Ninja Artifact Armor (Male vs Female)

[Auralily]

I am ashamed to admit that I joined the Ninja train at 2.4 release, within the hour of the servers coming back up. This isn't a new flavor pounce, merely my Lalafell has, more or less, been an assassin who focused on Aether manipulation for agility and strength. Ninja pretty much functions how I have always wanted her to be as a monk.

 

With that said, I finally hit level 45 and acquired the much anticipated AF armor. When I got it, I was rather disappointed with the legs. And here's a picture below showing why. I've gone to Kakalan in Mor Dhona to preview how the whole set looks with the chest, and still, the legs stand out drastically. Maybe it's just a lalafell female thing, but every male I've seen gets the full shorts with those two little pads, pardon my lack of technical terms. Where as I get this silly greyish brown tight leather thing with a little loincloth flap. I went as far to purchase the Augment Kits to be able to dye AF, and the only thing that changes is that loincloth, not the tight grey-brown thing. Now, most of us have at some point or another made a compromise to dying your armor based on something on that armor set not changing to a color you like. The problem I am discovering, is that the piece I don't like doesn't even match the whole set. It's the only piece of armor on my entire outfit, even with the body, that is that colour. It stands out way too much even with the body, but I do not have a picture of that preview. I even thought perhaps the "antique" iLvl90 legs would at least change in colour, but it's still that exact same brown, but with a purple loincloth instead.

 

Was this an oversight? Is it just a lalafell issue? Am I the only one rather disgruntled by this? The colour, the texture, nothing for this fits the rest of the outfit. It feels like SE just forgot to finish the female version. 

 

(Do note this is my OOC leveling gear. I disdain that top. I respect all who may like it, but I myself don't see a need to sport a battle bra. BiS gear until 50 though, I think.)

[Hyakki]

They're tights. Stereotypical kunoichi thing. At least the chestpiece is similar to the male version, maybe it won't look so bad as a full set.

[Marisa]

I do believe the goal here was sex-appeal. Which, of course, falls a bit short (no pun intended) when applied to a lalafell.

[Auralily]

I don't mind the difference on gender so much as the off colour. I'm just confused how the whole set is relatively dark but those.

[Oscare]

The goal isn't sex-appeal.

 

Traditionally, a female ninja is known as a kunoichi, and were recorded to dress severely different than the regular male ninjas we know. They also had different choices of weaponry (the most popular weapon for female assassins are a single-bullet lipstick -- since no one would be suspicious of a women applying lipstick, she has the freedom to aim it wherever she pleases and shoot). Male ninjas were expected to dress completely from head to toe, however, kunoichis had an advantage to them; and damn right they used that advantage. That advantage was body appeal.

 

... so I kind of contradicted myself in which it is sex-appeal, but it's not just "LOL BOOBS" or whatever.

 

... the color discrepancies is a little weird.

[Auralily]

I understand the difference, more or less. The texture could be attributed to being a lalafell more than anything. There are even a set of small blades strapped to your hip that look great. But why oh why that colour, and more so why can you not dye it? I died a little inside dropping 600k to dye a little tiny loincloth and ignore the main chunk of the legs.

[shotgunbadger]

The goal isn't sex-appeal.

 

Traditionally, a female ninja is known as a kunoichi, and were recorded to dress severely different than the regular male ninjas we know. They also had different choices of weaponry (the most popular weapon for female assassins are a single-bullet lipstick -- since no one would be suspicious of a women applying lipstick, she has the freedom to aim it wherever she pleases and shoot). Male ninjas were expected to dress completely from head to toe, however, kunoichis had an advantage to them; and damn right they used that advantage. That advantage was body appeal.

 

... so I kind of contradicted myself in which it is sex-appeal, but it's not just "LOL BOOBS" or whatever.

 

... the color discrepancies is a little weird.

