Zyrusticae

But this is purely wrong. Someone who is extremely powerful (monetarily, physically, or otherwise) can still develop quite a bit over the events of a story. The circumstances one can find themselves in can create quite a conflict regardless of that power - especially if the situation sidesteps that power entirely and cannot be addressed in that way. As an example, T'rahnu may be well-equipped to take down any opponent in a one-on-one battle and possess a great deal of wealth, but she is not so well-equipped to make moral judgments and decide who is in the right. She tends to go with her gut instincts, which may or may not make for a positive outcome for all involved. She's also never really gotten over her loss from the Calamity, and someone can easily push those buttons to push her off-balance. Those are two big areas where she can grow right off the bat, despite her incredible martial prowess and rock-solid self-confidence otherwise. It really bothers me that some folks believe that being weak or average is a requirement for personal growth. That's completely tangential to character development, which is predicated on the idea that people change in many ways besides martial prowess, which is only one and, indeed, often a very small part of a character's total package. It's a very base-level, RPG-derived mode of thought that starting at low levels and going up over time is somehow a virtue and a positive. High-level characters can grow, too - and oftentimes the exercise is all the more beneficial for all involved, since you have to apply more lateral thinking to accomplish it.

Syndicate/Bourgeoisie The Royals (Sultanate) The Immortal Flames/Blades/Torches/Sultansworn Adventurers/Merchants/Petty Crooks Proletarians Refugees The flames hate her. She's powerful enough and useful enough to incenvitivize them to let her off the hook, yet her crimes of theft were too high-profile to ignore, hence her being forced to leave the city entirely to avoid arrest. She's also so damn slippery that trying to catch her in the first place requires an excess of manpower that would have to be diverted from other peacekeeping tasks within the city, something they are obviously loathe to do for a single individual whose worst crime is taking some things that weren't theirs (and avoiding arrest, natch). At any rate, even among adventurers T'rahnu is fairly wealthy, but she doesn't flaunt or display that wealth in any overt manner, so most people wouldn't even know it, especially from looking at her. At most she looks well-to-do. As someone who has an excess of talent and skill in most things she does, she doesn't really understand the plight of the refugees and other low-class citizens. It's not that she's unsympathetic, but she also doesn't quite understand why they have it so hard that they cannot seem to break out of their collective ruts, considering she came from an immigrant background and clawed her way up to the position she's in now. It'd take someone explaining to her (in very clear, concise language) how her unseen privileges allow her to advance in ways that most people can only dream of to break her out of that particular shell.

Nothing. Okay, fine, there has to be something, but off the top of my head I can't think of any situation where T'rahnu would get flustered. She's way too good at taking the ball and running with it in any situation. Maybe if she tripped up during a public event or something, and everyone saw it. Even then it would just be a mild embarassment followed by an apology, and she'd get right back to it afterwards. This is partly compensation for a lifetime of getting embarrassed at the smallest things IRL. I do sometimes like to play characters that hew towards my RL personality as well, but it's just not as much fun, you know?

T'rahnu is generically southeast Asian. I'm being vague here because she's really got an odd hodgepodge of features such that I don't feel comfortable being any more specific than that. Culturally? Hmmm, I guess she'd resemble an immigrant to one of the more civilized English-speaking nations. Not FOB, however, as she moved in when she was a kid. At this point she's pretty well-traveled, so it would be difficult to pin her down in that regard. Her accent is likely difficult to place as well. She'd probably be able to mimick a lot of different accents at-will. IRL I'm Vietnamese, so her being like this is really no accident. "Write what you know", and all that jazz.

I get the feeling T'rahnu would take pity on me and try to improve my life, whether I wanted it or not. ...Which, honestly, would make her a lot like a second mother. Ew, no thanks! In all seriousness, she's a natural wanderer, so she'd likely only stick around to sleep and eat and walk about the neighborhood the rest of the time. Maybe force me to go take her sightseeing. It would make for... a rather stressful time. I would also be dying of envy for her perfect body, but I do that all the time anyways.

Since upvotes aren't visible for individual posts, all of this ^^^ The hilarious thing is that people will often make the argument that things like the bunny girl outfit would "look dumb" on guys. NEWSFLASH! The bunny girl outfit looks dumb on EVERYBODY! There are no excuses here. They should make it available for everyone.

Something tells me the Machinist questline is going to provide the answers you need. Like all things Heavensward, for that matter... waiting is the name of the game. No need to rush it.

