So...why so many Miqo'te?

[Tiergan]

I rolled miqo'te for two reasons that relate to FFXI.

 

1) My main in FFXI was a mithra named Lurial and I have a lot of fond memories of my time in that game.  So for old time's sake, when FFXIV 1.0 came out, I made a miqo'te named Lurial that looked similar. (Though with a completely different backstory and personality to suit the new game.)

 

2) Male mithra and famale galka were not playable in FFXI even though players really, really wanted them.  (Well, maybe not the female galka since they didn't even exist according to lore.)  So when 2.0 came out and male miqo'te and female roegadyn were playable, some part of my mind went "AT LAST, AFTER 10 LONG YEARS. I CAN FINALLY ROLL A MANTHRA AND A LADY-GALKA."

 

What didn't help matters was that Tiergan was originally an elezen back in 1.0, but when 2.0 came out, they updated the graphics.  The updated graphics are AMAZING, but unfortunately, Elezen-Tiergan went from looking really angry and awesome all the time to really... bloody bored.  In every cutscene he appeared in, he just looked as though he could not summon up an ounce of emotion other then boredom - Ascians and beastmen be damned.  So Tiergan became Lurial's twin brother at that point.

 

 

To be perfectly honest though - I often regret that Lurial and Tiergan are miqo'te and not highlanders.  I ended up not liking the miqo'te naming conventions and the lore behind the miqo'te tribes (no offense to anyone that does! Different strokes for different folks and all).  Their backgrounds really suit highlander characters infinitely more then cats.  The only reason why I haven't altered them is that I've already done too much RP with both of them at this point for them to suddenly race-swap and Lurial doesn't have any fantasia potions on her anymore.

[ArmachiA]

Every single character I've actively roleplayed in this game has been Hyur. Every one 2 Midlanders, 2 Highlanders.

 

THAT being said. I have Male and female Miqote rolled, though I much much prefer the male aesthetic. I think the males look really sleek and I played one in Beta 1 and 2 and enjoyed it immensely. I love all the animations of the Male Miqote, I adore the /sit, they run like they're quick and agile, and I just love the design. So I can absolutely see why people roll them.

 

I mean, in 1.0 Armi was an Elezen and the only reason she's not right now is because in Beta I hated the Elezen animations. Design is everything.

[Jomoru]

*mature response*

 

I originally came into the game thinking of playing a male lalafell merchant but upon reading up on the lore of the Keepers I became very tempted to make a Miqo'te male who is struggling with his life without his clan. I still roleplay m keeper male as traditional - he respects women, lets them take lead if they do so and knows when to be quiet. He has a sor tof hate for the clanless miqo'te which seem to be in abundance and loves his family beyond compare.

 

I wanted to play a keeper because by lore standards their concept of greed, thier religion and their family groups sounded interesting to me as an anthropologist.

 

Ironically, I have not met many miqo'te who roleplay their miqo'te as well, miqote. Most of them roleplay their miqo'te as: "I was adopted by a X race" or "I left my clan for X reason" where in a society that is so structured as it is, it would be VERY VERY outlandish to leave your clan - other clans would probably look down on you for abandoning your family.

 

 

Really I kind of find the large numbers of outcastes or rejects to make sense in a historical comparison Modern tribals have had interaction with the outside world so they can be strong enough to reject it, but historically the rise of powerful cities have been the detrimental to traditional rural ways. We rp people in the cities it makes sense our characters would be the ones who are more likely to abandon the old ways.

[Michikyou]

*mature response*

 

I originally came into the game thinking of playing a male lalafell merchant but upon reading up on the lore of the Keepers I became very tempted to make a Miqo'te male who is struggling with his life without his clan. I still roleplay m keeper male as traditional - he respects women, lets them take lead if they do so and knows when to be quiet. He has a sor tof hate for the clanless miqo'te which seem to be in abundance and loves his family beyond compare.

 

I wanted to play a keeper because by lore standards their concept of greed, thier religion and their family groups sounded interesting to me as an anthropologist.

