Aesthetic Critique Challenge

[Jaywalker]

I occasionally go out of my way to look for criticisms people have for different FFXIV race and job visuals. IMO it's fun to try and take those as a design challenge as a player. Obviously can't please everyone and people have different tastes, but it can be cool messing with expectations and testing what's possible within the game's limits.

Examples of crits I've seen people raise:

- Female elezen are dowdy and have sameface
- Midlanders are vanilla and boring while Highlanders don't look attractive
- Female roegadyns have masculine bodies
- Miqo'te have sameface, except the one older male model
- Female casters look like magical girls instead of powerful witches who can wreck stuff

Etc. I've basically heard every group get some kind of criticism.

So this time, with the specific goal of players making designs that take critiques and address them as well as possible within the limits we have currently, I'd just like to invite people to go ahead and share visual critiques they have of different races or jobs in FFXIV.

Since this is basically inviting people to say stuff they're not into, a couple of requests...

1) Please try not to head into moral judgment territory. No personal accusations against people purely for playing a particular race or job for example.

2) Vague insults are kind of useless, so please try to avoid stuff like "X race/gender is ugly". There's nowhere to go with that. Idc if you go "X race/gender's pores are big enough to swallow a child" because at least that's specific.

Anyone who wants to post designs they did in response to crit go ahead. No one who gives criticism is obligated to be convinced by another player's attempt to take that criticism either. This is just a way for people who feel like pushing design limits to try that.

[TheMightyMollusk]

Viera and Hrothgar need hats. (Somebody was gonna say it, might as well get it out of the way.)

Elezen have a very odd neck structure. Certain emotes make their necks look broken.

[Billythepancake]

Maybe a little controversial,but I genuinely don't like how lalafell look like actual children. I get the appeal of a shorter race, like wow with Gnomes and Dwarves,difference is, those actually look mature and like adults, they're just really short.aybe to help alleviate that, allow lalafell to maybe have beards

[Enla]

Maybe a little controversial,but I genuinely don't like how lalafell look like actual children. I get the appeal of a shorter race, like wow with Gnomes and Dwarves,difference is, those actually look mature and like adults, they're just really short.aybe to help alleviate that, allow lalafell to maybe have beards

I don't mind the small gremlin look, but I definitely second the desire for beards. I'd never switch away from Lalafell again if I could have a big bushy beard.



For mine, I don't like how female Au'ra look like porcelain dolls. I don't know if it's how their eyes are painted or what but at their default resting state they look soulless to me and it's always creeped me out. They're fine when in motion and aesthetically I have no other issues with them /at all/ but when still... Please no...

I also don't like how Au'ra men move like they've got life time memberships at the Ministry of Silly Walks.

[Kobalos]

I dislike how tall the au ra males are in comparison to the females. And I don't like how 'kawaii animie waifu' au ra women are they are meant to be fierce warriors yet just look like pandered eye candy like every other female in game (Apart from femeroe)
The viera all look the same again fierce warrior women who just ended up looking like fan service barbie dolls

[Jaywalker]

-----

Lol honestly I figured this would come up in some form. Thanks for presenting it the way you did! ^^ People can always give it a go and see what ways help lalas look more clearly mature.

-----

OH! Idk if this might help a bit, but I think there's a crazy bushy beard (and a mustache) on mogstation for one of the past starlight events? I remember seeing lalas use it before, dunno if it's dyeable or not but either way it does make it possible to go full-beard lala without hiding the rest of the face as per dwarves of the First.

EDIT: It is dyeable! Also with the sale it's like two bucks apparently.

[NessaWyvern]

I wish I could have the fangs of the moonkeepers, and the eyes of sunseekers on my miqo'te. Some NPC Miqo'te youngsters have this, why can't I have it on my adult? :<
I also wish Miqo'te could have different earshapes.

[KageTokage]

I've seen people mention that male Au Ra look "edgy" but you can give them a softer look by simply using skintone facepaint to cover their eye liner.

As far as the females go, having options for muscle tone and facial scars would've helped to get a more barbaric look for the Xaela.

[Duskane]

Female mid lander all either look incredibly confused or just dead inside

[Wolfsbane706]

Rogadyn in general are just too bulky if you ask me. Male and female both.