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+--- Thread: Why are there any Midlanders? (/showthread.php?tid=5896)
Why are there any Midlanders? - Jomoru - 12-23-2013
I mean there's nothing special about them. They are at best a "Me Too" for any of the nations of Eorzea they haven't built anything they don't have any special culture and to get the same background from any other race option you'd just have to be an orphan or something
So why would anyone ever play a midlander when they could play an orphaned Miqote/Elezen/Roe and get the the innate flavoring of orphan status and uniqueness of being torn between two worlds. Why would anyone ever pick something so boring as a Midlander?
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Whittledown - 12-23-2013
Because Race isn't character.
Character is Character.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - ansemaru - 12-23-2013
Familiarity.
I'm guessing this is to antagonize the poster of the thread asking about the prevalence of Miqo'te in the rp community. And/or a joke riffing on the theme, rather than you asking in good faith why anybody plays a Midlander.
So I'm kind of side-eyeing this entire thread.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Jomoru - 12-23-2013
Its turning the whole thing around, when people comment that someone is just "Playing a Hyur with cat ears" I am here to point out Midlanders have Nothing to make them special.
There is no character concept that is "Midlander" in this game. My point is rather than trying to state the idea that Hyur are baseline(and that's not even true since Highlanders exist) Midlanders have been given nothing to make them stand out. Any concept that could be done as a Midlander can casually be done by any other race, why should one have to justify playing another race to get the same concept? Why shouldn't someone as readily have to justify playing a Midlander orphan raised in Limsa?
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - KitKat - 12-23-2013
This thread was probably unnecessary. Instead of being vindictive and making a thread to insult the person who made the miqo'te one, perhaps you should post constructive feedback in the other one. Making a thread like this only serves to divide the already splintered player base.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - ArmachiA - 12-23-2013
I play ALL THE MIDLANDERS
Too be honest, I just felt like it fit the character. There were two races that fit her background - Elezen (Wildwood, since she hung out in Gridania) and Hyur - Midlander. I didn't like the Elezen animations in Beta, so I race changed her to Hyur.
I don't think Miqote or Roe or Lalafell would have worked with the character at all, and even a Highlander Hyur or Duskwood Elezen felt off.
My Garlean Midlander was easier, just seems to be a lot of those. Rolled it.
There, that simple. Just fit with what I wanted in the character.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Jomoru - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 07:09 PM)TheCurls Wrote: This thread was probably unnecessary. Instead of being vindictive and making a thread to insult the person who made the miqo'te one, perhaps you should post constructive feedback in the other one. Making a thread like this only serves to divide the already splintered player base.
I am not insulting the op. There is an assumption that certain character concepts are "Better" done as a Midlander. I want to know why? Midlanders aren't given any thing special. They have no unique culture, nothing to hang a story off of. What makes a Character a Midlander, what makes a concept intrinsically of a Midlander experience.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Jomoru - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 07:19 PM)ArmachiA Wrote: I play ALL THE MIDLANDERS
Too be honest, I just felt like it fit the character. There were two races that fit her background - Elezen (Wildwood, since she hung out in Gridania) and Hyur - Midlander. I didn't like the Elezen animations in Beta, so I race changed her to Hyur.
I don't think Miqote or Roe or Lalafell would have worked with the character at all, and even a Highlander Hyur or Duskwood Elezen felt off.
My Garlean Midlander was easier, just seems to be a lot of those. Rolled it.
There, that simple. Just fit with what I wanted in the character.
For the second character you are really playing a garlean and game mechanics won't let you is that the case?Â
As for the first is it you couldn't justify any other race having roots in Gridania? Â Is the character tied down to centuries of family hertige or just has "roots" there if so such has been the case for Miquote and Lalafell readily.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - LiadansWhisper - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 07:39 PM)Jomoru Wrote:(12-23-2013, 07:19 PM)ArmachiA Wrote: I play ALL THE MIDLANDERS
Too be honest, I just felt like it fit the character. There were two races that fit her background - Elezen (Wildwood, since she hung out in Gridania) and Hyur - Midlander. I didn't like the Elezen animations in Beta, so I race changed her to Hyur.
I don't think Miqote or Roe or Lalafell would have worked with the character at all, and even a Highlander Hyur or Duskwood Elezen felt off.
My Garlean Midlander was easier, just seems to be a lot of those. Rolled it.
