Au Ra, what are they?

[Vergill]

I'd only be interested in a 'third clan' for each of the playable races if they're going to be distinct both physically and in terms of their lore. It'd take up a lot of development time, sure, but it'd be a good way to include highly desired options for customisation.

So far only Hyur have major physical differences between their clans. For the other race's clans it's a lot more subtle.

As a rough example they could add Ishgardian Elezen with more muscle (which would make sense given that their people are built on strength and hardship) to appease those like myself who prefer their elves to be big and beefy.

For Au Ra they could go with something a bit closer to the original design displayed in the early concept art.

As someone who role-plays an Ishgardian, i whole-heartly agree with the idea of giving the Elezen an third clan who's beefier and less girafe-looking.

[PArcher]

@Nalien
If you look at a few of the horn types (specifically, I know the upper right male horn does this, and I think Yugiri's base face also does it, not just her) they have a redish color on them (it's often covered by the bangle or metal plate you can add)

[jomoru]

Come on third clan Au'ra mix up sizes. Large females small males...

I'll say again the third clan for Miqote should be foxes. Yes I know "foxes aren't cats" neither are Miqote. There's enough of a desire to see fox people in the game and I am not sure there's enough variation in Fox people that could get 2 whole clans and them not just end up looking very Miqotish

Mountain Folk for Lalafells, more muscular explicitly hitting the "dwarf" trope.

[MrPresident]

I was pretty disappointed by Au Ra honestly. Dragons are my favourite mythical beings, so when I saw the concept art of dragon-like beings I was excited about it. But the end product was these scabby goat looking things.

What are the Au Ra? Other than a disappointment, I don't know.

[mdha02]

Could somebody post a link to the concept art?

[Ashkendor]

Meh, this doesn't surprise me. While a LOT better than many examples, FFXIV devs still seem to labor under the impression that the game should be tailored for heterosexual male tastes regardless of the fact that the game has a substantial female playerbase. Manly men are fine. Even bishonen are fine. But cutesy Uke-type boys? No way - that might trigger a precious male subscriber! Ditto for no girly outfits for men (plenty of manly clothes for women, of course - no bruising of delicate male sensibilities there!).

Can we keep this stuff on tumblr? Seriously. Your claim that there's no "girly outfits" for men is pretty ridiculous, too. Just look at the Coliseum set and most of our caster gear. If you want something more recently added, how about the Uraeus Skirt? Do females get a greater number of feminine choices than males do? Yes. That doesn't change the fact that males still have some available.

I doubt they'll ever add Garleans as a playable race. As much as I'd love that to happen I can't see them doing it with their inability to wield Aether unless they somehow manage to get around that by having a Garlean Warrior of Light being some sort of exception. All they really need to do is add a 'Third Eye' glamour as well as some of the gear used by the likes of Livia, Gaius, Regula and Nero. Combined with some facial tweaks for Hyur it'd be fairly easy to portray a Garlean that way.

I kinda feel like it'd be some kind of weird lore cop-out if a pureblood Garlean could even be a WoL.

[WyrahFhurrst]

I kinda feel like it'd be some kind of weird lore cop-out if a pureblood Garlean could even be a WoL.

I wouldn't say that. Being a Warrior of Light is about being chosen by the planet itself, which means she can probably make up the rules as she chooses. A Garlean WoL could happen just as soon as she chooses to make it happen.

[Alacran]

Small changes such as Hilda's elf like ears, and Garlean Third eye gems, should hopefully make it to the character creation options. As they simply reuse existing art assets, devolpment time shouldn't be to much of a nightmare. However the implementation of the Aura was a real let down. The lore even states the Xaela revere a "Dusk Mother" and have a warlike tribal society, a perfect platform to introduce an option for an imposing, strong, feral female race/ matriarchal society.

[Vergill]

/\ You mean like the Keepers of the Moon (Miqo'te)? Aside the fact that Keepers are not warmongerers.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

Aside the fact that Keepers are not warmongerers.

Neither are (most of) the Xaela, for that matter. Most of the description we get in that naming convention post focuses on the hunter/gatherer aspect of their culture, with only a small handful explicitly mentioning combat. In fact, by my count, there are a whopping SEVEN that are especially warlike (Adarkim, Borlaaq, Budugu, Jhungid, Kharlu, Qerel, Dotharl). Seven, of fifty-one.

I agree that the Xaela are, as a whole, raised in a different enough culture from the Raen that distinct emotes (especially for the women!) would have made a lot of sense, but the idea that their sexual dimorphism would somehow differ seems suspect, to me, especially because the difference is so stark to begin with. What I'm interested in is at what point in their life cycle this size differnce manifests (puberty is a good bet, but who knows).