Information on Life Spans

[Rickter]

Hi all,

 

Im new to the forums here so if this has been answered already please close the thread (and direct me to the appropriate section).  So i've been wondering about Life Spans of the different races and if there is any information out there on them.

 

Seems to me like Mi'qote would have the shortest lifespans

Roegadyn and hyur have average life spans

Lalafels and Elezen have the longest lifespans.

 

I seriously have nothing to base this off of.  what do you guys think?

 

is there even an established average life span?

[pas]

I've wondered this myself! I've never found anything either way, though, so I've just assumed they were parallel to human lifespans.

Hopefully anyone can provide some fresh information.

[Lost River]

So far, the only thing I know is when comparable to Hyur, Elezen lifespans are somewhat expanded.

[Tiergan]

I just assumed hyur and miqo'te had similar lifespans while all the others had slightly longer ones.

[Rickter]

Well its apparent we all have different ideas about what the life spans of the races are! 

 

I just want to know what is considered "young" or "Old" for a race.

 

i attributed shorter life spans to mi'qote due to their feline "properties" (i figured cats have shorter lives than humans right?)

 

Now that i think about it, Lalafell should have relatively shorter lifespans as well if we want to get detailed.  Real Life midgets dont live as long as normal sized humans because of the stress they experience having to adapt to the world with their size.  its the same concept that left handed people live shorter than right handed people.  but then again, lalfell have their society built around their size so the inconveniences that a midget in our world may experience, a lalafell in Hydaelyn may not.

 

Elezen is the typical Elf race so i gave them longer life spans by default but now that i think about it, do Elezen fall into the typical elvish lore of being hte oldest and wisest race in the world? 

 

i suppose the developers just hadnt really thought about this part of the lore.

[Tla]

There's such threads on official forums as well, but it seems no answer can be found. So far it seems they live more or less the standard human age...

[Ildur]

Everything about the lifespans of races is only speculation except for two things:

-Elezen live longer than Hyur, but not by much.

-Lalafells 'stop' aging at some point and can live beyond the hundred years. (This is based on an NPC in 1.0, I think, whose dialogue implied he had been alive for 120 years at least).

 

Also, please note that Miqo'te are not cats. They are humans with feline parts. Making them live less or more than Hyurs is arbitrary and speculative.

 

As a rule of thumb, I'd go with "everyone lives between eighty and a hundred years", except for lalafells, who apparently live longer.

[Eliane Dufresne]

Last I heard, everyone had more or less human lifespans, except for the Elezen, as stated above. I really hope they come out with more concrete information at some point.

[ansemaru]

I'd err on the side on not assuming anybody lives multiple centuries. The only precedents we've got for unusually lifespans are that Lalafell that was apparently in 1.0, and some obviously supernatural examples. So while Elezen live longer than Hyur, I think it's better to not assume they're functionally immortal. While they are more or less elves, they certainly aren't Tolkien elves.

 

Also keep in mind that a big piece of average lifespan has to do with living conditions. Folks who are more well-off and have regular access to good, healthy, fresh food and good medical care are going to live longer than those living in poverty. So Wildwood Elezen, who are socially near the top of the heap in Gridania, which is a lush natural paradise for the most part and also home to an entire guild of adept healers, would have an advantage in lifespan that doesn't even come from being naturally predisposed to live longer than others. Meanwhile, Duskwight Elezen are marginalized in the exact same spaces where Wildwoods flourish- they wouldn't have the same access to health care and proper nutrition, and might even be denied healing from Conjurers on the basis of maintaining the natural balance and not offending the Elementals. So it wouldn't be implausible to assume Duskwights do not live as long as Wildwoods.

 

The same might be said for Highlanders versus Midlanders- while Highlanders have a hardier constitution, they are also outsiders in the regions they inhabit, due to their (typically) Ala Mhigan background. We've all seen the living conditions in Little Ala Mhigo and places like Pearl Lane. There's also the issue of the Ala Mhigans who refuse medicine that is not traditional for their people- and the fact that the medicine available in the city is, as we've seen, experimental and dangerous handouts from the Alchemists' Guild, that the people have little choice but to accept. It seems unlikely that on average a Highlander Hyur would live much longer than a Midlander at all.

