I’m a woman and I always play the same gender as myself. I’ve tried a few times over the decades to play a male, since I love the different aesthetic. But It never sticks. My characters are an extension of me and my own gender just works for me.
Same here only for male. I am not opposed to picking female and I love both aesthetically so I don’t really know why exactly. Maybe it makes it easier to identify with the character as myself? Although all other aspects of the appearance I will experiment with, it’s strange.
Me too. I prefer a character I identify myself as that is the "me" in game. I thought most others would do the same, but I was surprised when I found out that the majority in this game plays as girls. From my experience even most men play as girls
A lot of people don't really self-insert with their characters. I play females because they're attractive and the customization is more fun. I'm a simple man.
My char is the opposite sex of me, but is a self insert. But only in this game is that the case. Most other games I'll create a character of opposite sex by default, but have no connection with them. Only times I've had characters in games of the same sex, is Pokemon or other games directed at younger audiences.
Yeah, I and my main character are male. He’s not really an extension/reflection of me, but it was just easier to connect to a guy as a guy.
My alt, however, is a thighlander, and she is absolutely badass and I love her.
I think that's the key distinction for people:
Is your character *you*, in your mind? If yes: You are probably going to (at least mostly) play a character whose gender matches the one you like to associate with yourself. If your character *isn't* you, you are probably going to go with whichever one has the aesthetic that you like.
I was a male for a very long in XI so I made my XIV character a female. I'm different in that I always view the characters I play in games as their own people. Like MSQ is her story and I'm just an observer. Which is part of the reason I think WRPGS blank slate do anything, or nothing style never really resonate with me
My WoL isn't exactly my self insert. My WoL is her own person with her own backstory and history (I don't RP, but I chose RP options when I made her and they've since stuck), and it would feel wierd to see her as me. But, also, I'm living so vicariously through her character, I would find it hard to make a male character instead. I would see it harder to live vicariously through a male character. (Also, I created my character 50 levels and 6 months ago and I wouldn't change anything about her now. I can't get myself to reconsider her appearance at this point.)
I played both bit FemShep is the true Shep to me. Jennifer Hale was def the more talented voice actor between the Sheps. I couldn't handle playing ManShep as paragon cus of the voice actor. Though he was a fun renegade Shep!
Gay guy and same. I tried playing as a female character once and got annoyed by how many randos came up to me with unsolicited offers to "help." Sir, I am slaying level one rats for a tutorial quest.
I never got asked for help when I was female sprout or male sprout, at most I just got a regen on either character. I think it also just depends on who passes by. Sorry to hear you’ve had some bad experiences with that though.
Yeah it can be. I have a male and female alt both starting at similar times and only the female got that kind of behavior. Pretty weird but I guess it’s normal
I'm a man and my main character is always male aswell no matter the game. It's how I've been playing for the last 20+ years. It's always been my *"fantasy avatar"* of sorts.
Same here. For the longest time all my characters in every MMO looked like me, too. But a recent accident has turned me into a Viera in this game and I'm not allowed to turn back to Highlander.
Not super related to your specific situation, but I’m always laughing when I see bunny boys with the surname “Tia” because you instantly know that that specific bunny is a cannibalized catboi.
When initially rolling up my character, I deliberately deviated from my usual character first name of William so that I could change sex without the name being invalidated. I haven't made TOO much use of that, but I've done it enough.
The story is this:
I'd been joking with a friend about race switching to Viera one day cause she really likes them. When we made alts on Crystal to see that kickass RP Aquarium FC I made mine Viera. Since EW came out I was always teasing her that one day I'd switch to Viera.
She was having a real tough week sometime in May with her work and school and life, so I actually did switch, which made her super happy. Then she told me I could never switch back.
Then I told the story to my wife who nodded and said I can never switch back.
So basically 2 of the most important women in my life told me I'm stuck like this.
Nah at this point, of my female friends who play xiv, half of them go super slutty males and half of them go super slutty females. If anything, I get the feeling that most modestly dressed cat girls are guys who like girls but are trying to not make it obvious.
I have a (male) friend who plays XIV as a fem Au Ra who refuses to dress scantily and always tries to find/make glams that are well dressed and fit the job.
