Gender locked race?

[Duskane]

"Catboys are popular right lets just make bigger catboys"

[Theodric]

"Catboys are popular right lets just make bigger catboys"

There's the opportunity to make them strikingly different. Furthermore, some of the people asking for Viera are simply asking for another Miqo'te sized race with bunny ears rather than cat ears.

I'd be quite content to play a Miqo'te if they could be designed to be taller and broader - along the lines of Cray from Breath of Fire IV. Perhaps the Hrothgar could fulfill that desire.

[Lacan]

I'd still want them to be more distinct than just "bigger miqote" though. That's kind of redundant.

[Theodric]

I'd still want them to be more distinct than just "bigger miqote" though. That's kind of redundant.

Right. Though even if the tweaks are minor, it isn't all that different to the Viera situation if the only distinct feature is that they have bunny ears.

[Lacan]

Right. Though even if the tweaks are minor, it isn't all that different to the Viera situation if the only distinct feature is that they have bunny ears.

Yea, I wouldn't want the male viera to just be miqote with bunny ears attached either. I'd expect protectors of the forest to be pretty imposing looking, more so than highlanders even. Like so tall and muscular that they still look manly despite having bunny ears.

I can dream at least :v

[Theodric]

Yea, I wouldn't want the male viera to just be miqote with bunny ears attached either. I'd expect protectors of the forest to be pretty imposing looking, more so than highlanders even. Like so tall and muscular that they still look manly despite having bunny ears.

I can dream at least :v

That's pretty much how I envision them myself. Living in a forest in a solitary environment isn't an easy feat - so it makes sense for them to have a decent amount of muscle and to not worry much about growing out their claws/fur.

[xbahax92]

Yea, I wouldn't want the male viera to just be miqote with bunny ears attached either

But I would want them as miqote with bunny ears. I can dream too :v

No matter how we turn it, someone will be upset. They can reduce the disappointment... and all they have to do is indeed release a second race next to f/m Viera.

[Crushnight]

But I would want them as miqote with bunny ears. I can dream too :v

No matter how we turn it, someone will be upset. They can reduce the disappointment... and all they have to do is indeed release a second race next to f/m Viera.

This honestly would be the ideal solution but its unlikely to be the case seems we are on the road to but why though?

Happy 250 pages wonder how high this thread reaches after fan fest :P

[Hunky]

Personally, I think a mix of highlander + au ra would suit male viera the best. Very tall and fierce looking, but muscular. That's what I picture when I think "guardians of the forest" anyway.

Er, no. I don't like how Roegadyn look. I like beefy men who are classically handsome but not bizarrely proportioned. Highlander men are the sweet spot in terms of physique for me but their lack of eyebrows and the fact that they suffer from a dire case of 'same face' puts me off of them. You keep trying to desperately paint Roegadyn as looking like Pantera as an excuse not to add them. I'm thoroughly confused - since they look nothing alike and you then go on to post a picture that looks exactly like a Miqo'te but with bunny ears instead of cat ears. By your own logic, we shouldn't have bunny men added either.

I want buff bunnies. Like, as ripped as highlanders but taller. Think that would be a good complement to how Viera females look since the race has such a fierce look to it.

Basically my WoL wants to go live with the buff bunnies in the forest please.

I want something between Au Ra and Highlander: buff, but with a slightly slimmer waist. Preferably with ear choices and length sliders cause I hate how horns are locked both to face and a fixed size

Problem: Some people want cute, some want handsome, some rugged.
Solution: 1 cute face, 2 handsome faces, 1 manly/rugged face. Kinda like how nearly every playable male race works.

I'd be fine with Viera men if they were closer to the lean/muscular artwork. They look fierce enough to be protectors of the forest. If they're cute, feminine or child-like then my interest would evaporate. Based on how they're described in what little we know of them it doesn't seem like those aesthetics would fit. I just don't want them to be Miqo'te but with bunny ears instead of cat ears.

Yea, I wouldn't want the male viera to just be miqote with bunny ears attached either. I'd expect protectors of the forest to be pretty imposing looking, more so than highlanders even. Like so tall and muscular that they still look manly despite having bunny ears.

I can dream at least :v

I haven't posted in a while, but I've been keeping up with the thread. Just wanted to quote all of you guys because I agree with you all 100%! I'm so glad to know I'm not alone on this. And as Theodric said, if male Hrothgar is the only male option we get, I hope they're classically handsome. I know some of you guys are going to disagree, but I am not AT ALL into beastly races. I prefer human faces. I hope these male Hrothgar are handsome men with majestic manes. As bland and generic as that may sound, for me it would be the best. I just don't think it's fair that female Viera get to look so beautiful and glamorous and sexy and men have to look animal-like. Female Viera are an absolute dream come true for anyone who wants to play an attractive female character. I just wish that there was an actual, true male equivalent, and not a beastly counterpart.