But they said the same thing about NIN wearing MNK gear - lo and behold, they added DEX to the sets to nip that problem in the bud. Of course, then the issue becomes everyone rolling for all kinds of gear because why the hell not? Which is obviously the problem they wanted to avoid in the first place by segregating gear so heavily. There's really not an easy fix to this situation. Either you would allow the glamours to be used even when your class can't actually wear the gear in question (my preferred method, but then you let mages wear plate and all that jazz, which Yoshida apparently doesn't like), or you somehow only allow gear with the correct primary attributes to count for ilvl. Which would actually be nice, because, you know, running into tanks with dex accessories is not fun for anyone involved. Actually, screw it. They should do both! Forget class identity - what the hell does that even mean when you have people running around in light steel galerusi (is that the right word?) with every class under the sun? It's nonsense is what it is! Blarrrgh! :dazed:

So I am of the mind that aether is pretty much the equivalent of the same metaphysical force used in so many fictional East Asian universes. The names change all the time - ki/chi, chakra, reiatsu, reiki, hamon, The Force, aura, so on and so forth, you get the idea - but they pretty much all function in much the same way. It's how they're used that's different. Well, that, and how much a single individual is allowed to have. There are two things that are unique to FFXIV's incarnation of this all-encompassing energy field. The first is that it actually obeys the first law of thermodynamics - aether is not an unlimited resource, and drawing too much of it from the environment can decimate everything in the immediate vicinity. The second is the fact that entire living creatures can be created purely out of aether, bypassing the normal rules of the creation of life (i.e. fertilization, gestation, and birth for sexual creatures). I suppose I should mention that lifeforms being capable of existing purely as aether also means that brains effectively serve no purpose other than to serve as vessels of the soul, something that is obviously completely different from RL (I will brook no discourse on this!). That being said, others have already covered the use of it in magick, so I won't go into that here. What I am interested is in the manipulation of personal aether in ways that go outside the framework of using it for destructive magicks. Most of this is extrapolation and not canon, lest anyone get confused, so if you're not interested in this sort of thing you can turn back now. So, we know that all living things have varying amounts of aether comprising their bodies. We know that thaumaturges can draw from their internal wellspring of aether to power spells (many of them incredibly destructive). It stands to reason, then, that this internal wellspring can be used to do far more than simply power magick. Now, it could be argued that only monks really get to do this thanks to the whole 'opening the gates' thing they've got going, but I would argue that that only increases their body's natural ability to direct and move that aether at high speeds, rather than a basic requirement to be able to manipulate it at all, otherwise thaumaturgy wouldn't even be a thing. "But thaumaturgy is different!", you say. Well, yes and no. It still draws aether from the exact same place you're taking it from when you're performing your badass superpowered martial arts. It's just how it's used that's different. I also happen to think that, given the idea that aether comprises our bodies AND our souls, that it makes sense for it to be used whenever possible. Yes, you could just as well argue that the warrior's "Inner Beast" and whatever the hell it is that dragoons do are their own, unique, self-contained ideas, but my problem with that lies in how utterly crude that take is. You're literally tacking things on top of something that is already beautiful and elegant, tainting it beyond repair. Not that Squeenix would be above such a thing, mind you, but I would hope that Koji Fox would take a more high-minded approach to this whole thing. Everything is aether, after all, so why wouldn't everything also be powered by aether? It's simple, it's intuitive, it's elegant, it is the best possible solution and best available explanation for a whole host of supernatural occurrences within the universe of FFXIV. But again... speculation. Heavensward could very well come out with lore telling us that they really are all powered by their own thing and aether has fuck-all to do with it - I would be incredibly disappointed, but it could happen. But until someone tells me otherwise, I assume that my character, who can't cast a spell to save her damn life, is still using aether to power all of her combat moves, and that anyone else who is a competent combatant is doing the same (ESPECIALLY martially-inclined Lalafell - I'm sorry, but small size is NOT an advantage in CQC). Note that it doesn't have to be a huge and obvious effect with flashy lights and everything - that aether manipulation could be happening in extremely subtle fashions that directly influences the outcome of combat, and no one in-universe has to acknowledge it because it's a matter of course, i.e. it works on a subconscious level. And that's my 200 gil. Take it or leave it.