 

As for the other three... Many Miqo'te live as assimilated into Eorzean society as the average Midlander, but there are still quite a number living out in tribal situations outside of the city-states, who lack the steady access to resources and care that city-dwelling Miqo'te would. They've also got what appears to be a diet that skews more carnivorous, and a more small, delicate build than the other non-beastman races of Eorzea. These factors tend to contribute towards a shorter lifespan on average, but given that Miqo'te are still fairly human-like, it wouldn't make a huge difference, especially with city-dwelling Miqo'te. Roegadyn are larger and not actively marginalized in any circles, and would likely on average have decent access to resources and care. They'd probably live around the same length of lifespan as Hyur, possibly a little longer. And Lalafell? Evidently there are examples of them living well over a century in 1.0, though I'd love to get a source on that. There are a lot of Lalafell in the upper echelons of Eorzean society, especially Ul'dah, so they also have the benefit of resources, moreso than a number of other races.

 

Ultimately, I think the range of average lifespans for the five main races in FFXIV is probably not hugely variant, and likely crosses the span between 60 to 120 at the extremes. There's nothing indicating any of the races live multiple centuries, or anything shorter than a respectable 60 years, barring extraordinary circumstances.

 

What I'm curious about is the average lifespan for beastmen. What's the life expectancy for a Sylph, Ixal, or Amalj'aa? What about Goblins and Qiqirn?

[Fulcrum]

I still have a thread in on the official lore forums asking for more info from the lore team directly on this. Someday, someday...maybe they'll answer it and we'll have official information on this. Otherwise, we've got very little to go on, as it's unclear whether or not some of the longer-lived examples we see in game are exceptions or the rule. =/

[Rickter]

There is a race i hope they make playable (or at least give us some kind of unique customization option) and they are the Padjhal(spelling?).  According to the lore, they appear to stop aging while still children so i am curious as to their lifespan as well.

 

and i understand that mi'qote are not "cats" in fact i stated they had feline "properties" but they are certainly within the 50% margin in regards to the percentage of how muc hthey are hyur or feline.

[ansemaru]

Given the relative rarity and story-importance of Padjal, it seems unlikely that they'll be made available to play any more than, say, moogles. Going from what we know about their physiology and role in the world, I'm not entirely sure they function on the same time scale as normal races- they almost definitely have some kind of preternatural extended lifespan deal going on.

 

As for Miqo'te- obviously, normal biology cannot be applied in the case of an animal that has major features of primates and felines, which are certainly both mammals but hardly related beyond that. Given that they have feline senses, dentition, and tails, it may be tempting to assume that their ancestors were more cat than chimp, as it were. Elezen, Roegadyn, and even Lalafell might be reasoned to share a common ancestor with Hyur, but I find it unlikely, barring magical intervention, that Miqo'te also do.

[LandStander]

Given the relative rarity and story-importance of Padjal, it seems unlikely that they'll be made available to play any more than, say, moogles. Going from what we know about their physiology and role in the world, I'm not entirely sure they function on the same time scale as normal races- they almost definitely have some kind of preternatural extended lifespan deal going on.

 

As for Miqo'te- obviously, normal biology cannot be applied in the case of an animal that has major features of primates and felines, which are certainly both mammals but hardly related beyond that. Given that they have feline senses, dentition, and tails, it may be tempting to assume that their ancestors were more cat than chimp, as it were. Elezen, Roegadyn, and even Lalafell might be reasoned to share a common ancestor with Hyur, but I find it unlikely, barring magical intervention, that Miqo'te also do.

 

Funny thing. I remember reading about how when the Hyur first migrated to Eorzea and met the Elezen that some scholars thought that the Elezen were a bastard race of Hyur, but of course the Elezen completely call BS on this claim. I can't recall if there are still some scholars who still hold his belief. I'll try to dig up where I found that at.

[ansemaru]

I know I've read that somewhere, too, and I'm fairly certain it was an official source. There's, uh. Well, once again, hesitant to apply laws of biology to a fantasy setting, but there appear to be enough consistencies that assuming at least a common shared ancestor between Hyur and Elezen isn't out of the question, but science isn't advanced in Eorzea to the point where that could be determined by anybody living there.

 

There's also the Crazy As Balls Hypothesis for why the Hyur and Elezen are similar enough that the Hyur have made note of it while the Elezen vehemently deny it. Have you seen the concept art for Shiva? And have you noticed how a certain region that is mostly inhabited by Elezen has suddenly and mysteriously become covered in ice and snow after years of being a more temperate region- a region inhabited by individuals who display fanatical devotion to an icy goddess? You know how the beastmen races have grown to resemble their Primal over time?

 

Cough. Cough.

