Gender locked race?

[Theodric]

It's less to do with their intellect and more to do with having their own tongue, such that the Eorzean common tongue would be foreign to them. I realise there's limitations on what they can do with VA in the game, but I do wish such dialects extended beyond beast tribes... my biggest disappointment when arriving in Ishgard was that it sounded just about the same as everywhere else in the game.

Plus, some (and I do stress, some) of the beast tribes are fairly intelligent, anyway. They're just quirky.

Mm. It adds flavour to the game world. I don't want the only differences between the playable races to be their physical appearance. It's just boring - and if I'm honest, I'm already tired of how often the playable races feel interchangeable. If we ever get another Final Fantasy MMO then it is my hope that it will have distinct starter zones for each race to better play up the differences in their culture.

I hope not. Hell, I even like that they toned down the ye olde speaking in SB.

I don't. One of the reasons I invested in FFXIV over other MMO's was due to how it wasn't just another MMO using generic American English at every possible turn. Thankfully they switched to mostly British voice actors, at least...

[Lauront]

Mm. It adds flavour to the game world. I don't want the only differences between the playable races to be their physical appearance. It's just boring - and if I'm honest, I'm already tired of how often the playable races feel interchangeable. If we ever get another Final Fantasy MMO then it is my hope that it will have distinct starter zones for each race to better play up the differences in their culture.

Absolutely. I'm not a fan of how they handled that aspect at all in XIV.

So, make ff14-2 more like WoW. Why do you play a midlander?

Not sure what bearing that has on anything. Wanting differentiation between races and cultures precludes someone from playing a midlander?

If anything, the game's combat system makes it closer to WoW than anything else; adopting a design element that allowed Blizzard to differentiate races more would be a positive.

[Lauront]

Eh, it'd add a bit more variety to how various groups sound in the game... everyone sounding the same barring beast tribes is just dull, IMO.

[JamiaHaab]

So, make ff14-2 more like WoW. Why do you play a midlander?

[Theodric]

Why do you play a midlander?

They're able to be designed to be classically handsome. I lost interest in Xaela when they became subservient to Doma. Raen, meanwhile, were shafted almost completely. Elezen intrigued me for a while but Ishgard's depth and grit was eroded away almost entirely...and the same is applicable to Ala Mhigo with someone as bland as Lyse being the face of the region in the present day. Miqo'te and Lalafell are far too short for my personal tastes. Roegadyn are too bulky.

[JamiaHaab]

I mean, midlander have nothing that defines them but being base. I like that all the races in game are treated equal and aren't genderlocked.

[Lauront]

I mean, midlander have nothing that defines them but being base. I like that all the races in game are treated equal and aren't genderlocked.

That's because SE's initial approach to the game was to have the city-states define the cultural differences between each group, rather than tie it to the races; their racial differentiation is very barebones, but this is more so the case with the original races than newer races. A lot of the cultural variation is written into backstory lore. Over time, that's shifted a bit, and now it's more visibly on the forefront, e.g. with Xaela getting their own homeland region - when they were added, such embellishments were backstory. Midlanders just so happen to be the majority in most areas, but Gridania, Hingashi, Doma and some other areas are Midlander enclaves. Granted, in the case of Hingashi, Raen culture had a big influence. I wish they had been given a bigger presence in Hingashi, including with more Raen NPCs, and especially prominent ones. Sui no Sato was pretty and all, but has actually served to create more misconceptions about Raen than any good it has done.

I honestly never liked their approach to this and I believe it makes adding newer races that much harder, and requires all sorts of mental backflips to explain how you could have been one of their number at the beginning. They may have only ever intended to add a very limited number of new races and thus did not see it as an issue at the time.

I'm actually in the same boat with Midlander - it's the only one I can make 'attractive', the rest I have difficulties finding what I find to be 'cute'. Can't look this handsome on another race - to me anyway. I'm hoping for a change. I would like more pretty/handsome boys. If Hrothgar gives me that, then I'll get over some parts of my prejudice against them - but it's certainly not enough for me to be all for 'genderlocking' them.

You can actually make another two of the options look pretty good, too, but the derplander face has the greatest hotness potential to it.

[Theodric]

I mean, midlander have nothing that defines them but being base. I like that all the races in game are treated equal and aren't genderlocked.

They're easily defined by having the broadest range of customisation options. They can be designed to look very unique and distinct compared to their brethren...whereas every other race suffers terribly from the dreaded 'same face' syndrome to various degrees. I also don't find any of the playable races to be particularly interesting in the context of the MSQ's. They're all forced to step in line and adhere to Eorzea's values, even if they're meant to be from a distant continent. It's all very dull and also why I predict Viera will be equally disappointing when they're inevitably forced to make the switch from fierce protectors of the forest to standing around giggling in Limsa and Ul'dah. Which is...apparently what a lot of those advocating for them to be added seem to want over them actually having some depth to them.

[Rokke]

I also don't find any of the playable races to be particularly interesting in the context of the MSQ's. They're all forced to step in line and adhere to Eorzea's values, even if they're meant to be from a distant continent. It's all very dull and also why I predict Viera will be equally disappointing when they're inevitably forced to make the switch from fierce protectors of the forest to standing around giggling in Limsa and Ul'dah. Which is...apparently what a lot of those advocating for them to be added seem to want over them actually having some depth to them.

The pirates of the east are still pirates, they just help us because it benefits them in the long run. The Xaela joined the alliance because we played their king of the mountain game and won. Theres nothing implying that they’re all going to drop their lifestyle, Cirina even mentions that Magnai/the Oronir are already training for the next lizard brawl if you speak to her when she and the other Eastern representatives visit Doma. We're at the tail end of SB and Hingans are still isolationist while Suncat still live in tribes. Theres not a whole lot pointing to Viera completely dumping the idea of protecting their forest en masse, unless you mean people's individual characters. If thats the case, RPers are gonna RP. Someone's bunny be could a guerrilla warefare specialist aiding the Resistance in hopes to let things go back to the old fashioned separate-but-coexisting ways of Dalmasca. Or they could be an aspiring popstar who escaped the woods to live somewhere livelier and wear frilly clothes while waving glowsticks

[Gwenorai]

I'm actually in the same boat with Midlander - it's the only one I can make 'attractive', the rest I have difficulties finding what I find to be 'cute'. Can't look this handsome on another race - to me anyway. I'm hoping for a change. I would like more pretty/handsome boys. If Hrothgar gives me that, then I'll get over some parts of my prejudice against them - but it's certainly not enough for me to be all for 'genderlocking' them.