Gender locked race?

[Tsumdere]

It's not only that it's gender locked, but the Hrothgar just look so... goofy. They don't look right at all. As someone who wanted beastmen as much as male Viera, I'm very disappointed in how Hrothgar look.

Probably will just fall back to the one character sub because I have no use for these characters I was saving for Viera. Just to make a point, I'm not even going to fantasia to female Viera temporarily either.

[Theodric]

Plenty of people wanted Hrothgar. You can see many people explicitly requesting something along the lines of Ronso within this very thread before the reveal. Let's not be deceptive in our discussion points.

[Thefates]

Plenty of people wanted Hrothgar. You can see many people explicitly requesting something along the lines of Ronso within this very thread before the reveal. Let's not be deceptive in our discussion points.

Agreed, Hrothgar obviously had a fanbase following the leaks. That being said, the gender lock was still something nobody "wanted" for either race.

[NahuNa]

Agreed, Hrothgar obviously had a fanbase following the leaks. That being said, the gender lock was still something nobody "wanted" for either race.

Yeah, memes aside, I understand there's people who wanted a more beastly race... but nobody wanted it to be at the expense of other, just as wanted feature. And going by the numbers, the big, muscly races just aren't nearly as popular as the prettier ones. This decision seems to be practically one of personal (dis)taste, and a rather pathetic one at that. That an entire team of devs can't get over themselves to deliver what people ask for (and asked for as far as 1.0) is disappointing and rather insulting.

[BillyKaplan]

Plenty of people wanted Hrothgar. You can see many people explicitly requesting something along the lines of Ronso within this very thread before the reveal. Let's not be deceptive in our discussion points.

Plenty of people also wanted female Hrothgars. By introducing Hrothgar, they also created themselves another audience they will not be able to satisfy with this.

[wylantar]

Stolen from Arkeband on Reddit, sums up my feelings exactly:

S-E: "Here's concept art of male Viera, wouldn't this be cool?"

Fans: yes we have always wanted this

S-E: "ta-da! female viera where's the males guess we'll have to find out next time"

Fans: yes we have always wanted this, show us canon male viera

S-E: "sorry we decided not to make them, but here's lions that are also pseudo-Ronso"

Fans: why

S-E: "btw they're gender locked too"

Fans: why

[Sentaryuu]

I too am in the boat of disappointment. I wanted Male Viera as well. I wanted another Male Race I could change into for a little while, but looks like that is dead. I just can't change Celi into most of the Male races other than lala.

These Hrothgar are just not what I am looking for in a new race. I have never been a fan of bestial races or buff ones like they are. Them being gender locked and the Viera being female only doesnt sit well with me. I don't like gender locked races in any game. Hopefully it never comes to gender locked jobs. Just let me play what I want. They may grow on me, we shall see, but still won't be able to play one.

For now, Miqo'te for life!

[manickitty]

I too am in the boat of disappointment. I wanted Male Viera as well. I wanted another Male Race I could change into for a little while, but looks like that is dead. I just can't change Celi into most of the Male races other than lala.

These Hrothgar are just not what I am looking for in a new race. I have never been a fan of bestial races or buff ones like they are. Them being gender locked and the Viera being female only doesnt sit well with me. I don't like gender locked races in any game. Hopefully it never comes to gender locked jobs. Just let me play what I want. They may grow on me, we shall see, but still won't be able to play one.

For now, Miqo'te for life!

Agreed. What made them think they needed another overly-masculine race, I have no idea.

[Tramontane]

Gender locking these two new races is deplorable. And it's no surprise that the valence of the gender lock exactly patterns onto stereotypes and fantasies of how male and female characters "should" look, not to mention the dividing lines of gender locking seen in the past (male Roegadyn, male Highlander, female Miqo'te).

Some here have expressed the opinion that the game doesn't "need" slim or "pretty" men because they are already catered to by Miqo'te, Midlander and Elezen. But the same could be said about slim, conventionally attractive women, whether they're short (Midlander, Au Ra, Miqo'te) or tall (Elezen, Highlander, Roegadyn). Yet I don't see any perorations on how female Viera aren't "necessary," despite them being literal existing faces with bunny ears and longer legs.

The broader principle is that the imperative of gender availability isn't about whether you or I personally want to play as any particular race/gender combination. Whether something is "needed" is not really a standard for making this type of argument because it's a subjective judgment. Someone could say that 95% of what's in this game isn't "needed" and not be wrong. But the fundamental unfairness of gender locking characters is not subjective, even if I personally wouldn't play as a female Hrothgar or male Viera. Honestly I'd thought that that was so blindingly obvious that it wouldn't need to be propounded.

One of the main reasons I decided to start playing FFXIV was because of its reputation for equal treatment. I brought along my friends and we've been playing together for years now. I've felt annoyed at some things, like the imbalance in glamour options, the pricing of the cash shop and most of the design choices in Eureka, but this gender locking decision is on a completely different level. It's a massive step backward for the game and cannot be justified on any grounds--lore and artistic integrity are utterly inane points in defense. I will not be purchasing the expansion or renewing my subscription to this game unless and until this backward and insulting decision is reversed.

[Bec]

Couldn't agree more