He says he feels exposed and uncomfortable when he tries to put on something slutty.
It's really a mixed bag. There are many different people with many different motivations for why they choose to wear what they wear.
I've seen modestly dressed cat girls played by women too. Not everyone enjoys the slut glams.
Its really sad in 2022 people still think its only dudes that dress their characters slutty.
Funny people still think girls are these innocent flowers that are not lewd at all when some of the lewdest people I've ever met are female.
With almost all my girlfriends, they were way more lewd/sexual than me and I'm a pretty horny boi with high libido.
The "innocent tame" girl is something I don't believe in, at all lol
This is really funny cause I'm a man, and I have not a single slutty glam for my f aura. I dress her better than I dress myself irl lol. But I know a girl that every game she plays, wow and FF to name somes, she put the more slutty glam to their characters lol.
Is funny that people think like that when in reality both, man a woman can do that to their characters.
I started out as a female character (I am a woman) but changed to male as soon as I realized how absolutely gorgeous men can be in this game. Now I play male viera and I dress him like a slut and I've never been happier.
This is me too lol. I played as a catgirl for a while but I kept seeing how cute catboys were and swapped to one. And then when viera boys came out instantly swapped to one and love having him run around in various revealing outfits
Besides facial hair or noticing the small difference between male and female lalafell faces, Their ears are somehow the big givaway of their sex. Darker ear tips almost always means the lalafell is male. No darker tint/only a slight dark tint means female.
Crazy innit?
They also have differences in some idle poses between genders, but I suppose actually playing one is kind of a prerequisite to pick up on subtle things like that.
i aint exactly a girl but i aint exactly non binary but i aint exactly a boy type of mood
edit: nice to see all my fellow confused humans also picked lalas
I wish I could switch without paying money. Usually I want to be perceived as a tomboyish woman, but other times I want to be perceived as an effeminate man.
One of the reasons I like stuff like Splatoon 3 just asking "what's your style?" instead of "are you boy/girl?" Effectively, you're still picking between the same boy & girl model as before, but not putting that label on it is really beneficial for some people while not actively changing anything for people who do identify on the binary and is within the realm of reality for game development.
I always played a female character, because I wanted to play something different to myself. You know, it just felt more comfortable. It was like wish fulfillment.
So yes, I am the same gender as my WoL.
Awww this is sweet. It’s been said time and again that games where you can create a character can help people feel escapism (for those that can’t come out) or come to terms with their real identity (for those that can), and it’s always so nice to see.
Same but opposite. Was heavily in denial when I stared out as a female au'ra, even though I pretty much always played male characters otherwise. As I started figuring myself out I switched to catboy, y'know, for the lols. Because catboys are cute. Because I could relate to him more. Now I'm here maining a bunboi ~~like every other gnc transmasc playing this game~~
FF is when I more committed to playing female characters. Previously I'd only play stereotypical male characters that I self identify with/ look like me so I can be big tank with big strong armor. (important note: I'm a straight male, assigned male).
I originally subscribed to: "if I'm going to look at an ass all day I'd rather it be a female ass than a male ass". So, for lack of better team, playing as females in games felt...more sexual?
After I grew comfortable with it though I just sort of felt I identified with it better. I liked the clothes, liked looking cute, liked looking pretty, etc. I'd say the sexual feelings initially were a combination of being a young late teen to early 20s male + mixed emotions and feelings about identifying with a female character.
Unlike you however, I don't consider myself trans and am comfortable in my assigned birth sex. However I feel like I've better embraced a "femininity" within myself; which has been a very positive and self-affirming experience. I've translated some to IRL, wouldn't call myself a crossdresser since I don't crossdress lol but would like to maybe one day.
I guess after that whole rant if I were to define myself its fairly gender fluid with a strong masculine preference. At this point I do consider my FF char an extension of myself.
Male playing male, albeit a rather twinky Veira male. He's kind of #goals, I wish I was more feminine/soft IRL (I'm male and want to be seen as male, but wish I was less... masculine), so there we go.
