A Heavensward Race Survey (From Reddit)

[TheLastCandle]

Eh, in my world one race will just be more "popular" and Lalafell still in a minority, most especially among RPers I bet.

 

We of the taller pointy-eared race will be right there with you, little bro. Right there with you.

[Iex]

Snipped at request.

 

More on topic: Basically... the new race or new class will always be SUPER POPULAR before release. Because SHINY NEW Flavor of the Month. Just look at Ninja of FFXIV or DK of WoW. Polls like that are really not that useful.

[SessionZero]

I didn't expect anything else. It's the new race coming in Heavensward. Of course people are excited for it. Once the novelty wears off, however, things will balance back out and I sincerely doubt dragon people are going to have a longterm popularity over cat people.

 

Like, I get it. You don't like Au Ra. Linking to a poll with a limited sample scope really wasn't necessary. All it does is add more fuel to the flame.

 

While Zyrus may not be the largest fan of Au Ra, I can't say that this topic really adds any fuel to... whatever fire it is that you are referencing.

 

Every poll will have a limited scope, some more than others. It's still an interesting link in my opinion.

 

I believe the fire she is referencing is the one that starts every time someone makes a thread about Au Ra and about halfway through it devolves into people who are unhappy with what we were given and people who like what we were given butting heads.

[Desu Nee]

((Moderator Note: Amending quote))

 

Snipped at request.

 

More on topic: Basically... the new race or new class will always be SUPER POPULAR before release. Because SHINY NEW Flavor of the Month. Just look at Ninja of FFXIV or DK of WoW. Polls like that are really not that useful.

I'm so so sorry.

 

[Iex]

I'm so so sorry.

 

 

 

 

./giggle fit.

 

And then... oh god.. as I know what the person is about to do.

[ArmachiA]

Au Ra is the new ish, so a bunch of people will Fantasia to them because they don't roleplay and it;s not as big of a decision and then... a lot of them will fantasia out. These kinds of things always balance themselves out. I personally think the Au Ra will take quite a few Miqo players, which is fine because when the server is 50% Miqo I would like to see more diversity.

[Max]

-snip-

 

I apologize in advance for missing the point but I have to ask... what does this rant have to do with the topic at hand?

[Zyrusticae]

./giggle fit.

 

And then... oh god.. as I know what the person is about to do.

What am I about to do?

 

Besides shrug, I mean. And go take a nap. Mmm, nap time... :sleepy:

 

Au Ra is the new ish, so a bunch of people will Fantasia to them because they don't roleplay and it;s not as big of a decision and then... a lot of them will fantasia out. These kinds of things always balance themselves out. I personally think the Au Ra will take quite a few Miqo players, which is fine because when the server is 50% Miqo I would like to see more diversity.

Pretty much, yeah. It'll be nice to at least see some more variety.

 

I still venture that cannibalizing Miqo'te players was totally unnecessary, but, well, it's not the worst thing ever.

[Darien Cadell]

Wow! That's kind of amazing. I knew they'd be popular, but over 50% people playing Au Ra? Wow. I'm not even anything. That's impressive.

 

That being said, it's 50% of people interested in replying to a survey based on whether or not they'll be playing Au Ra, so... Not too surprising or necessarily meaningful. I'm still impressed.

 

I'll be glad to see people enjoying the new and shiny, but I think it'll settle out. They'll still be popular once it settles out, but we'll be used to it by then.

[Flickering Ember]

I'm definitely interested in seeing the new census come September, if they still do it this year. I am definitely looking forward to it. I do expect some people will fantasia for a little bit just because it's the new race. And then switch back to their original. But it does sound like even a lot of RPers are making Au Ra their main. But by September, I think we'll be able to see a more accurate picture of how Au Ra will switch up the break downs than now or shortly after launch.

 

Still though, I don't think it would be unjustified to say that Au Ra will be at least as numerous as hyur and miqo'te in the long run.

[Wymsical]

I still believe the hype will die off and they won't end up being as popular in the long term as Miqo'te.

 

This is what my vote's on. I've seen a lot of comments and sentiments from Miqo'te non-RPer players who don't think Au Ra are as pretty as Miqo'te.

[ArmachiA]

I still venture that cannibalizing Miqo'te players was totally unnecessary, but, well, it's not the worst thing ever.

 

Thing is, they gotta cannibalize SOMETHING and it's probably better to cannibalize the most populous race then the least populous ones. I would actually hate to see a stark drop in, say, Roe females over the Au Ra, there's already so few.

[ShoggMommy]

I still venture that cannibalizing Miqo'te players was totally unnecessary, but, well, it's not the worst thing ever.

 

Thing is, they gotta cannibalize SOMETHING and it's probably better to cannibalize the most populous race then the least populous ones. I would actually hate to see a stark drop in, say, Roe females over the Au Ra, there's already so few.

 

I personally don't think there will be a drop in Roe females over the au ra. Generally it's not based toward that 'genre' of rpers. But there may be some, yes I'm generalizing. But I think that the roe females will still be about what they are now. I personally like roe females they're super cool.

[Jana]

People who are here to be playing "the cute catgirl race" are going to change into playing "the cute demongirl race." Someone who's playing a Fem Highlander or Roe isn't likely going to Fantasia to a completely different set of aesthetics on a whim.

[Jaran]

I still venture that cannibalizing Miqo'te players was totally unnecessary, but, well, it's not the worst thing ever.

