So, realistically and logically....

[MikkoAkure]

Another likely cause is that viera were created by Matsuno, used by him for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Final Fantasy XII, and the rest of the subsequent Ivalice Alliance games, before he wrote one into his Final Fantasy XIV scenario. Players have been clamoring to play viera and Matsuno allows it under the caveat that they don't use male viera since that's his artistic decision. SE goes ahead and implements them, along with male only beast-race to balance it out since players had also asked for that when we were polled back in the day.

[DarkMasamune]

Another likely cause is that viera were created by Matsuno, used by him for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Final Fantasy XII, and the rest of the subsequent Ivalice Alliance games, before he wrote one into his Final Fantasy XIV scenario. Players have been clamoring to play viera and Matsuno allows it under the caveat that they don't use male viera since that's his artistic decision. SE goes ahead and implements them, along with male only beast-race to balance it out since players had also asked for that when we were polled back in the day.

I didn't think about it that way, but it seems way more logical.
It explains why there are no male vieras. Even thought they exist in the lore of FFXII, they are never actually seen. Maybe because they didn't want them to be seen in the first place, even if they DO exist.

[Lihtleita]

Another likely cause is that viera were created by Matsuno, used by him for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Final Fantasy XII, and the rest of the subsequent Ivalice Alliance games, before he wrote one into his Final Fantasy XIV scenario. Players have been clamoring to play viera and Matsuno allows it under the caveat that they don't use male viera since that's his artistic decision. SE goes ahead and implements them, along with male only beast-race to balance it out since players had also asked for that when we were polled back in the day.

ok but ronso in ffx had females. why is it that only viera are above tampering with?

[MikkoAkure]

ok but ronso in ffx had females. why is it that only viera are above tampering with?

If they had viera as female only and both genders of the hrothgar, then the genders would be unbalanced and still no one would be happy.

I'm disappointed too, but I was just saying what my thoughts on the situation were. I'm not going to let it get in my way of enjoying the expansion though. But I feel like this huge wave of negative reaction to viera/hrothgar/dancer/blue mage will make Square Enix re-think giving us stuff we ask for and end the end that's worse than getting something, but not the "ideal" something.

[Tharne]

ok but ronso in ffx had females. why is it that only viera are above tampering with?

Because they are Hrothgar, the First shard name is an easter egg, an homage, that's why they choose to call them Hrothgar in our shard and not Ronso because that's not the same race.

[Bright-Flower]

ok but ronso in ffx had females. why is it that only viera are above tampering with?

This. TONS of Ivalice lore got shuffled around or changed in the FFXIV version. I really don't see why male viera are the one sacred cow of Ivalice that dare not be touched upon or altered in FF XIV.

Also borrowing this from another thread:


https://www.gamer.ne.jp/news/201903240006/

Q: When did you decide to implement the female-only Viera and male-only Hrothgar?

A: It was during Return to Ivalice, around 3 months after 4.0. Viera was confirmed then, and Hrothgar came about at the same time when we were discussing plans with Matsuno-san. We were deciding whether to make a Hrothgar female or a Viera female, and after selecting Viera, work began right away, because otherwise we wouldn't make it in time. As mentioned before, the face parts are special and Hrothgar has big differences between its faces, like a lion face, wolf face, leopard face. It became a fixed model relatively recently. Viera was done right before Paris Fan Fest, and Hrothgar was done recently.