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The Au Ra biology, origin and general speculation thread!


Eve Malusion

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Ugh, what wouldn't I do to get an actually beastly race in the game...

 

A beastly race would be neat, but there's two issues with that. Across most - if not all - MMOs, beast races actually are played only by a smaller portion of the population. I could see a beastly race added if it was similar to the Hyur structure with one clan being more beastly and the other more humanoid.

 

But that's actually a fairly minor issue and here's the stumbling block for beast races in XIV: we're currently all playing 'races of Man' with a common ancestor. Beast races are still seen significantly differently, with varying degrees of intelligence, aggression, population and sentience. None of them are seen as 'equal or close to equal' with the races we play. And therein is the big issue, putting a beast race at the level of peer. 

 

But I think XIV could do it, with some really neat, strange race that is much more beastly and monstrous. It'd require a significant amount of storyline development and world shifting to possibly allow for it and it'd be a much more demanding modeling and meshing endeavor (to say nothing of making armor fit)... which leads back to my first point that beast races, in general, are much less popular in MMOs. 

 

But I definitely could see it happening down the road when SE is feeling much more assured in the game's stability and success and the fans continue to clamor for it. Right now, they're focusing on the 'big picture' of populations and taking too many risks probably makes them very nervous. A hugely successful expansion or two could really alleviate some of these concerns.

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A beastly race would be neat, but there's two issues with that. Across most - if not all - MMOs, beast races actually are played only by a smaller portion of the population. I could see a beastly race added if it was similar to the Hyur structure with one clan being more beastly and the other more humanoid.

The counterpoint to that is that you already have the most popular "niches" (which is really a misnomer since we're talking about the masses here, but hey) covered by the currently existing races, so presumably the whole point of a new race would be to cover entirely new ideas that are not already extant within the game.

 

Hell, they don't even have to go wild and crazy with it. If the Au Ra had full-body scales I would have been all for it.

 

But that's actually a fairly minor issue and here's the stumbling block for beast races in XIV: we're currently all playing 'races of Man' with a common ancestor. Beast races are still seen significantly differently, with varying degrees of intelligence, aggression, population and sentience. None of them are seen as 'equal or close to equal' with the races we play. And therein is the big issue, putting a beast race at the level of peer. 

 

But I think XIV could do it, with some really neat, strange race that is much more beastly and monstrous. It'd require a significant amount of storyline development and world shifting to possibly allow for it and it'd be a much more demanding modeling and meshing endeavor (to say nothing of making armor fit)... which leads back to my first point that beast races, in general, are much less popular in MMOs. 

 

But I definitely could see it happening down the road when SE is feeling much more assured in the game's stability and success and the fans continue to clamor for it. Right now, they're focusing on the 'big picture' of populations and taking too many risks probably makes them very nervous. A hugely successful expansion or two could really alleviate some of these concerns.

One can only hope.

 

They don't even need to be unappealingly monstrous, mind you. I just want something that is not obviously human. The Asura, for example, are a great example of a race that is both aesthetically pleasing and still very much obviously not human.

 

I get why they didn't want to do anything 'risky'. The game only just recently recovered from the horror that was 1.0, after all, and the race's actual development probably occurred within the first year from launch. That being said... the whole thing with playing up Yugiri's need to hide her face was HILARIOUS in hindsight considering just how blasé their actual appearance is. It was a real kick in the teeth for me after all that build-up.

 

I still want a race that matches the Iksar for sheer glory and awesomeness for me. I have yet to see anything - any race, in any MMORPG - match that. For me at least, especially the females, they really strike that lovely balance between viciousness and beauty in their aesthetics. There's so much more that could be done with a race like that, especially with regards to scale patterns and the like. Just the tease that the new race could be somewhere, ANYWHERE near that raised my hype up to the high heavens, only for it to be sent crashing catastrophically down upon the reveal.

 

But I get it. I'm a minority. And marketing says fuck minorities, they don't exist, don't pretend to cater to them because they're not going to pay you enough to make it worth it and blah-blah-blah, I should get used to being tread upon and having all my dreams crushed and what is even the point anymore grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Okay. I need to go sleep. But I can't even... I can't even begin to describe the depths of my disappointment right now. It's such a silly, insignificant thing to be angry about, but godsdammit being neglected like this really makes me feel just how bad it is for folks like me right now. No one ever caters to people like me. And, in all likelihood, no one ever will ever again. The Iksar were a fluke, a one-time deal, and with the state of EQNext a great big question mark after all the crap Daybreak has went through, I'm better off just keeping it all in my head.

 

Forget hope. There is no hope. I fully expect the following race after Au Ra - assuming there is one - to be along the same lines of generic-barely-any-different-from-human-ness and I will forever be disappointed and forced to face the fact that I am simply one weirdo with a wish that will never be fulfilled. Never.

 

Ever.

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A beastly race would be neat, but there's two issues with that. Across most - if not all - MMOs, beast races actually are played only by a smaller portion of the population. I could see a beastly race added if it was similar to the Hyur structure with one clan being more beastly and the other more humanoid.

The counterpoint to that is that you already have the most popular "niches" (which is really a misnomer since we're talking about the masses here, but hey) covered by the currently existing races, so presumably the whole point of a new race would be to cover entirely new ideas that are not already extant within the game.

