So...why so many Miqo'te?

[Illira]

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.

 

While I was writing the post, I was actually thinking the same thing, at least in regards to the Duskwright clan. Though, I decided to leave it out, as that is more of an actual cultural divide, than a racial one. Since I would not consider the Wildwood to be of a real notable distance from the 'Hyur pot'. But... it could perhaps be argued that the Duskwright are a truer representation of the Elezen race in its origins. But the lore in FF14 is kinda fuzzy on these kind of things.

 

I do agree on the hairstyle bit. Which is why Illira is still stuck with the braids, as the only other choices that she would choose make her head look super tiny. :dodgy:

[ansemaru]

I have a Miqo'te alt. Why? He was originally going to be a Hyur, but I decided against it for a couple reasons- namely that there are no Hyur in my Free Company, and I thought it would be odd to go against the grain of a group that is almost entirely Elezen, Miqo'te, and Roegadyn by making a Hyur, and that I have plans to make... yet another alt who is a Hyur and whose role, design, and backstory makes it a little more imperative to make him such. In the case of my alt, he has a design that translated fairly easily across Hyur, Miqo'te, Elezen, and Lalafell, so my options were fairly open. Since my main is an Elezen and my intended backup alt is going to be a Hyur, a Miqo'te seemed like the most straightforward option.

 

I guess my one qualm about making him one was, honestly, the prolific number of Miqo'te characters already present in the game and on the server. Second-largest population after Hyur and all, as of last survey, right? And I typically don't favor going for the most popular options unless I can do something fun and creative with them.

[Flickering Ember]

I don't play a miqo'te and I wasn't exactly eager about getting into FFXIV with its racial selection the way it is. While it's normal to play humanoids in MMOs, all the races in this game look like ever so slightly altered humans. It's probably my only major hangup with the game but I can get past it, especially since it's more of a visual thing.

 

The way I see miqo'te they are different enough from the other races while still being a pretty face. I know they get pegged as 'the sexy race' a lot but I don't think that's why most people chose them. I feel like the features of a miqo'te are different enough to feel like they are a separate race but they are also 'human' enough for people to empathize with. Additionally, you don't really see this kind of race in other MMOs. At least I haven't.

 

My 2c.

[Ildur]

Three of the playable races are basically humans with some modifications or additions. Elezen and Roegadyn are farther away from humans than Miqo'tes are. Elezen don't just have pointy ears, but also alien proportions. Long necks and extremities.

Roegadyn have very square facial traits and heavy torsos (though their females look more normal). Lalafell are basically anime gnomes. But the Miqo'te? They are humans with cat tails and ears strapped to the appropiate body parts. Take that away and they would just be humans with weird eyes or teeth depending on their clan.

 

I made a Miqo'te because some other people were and they needed a family member. The family RP prospect seemed like fun, and that's all the reason one needs to do anything in a game, really: fun!

[Lost River]

I wouldn't call the Elezen alien proportions but more like Fair Folk proportions; they look like Gaelic Elves; I lol'd at the Lalafell statement.

 

As for Miqo'te, they look almost like humans, but their eyes, fangs, tail, and ears; set them apart. But I do agree, they need some other moniker to fully set them apart. What, though.

[C'kayah Polaali]

I dunno. Culturally they're all pretty distinct, and I think that's where all the really interesting RP possibilities come in - I don't care how alien or not they look, I care how alien or not they act.

 

A good example, to me, is Lord of the Rings Online. I'm a huge Tolkien geek. I've read pretty much everything he wrote, including all the random drafts and essays in the various History of Middle Earth books. I love Tolkien's elves. So, of course, I play an elf in LOTRO. Now it's not terribly easy to tell an Elf apart from a Man in that game, aside from beards, but culturally they're extremely different. Tolkien's Elves are alien. They don't die. They develop differently as children. Their existence is bound by the existence of the world (instead of leaving it and going who-knows-where, like Men do). When they look at something in the world, they see it, as opposed to Men who (in the words of Finrod) seem to be remembering something more dear to them from someplace else. Tolkien's Elves live in the world, while they call Men "Guests" because they seem to pass through it on the way to something else. It makes for a really fascinating perspective to RP.