There, that simple. Just fit with what I wanted in the character.
For the second character you are really playing a garlean and game mechanics won't let you is that the case?Â
As for the first is it you couldn't justify any other race having roots in Gridania? Â Is the character tied down to centuries of family hertige or just has "roots" there if so such has been the case for Miquote and Lalafell readily.
Perhaps they just wanted to play a Midlander? Â Why do people have to play a race other than the one they are playing? Â What's wrong with just playing whatever the hell you want to play?
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - K'nahli - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 07:33 PM)Jomoru Wrote:(12-23-2013, 07:09 PM)TheCurls Wrote: This thread was probably unnecessary. Instead of being vindictive and making a thread to insult the person who made the miqo'te one, perhaps you should post constructive feedback in the other one. Making a thread like this only serves to divide the already splintered player base.
I am not insulting the op. There is an assumption that certain character concepts are "Better" done as a Midlander. I want to know why? Midlanders aren't given any thing special. They have no unique culture, nothing to hang a story off of. What makes a Character a Midlander, what makes a concept intrinsically of a Midlander experience.
That argument isn't to state that Midlanders have a certain background that many miqo'te are running with. Its simply because miqo'te are the closest visual comparative to midlanders(or hyurs) with the addition of the seemingly attractive, cat-like attributes.
So as opposed to playing a tribal structure as the lore would dictate, many just came up with some excuse(don't read that as a derogatory plug) to play their miqo'te in a normal setting while simultaneously getting to be "the cat race". Had most miqo'te stuck to the lore then perhaps that statement wouldn't have been presented against the minority that still opted for the non-tribal lifestyle, but because there are rather few pursuing that setting its only natural to assume that some people decided to play a hyur('normal' character) with ears and a tail.
That is my take on what people with that concept meant but perhaps I am wrong.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Kismet - 12-23-2013
There are a number of reasons I could I name for why one of my characters is a Hyur Midlander. A few of them are purely aesthetic. I thought the face I chose was pretty, I liked the hairstyles I could pick from, I liked being able to put moles on her face, I like the Midlander animations, I like the way the armor fits their body. (I tried making her a Highlander at first... Didn't like her aesthetically anywhere nearly as much. I hate the way they stand and their emotes are really weird to me.)
As for background/story? Not everyone wants to play something over-the-top and fantastical. I consider myself a medium-heavy RPer, so I like RPing out the mundane day-to-day activities a lot of people would skip. Likewise, I like RPing characters that are mundane themselves. The idea of a more realistic (or "normal") person in a crazy world full of magic and beasts has appeal to me. (It's one of the reasons why I love urban fantasy novels.) I like taking characters with bland and/or humble beginnings and seeing how I can build them up and make them interesting with their personality or their reactions to things.
TL;DR Version: It's less about what race I play, and more about what I do with them. The race I choose is not much more than just a pretty outer shell that's being draped around my concept.
What is boring to you is not boring to everyone else. *shrugs*
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Jomoru - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 07:47 PM)K Wrote:(12-23-2013, 07:33 PM)Jomoru Wrote:(12-23-2013, 07:09 PM)TheCurls Wrote: This thread was probably unnecessary. Instead of being vindictive and making a thread to insult the person who made the miqo'te one, perhaps you should post constructive feedback in the other one. Making a thread like this only serves to divide the already splintered player base.
I am not insulting the op. There is an assumption that certain character concepts are "Better" done as a Midlander. I want to know why? Midlanders aren't given any thing special. They have no unique culture, nothing to hang a story off of. What makes a Character a Midlander, what makes a concept intrinsically of a Midlander experience.
That argument isn't to state that Midlanders have a certain background that many miqo'te are running with. Its simply because miqo'te are the closest visual comparative to midlanders(or hyurs) with the addition of the seemingly attractive, cat-like attributes.
So as opposed to playing a tribal structure as the lore would dictate, many just came up with some excuse(don't read that as a derogatory plug) to play their miqo'te in a normal setting while simultaneously getting to be "the cat race". Had most miqo'te stuck to the lore then perhaps that statement wouldn't have been presented against the minority that still opted for the non-tribal lifestyle, but because there are rather few pursuing that setting its only natural to assume that some people decided to play a hyur('normal' character) with ears and a tail.