 

Hell, they don't even have to go wild and crazy with it. If the Au Ra had full-body scales I would have been all for it.

 

But that's actually a fairly minor issue and here's the stumbling block for beast races in XIV: we're currently all playing 'races of Man' with a common ancestor. Beast races are still seen significantly differently, with varying degrees of intelligence, aggression, population and sentience. None of them are seen as 'equal or close to equal' with the races we play. And therein is the big issue, putting a beast race at the level of peer. 

 

But I think XIV could do it, with some really neat, strange race that is much more beastly and monstrous. It'd require a significant amount of storyline development and world shifting to possibly allow for it and it'd be a much more demanding modeling and meshing endeavor (to say nothing of making armor fit)... which leads back to my first point that beast races, in general, are much less popular in MMOs. 

 

But I definitely could see it happening down the road when SE is feeling much more assured in the game's stability and success and the fans continue to clamor for it. Right now, they're focusing on the 'big picture' of populations and taking too many risks probably makes them very nervous. A hugely successful expansion or two could really alleviate some of these concerns.

One can only hope.

 

They don't even need to be unappealingly monstrous, mind you. I just want something that is not obviously human. The Asura, for example, are a great example of a race that is both aesthetically pleasing and still very much obviously not human.

 

I get why they didn't want to do anything 'risky'. The game only just recently recovered from the horror that was 1.0, after all, and the race's actual development probably occurred within the first year from launch. That being said... the whole thing with playing up Yugiri's need to hide her face was HILARIOUS in hindsight considering just how blasé their actual appearance is. It was a real kick in the teeth for me after all that build-up.

 

I still want a race that matches the Iksar for sheer glory and awesomeness for me. I have yet to see anything - any race, in any MMORPG - match that. For me at least, especially the females, they really strike that lovely balance between viciousness and beauty in their aesthetics. There's so much more that could be done with a race like that, especially with regards to scale patterns and the like. Just the tease that the new race could be somewhere, ANYWHERE near that raised my hype up to the high heavens, only for it to be sent crashing catastrophically down upon the reveal.

 

But I get it. I'm a minority. And marketing says fuck minorities, they don't exist, don't pretend to cater to them because they're not going to pay you enough to make it worth it and blah-blah-blah, I should get used to being tread upon and having all my dreams crushed and what is even the point anymore grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Okay. I need to go sleep. But I can't even... I can't even begin to describe the depths of my disappointment right now. It's such a silly, insignificant thing to be angry about, but godsdammit being neglected like this really makes me feel just how bad it is for folks like me right now. No one ever caters to people like me. And, in all likelihood, no one ever will ever again. The Iksar were a fluke, a one-time deal, and with the state of EQNext a great big question mark after all the crap Daybreak has went through, I'm better off just keeping it all in my head.

 

Forget hope. There is no hope. I fully expect the following race after Au Ra - assuming there is one - to be along the same lines of generic-barely-any-different-from-human-ness and I will forever be disappointed and forced to face the fact that I am simply one weirdo with a wish that will never be fulfilled. Never.

 

Ever.

 

I hope you will be able to come to terms with your emotions and be able to move on soon. ^^

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I think Au Ra follow the reptilian growth rate between sexes. Well, crocodile in particular. 

 

Compare the sexes to the sexual dimorphism you see in crocodile. The males are SIGNIFICANTLY BIGGER (Aka in saltwater crocodile males can reach 20 feet, females never go past 10 feet.) Thus one can assume that just like crocodile the males fight significantly more while the females are the nurtures to an extent. Like a reverse lion pride (crocodile are actually gregarious but that's beside the point. )

 

Though that only seems like a good reason for Xaela dimorphism tbh. Id think Reala just happened to have such dimorphism size because they either branched off from Xaela at one point with a common ancestor in which the dimorphism is inherited. Or they go through a island gigantism type ordeal or something where their lifestyle required bigger males over females. The males have to protect their females from would be predators maybe? Thetes bound to be bigger predators than Raen out there to induce male dimorphism. Xaela probably got it as a way to kill each other easier like most animal battles go. The bigger the predator, the better the win.

 

Im a animal biology nerd, sorry :P

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We've got some lore from the benchmark.

 

Raen:

 

Auri creation myth tells of a Dawn Father and a Dusk Mother from whom all the spoken races of Eorzea descended. The Raen believe their veins to run thick with the blood of the former - their brilliant white scales and iron wills serving as proof of this divine lineage.

 

Unlike their sister clan, the Xaela, who bloody the land with endless tribal conflict, the Raen have embraced a life of tranquillity and solitude, long abandoning the nomadic lifestyle of their ancestors to settle the deep valleys of Othard's mountainous eastern reaches. Only on rare occasions will one emerge from the valley mists to seek adventure in realms afar.

 

 

Xaela:

 

Auri creation myth tells of a Dawn Father and a Dusk Mother from whom all the spoken races of Eorzea descended. The Xaela believe their veins to run thick with the blood the latter  - their lustrous black scales and fiery wills serving as proof of this divine lineage.

 

Unlike their sister clan, the Raen, who lead solitary lives hidden behind the savage peaks of Othard's eastern reaches, the Xaela are free spirits who roam the vast western steppe in close-knit tribes hunting, gathering, and warring as their ancestors have for countless generations.

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