Male Viera... Unsubbing for now.

[Imuka]

This is one of those things where I think it should be pointed out that devs, in any videogame franchise, don't typically sit around and wait for players to tell them what should the focus their resources on. Some of that stuff was planned out months or even years before players start clamoring about what they'd like to see next. Some of that stuff takes a higher priority than the addition of something that would chew up more time than something that would offer more to the experience in terms of gameplay, bar the flavorful stuff you can experience from the dialogue in the story.

Of course they do not sit around all day and wait for the Community telling them what to do.
But there is one Problem with the Game here. They invest in something without knowing if Players like it and completly dive into that Idea.
They started to make Diadem 1, but instead of waiting for the Feedback and how Players react to it, they started to make Diadem 2 already and later changed some minor things because of the Feedback they got...which was very very bad.

Eureka was the same Show. 18 Months for an Idea, that was called horrible Months before they started to make Eureka.
No wonder the Feedback was more positive than they expected it to be...because a large Part of the Community hated Diadem.

Many people demanded more entertaining Gameplay in the Dungeons, not hose Levels with the Tank pulling as much as possible till he/she hits a wall and then the Mobs do so little Damage that it feels so easy, that everybody who plays the Game feels unchallenged.

And sometimes they should listen what the Players wish for, instead of trying to follow some Trends.
The most Players demanded a WoW like PvP. 2 Sides, one Attacker one Defender or 2 Teams and flags like in Battlefield.
Instead we got a overcomplicated Moba PvP, with people so busy doing stuff, that there was never really time to enjoy the Combat.
People wished for a Minion Game like Pokemon and instead got some weird other Game, that again felt like it was inspired by some Moba like Mobile Game.

And now nearly nobody plays Astralagos or Lord of Verminion. So all this work was wasted.

[ScarboroughFairy]

Of course they do not sit around all day and wait for the Community telling them what to do.
But there is one Problem with the Game here. They invest in something without knowing if Players like it and completly dive into that Idea.

Literally every developer does this.

They started to make Diadem 1, but instead of waiting for the Feedback and how Players react to it, they started to make Diadem 2 already and later changed some minor things because of the Feedback they got...which was very very bad.

Like I stated previously, I can't comment on Diadem because I wasn't here for it.

And sometimes they should listen what the Players wish for, instead of trying to follow some Trends.

This reads like they never listen to their fanbase. DRK is getting a rework from the ground up (allegedly) due to the criticisms over the DA spam involved in its kit. DRG, SCH, BLM, SMN, and WAR got fixes this expansion. Were they all perfect fixes? No. Did they make the jobs more satisfying to play for the time being while they planned out an overhaul? Yes. And the Ultimate trials. Ultimate Bahamut turned out to be a massive hit despite a tiny percentage of the playerbase actually participating in them. They came back to give players UWU some months down the line.

The most Players demanded a WoW like PvP. 2 Sides, one Attacker one Defender or 2 Teams and flags like in Battlefield.
Instead we got a overcomplicated Moba PvP, with people so busy doing stuff, that there was never really time to enjoy the Combat.
People wished for a Minion Game like Pokemon and instead got some weird other Game, that again felt like it was inspired by some Moba like Mobile Game.

You forgot that PvP was an afterthought, they admitted. Would I like a better PvP system? Hell yeah, I think that'd be really fun, but PvP isn't my main focus for the game.

And now nearly nobody plays Astralagos or Lord of Verminion. So all this work was wasted.

Sweeping generalization there. Not a particularly overwhelming number of people play those modes, but people still enjoy them. I'm going to have to digress here, as my question was initially why people picked now to unsub after getting what they asked for, though not in its entirety, after we had 4 years of nothing at all. It is a tantrum. A tantrum thrown even after the devs warned us 6 years ago that the implementation of Viera might have to be genderlocked.

[Imuka]

Sweeping generalization there. Not a particularly overwhelming number of people play those modes, but people still enjoy them. I'm going to have to digress here, as my question was initially why people picked now to unsub after getting what they asked for, though not in its entirety, after we had 4 years of nothing at all. It is a tantrum. A tantrum thrown even after the devs warned us 6 years ago that the implementation of Viera might have to be genderlocked.

The last time, I entered the Lord of Verminion Tournament months ago, I was on the second place...because there were just 4 Players on my Server playing it.
And the only reason I was even able to play it, was because I played against a Friend.
So, there were just 3 (2) other Players on the whole Server.

Astralagos is only played on one evening per Week on my...I think Server or maybe Datacenter.
I know that, because someone told me about a Linkshell for that mode, to farm for the Mount.
They needed a Linkshell to fill that place, because like they said "Otherwise this place looks like a Graveyard.".