Yeah, I get that. There are certainly days where I just want to brainlessly kill shit and the responsibility of playing the tank dissuades me from queuing as such. Just, on an individual level, I would play more as a tank if there were more options than PLD and WAR. And soon, DRK. I already said as much, but by the same token real historical ninja did not run around casting mudra, wearing chainmail (lolwut?), and generally being badasses in open combat. Historical accuracy has never really been very high on the list of priorities for a Final Fantasy game.

There is some leeway in that given all the places where bad DPS can and will wipe the whole party. This is especially true in any situation where DPS checks are a thing (though any outside of Coil or Odin are generally too easy to succeed at, and they did end up nerfing AK's DPS check for a reason). At any rate, I guess I'm an exception here then, because I play classes and not roles. I'm just at home playing BRD as I am playing DRG as I am playing WAR, though I did get bored of WAR after playing nothing but it for several months straight, which is why I want another tank class that is actually interesting to me. You're really, really spoiled for choice with DPS classes but even after DRK is released you'll have three tank class versus three healing classes versus seven DPS classes, which is just a weird place to be. If I am allowed to be completely selfish here, I just want a stylistically cool katana-wielding tank class that I can play for no other reason than that is a class that I would play ALL THE TIME and I don't want to deal with DPS queues. The role is otherwise irrelevant to me. I will likely play SAM even if it ends up a DPS class, but I will be moaning about missed opportunities all the while.

Hence why I want more tank classes that are fun to play to help mitigate the issue. Funny thing, from my memory Aion never really had this problem simply because both templars and especially gladiators were (probably still are) really fun to play and also very competent at dishing out as good as they take. Every time someone says tanks will always be understaffed, I think back to that game. Then again, I am biased as someone who usually mains a tank class to begin with. Still, FFXIV is particularly egregious in this regard and this is largely because the game's ridiculous 1-1-2 group composition completely ignores the reality of the game as it stands. Since that's not changing, the only solution is to throw in MOAR TANKS. Btw, Astrologian is more popular than Dark Knight, as weird as that sounds. Unless that poll is not a representative sample (and at 5000 votes that is extremely unlikely), healers will still be considerably more common than tanks, though Machinist's lack of popularity may help balance things out a bit.

Well, I completely disagree. Katanas are intrinsically different from greatswords and sword and board, and we're going to get an active parry/dodge tank class at some point so it may as well be SAM (since it wasn't NIN). That being said, it's not like I'm not sympathetic to people who want a SAM DPS class (particularly since, historically, katanas have always been fragile weapons poorly suited to parrying and blocking). The problem is that it is likely the tank role will be understaffed even after the release of DRK, and I want that problem to be solved. It's either they throw in another tank class sooner than later OR they change group compositions across the board, and the latter is a much, much bigger and more destructive change. Or I could be jumping the gun here and DRK ends up more popular than both of the current tank classes combined. Wouldn't that be an interesting curveball? Heh. Either way, I don't want DPS queues remaining this lengthy forever. Throw them folks a bone, you know?

I can think of worse ways to break a limb than doing it skydiving. Regardless, a broken limb is never any fun, so get well soon! :love:

He said something similar about Dark Knight - something about it not being heroic and as such he'd rather not have it in the game at all, but lo and behold the first official reveal was DRK. (I'm guessing other folks internally sold him on it by comparing the class to Batman.) Wouldn't be surprised if he reneges on SAM as DPS and we end up getting it as tank, AS WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE KTHX. Seriously tho, we need more tank classes. Need! And if we get SAM as tank I swear I will never play anything else!

Sins, hmmm... To T'rahnu, being unable to protect her family was a sin of the highest order. It didn't matter if the killer in question was a nearly omnipotent godlike being of incredible size capable of vast destruction; she feels there should have been something she could have done to prevent their collective demise. Her guilt over this is something she hides very well; she maintains a chipper demeanor at all times in spite of this. Completely irrational, but that's just how she rolls. (Some may notice that she is particularly and uncharacteristically sympathetic of individuals who have suffered under similar duress...) Her martial pursuits are just another way of distracting herself from her past. She hopes to one day, eventually, just forget all that happened - but of course such an outcome would be impossible short of true death. Perhaps someone could be the one to help her let go... but that is a real long shot given how she keeps everyone at arm's length. Other sins? Well, she is quite randy at times, but I don't know if that even counts as a sin. There's a difference between doing something because it's fun and being fixated on something at the expense of other, more important things. She doesn't quite cross the line towards the latter. Killing? She's done plenty of that, and she's quite good at it, too. The thing is that she doesn't murder anyone in cold blood; if someone begs for their life she's going to let them off the hook (though heavens help them if they try to backstab her afterwards). Similarly, when she steals from folks she only goes as far as she needs to to get away safely, which very rarely entails actually crippling someone, much less killing them. All told, T'rahnu's just not a real big sinner, really. She has vices but those aren't the same thing as sins, and her temperate personality means she's just not the type to sin big. That's just the way she rolls, you know?