 

Ironically, I have not met many miqo'te who roleplay their miqo'te as well, miqote. Most of them roleplay their miqo'te as: "I was adopted by a X race" or "I left my clan for X reason" where in a society that is so structured as it is, it would be VERY VERY outlandish to leave your clan - other clans would probably look down on you for abandoning your family.

 

 

Really I kind of find the large numbers of outcastes or rejects to make sense in a historical comparison Modern tribals have had interaction with the outside world so they can be strong enough to reject it, but historically the rise of powerful cities have been the detrimental to traditional rural ways. We rp people in the cities it makes sense our characters would be the ones who are more likely to abandon the old ways.

Actually - we roleplay people coming to the cities. Not from the cities.

[Ilwe'ran]

*mature response*

 

I originally came into the game thinking of playing a male lalafell merchant but upon reading up on the lore of the Keepers I became very tempted to make a Miqo'te male who is struggling with his life without his clan. I still roleplay m keeper male as traditional - he respects women, lets them take lead if they do so and knows when to be quiet. He has a sor tof hate for the clanless miqo'te which seem to be in abundance and loves his family beyond compare.

 

I wanted to play a keeper because by lore standards their concept of greed, thier religion and their family groups sounded interesting to me as an anthropologist.

 

Ironically, I have not met many miqo'te who roleplay their miqo'te as well, miqote. Most of them roleplay their miqo'te as: "I was adopted by a X race" or "I left my clan for X reason" where in a society that is so structured as it is, it would be VERY VERY outlandish to leave your clan - other clans would probably look down on you for abandoning your family.

 

I can relate a bit with you Naih : I'm a girl IRL, playing a Miqo'te male, which has a Family, take care of it as he's suppose to do, he is usualy quiet and respect females.

 

I picked up Miqo'te in the first place because there are not so many races that can have blue skin and normal proportions. Roe.. No, not me at all.. And Elezen was just not possible, I just can't stand their tiny head.

Then, well, I'm a girl and Keeper Lore.. That attract me I may say ? Maybe like Naih, HELL YEAH GIRL POWER ! (Hey wait a minute, WHY THE HELL DO I PLAY A MALE ! *hum*).

And I have to add that I love the male miqo'te /sit. Yep. Addicted to it.

 

I think most of RPer has a reason related to his RP. Question could be asked to people that doesn't RP, answers will probably be interesting.

[Jomoru]

 

 

Actually - we roleplay people coming to the cities. Not from the cities.

 

It makes sense those who have abandoned their homes might abandon in some fashion their old ways.

[Elyscia]

 

I am a bit perplexed by people's fascination of having their Miqo'te adopted by Hyur, though.

 

I have read through a lot of Miqo'te bios on the RPC Wiki. Not all of them, but a pretty decent chunk. A portion of those bios feature Miqo'te who were adopted. And for the life of me, I can't remember a single one where the character in question was adopted by a race other than Hyur. (I'm sure there is at least one out there. I just haven't come across it yet.) The notion of the character being adopted itself is fine. Adoption happens, obviously. But why do they have to be adopted by Hyur parents? What's wrong with having a Roegadyn, Elezen, or even a Lalafell for a parent? Why couldn't they just be adopted by other Miqo'te for that matter?

 

I'm not saying that no one's character should be adopted by a Hyur at all. What I'm confused by is the fact that a lot of those adopted Miqo'te are being RPed just like humans (that or the player may be using this adoption to justify why the Miqo'te is disconnected from their culture/dislikes tribal Miqo'te/whatever). Do some feel as though their catgirl or catboy has to be adopted by a human to act like a human? Why do they have to be adopted at all to act or think any sort of way? Can they not just act the way they do or have the preferences that they do because they choose to?

My female Miqo'te is adopted by Hyurs, and I can at least provide insight as to why I personally did it.

 

I am new to RP'ing - have only started 2 months ago, so a large part of my inexperience and ignorance is portrayed through my character: my inability to unable to massively research the lore properly, or understand certain aspects about the game. I chose Hyur, of course obviously being the race closest to humans, and as such I assumed there would be similarities where I wouldn't need to worry about sticking to the lore (well, I hoped.)