[DarkRainGirl]

Hi I know that people are not gonna agree with me but this is my opinion. (I will not respond to people on this thread I am simply here to post my opinion on the matter) I think they should not gender lock any playable races no matter how much of a re-skin it is. lets face it the beast race they just showed off is a re-skin of a Roe and the bunnies are Elzen with bunny ears (its ok to disagree with me but this is what i am seeing) Now Yoshi has already stated that the new area will be a Mirror of the 1st and even commented on how one of the areas looks an awful lot like Limsa. then you have the dwarf beast tribe.. I mean come on that is a full on re-skin you can't deny it they even revealed it as a re-skin. I get it the concept is cute but with all these re-skins what the actual f are they doing? the creatures are being done by someone new from kingdom hearts and the roe i mean beast race is done its not like the areas were gonna be much different from the arr areas and they can't give me the crap well it takes a lot of time to make new armor for the races because we can all see that those races are not new they are re-skins it makes me curious were the time and money for the game actually went? I want a great game I don't want a standard MMO I want to hold the entire SE group accountable for the release of Re-skins R-US I am annoyed that everyone is ok with this they be like whatever, get over it don't play if that's how you feel, but for the love of god tell people who have been loyal fans and expect more for the actual game to uninstall cuz those loyal fans will want to play the next mmo with the way this one is currently heading? its been 6 years and they are gonna go back to that gender lock? didn't they learn the first time they did that? and for all the sad people saying we should be nice to Yoshi. Mf I have been nice, 6 years I have been waiting for them to make the bunnies and I have played many of the ff games since i was a kid some on release and most per-ordered after this expansion i will seriously reconsider per-ordering again. They can't say that they are gender locked due to Lore that is the dumbest thing i have heard since Mi'quote was gender locked as well as Roe but use that "lore" as a shield it will only make this game a typically mmo and if i want that I will play WoW. I believe in them and I want them to try and do better!

[Radacci]

To each their own i guess, but i don't really get the hype around new races, when they are just hyur with bunny/cat ears - there's even bunny ears in gold saucer, so viera has only one feature - their ears - so since viera is hyur cosplaying bunny, why not cosplay bunny with gold saucer item?
Can't fathom why ppl unsub literally only because no male with passive bunny ears that clip through everything.
Had viera looked like Carrot in One Piece, in her su'long form, i'd be hyped too, but it's just... Bunny ears...
Hrothgar is nice, though i think that's how mi'qote should have looked like.
I think it would be better to focus on the gender-locking, rather than no male viera - it's technically the same thing, but less awkward.

[Sheriyana]

It's utterly baffling to me that there are a lot of you laughing and making fun of people who are upset about this. "This is nothing new, there's plenty of MMOs with gender locked races". Yeah, so what? In case you didn't know, this is Final Fantasy XIV, gender locked races haven't been a thing since 1.0 and for good reason. Why are you so against giving people more options? How does it hurt you if there's male Viera?

I know there's a lot of hyperbole going around, and that tends to happen when a company makes decisions that make no sense like these. I personally won't unsub over it but my faith in this game has been shaken once again, severely diminishing my excitement for Shadowbringers. I totally respect anyone who feels like they don't want to support SE with this happening. People are allowed to voice their opinion and it's their right as a customer to stop supporting a product they're not happy with. And to the people saying it's ridiculous to get upset over cosmetics, ever heard of the phrase "glamour is endgame"? Cosmetics are one of the most important parts when it comes to any online game, you want your character to stand out and for it to look exactly like you want it to. From MMOs to even basic online shooters, the whole reward systems are based around skins and cosmetic customization.

I want to say it again since I don't think it can be stressed enough, why are you advocating for less content, for less options?

[ThunderGodThor]

It's utterly baffling to me that there are a lot of you laughing and making fun of people who are upset about this. "This is nothing new, there's plenty of MMOs with gender locked races". Yeah, so what? In case you didn't know, this is Final Fantasy XIV, gender locked races haven't been a thing since 1.0 and for good reason. Why are you so against giving people more options? How does it hurt you if there's male Viera?

I know there's a lot of hyperbole going around, and that tends to happen when a company makes decisions that make no sense like these. I personally won't unsub over it but my faith in this game has been shaken once again, severely diminishing my excitement for Shadowbringers. I totally respect anyone who feels like they don't want to support SE with this happening. People are allowed to voice their opinion and it's their right as a customer to stop supporting a product they're not happy with. And to the people saying it's ridiculous to get upset over cosmetics, ever heard of the phrase "glamour is endgame"? Cosmetics are one of the most important parts when it comes to any online game, you want your character to stand out and for it to look exactly like you want it to. From MMOs to even basic online shooters, the whole reward systems are based around skins and cosmetic customization.

I want to say it again since I don't think it can be stressed enough, why are you advocating for less content, for less options?

Okie dokie, cosmetics are true end game- delete mogstation then :3

[Sheriyana]

Okie dokie, cosmetics are true end game- delete mogstation then :3

I don't know what the mogstation has to do with any of this. The phrase means that the endgame is making the perfect outfits for your character and at "endgame" you have access to most options since you don't have to worry about being restricted by level. And yes, the outfits can also consist of mogstation pieces.

[ThunderGodThor]

I don't know what the mogstation has to do with any of this. The phrase means that the endgame is making the perfect outfits for your character and at "endgame" you have access to most options since you don't have to worry about being restricted by level. And yes, the outfits can also consist of mogstation pieces.

I'm not trying to turn this into a debate about the mogstation, been there way too many times. But you said that glamor is the true endgame, and I agree- folk should be able to make there character look exactly how they want. But a cash shop is still a barrier when it comes to glamor, in the same way that gender exclusive races are. Can't have it both ways. If cosmetics is your argument, then open the races to both genders, and make everything on the mogstation available in game.

[Sheriyana]

I'm not trying to turn this into a debate about the mogstation, been there way too many times. But you said that glamor is the true endgame, and I agree- folk should be able to make there character look exactly how they want. But a cash shop is still a barrier when it comes to glamor, in the same way that gender exclusive races are. Can't have it both ways. If cosmetics is your argument, then open the races to both genders, and make everything on the mogstation available in game.

I mean I sure don't have any problem with making mogstation items available ingame if that's where you were going at, by all means.