The Primals' versions of the tracks are also all very nice. In fact, I wish they'd replace the current version of both Ifrit's theme and Shiva's theme (the second part) with the Primals' versions; they're just so nice and, in Ifrit's case, more in keeping with the weight of the other primal themes. Shiva's theme in particular really exposes how incredibly washed-out the in-game version is in comparison. That's probably intentional given the punk rock theme of the track, but the difference in clarity is just too large for me to ignore. Speaking of, you can preview the tracks here. Even in 128kbps MP3s, you can really notice the difference. And while this isn't exactly primal-related, I love playing this track in place of the normal battle theme for the hydra and chimera trials: Makes them 300% more epic and enjoyable.

Oh man because like.. I can't help but be all... LALAQO'TE. the tru #masterrace Not gonna lie, if this was in the game I would absolutely have rolled as one. The strengths of both rolled up into one mega-cute-cutey-cute super hybrid race? Yeah, I wouldn't stand a chance. Fantasia'd in an INSTANT.

Uh. Well.

(Soundcloud link) I want to hear something this awesome used in a Garlean boss fight. It is simply too good.

You know, I'm starting to think this might end up being the case. At the rate things are going we'll get 2.5 part 2 at either the tail end of March or early April... getting the expansion a month later would be nice but not expected. But who knows, maybe I'll be surprised?

This is bloody adorable and now I can truly see and appreciate the efficacy of the cardboard house my brother made for his cats: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-cat-stress-access.html

This post is so good that all I need to do is quote it and give it my thumbs up. :thumbsup: Now, for my own contribution: It's all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking about your character in terms of numbers or "balance", when what you really need to do is actually think of them as a character, as an individual, with their own quirks and nuances. Simply being skilled or powerful does not make your character a character, it just makes them a plot device. You need actual personality behind that character for them to be something more. This is part of why I built an out into T'rahnu's character: she doesn't participate in any fights in which she doesn't have personal investment in (re: she gets paid or her pride is on the line), and if she deems the situation too threatening for her security she bugs the hell out. She is remarkably skilled and talented but that doesn't mean she has to try to show that off everywhere she goes, and furthermore, it doesn't grant her absolute personal security in every conceivable situation. It's just a thing, and a large part of her is really proud of that thing, but she refuses to allow any one aspect of herself to define her entire being as such. I can imagine how someone who is both powerful and possesses a high-and-mighty attitude that predisposes them towards intervening in situations they have no personal investment in could be incredibly irritating, and for that reason I really suggest players avoid playing such characters. Yes, it is a legitimate personality type and, yes, such people could conceivably exist within the game world but this is one of those things where you must make a concession to your fellow players in the name of fair play. Unless the other parties consent to being pushed around OOCly, you've gotta give them some room to breath, y'know? It's not so much a game of "balance" as much as it is a game of "give and take". Other players are looking to get something out of the experience, so it's only fair that you give back as much as you are given. It's not that your character has to have clearly outlined weaknesses so much as you need to build your character in such a way that they are not insufferably stealing the spotlight from everyone else. There are ways to do that without resorting to just weakening them overall, and it might even be better for everyone involved if you try to take such alternative routes. ...Heh, I'm pretty much just repeating what others have already said in this thread at this point. Ah, well. There it is, my 2c, take it or leave it.

By the same token, you could point out that Miqo'te are supposed to have a stronger, more catlike sense of smell, and as such they would likely have more emphasis placed on smells, particularly for tracking and hunting prey, than humans would. While humans may be predisposed to telling people they "look good" as a standard compliment, Miqo'te would be far more predisposed to telling people they "smell good". No special scented soaps or perfumes required (in fact, I would venture a guess that Miqo'te would really not enjoy those things even in small amounts because they'd overpower their sense of smell). Funny thing, that Miqo'te running around Mor Dhona looking for her carbuncle likes to sniff around. Makes sense, really. If you have a strong sense of smell, why not use it?

...This is an excellent idea and I have half a mind to implement it into T'rahnu's backstory.