 

Thing is, they gotta cannibalize SOMETHING and it's probably better to cannibalize the most populous race then the least populous ones. I would actually hate to see a stark drop in, say, Roe females over the Au Ra, there's already so few.

 

I personally don't think there will be a drop in Roe females over the au ra. Generally it's not based toward that 'genre' of rpers. But there may be some, yes I'm generalizing. But I think that the roe females will still be about what they are now. I personally like roe females they're super cool.

Roe females are amazing. 

If I could ever be bothered to genderbend in RP, a Roe-gal would be my instant go-to.

 

 

Back on topic, I'm really not shocked that most of the Reddit community will be trying out (with the intentions of staying) Au Ra. They're the shiny new thing. As was mentioned, I don't see them staying #1 for very long, though. Miqo's and even Hyur will beat them out again in the long run.

 

I was actually 'cannibalized' from Miqo'te myself, but I really didn't RP much on him. When I saw the Au Ra, I started getting ideas that I actually wanted to RP, which led to me being more active in the RP community. People will play what they want to play; there's absolutely nothing wrong (or shocking, or bad) about that. Maybe it will even inspire a few others who identify as non-RPers (or barely-RPers) to come out of their shells and give it a(nother) try.

[Steel Wolf]

Personally, I find the data pretty affirming that people like new shiny, and that the design of the Au Ra has very obviously struck a nerve--people loves them some demon tail. :3

 

What this means for me and my personal playtime? Steel may have lots of demon dudes to mess with, and she'll be even more of a crystalline, lovely and rare snowflake due to her Magnificent Roeness.

[Wymsical]

I'm sure this won't be anything like over 70% of the Horde suddenly rolling blood elves and staying that way. Cat people are a very popular trope and I assume they'll win out in the end, probably Midlanders too. RPers can forget that PvErs will sometimes switch to the new shiny race just for fun and switch back later if they feel like it. In RP, I don't think a few less Miqo'te and Midlanders would be such a bad thing, considering their large numbers. We'll see a lot of Au Ra when people are rolling alts and leveling them, same with the new classes. I expect in a few months it'll all die down and the numbers will balance again (probably with Miqo'te still in the highest.)

 

That's SE's goal anyway, for everyone to be excited for the new shiny things.

[Warren Castille]

Just wanted to point out there's no "them" doing any sort of cannibalizing. Everyone making the decision to change is doing so of their own accord, presumably, so there's no phantom boogeyman to blame.

[LiadansWhisper]

Just wanted to point out there's no "them" doing any sort of cannibalizing. Everyone making the decision to change is doing so of their own accord, presumably, so there's no phantom boogeyman to blame.

 

I'm blaming you, sir.  This is all your fault. 

[Flickering Ember]

Just wanted to point out there's no "them" doing any sort of cannibalizing. Everyone making the decision to change is doing so of their own accord, presumably, so there's no phantom boogeyman to blame.

 

People play what they want to play. Whether your choice is to play something popular or not is just making the choice an individual wants. You can infer trends and correlations through this type of data if properly gathered. The data itself can lead to interesting insights. Race breakdown before and after Au Ra as well as race breakdown among new subs particularly interest me. The census definitely played a huge part in making Au Ra. 

 

You can't tell much on an individual level but you can see how effective a new race is through the different types of data.

 

Edit: Oh derp, I really should have scrolled up. After reading some of the previous posts I missed out on, I'm going to add this:

 

I think what is being meant by 'cannibalizing' is not shaming people for playing what they want to play but seeing the flow of racial breakdowns with the inclusion of Au Ra. It's the difference of: How much Au Ra are completely new subscribers vs. how much of Au Ra are existing subscribers. Perhaps also considering what races reroll moreso over others. (According to this poll, the hardest hit are miqo'te and hyur)

 

But we won't really see accurate data until Census 2015.

[TheLastCandle]

From the results page, for "What Race Are You Currently":

 

Miqo'te 1337

 

[D'aito Kuji]

I don't see Miqo'te ever being dethroned. Maybe for a short while due to Au Ra being the new race and all, but I think in the long run people will still lean towards the cat boys/girls.

 

It's the only reason I play really.  I'm an unapologetic neko fan and have been since I was little.  After years of trying to shoehorn my fandom into games decidedly unfriendly to such things (City of Heroes), I jumped at the chance to play one that's an official part of the world.  I will never give that up.

[Altitis Acquired]

Dunno if it's been mentioned, but it was pretty much the same that happened in World or Warcraft when I was playing that. When "The Burning Crusade" came out, EVERYONE wanted to play a Blood Elf. When "Wrath of the Lich King" came out, EVERYONE wanted to play a Death Knight. When "Cataclysm" came out, EVERYONE wanted to be a Worgen... and so on and so forth.

 

It's just because the Au Ra is a new shiny thing that people want to try out! It will be the same with the three new classes. However, when people have tried them out, some people will go back to what they played before.

 

Personally, I will most likely stay with the Au Ra though, simply because I prefer playing demon-looking races in MMO's, like the Castanic from TERA or the Tieflings from Neverwinter.

[Mahorela]

Rip elezens, least popular ;-; why are we so rare? Elezen are max beautiful lol.

[Altitis Acquired]

Rip elezens, least popular ;-; why are we so rare? Elezen are max beautiful lol.

 

My main is currently Elezen. But I think it is due to the odd proportions. They are like elves, but have weird, lanky bodies that seems to put off some people. However, they look ALOT better in FFXIV than the Elvaan in FFXI.