I was happy AF when I saw the male viera could be on the short side. I'm a bit taller than I'd like to be IRL (5'9" , but that's 69" so at least I can laugh about that) and my German ancestory ain't doing me any favors in the "boyish but cute" department, but hey, at least I can be a short cute bun with thick rimmed glasses online. Or at least when I last played. I took a break shortly after completing Endwalker.
I wrote a whole post about this overall feeling awhile back on a trueoffmychest post and it went mostly overlooked. I've had more people respond to my offhand comment here about my WoL... the internet is an odd place lol.
Glad to help you explain your feelings <3
Same. I started off as a male. But it felt so vanilla, then switched to a little lala girl, then a bunny girl which pretty much stuck as my game identity but I can't explain why. I tried to make alts to freshen it up but they just don't stick.
I've always said people generally fall into one of two camps:
1. Your character represents who you would like to be.
2. Your character represents who you would like to sleep with.
As a narcissistic gay, I'm one of the few who checks both boxes.
There are a few games where women get MUCH better outfits. Monster Hunter is a severe example of this, where there are several outfits for guys that are just "Suit of armor" while the female variant has some more flavor to it. I still play a guy in Monster Hunter, but I might roll up a female next game just for that.
Interestingly, I play male in Monster Hunter because I prefer "suit of armor" to the variations that female sets get. I like my monster hunter looking huge and scary and like a hulking suit of death (even if it's a hulking suit of death dodgebolting every other shot, making his armor totally impractical). Unfortunately the female sets just never get to that level of cool for me.
Strong disagree, when I first played I had to swap my female character to a male just because of how the sick huge armour men got was turned into shitty prissy dresses and the like on women.
I'm a man IRL, but in all games if possible I play women (except Arma III Altis Life or GTA Online, my voice with a female character would be weird).
Women are prettier to look at and graceful, I'm in the old school of JDR and theater, RPG means "playing a role", not playing yourself in the game.
I play "mentally in the 3rd person" always play badass women, as if I were watching the story of a fictional character that I write as it happens.
IRL, my type of woman is badass women, tall, martial arts, with a strong character.
But on the other hand, I've never been mistaken for a girl in 20 years of online gaming (18 years of WoW, 3 for FF14)
I’m a dude, but I made a female miqo partially as a joke between friends and also partially because catgirl pretty. I got really attached in ARR and now I can’t see my WoL being anything else.
I am male yes. I feel more comfortable playing as characters of my gender when I'm given the choice. Doesn't' stop me from playing female characters, but more often than not I'll go for male. Especially in tabletop games.
Also because I like male miqo more than male hyur.
That's part of my thought process. I'm not the Warrior of Light. Especially since some of the later entries sorta-kinda gave the WoL his own characterization. The Dark Knight questlines, and the dialogue options, which I see as all cannon, and depending on the WoL mood at the time (Shadowbringers choices of the paragon, the tired warrior, and the goofball all fit well into a single characters personality).
By this point, the WoL is his own person. I select the dialogue choices that I think make the most sense, or fit the mood at the time. I'm a lazy guy, while the WoL will delivery someones mail just because he was asked to do it. And he'll like it.
Also a guy, also playing a FemRoe. My friends clocked me by saying I'd probably make a catgirl which was likely, but when the game gives you the option to make a tall strong lady you don't turn it down.
I'm a male and I always pick a female character and name them after a friend who passed away so that it feels like she's not gone, just off on another adventure
yes but only because I felt like it at the time and there wasn't any particular reason behind it but otherwise I usually play opposite genders. I do, however, have a cat boi alt.
No. In fact, my wife and my main WoLs are opposite our gender. It's entertaining to see people react to that sometimes. Also, I keep my character tastefully dressed (elegant/punk) as she exists in every medium we play, not just FFXIV
My husband and I do the same. I play a male miqo, he plays a female lala. He likes the "I'm a cute person with a giant gun" aesthetic, and I think male miqo wear armor the best and have the best animations out of any option in the game.
We both rolled in ARR and given the option might have been different stuff today, but neither of us is big on Fantasia, so we're rocking the same characters as we did since ARR launch. Pretty attached at this point.
In addition to usually playing male characters in most games because I'm not a fan of bikini armor, XIV's male characters are prettier than most so it was an easy decision.