 

There is a TV Trope I don't remember the name of.. basically, it's the 'Audience Relative' or something? Say, they put a very stupid character in a game, or anime, and because of his stupidity other characters around him explain to them about the world (like Ash in Pokemon.) Yeah, Elyscia is my 'Audience Relative.' I play her as incredibly, painfully naive - but hey, at least it's fun.

 

So, why not create a Hyur character to RP with? My PVE Main character whom I do not RP with is a Hyur, and I did not wish to create another one - Miqo'tes were so very pretty to me, and I wanted to be of similar race to the friend who started RP'ing with me.

 

TL;DR: I'm stupid, my character's stupid.

[Kismet]

My female Miqo'te is adopted by Hyurs, and I can at least provide insight as to why I personally did it.

 

I am new to RP'ing - have only started 2 months ago, so a large part of my inexperience and ignorance is portrayed through my character: my inability to unable to massively research the lore properly, or understand certain aspects about the game. I chose Hyur, of course obviously being the race closest to humans, and as such I assumed there would be similarities where I wouldn't need to worry about sticking to the lore (well, I hoped.)

 

There is a TV Trope I don't remember the name of.. basically, it's the 'Audience Relative' or something? Say, they put a very stupid character in a game, or anime, and because of his stupidity other characters around him explain to them about the world (like Ash in Pokemon.) Yeah, Elyscia is my 'Audience Relative.' I play her as incredibly, painfully naive - but hey, at least it's fun.

 

So, why not create a Hyur character to RP with? My PVE Main character whom I do not RP with is a Hyur, and I did not wish to create another one - Miqo'tes were so very pretty to me, and I wanted to be of similar race to the friend who started RP'ing with me.

 

TL;DR: I'm stupid, my character's stupid.

 

Don't say you're stupid! As much of a cop-out as this may sound like to some, you are a very good exception to what I was talking about. Being new to RPing, not knowing every single little scrap of lore, and etc. are more than decent reasons to be handling things as you are. (At least in my opinion, anyway.) My post was aimed largely at players who think that's the only way their character's personality is justified, when that's simply not true. (It was also admittedly aimed at some players who're just way too influenced by anime/JRPGs...)

 

And for the Miqo'te simply being pretty thing? I did not add anything like the question "if you're going to act like a human, why not just play a human?" to my initial post. I've seen others try to make that argument and I find it a poor one. Aesthetics mean a lot to an RPer, and we can do whatever we want with our monthly fee. Having a character that acts pretty much like a human yet is another race is justified if that's just what you like. As a poster or two said earlier, being a human is boring for some. I look in the mirror and see a human EVERY day, so if I want to look at cat ears and a tail while my character is running around, that's my (and everyone else's) prerogative.

[Knight Kat]

Dammit, I am soooo late to this party! Why would you start this thread while I am at work???? Conspiracy!

 

Why would I play a Miqo'te? Jeez so many reasons. Prepare for a my usual walls of text...:frustrated:

 

1: The Miqo'te lore is interesting to me. I especially love the Keeper lore. I felt that a young female Keeper would be perfect to be the character I wanted to make. She comes from a matriarchal culture of hunters and huntresses that struggles to maintain traditions and survive in a quickly changing and hostile world. She is strong, willful, independent, down-to-Earth, sophisticated and intelligent (I didn't neglect to give her plenty of flaws too). NOT a typical animeish cat-girl.

 

2: Like many others have already said, I wanted a character who was not entirely human. I wanted a more feral, yet still humanoid and intelligent character. However, the races of this game are very well made, so it was not an easy choice.

 

3: Honestly, I like cats. Do I roll my Rs? NO. Do I "nya" in my sentences? NO. Do I take inspiration from anime cat-girls? NEVER. Does my character have SOME cat-like tendencies? ...yes Only because I have fun with the concept of having some feral tendencies, and emotes with the ears and tail. However, I try to keep the cat-like emotes under control and make sure I don't get too silly with them. Also, if I am in a tense RP scenario I will appropriately evaluate my emotes before using them, so I don't ruin the mood with some emote others might find funny. Plus, the Miqo'te already have some cat-like animations without us players doing any emotes. Female Miqo'te waking up, and getting out of bed? CUTE!