[Ildur]

As for Miqo'te- obviously, normal biology cannot be applied in the case of an animal that has major features of primates and felines, which are certainly both mammals but hardly related beyond that. Given that they have feline senses, dentition, and tails, it may be tempting to assume that their ancestors were more cat than chimp, as it were. Elezen, Roegadyn, and even Lalafell might be reasoned to share a common ancestor with Hyur, but I find it unlikely, barring magical intervention, that Miqo'te also do.

 

I doubt the developers thought much about the evolution of the Eorzean races. They just made a race of humans with cat ears and tails because it was cute/sexy/cool/whatever, and not because they are the natural and logical conclusion of an evolutionary chain.

[Jomoru]

Well its apparent we all have different ideas about what the life spans of the races are! 

 

I just want to know what is considered "young" or "Old" for a race.

 

i attributed shorter life spans to mi'qote due to their feline "properties" (i figured cats have shorter lives than humans right?)

 

Now that i think about it, Lalafell should have relatively shorter lifespans as well if we want to get detailed.  Real Life midgets dont live as long as normal sized humans because of the stress they experience having to adapt to the world with their size.  its the same concept that left handed people live shorter than right handed people.  but then again, lalfell have their society built around their size so the inconveniences that a midget in our world may experience, a lalafell in Hydaelyn may not.

 

Elezen is the typical Elf race so i gave them longer life spans by default but now that i think about it, do Elezen fall into the typical elvish lore of being hte oldest and wisest race in the world? 

 

i suppose the developers just hadnt really thought about this part of the lore.

 

 

And Apes have shorter life spans than humans. The whole Feline thing is a red herring.  Hobbits outlived most manner of men except those who had the blood of Numanor. Gnomes and Dwarves also regularly outlive the human types. Mithra from FF 11 didn't age at all.

 

 

But lets instead look at the game. The black mage quests have a Lalafell who spent 90 years in a dungeon.. he does not look like an old man. The pugelist quests have an hyur age while his Roe Nemesis hasn't seemed to.

 

So What I assume is Hyur and Miqote are the shortest lived. Elezen in the middle with Roe and Lalas surviving the longest

[Rickter]

There's also the Crazy As Balls Hypothesis for why the Hyur and Elezen are similar enough that the Hyur have made note of it while the Elezen vehemently deny it. Have you seen the concept art for Shiva? And have you noticed how a certain region that is mostly inhabited by Elezen has suddenly and mysteriously become covered in ice and snow after years of being a more temperate region- a region inhabited by individuals who display fanatical devotion to an icy goddess? You know how the beastmen races have grown to resemble their Primal over time?

 

Cough. Cough.

 

no riddles, what are you talking about? i have never seen this in game or heard of it.

[ansemaru]

@Rickter

 

 

This is the concept art I was talking about. Shiva is tall, lanky, and pointy-eared. You may note that the Ixal are feathery, the Kobolds hunched and bulky, the Amalj'aa scaly and horned, the Sylphs robed and levitating, the Sahaugin finned and aquatic, and the dragons are... well, dragons. Each beastman race associated with a Primal shares prominent physical characteristics with it. From lore in the similar XI and from 1.0, the suggestion exists that worship of a Primal causes a group to become more and more like said Primal over time- hence the zealous Amalj'aa, who have a more frequent success rate in summoning Ifrit, bearing a stronger resemblance to their god, while the Sylphs, who even amongst the tempered do not make frequent efforts to call upon Ramuh, do not look quite as close to him. There's a very real possibility that before the worship of Primals took, the beastmen appeared very different.

 

Shiva's primary characteristics are not dissimilar to those of the Elezen. The implication being that it may not be impossible that they are, in fact, a "bastard" offshoot of Hyur- those whose worship of a "Halone" who was not Halone, but Shiva- caused them to over time take on characteristics of Shiva and resemble Hyur less and less, until they became a distinct lineage separate from their shorter, less pointy-eared kin.

 

That said, it's very unlikely this hypothesis is true. Although there's a strong possibility that Shiva is responsible for Ishgard's current state, there's no telling if she has been posing as or is the true identity of Halone, or if her influence is what made the Elezen the Elezen. It's just an interesting way to look at things.

[LiadansWhisper]

That picture doesn't seem to load for me.  

[Rickter]

so who do you think is worshipping Shiva? not all elezen. . . maybe the duskwights?  you dont see alot of them in game and the ones you do see are held to some disdain.

[ansemaru]

Maybe more Elezen than now, in the past. Currently? The Ishgardians. I don't think the Duskwights are likely candidates, though that might be my bias from actually playing one and familiarizing myself with the lore. After all, the Duskwights in Coerthas are few and far between, if at all present.

