sensory organ, apparently. Not only do they let us hear, but also could be used as a means of echolocation, if I recall SE's explanation.

—the first and foremost being the enhanced hearing and spatial recognition granted by an Au Ra's cranial projections (traits not attributed to draconian horns) - http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/heavensward

[Jamillion]

*starts singing* "When a man (Dragon) loves a woman...."

[myahele]

I don't think the devs even know where to categorize them, either. Since originally the concept was "demonic/draconic"

They say they have a "demon motif" despite the CC description talking about dragons + other in game quests (mistakenly) relating them to dragons, too

[AnduinLynn]

Well either way must suck having horns, sleeping on your side must be hell.

[MagiusNecros]

A mistake. Instead of a real Draconian or even Voidsent race they resort to this. Absolutely pathetic. So much potential in those concepts only to be tossed away in favor of Hyur/Elezen rejects with horns for ears.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

My lady-friend joked I was a goat-man when I first showed her a picture of Ryuji, so. Goat-reptile-people?

I'm not sure their genetic origins matter all that much. We know about as much about their genetic origins as we do about, say, the Miqo'te's - that is, they're a humanoid race with vaguely animal features that originate from a different region of the planet. None of the other races have any sort of emphasis placed on "what" they are, which is why attitudes like this perplex me so much:

A mistake. Instead of a real Draconian or even Voidsent race they resort to this. Absolutely pathetic. So much potential in those concepts only to be tossed away in favor of Hyur/Elezen rejects with horns for ears.

I don't think that's entirely fair, for starters; there's quite a lot of potential for customization in the Au Ri that makes for very dynamic displays, limited as the character creation screen can be at times. It's more noticeable in the males than females, I suppose, though that's mostly due to their size. That nobody takes advantage of the options isn't really the fault of the devs (note: I am entirely guilty of that, as Ryuji is not an especially dynamic Au Ra).

But also, why is it so disappointing to people that a massive departure from every other playable race wasn't taken? As cool as it would have been, Velox has the right of it - the spoken races are just races of different humans, with the Au Ra being the vaguely reptilian answer to the other feline/elven/giant-like variations. While that certainly gives less variation in player appearance than if a chunk of the player base were hulking monsters, it's a legitimate world-building decision, especially given the place of dragon-men and voidsent in the established lore.

That said, I do think they could have been introduced better. I've long thought that this game could use racial quest lines (and city-state questlines, but that's something else entirely), but nowhere moreso than the Au Ra, who are an entirely immigrant race to Eorzea. Hell, a racial questline isn't even necessary; an immigrant community of them somewhere along our adventure would have been enough to give us SOME idea of their place in society. Instead, they just sort of appear, with a handwave and vague suggestion that they've been around this entire time, in small numbers. They're not integrated into Eorzea all that well, and I think maybe they would have been better received if more attention had been paid to this.

[MilesSaintboroguh]

They're not integrated into Eorzea all that well, and I think maybe they would have been better received if more attention had been paid to this.

I disagree to an extent. If the devs made it where the Au Ra were given more attention just because they're a new race, it would make it seem like the lore is favoring them because they're new and cheapens the effect. However, if you notice carefully, there aren't a lot of Au Ra NPCs around and some job quests (mostly DRK and WHM) explain why it is the case; Au Ra were treated badly by Ishgard and the race is probably weary of the rest of Eorzea, which is probably why you don't see any in the 2.0 areas (yet). Who knows? Maybe in 4.0 we'll get to see a settlement where Au Ra live.