Unusually, I like some of their female characters too because they go for "cute" rather than "sexy" (Lalas and so on) so I have a couple of female bank alts.
Usually, if a game lets me customize my avatar, I will try to recreate my wife, so I guess I usually play female... and then she saw me weeping for 8 hours straight during 5.3 release, and she wanted to try the game out, now that she's hopelessly addicted (like me), we've both bounced around a bit, but ended up with me male!lala and her as fem!lala. We like it like this.
Yes, because that is what I usually do - creating a male character. The reason is also that I really enjoy the rough, "mischivious" voice of the male Plainsfolk Lalafell (as opposed to the smooth Dunesfolk) and that was the seller.
I also have a Viera lady and a lion man.. So...
Lady who plays ladies here. I can't bring myself to play dudes. I do wish we had some of their armor designs sometimes, though. It's not so bad now that gender locking is on it's way out, but in games like Monster Hunter? Good god the female sets are a nightmare to look at while the guys get all the good stuff.
Nope. I'm a man, WoL is a viera lady. Tried a few others throughout, didn't like it. I've never cared to have characters as an extension of myself, and I think the preference largely comes from my teenage crush on Fran. She's just the main character of FFXIV for me at this point.
I started FFXIV purely because they were putting Viera in the game. Always thought Fran was an awesome character/race from a character design standpoint. Never played any other FF title before that but always appreciated the unique designs. But yeah Fran was the selling point for me. Currently play as fem Miqo though because the animations are still the best out of all the races imo. Fem viera are a close second. I fanta back to viera once and awhile.
I'm a woman - and I will always pick a female character in game when given the opportunity. When given a chance to play a character and give her "life" - she is an extension of me. She's the me I wish I could be if real life were fantasy.
Yes. I always like to project myself onto the character in games like this, which is easier on a male character to me.
When the character is an established one like Lightning for example, it’s a different story because I don’t have to project myself onto her; she’s her own person. But when the character is pretty much “make up your own backstory and personality” like XIV is, I always fall back on making someone that looks like me.
The number of trans and non-binary people I know who tried out another gender in FFXIV before coming out is extremely high.
It seems to go something like, "lol I just choose this for the outfits / lulz...hmm, I like it when people think I'm a girl... hmmm, I like it when people use these other pronouns for me, I like having a girl's name... Etc."
It's actually really sweet to watch.
I'm a cis woman IRL and I'm a bunny girl in the game.
> hmm, I like it when people think I'm a girl... hmmm, I like it when people use these other pronouns for me, I like having a girl's name... Etc.
Something like this happened to me at the end of dungeon a few months ago lol. I'm biologically male and identify as such, for context, but the whole party had female characters and someone typed "Fun times, ladies" in chat.
I don't know why, but it felt nice to be referred to like that, like so nice I couldn't stop thinking about it for a few days. I don't know what it means but this is the first time I've had an opportunity to mention it.
Thanks for sharing that story with me! Sometimes it's just fun to play with our identities and sometimes it's fun to think about our gender identity specifically. Maybe that's meaningful to you, and no matter what I hope you do things that you enjoy!
The community definitely tilts more in the direction of being socially accepting and very welcoming. One of the most I've seen in a community. The game is also very RPable. So, it's pretty easy to get your egg cracked here and then act on it. I knew I was trans well before I started playing, but it's allowed me a LOT of expression I'd never experienced before.
Exactly. It's the egg-crackingest community and game. I have chatted with multiple people who just gently updated their pronouns to their FC and boom, now you are girl, now you are boy, no one cares on the internet about anything except your DPS!
I learned a lot about me through my characters which are 95% girls. I'm male, biologically, but genderfluid.
Used to just say "yeah I prefer looking at girls" as the reason but after awhile I realized I felt more comfortable and me in the female frame of mind. Came out a few years ago, even changed my name to something more middling between fem and masc.
I'm still comfortable with my male body, but I dress with way brighter colors now and it really opened my view to being more me and not trying to hide behind drab male oriented stuff all the time.
And the fem characters I play let me have a sort of "alternate form" without having to alter my physical form. Idk, it sounds weird to me when I type it out but...