 

Also, look at it this way. If the only race we could be was Hyur, would every PC loose their uniqueness? Not IMHO. We could have only Miqo'te as a race, and everyone could still be unique. The different races add an aesthetic variety and a foundation for lore, but do not make each PC who they are.

[Magellan]

Ironically, I have not met many miqo'te who roleplay their miqo'te as well, miqote. Most of them roleplay their miqo'te as: "I was adopted by a X race" or "I left my clan for X reason" where in a society that is so structured as it is, it would be VERY VERY outlandish to leave your clan - other clans would probably look down on you for abandoning your family.

 

I am a bit perplexed by people's fascination of having their Miqo'te adopted by Hyur, though.

 

And for the life of me, I can't remember a single one where the character in question was adopted by a race other than Hyur.

 

I'm not saying that no one's character should be adopted by a Hyur at all. What I'm confused by is the fact that a lot of those adopted Miqo'te are being RPed just like humans (that or the player may be using this adoption to justify why the Miqo'te is disconnected from their culture/dislikes tribal Miqo'te/whatever). Do some feel as though their catgirl or catboy has to be adopted by a human to act like a human? Why do they have to be adopted at all to act or think any sort

of way? Can they not just act the way they do or have the preferences that they do because they choose to?

 

@Naih: I completely disagree. I think in the current world of Eorzea there are many, many, many examples of npc miqo'te who currently reside in city-states who no longer seem to be part of any tribe, for whatever reason. Things in the city-states very much seem to be cultural melting pot. If people want to play tribal kitties thats great! If, however, they want to play more worldly kitties, that's great too, and adoption is an easy solution to that. There is no 'correct' way to play any one race, as that would be limiting and cookie cutter, and make for rather boring rp.

 

@Kismet: I actually have never played a human in any mmo I've ever played before b/c I considered it boring. One of my goals when I started FFXIV was to change that. I wanted the 'challenge' of playing average joe race, and somehow make it interesting. Only, none of the midlander looks appealed to me at ALL.

 

I next looked at making a miqo'te, a seeker. But the lore for them absolutely didn't interest me in the slightest. Sooo.... since I wanted the challenge of playing human but didn't like their look, but like the look of seeker but yawned about their lore... why not make a hyur kitty? I knew going in it was an oft used trope, but so what? RP is about having fun.

 

And for the record, I have another seeker who is Roegadyn adopted

[Jomoru]

There are a more "human" options playing a Miqote by lore than Hyur ironically. By being average Midlanders have rubbed off any interesting cultural bits. Want to be a viking? Can't play a Hyur. Want to be a Zulu? Can't be a Hyur. Want to be French? Not with the Hyur!

 

Each and every real world culture or aproximation seems to be taken by other races. Its kind of funny to play something the most true to humans of the earth I'd have to play a nonhuman.

[Kismet]

@Kismet: I actually have never played a human in any mmo I've ever played before b/c I considered it boring. One of my goals when I started FFXIV was to change that. I wanted the 'challenge' of playing average joe race, and somehow make it interesting. Only, none of the midlander looks appealed to me at ALL.

 

I next looked at making a miqo'te, a seeker. But the lore for them absolutely didn't interest me in the slightest. Sooo.... since I wanted the challenge of playing human but didn't like their look, but like the look of seeker but yawned about their lore... why not make a hyur kitty? I knew going in it was an oft used trope, but so what? RP is about having fun.

 

And for the record, I have another seeker who is Roegadyn adopted

 

In another post, I said already said that I purely understand people making their choices for aesthetic-only reasons. I do that myself. I pay SE good money, so I can run around in permanent cat ears if I want to. That's why I disagree with anyone who ever asks "if you're going to RP a human, why don't you make one?". 

 

Obviously RPing is about having fun. But there is a particular reason why I said what I did in my first post, and I addressed that in my second post.

 

And your character would be the first Roe-adopted Miqo I've (personally) heard of, then.

