(12-23-2013, 10:03 PM)TheLastCandle Wrote: Since we're playing a Final Fantasy game, I'll put it this way. To me, asking this question is a lot like saying, "Lol? What's the point of Basch, Balthier et al in FFXII? Boring! Why wouldn't you want to play a Moogle/Bangaa/Seeq?" When in reality, literally nothing would have been enhanced by their being any other race. (Well, Vaan might have been a little more bearable. /tongueincheek)
The fact that there weren't any Bangaa party members in FFXII still haunts me to this day. YOU THINK I'M KIDDING? I AM NOT KIDDING.
Anyway, I'm seconding those who highlighted the comparative lack of concrete lore for Midlanders. Some people want to play a character concept that isn't intrinsically tied to lore, and Midlanders are certainly much easier to do that with. Highlanders, Sea Wolves, Duskwights, and both tribes of Miqo'te have a fairly big part of their role in the world defined by lore, and playing one of them means you may have to incorporate stuff that you don't like or want to deal with all that much. Of course, you don't need to, but if you don't, you may find yourself having to justify why your Sea Wolf isn't a pirate, your Highlander isn't an Ala Mhigan refugee, or your Duskwight isn't a bandit. The point is that more than anything else, Midlanders offer freedom in terms of what they can be in the world of the game, lorewise.
And, as stated above, familiarity. Their bodies, faces, and culture are the closest to those of people playing the game, and it's just easier for some to get inside the head of a character who's a human being like them. Most folks don't have the background to know exactly what it's like to live in a Seeker tribe or a Keeper clan, or how it feels to be two feet tall and constantly in danger of being eaten by piestes and ochus, or even what it would be like to have green skin. The magic of roleplaying is that we can insert ourselves into such roles if we want to, but many people do just want to play something that they don't feel as though they have to research lore, naming conventions, etc. for.
Some people just think Midlanders look best. Not everyone's into cat ears, big bulky bodies, stretched-out limbs, or tiny stumpy characters. I know I prefer the presets available for male Midlanders to those available for male Highlanders, generally. They're less rugged, which is the type of character I tend to create in the first place, so it works out pretty nicely for me.
Finally, this thread's entire premise was needlessly antagonistic, like I said before. Getting defensive over Miqo'tes is uncool if you're just going to start spite threads. Most people here love them and/or play them. You're hardly alone, and you don't need to antagonize people who play Hyurs to prove it.