That is my take on what people with that concept meant but perhaps I am wrong.
I have no problem with a person choosing based on what they consider pretty looking. I want to know why someone would play a character with no lore hooks. Even the complete rejection of Lore hooks by a Miqote rper.. creates rp hooks to play off of.
What especially baffles me is, that for once a game company decided not to use "generic fantasy human" as the players only option to play something human like. Highlanders have Lore, Lore that stands out. Lore that makes them special.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Folken - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 07:47 PM)K Wrote: So as opposed to playing a tribal structure as the lore would dictate, many just came up with some excuse(don't read that as a derogatory plug) to play their miqo'te in a normal setting while simultaneously getting to be "the cat race". Had most miqo'te stuck to the lore then perhaps that statement wouldn't have been presented against the minority that still opted for the non-tribal lifestyle, but because there are rather few pursuing that setting its only natural to assume that some people decided to play a hyur('normal' character) with ears and a tail.
That is my take on what people with that concept meant but perhaps I am wrong.
Except that the majority of in-game lore and representation of Miqo'te shows they pretty much are Hyur with cat features. The cultures of Eorzea are homogenized. It's a cultural mixing pot that has been around each other for thousands of years.
I grow tired of seeing so many people latch onto this misconstrued notion that Miqo'te are still prominently tribal in nature because they aren't. The only tribe of Sunkeepers represented in-game are the exception rather than the rule. 95% of Miqo'te NPC population has nothing to do with tribes, including all prominant Miqo'te NPC's involved with the storyline.
So people who play Miqo'te as Hyur with cat ears and a tail. They're doing it right.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - K'nahli - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 08:25 PM)Folken Wrote:(12-23-2013, 07:47 PM)K Wrote: So as opposed to playing a tribal structure as the lore would dictate, many just came up with some excuse(don't read that as a derogatory plug) to play their miqo'te in a normal setting while simultaneously getting to be "the cat race". Had most miqo'te stuck to the lore then perhaps that statement wouldn't have been presented against the minority that still opted for the non-tribal lifestyle, but because there are rather few pursuing that setting its only natural to assume that some people decided to play a hyur('normal' character) with ears and a tail.
That is my take on what people with that concept meant but perhaps I am wrong.
Except that the majority of in-game lore and representation of Miqo'te shows they pretty much are Hyur with cat features. The cultures of Eorzea are homogenized. It's a cultural mixing pot that has been around each other for thousands of years.
I grow tired of seeing so many people latch onto this misconstrued notion that Miqo'te are still prominently tribal in nature because they aren't. The only tribe of Sunkeepers represented in-game are the exception rather than the rule. 95% of Miqo'te NPC population has nothing to do with tribes, including all prominant Miqo'te NPC's involved with the storyline.
So people who play Miqo'te as Hyur with cat ears and a tail. They're doing it right.
Thats precisely the point. The concept is that because both can be found in the civilized world, miqo'te are thought to be chosen rather often simply for aesthetics whereas few people(comparatively) decide to choose the race for the tribal aspect which presents an interesting lore.
Again, I can't say this with absolute certainty but I believe that people with this notion weren't suggesting that city miqo'te were 'doing it wrong', but rather they were saddened by the idea that so many people opted for the race purely for aesthetics and just ignored the lore opportunities.
However, was it stated somewhere that such a large percentage of miqo'te lived in the civilized world? I accepted that I was the minority but I didn't think it to be that grave.
RE: Why are there any Midlanders? - Naunet - 12-23-2013
(12-23-2013, 08:25 PM)Folken Wrote: I grow tired of seeing so many people latch onto this misconstrued notion that Miqo'te are still prominently tribal in nature because they aren't. The only tribe of Sunkeepers represented in-game are the exception rather than the rule. 95% of Miqo'te NPC population has nothing to do with tribes, including all prominant Miqo'te NPC's involved with the storyline.
You have no lore to base your random % off of, just so you know. :p The world is far bigger than the number of its NPCs, especially in XIV where the visible in-game world is pathetically small. There's simply not enough in-game space to have a bunch of different tribes running about. There's no indication whatsoever that the U tribe is the only miqo'te tribe that still persists with its unique culture; rather, take it more as a sample of miqo'te tribes that persist with their own unique cultures, just as you might take an NPC camp of Couerlclaw poachers as a sample of all poacher camps in the Shroud.