[Trigonxv]

really? Am I the only one who rolled miqo'te cause it had straight up nostalgia from ff9 well @$#& yeah, and for those who don't know ff9 I'm sorry but shame on you

[FreelanceWizard]

To the OP's question, the reason I made a miqo'te is because I liked the opportunities offered by the Seeker lore. Seekers of the Sun are one of the few races whose society is fairly well-defined between the basic game lore pages and a variety of dev posts, and as such, it gives a good "jumping off point," so to speak, for a character background. Seeker lore offers a rich set of variables and influences for a character -- whether a Seeker loves it or hates it, the existence of that culture and how it affects one's upbringing help define the character.

 

The mechanism of nunh selection, for instance, played a pivotal role in turning L'yhta against tribal society generally and her branch of the Vipers specifically. However, she still maintains certain elements of tribal Seeker culture as a result of her upbringing, such as pride in her people, a drive to prove her strength, and a strong dislike of other races assuming miqo'te women are all exotic dancers and prostitutes.

[W'seckhi Asah]

Hrm. So I guess I made Fiona cause I had the concept for a self-hating racist of a Miqo'te kicking around for a bit. I guess I channelled a little Uncle Ruckus. While originally from a tribe, she eventually left and chose a new name for herself. A Hyur-ish name. She actively tries to suppress any 'stereotypical' feline characteristics, just short of lopping off her ears and tail, and has trouble even tolerating other Miqo'te, especially Seekers. All in all, the story's been pretty fun for this girl, especially as she explores the prospect of trying to join up with the Garlean Empire. Fun times, indeed for the girl who hates just about everything about her culture. Including her birth name.

[Therese Villefort]

Late to the party! Yay! But who cares! \o/

 

Reason for me why i play miquote is pretty much like most others already have said, but i still want to say some things. Playing a human feels unbelievable boring to me, so i never play the human race in any game that has different race choices.

To say it short and blunt: Lalafells look too much like children... roegadyns are hulks, not my case ... elezen are out of proportion... they got closest to "i would play them too" but miquote won over them, just because i like their looks better.

 

So that really only left me with miquote. That was the initial thing, now after playing my main for quite a while now, im very fond of him and wouldnt change him anymore.

 

About the "one of a million" thing and the most played race: Despite that i feel very unique nonetheless. I play him as a scholar or intelectual, and i can count the people i met in RP who play one character as that on one hand. This is subjective, tho, there could be many out there (actually i guess everyone who plays a "non-feral" mage) its just my perception.

And if you'd look for a significant feature that seperates him from the crowd, it would be his glasses... it's HIS thing. Personally i didnt meet a single other character that wears glasses. The only other one i know myself would be antimony, and thats OOC knowledge. ^^

 

He's non-tribal, like many others, but that is because i tied his youth heavily to limsa Lominsa, which is a cultural melting pot like others have pointed out already.

Naih'ir said we are coming to the citys, not from them. Well, that part already got done by Sinis mother She's a miquote who left her clan and made a fortune in Limsa as merchant. Sini'to grew up entirely in Limsa Lominsa, so he basically grew up in a cosmopolitan society/culture and therefore has these assets (what you would describe as typically hyur/RL human western culture).

 

So hes far from tribal traditions as he never dealt with them, but as miquote he still has to explain these to other people sometimes. ^^ (luckily he knows enough about it due to being a smartpants). Also i know about the consequences that has to him and i find that good. He already met some tribal miquote who gave him fire for being non-tribal and even being with a non-tribal seeker who "spits on tribal traditions" as they worded it. But that was some fun RP, something which i didnt encounter before. Its almost a shame that it doesnt happen more often, but i guess thats due to most people RPing non-tribals, or if they do they still are very tolerant.

 

edit: shit, that really got longer than i expected and a bit offtopic

 

PS: omg, i loved FF9 ^^ is my favorite

[TheLastCandle]

really? Am I the only one who rolled miqo'te cause it had straight up nostalgia from ff9 well @$#& yeah, and for those who don't know ff9 I'm sorry but shame on you

 

Haha. I recall in the ARR promotional images, they did use a male Miqo'te named Zidane Tribal in many of them. So I think you're not alone.