 

Miqo's and Lalafell and all the rest of them aren't quite that alien from one another, but there's certainly enough differences to be interesting.

[Nebbs]

Just an off the wall response to So...why so many Miqo'te?

 

Maybe it is because you look for them? Like that car or coat that you think is exclusive, only to find that when you own one you notice them far more.

[Lost River]

Just an off the wall response to So...why so many Miqo'te?

 

Maybe it is because you look for them? Like that car or coat that you think is exclusive, only to find that when you own one you notice them far more.

 

 

I like that response.

[ansemaru]

Alien? Fair Folk? Nah, Elezen have yaoi anatomy.

 

 

[Myxie Tryxle]

Kinda late getting into this, and didn't read the whole thread, but statistically, it's not surprising. Before the game went live, there were polls on this forum and others about what sort of character people planned to play. Every one of those polls put Miqo'te at the top with 30-35% of votes, regardless of gameplay goals. People roleplay Miqo'te because, in general, people like them.

 

Personally, I was shuffling between male Midlander, female Miqo'te, and female Roegadyn when the game relaunched. I stuck with the Miqo'te because she was more fun. Others tell me she's rather unique, too, though I could easily list a handful of pop culture characters in reference to her presentation.

[Dat Oni]

Alien? Fair Folk? Nah, Elezen have yaoi anatomy.

 

 

 

Actually, they look more like your average Guado from FFX.

 

[Lost River]

And the Guado are based off of Voodoo and the Fair Folk. >.> Faeries, Everywhere! 

 

 

[Kai]

...because (Ta)Lina's been a catgirl since 2006ish?

http://kai.blackboxchaos.com/pics/CoH/ref/Lina/BmodeOff/Closeup.jpg[/img]  http://kai.blackboxchaos.com/pics/Lina.png[/img]

 

Really, I didn't start FF with the intent to RP outside of Talina who is pretty lore-compliant, if afflicted by a terrible case of wanderlust (hi Oschon!).  

 

My other Miqo'te....Gin was made late one night when I saw someone run by the with female ponytail miqo'te hairstyle and my brain said 'OMG must have tiny albino miqo'te monk for the lulz!' and several fits of giggling later, there she was, all giving lore the finger, but that was okay since she was just for silliness with friends.  Then I ended up RPing her once in public and people liked her.  So she's still there. >.>

[Rickter]

 

 

traditionally, in all MMORPG, the vanilla human race is the most popular.  its because you can make them look like you.  its because we find members of our own race attractive.  its because its more believable for immersion sake.

 

but we all want to stand out and be unique in these types of games too dont we?

 

so enter mi'qote.  so similar to vanilla human, yet given a certain flare of intriguing feline features.

 

it was a recipe for success.  that on top of their unique emote animations and various unique customization options. . . idk, i knew they'd be overwhelmingly popular at the mere mention of a feline humanoid race.

 

guys the same thing wouldve happened if they had added Fran's bunny race from FFXII!!!!  come on, the OP couldnt have been this naive right?

 

ironically, in the attempt to appear more unique, mi'qote players fell into the sea of trends and majority

[Roen]

It varies. I try to keep my character choices up in the air. I've got a Seeker, a Keeper, a Midlander, a Highlander and a Roe. It really depends on the aesthetic I'm trying to convey.

 

Each race has a certain feeling to their actions. Highlanders are generally very confident and strong. Midlanders tend to be the most meek of the races (Outside of lalafel). Miqo'te tend to look very aggressive or arrogant. Elezen even more arrogant. Roe are powerhouses.

 

When I create a character I look at the personality I'm trying to convey vs the body language of the races. When I wanted to make my Dragoon, Suisei'to, he needed to be very aggressive. Sexuality was a none issue which lead me down to playing a Keeper. Give him a very deadly sibling rivalry with a very small (Theoretical) pool of males in the species and I got what I wanted: An aggressive loner lancer trying to hone his skills to kills his brother.

 

So, long story short, it's more about the personality and it's compatibility to body language when it comes to creating a character.

^  

 

This. This pretty much sums up why I choose what race too.

[Aldotsk]

There is absolutely no love for Lalafells.

 

Or even Roegadyns.