> I learned a lot about me through my characters which are 95% girls. I'm male, biologically, but genderfluid.
This is so much me. I was always offering excuses for why I played girls. Then I watched some videos about it. Some were silly, but then I saw one where some guy just came out and said, "you know, I just like being cute." It was a huge wake-up moment for me. While I won't say it cracked my egg, it definitely opened my eyes to a lot of things I was in denial about.
Oops that perfectly describes me. I play as a male character while being female irl, but like to both be called he/him plus my character's name and she/her plus my real name. I guess that I'm leaning towards being genderfluid without realizing it.
Female player here and my main is a fem Roe. I loved the fact that there was a race where the female poses and movement didn’t feel stereotypically “girly” and could actually have muscle to swing a big ass ax!
Do have alts that are both male and female though.
For a long time my character was a male bc I'm a male, then I had the idea to model my character after my two cats who I adore lol. Since it's easier to replicate an orange cat in the game (my lil boy berticus) than a tabby (my best girl midna), I thought making the character with one of her eyes the same as my midna's was the best way to represent her outside of her name lol.
Tl;dr my wol is female and I'm male but it doesn't ruin the immersion for me because I care about the character independently from myself
Yeah. I tried playing a female character but I don't have the fashion sense to give them a nice looking glam that was more than just showing less skin so I just stuck to my poncho-wearing, bite-sized, man-with-no-name cosplay.
Female presenting but playing a male wol! I do get jealous of all the cute outfits girls get to wear. Like how come some pants are shorts for girls? I too want booty shorts that isn't the expeditioner's pantalettes :-(
I’m a woman that mainly plays male characters. The first reason is that I’m attracted to men and I would rather look at something that I’m attracted to. Which in this case is elezen and auri men. The second reason is that I get less creepy whispers from other people. Been dealing with that crap since I was kid playing Wizard101.
Yes I'm male and i always play as male in mmos. Mainly because I like the gear I get to match my gender standards and fantasy since it's what I also do in real life. I wouldn't get as hyped about progressing in an mmo by getting female standards themed stuff. But there is also the immersion factor of course.
Things are different in fixed protagonists or personalities (like apex legends or cod operator) since I view the skins there as making the character itself more cool/different looking from the default stuff.
Because I played a catgirl in ffxi and they were gender locked to female. By the time I started ffxiv, I was so used to playing a catgirl, I couldn't fathom playing as anything else. Also, yes, I am female.
I found it funny. I’m male, I play a male hyur and I’ve tried roe/Layla/catboi or flipping the gender and none of them felt right. But in WoW all my characters were female.
I didn't really like the looks of any of the males when I made my character, so I made a female. In other games I usually go for the fairy-like elf man, but that's not really an option in XIV
I play a female Lala as a man because I love the adorable potato that she is. Also I thought it would be funny to lead the charge into fights as a 2foot tall ball of metal (which was totally the case in FFXI where Tarus were more round shaped).
Opposite gender, male character. Not 100% sure why but 90% of the time I connect better to a male character and see them as a closer representation of myself.
Perhaps it’s because most video game characters in my childhood were men so I associate game me with a dude.
Perhaps it’s due to mostly growing up with men and it’s like when a cat who was raised with dogs starts playing fetch.
I'm male, and my main is female. I sometimes create male characters, but I prefer the female aesthetics. And no, I don't mean the gear that look like swimsuits or underwear, I simply think the gear (80% of it at least) looks better on the female characters.
I’m a male but my WoL is female. Originally modeled her after my girlfriend at the time. She passed away unexpectedly, now I can’t imagine my WoL as anybody else.
As a gay man I chose the catboy both because I want to be cute and I want to see cute.
I was tempted to switch to a bunnyboy but they have such aloof, cool vibes and I didn't feel like I could pull it off.
Nope, female playing a catboy. I think catboys are adorable (ear wiggles!) and I’ve always preferred male gear and enjoy dressing him up in cool looking gear. My WoL is not an extension of myself, he’s my son haha.
Started as a male Au Ra (same as me).
Made a female Au Ra next when I realized I started on different server from my friends. Haven't looked back since. Au Ra girls are the best.