[Sounsyy]

Hi all,

 

Im new to the forums here so if this has been answered already please close the thread (and direct me to the appropriate section).  So i've been wondering about Life Spans of the different races and if there is any information out there on them.

 

Seems to me like Mi'qote would have the shortest lifespans

Roegadyn and hyur have average life spans

Lalafels and Elezen have the longest lifespans.

 

I seriously have nothing to base this off of.  what do you guys think?

 

is there even an established average life span?

 

So, there's very little information given about lifespans. The best we've got is that Hyur live an average RL Human lifespan of about 70-90 years give or take.

 

" The Elezen are a characteristically tall people, long of limb and slender of build. They are also possessed of a somewhat extended lifespan in comparison to the Hyur. "

-Lodestone Race Description

 

So best assumption, maybe 100-120 years for Elezen.

 

Lalafell have an even more extended life span. There was text in a few places in 1.0 and now again in 2.0 BLM quest line that suggests Lalafells live greater than 100 years. Ququruka states he himself has been imprisoned over 100 years. Suggesting that Lalafell can live between 120-150 years of age or greater.

 

There are no definitive lore references for the ages of Miqo'te or Roegadyn to my knowledge. If someone finds different, please link. I keep hearing Miqo'te live the shortest lifespans (60~ or so years), and while I want to believe it, I haven't seen proof. I think the rumor was started by mis-translating the lodestone text stating that Miqo'te are the shortest existing race in Eorzea. 

 

"  Though their presence in Eorzea is lesser than that of the other races... "

-Lodestone Race Description

 

 

_____________

There is a race i hope they make playable (or at least give us some kind of unique customization option) and they are the Padjhal(spelling?).  According to the lore, they appear to stop aging while still children so i am curious as to their lifespan as well.

 

So Padjal are interesting. Originally believed to be Hyuran only (ARR WHM quest took care of that theory). What we know from Fernhwales is that select families of Hyuran families (and possibly some Elezen as well, but this is not evidenced in game) produce Padjal children. What happens is, the child will be born normal, but when they reach puberty, instead of developing into adulthood, Padjal children will develop horns. As the child ages, their horns will grow longer, but their body will remain frozen in a pre-pubescent state.

 

So while we are not given an exact age range for Padjal, we can judge how old they are roughly by the length of their horns. 

 

Now, this has also given rise to the belief that Kan-E-Senna was either the first or one of the original Chosen Padjal, during the time of the Pact of Gelmorra. She is the only Padjal that is an adult and has the longest horns of all shown Padjal. If this theory is correct, that would mean Kan-E has been alive 500 years. However, this is just a theory based upon the fact that she is the only existing adult Padjal.

 

 

______________

Funny thing. I remember reading about how when the Hyur first migrated to Eorzea and met the Elezen that some scholars thought that the Elezen were a bastard race of Hyur, but of course the Elezen completely call BS on this claim. I can't recall if there are still some scholars who still hold his belief. I'll try to dig up where I found that at.

 

" There are Eorzean historians who believe that these similarities in names may be proof that the two races are of similar origin─’open-minded’ Hyuran historians claiming the Elezen are a bastard race spun off from the Hyurs (and not the other way around). Elezen historians, on the other hand, simply deny any blood relation whatsoever. "

-Elezen Naming Conventions

 

 

 

_________________

Last but not least, the Shiva thing. Shiva is one of the Eight Primals of Eorzea. My guess is that Shiva is worshiped by the Gigas. I thought there was levequest text somewhere that linked them? I could be wrong, so I'm gonna go look in game and get back to this. Definitely not the Elezen though. Only beastmen and those tempered by the Primal's influence worship Primals.

 

The Races of Man loosely worship or pay homage to the Twelve. The true Gods of Eorzea who created the Eight Primals to serve them. There was quest text in 1.0 that suggested that the reason the Beastmen worship the Primals (and resemble them) is because the Primals created the Beastmen races to serve them well before the Races of Man even came to Eorzea many many millennia ago.

[ansemaru]

Are the Gigas actually established as a canon beastman race in FFXIV? I've seen nothing suggesting them, nor their connection to Shiva, other than your post here.

[ansemaru]

And, well. The existence of Tempering directly contradicts "only beastmen worship Primals". A case could be made for "only beastmen willingly worship Primals", I suppose, but the distinction is still necessary.

[Tla]

Actually, we have yet to discover who worships Shiva, since the devs said it's a beastman race that will only be introduced with Shiva herself. So not Gigas.

 

As for beastman resembling always more to their Primal...in reality Ixali are less and less so, since they lost their wings. So I guess it's a rule not valid for everyone.