[Trigonxv]

Haha. I recall in the ARR promotional images, they did use a male Miqo'te named Zidane Tribal in many of them. So I think you're not alone.

 

I see what you did there candle and I like it :thumbsup:

[Dubs]

I enjoy RPing a miqo'te that really doesn't care what their culture is all about because 1) frankly he wasn't raised within it and 2) there are so many out there in the "you're doing it wrong" club that are too overly enamored with how other people choose to RP their character that they themselves attempt to justify why they are more miqo'te than someone else.

 

All in all the same rhetorical themes always arise within these types of racial archetype defining threads to the point of banality and ad nauseum. I mean honestly, do you really want a collective group who can rarely agree on anything attempt to define you? Lunacy. This is but one of the concepts to my miqo'te's individuality. Do I need community approval in order create a well rounded character? Hell no.

[Vash]

I played a Miqo'te for numerous reasons. I was super sick of playing human like races. In most of the games I've played I was a human for a long time. (Until near the end of my SWTOR career when I switched to Catharr (Cat Race)) 

 

There is multiple reasons I chose miqo'te I play Vash very close to my heart so I thought that his look would be something I'd like. Another reason is I thought way back in the day before release that there would be a small amount of male miqo'te.

 

Another thing is Vash wasn't raised in the tribes and has no clue who his real parents are or who they where. He was raised by hyur. He only recently found out about his heritage. So there is that which I still can't decide what it'll do to him.

 

Anyways that's my two cents!

[Seriphyn]

Ha! So, it definitely seems "Human is too boring" is the most common response.

 

Digressing to talk about myself, I like playing humans to explore human stories within a foreign context, actually. It's why I prefer the more grounded elements of the lore (Ul'dah Royalists vs Monetarists, Alliance vs Garlean etc) over stuff like primals and world-ending magic.

 

I swear, however, that some players clocked onto the large number of Miqo'te, and suddenly we saw a surge in the number of Lalafell characters in the past month. I don't know if that anecdote has correlation with anything, though.

[Illira]

I have to say that I don't quite get the "human is too boring" response, as you put it, Seriphyn. And by that I mean as a reason for which to play a Miqo'te. Or for that matter pretty much all the races here as a base. None of them are far enough removed from the 'basic human' to seem like a real reason. And the Miqo'te are certainly included in this assessment. They are humans who have furry ears and a furry tail. Thats pretty much it. And from a cultural perspective, at least the non-city versions of them have a tribalistic bent. The latter bringing the only real meaty difference between them and a 'Hyur'. But even that cultural divide in the game, is far less than it could be.

 

And I guess that is my own personal beef with Miqo'te as a race. I would like the bestial aspects of them to be far more exaggerated and for them to really feel like they are like a true race. As it is, they are more of a human subrace. Which is true of all the other playable races. 

 

tldr; In essence, Miqo'te aren't distinct enough of a race for me to buy the "human is too boring" reason as valid on an objective level. Though of course 'race' choice is a game is often an emotional thing and in the end is a subjective choice.

[Therese Villefort]

Yeah, but as you say, this is true for all playable races here. You dont have a race thats really far away from the basic human.

 

But for someone who is bored by playing basic humans: A little bit more non-human is better than plain basic human.

[Naunet]

Honestly, I think elezen take one further away from "basic human" than miqo'te - particularly Duskwight elezen when you consider their culture and the stigma attached to them. While there are countless miqo'te NPCs who do nothing to distinguish themselves for their race, Duskwight are suspiciously absent in Gridania and treated with notable difference when they do show up.

 

I wish they had hair options that actually complemented their neck/head proportions.

[Seriphyn]

I mean honestly, do you really want a collective group who can rarely agree on anything attempt to define you?

 

Well said.

 

None of them are far enough removed from the 'basic human' to seem like a real reason. And the Miqo'te are certainly included in this assessment. They are humans who have furry ears and a furry tail. Thats pretty much it.

 

Also well said.