Building a better Alphinaud

[Vahlnir]

I kind of figured appealing to the crowd that's into Manly Men was what they had ShB-and-later Thancred for. He's in his 30s, reasonably tall (5'9'', which is the 50 mark for male Midlanders) and short-haired, tanks, has a kid he wants to protect (Ryne), picks up girls, and so on. The writer preferences for this game just don't seem to lean towards slab-of-muscle Manly Man, and I don't think that's a writing flaw.

Their "manly man" themes tend to play out frequently in the Manderville questlines. I get the impression that they prefer to use these sorts of characters for comedic relief over anything else, though that doesn't stop them from adding characters like this elsewhere. Bozja is a great example of this with Lyon the Beast King.

[IkaraGreydancer]

Their "manly man" themes tend to play out frequently in the Manderville questlines. I get the impression that they prefer to use these sorts of characters for comedic relief over anything else, though that doesn't stop them from adding characters like this elsewhere. Bozja is a great example of this with Lyon the Beast King.

And Lyon is a badass. Same for characters like Ranjit. Zenos himself isn't exactly small either. Gostestu also comes to mind. Heck I'd lump Hien in there too

[Vahlnir]

And Lyon is a badass. Same for characters like Ranjit. Zenos himself isn't exactly small either. Gostestu also comes to mind. Heck I'd lump Hien in there too

Oh yeah, I love Lyon and Gosetsu. Ranjit wasn't around long but he was okay too.

[Sarkany]

Yeah, Haurchefant only moves away from "elf knight dude in chainmail with sword" once you see his dialogue and get some backstory. In appearance alone, he could drop into any number of fantasy series. I don't think I'd look too hard at a cover with him on it, but I'd certainly look harder than yet another cover with a brown-haired white human man.

(Personally, I can't stand Haurchefant as a character, but I know a lot of people love him.)

[Eldtagg]

I think if the Alphanaud was Garlean soldier this would not happen. He would not have time for the books and democracy because he have to do pushup and lift the bench.

I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail

You want to have a strong mind? Then build your body. Having a strong body is the very foundation for evolving your brain.

A great bookworm is someone that would both hit the books and the gym.

[Jaquan]

I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail

You want to have a strong mind? Then build your body. Having a strong body is the very foundation for evolving your brain.

A great bookworm is someone that would both hit the books and the gym.

Except in this case it's less about stereotype but more about cultural differences. Compared to modern western culture Japanese always seemed to put almost androgynous, lean and "pretty" males at the pinnacle of beauty. They also seem to put slightly higher values at intelligence and academic records which do put people in the spotlight compared to western media/culture where characters showing those traits are usually social outcasts. Japanese are honestly pretty close minded even when it comes to game development. They rarely try to appeal to westerners and when they do it's very obvious. And honestly i prefer it that way since recently we really lack that end of the spectrum.

[DPZ2]

I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail
.

The words you are looking for are "lithe and limber", not "skinny and frail". "Lithe" referring to the athletic grace of a person, "limber" referring to a resilient mind.

[Lauront]

I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail

You want to have a strong mind? Then build your body. Having a strong body is the very foundation for evolving your brain.

A great bookworm is someone that would both hit the books and the gym.

Strongly agree with this.

Highlander and Roegadyn men do not resemble the likes of Basch, Gladio or Snow. The former have great physiques but the lack of eyebrows makes them look unappealing to many of us and there's arguably something 'off' about their faces. Roegadyn, meanwhile, are seen as awkwardly proportioned.

Whether the update to the older character models remedies the situation or not remains to be seen, though more options is rarely a bad thing.

There are au ra, which combine powerful bodies with good faces, but those come with the scales, horns and tails, which is not to everyone's taste. At this point, what we need is enhanced character customisation.

[Graeham]

Agree. I play the muscle magic chara. I use the muscle to cast the spell while I attack with the stick. I know this is difficult part of the Garlemald story and people challenge the rp because the bias against the spells but I have overcome the problem by train hard like wrestler.

[Theodric]

The perceived lack of character creation options has consistently been a common criticism of the game over the years, though. It just so happens that whenever anyone suggests that maybe some more time and effort could be put into expanding the range of options available to those of us who appreciate masculinity the suggestions are shot down - mysteriously quite often by those who seem to drift towards feminine and/or androgynous aesthetics themselves.

Let's not forget that more facial hair options were a common request for years and yet Yoshi-P was surprised that people wanted it - suggesting that feedback related to such things simply isn't reaching him for whatever reason. Yet to his credit, it took a while but he added a new stubble option for Midlander men which has proven to be very successful based on the amount of Midlanders sporting it - my own included.