(07-24-2014, 05:15 PM)Zyrusticae Wrote: Well, you know. It can be both. With aether allowing people to make up for their shortcomings, while also allowing people to put emphasis on their already-great strengths. Perhaps size is a deterrent when it comes to fine control (actually, I know this for a fact to be true when it comes to motor control) and hence Lalafell (and Miqo'te to a lesser extent) have a natural advantage here, while Roegadyn and Highlanders have to put forth a little bit more effort to do the same.
Either way, aether is a thing, and I still posit it is one of the reasons (if not THE reason) gender equality is a thing in Eorzea. Without it, well, you'd hear no end to the debates about female physical strength and blah blah blah, you know the drill.
(07-24-2014, 04:55 PM)Melkire Wrote: Garleans also get by due to their tech. Their overreliance on such likely stems from their inability (or poor ability, I'm not familiar with their lore)Â to channel aether.It's less that they lack the ability (because all living things have at least some aether) and more that their homeland being so dearth of aether means they don't really have any opportunity to practice at it.
But yeah, Garleans are pretty weak without their technology to back them up. Good for them, then, that their technology is effectively decades ahead of everyone else's (Garlond Ironworks aside).
I kinda see the Garleans as having just as much aether as any other hyur, but that they lack the ability to consciously use it. That's why in terms of abilities, they shy away from magic (one could say they have no aether reserves), but they certainly are physically weak. It just so happens that their magitek gadgets make up for the difference in their combat styles.Â
I'd have expected Garleans to have slightly more defined gender roles in this sense. If we judge based off of the regular enemies, and named characters, we really only have a single Garlean female with power, with higher/equal ranking men. And all of the "regular" Garlean soldiers have always appeared to be male models and have male voices. But then, maybe they're just sending a male-only army to Eorzea. We don't have enough lore on them.