 

I always hate these kinds of answers. For one, this is a magic elf world not actual feudal Japan, and for another so what? Historically speaking women couldn't be knights, so would it be cool if SE made Paladins and Dragoons male only?

 

It's a really shitty fantasy trope to have a dude look like a full body badass and a girl look like a shitty porn star, and it's really dumb whenever it happens. This makes me almost not want to bother with Ninja if I'm gonna run around in a battle bikini as my 'reward'.

[Marisa]

Well Oscare, I honestly can't believe for a second that realism was anywhere on their priority list for this set. I mean firstly, the armor appears to be based on the Ninja Gaiden school of thought, which is, in turn, based on the background actors in Kabuki theater, not actual ninjas. What's more, no covert assassin on Earth would ever wear chainmail, which is the absolute loudest armor you can wear unless somebody invents a suit made of air-horns. 

 

As far as the lipstick gun, I have to imagine that's entirely a pop-culture creation, because the 'lipstick' tube was not introduced to Japan until the 1900s, and even firearms didn't really exist there until the late 1700s/ early 1800s when England and America brought them over. 

 

I would go as far as to say that the ninja is Japan's equivalent of the cowboy. By which I mean, they existed in some form, but almost everything anyone knows about them is actually mythology dreamed up by Hollywood writers.

[shotgunbadger]

Oh yea, and all that stuff about almost all of that post being the most historically inaccurate thing possible about ninjas. A 'realistic' female ninja would just be some rando farm girl the local lord pays for information or something, so I guess let's change it to needing high level Botany.

[Flickering Ember]

Well Oscare, I honestly can't believe for a second that realism was anywhere on their priority list for this set. I mean firstly, the armor appears to be based on the Ninja Gaiden school of thought, which is, in turn, based on the background actors in Kabuki theater, not actual ninjas. What's more, no covert assassin on Earth would ever wear chainmail, which is the absolute loudest armor you can wear unless somebody invents a suit made of air-horns. 

 

As far as the lipstick gun, I have to imagine that's entirely a pop-culture creation, because the 'lipstick' tube was not introduced to Japan until the 1900s, and even firearms didn't really exist there until the late 1700s/ early 1800s when England and America brought them over. 

 

I would go as far as to say that the ninja is Japan's equivalent of the cowboy. By which I mean, they existed in some form, but almost everything anyone knows about them is actually mythology dreamed up by Hollywood writers.

 

 

This. I mean, weren't ninjas around for a long time and guns weren't introduced until way after feudal Japan. Lipstick tubes are a fairly recent creation. Seems a little odd that that would be the 'weapon of choice.'

 

I'm disappointed in another AF set that is different from the male set, especially since otherwise FFXIV has been good about keeping armor sets the same between the sexes. 

Doesn't come as a surprise though, as you could tell that their armor was different in the ninja preview before 2.4 launched.

[Auralily]

Well, while I am not terribly pleased with the difference, I can't say I'm disappointed anymore either. As far as FFXIV goes, the male vs female armor difference exist, but aren't /that/ bad. The only one that I'm very annoyed with is Dragoon, why have that hole when the primary knights in that region use long, skewering weapons?

 

Anyway, if anyone's played FFXI (And really many other MMOs, but to avoid tangents, comparing XIV to XI at least keeps it within the same company) the armor in this game is actually pretty good. Scholar AF is noticeably different, and I'm sure most people don't hate that. Dragoon's has that dumb difference, but since I don't enjoy dragoon.. problem solved. And as always, I made ninja work. At least my tanks get a full set of plate and not some underwear with thigh pads.

 

So I'll make two notes on female ninja AF. First, while I don't know how the colours would go, Fuma Hakama (Same name as nin AF legs.. and yet a completely different design from female ninja.. sigh. Proof against the leg changes being necessary, since it wasn't for Fuma set) can supplement the set if you don't like the tight brown leather. Since I don't like the brooding character archetype, and my Lalafell is a bit more on the eccentric side.. I went with this:

Not great, but I'm content.