I really don't think we have that yet. Male highlanders have nice physiques but they lack eyebrows and suffer from "same face", as Theodric said. Male Roegadyn are too bulky and their faces aren't exactly chiseled perfection either. In an earlier post I wrote I mentioned the difference between "bulky" and "buff". I think what we're missing is a genuinely classically handsome male race with buff bodies. Male Au Ra are close but their scales are so off-putting, at least to me. Male Elezen are capable of having handsome faces but their physiques are alright. If females get a perfect "waifu" race in the form of female Viera, then males should get an equivalent "husbando" race too. I am not against the idea of "sex sells" and "sexy races" at all, as long as it's evenly spread across the board.

To add to the discussion, I'm pretty sure the real reason we won't see male Viera is because the developers are uncomfortable with creating them, just as they were uncomfortable with unlocking the bunny suits for male characters. Again, this probably stems from a more conservative, old-fashioned view of what kind of appearance men and women should have.

I'm guessing that they'll try and use lore as at least a partial excuse. Though if they do, the lore won't be the REASON for the gender locking, it'll just be the convenient shield they try to use.

Not only that, but there's the simple fact that...SE writes the lore.

There was no lore on male vieras in FF XIV until 4.5. By the time 4.5 was written and released they had certainly been past finalizing plans for Shadowbringers, at least in terms of big features like jobs and races.

Even IF the male viera lore was too confining to have them be playable...it's because they WROTE THEM with the goal of being unplayable. Lore doesn't just pope out of the ground on its own someone has to write it.

Hence why I say lore might be an excuse to not have male viera but it won't be the real reason for it.

To me, the only likely reason that the dev team wouldn't put in male Viera isn't lore, or feet models, or attracting WoW players, it's discomfort. For whatever reason make bunny themes are uncomfortable for them to think about and if Hrothgar is a replacement that would be why. It's not a good reason, but considering it's been mentioned in the past by Yoshi and then the whole debacle with the bunny outfit, it seems clear to me that that's the likely reasoning.

Yep, I agree. The lore that was created for male Viera will probably be used as an excuse for why they're not playable. Matsuno's stand-in, the wandering dramaturge, literally said to not look for male Viera or else you'll be disappointed. He also said male Viera "don't exist to us". At this point, I'm pretty sure we're not getting male Viera. But there will definitely be backlash and endless requests for them if this is the case.

yeah this part kinda irks me
"we didnt want them to be weird"
then dont make them weird?

I might be reaching out a bit, but I think the reason why the devs find them "weird" or "too cutesy" has less to do with the actual design of the male viera and moreso to do with something more deep-seated, such as discomfort with the idea of "bunny-men" because they perceive it as too feminine or girly.

Again, this goes back to this old-fashioned, close-minded idea that certain things are reserved for women (cute and sexy) and some things are reserved for men (gritty and rough).

And this sort of mindset is, I would say, sort of common in video games. For example, male orcs are designed to be bulky, gritty, and beast-like, whereas orc women tend to be more like glamour models with green skin. Like this:



Of course, that's not to say that all games are like this. I think it's safe to say that games are progressing in this sense, at least in Western games. But remember that FFXIV is a Japanese game, and therefore it's being made with a different mindset, cultural perspective, etc. There's a reason why female Roegadyn are still the least played race/gender combination of all. Most players prefer the traditional cutesy race, which female Viera totally cater to.

[Rokke]

and this sort of mindset is, I would say, sort of common in video games. For example, male orcs are designed to be bulky, gritty, and beast-like, whereas orc women tend to be more like glamour models with green skin. Like this:



...
There's a reason why female Roegadyn are still the least played race/gender combination of all. Most players prefer the traditional cutesy race, which female Viera totally cater to.

I don't know if its funny or sad that Roegadyn were basically designed exactly in line with that chart and they still couldn't attract the waifu crowd. imo their unpopular status has more to do with their faces. Their noses are like cartoon triangles and one clan takes an additional hit with permanent black coloring along the bottom.

Outside that, I find the reoccurring comparisons made with male viera and the bunny sets here and on reddit kinda confusing. While the both have rabbit ears, the bunny suits are crossdressing. Its disappointing that the devs let their personal hangups delay that set so long but its somewhat understandable that conserve peoples could take issue with outright crossdressing. The idea that a masculine male that happens to have a certain kind of animal ears is inherently the same level of taboo as crossdressing (but not as scandalous as a smaller male with different animal ears thats more known for feminine interpretations in popculture coughnekomimi) loses me.