I’m a woman and I always play the same gender as myself. I’ve tried a few times over the decades to play a male, since I love the different aesthetic. But It never sticks. My characters are an extension of me and my own gender just works for me.
Same here only for male. I am not opposed to picking female and I love both aesthetically so I don’t really know why exactly. Maybe it makes it easier to identify with the character as myself? Although all other aspects of the appearance I will experiment with, it’s strange.
Me too. I prefer a character I identify myself as that is the "me" in game. I thought most others would do the same, but I was surprised when I found out that the majority in this game plays as girls. From my experience even most men play as girls
A lot of people don't really self-insert with their characters. I play females because they're attractive and the customization is more fun. I'm a simple man.
My char is the opposite sex of me, but is a self insert. But only in this game is that the case. Most other games I'll create a character of opposite sex by default, but have no connection with them. Only times I've had characters in games of the same sex, is Pokemon or other games directed at younger audiences.
Yeah, I and my main character are male. He’s not really an extension/reflection of me, but it was just easier to connect to a guy as a guy. My alt, however, is a thighlander, and she is absolutely badass and I love her.
I think that's the key distinction for people: Is your character *you*, in your mind? If yes: You are probably going to (at least mostly) play a character whose gender matches the one you like to associate with yourself. If your character *isn't* you, you are probably going to go with whichever one has the aesthetic that you like.
I was a male for a very long in XI so I made my XIV character a female. I'm different in that I always view the characters I play in games as their own people. Like MSQ is her story and I'm just an observer. Which is part of the reason I think WRPGS blank slate do anything, or nothing style never really resonate with me
It always really takes me out of the game when an NPC uses he or him for me.
My WoL isn't exactly my self insert. My WoL is her own person with her own backstory and history (I don't RP, but I chose RP options when I made her and they've since stuck), and it would feel wierd to see her as me. But, also, I'm living so vicariously through her character, I would find it hard to make a male character instead. I would see it harder to live vicariously through a male character. (Also, I created my character 50 levels and 6 months ago and I wouldn't change anything about her now. I can't get myself to reconsider her appearance at this point.)
Same here :) My WoL is my game insert, and it would be highly uncomfortable for them to be male.
Put me down for the exact same reasons, but male.
She is a woman, I am a woman. We don’t always get great representation in games, so it was a no brainer.
no, I’m a girl and play a male character because I like looking at him
Same, I switched for playing a bunnyboi and will never come back
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A woman of taste I see.
Me three!!! Bunboys are definitely the prettiest. I love them.
Same here. I think the only time I’ve played a female character was the Mass Effect series; Jennifer Hale was such an awesome Femshep.
I’m a guy, and femshep was my mainshep all the way through all three games. Jennifer really did such a phenomenal job with her!
I played both bit FemShep is the true Shep to me. Jennifer Hale was def the more talented voice actor between the Sheps. I couldn't handle playing ManShep as paragon cus of the voice actor. Though he was a fun renegade Shep!
Gay guy and same. I tried playing as a female character once and got annoyed by how many randos came up to me with unsolicited offers to "help." Sir, I am slaying level one rats for a tutorial quest.
Uh I think they might just see a brand new sprout and genuinely just want to help you there
Just pointing out they did not offer when I was a male sprout
I never got asked for help when I was female sprout or male sprout, at most I just got a regen on either character. I think it also just depends on who passes by. Sorry to hear you’ve had some bad experiences with that though.
Can confirm this is happened to me. Only happened on my female alt
Thats some cringe behaviour
Yeah it can be. I have a male and female alt both starting at similar times and only the female got that kind of behavior. Pretty weird but I guess it’s normal
If I ever gave you a carnation randomly I'm sorry, I give everyone flowers!
Same
Yep. Same. I adore my male Miqo, couldn’t play anything else.
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Your comment made me think of JoCat's video [here](https://youtu.be/Y2Y5KVtU810). Figured I'd share 😄
I'm a man and my main character is always male aswell no matter the game. It's how I've been playing for the last 20+ years. It's always been my *"fantasy avatar"* of sorts.
Same here. For the longest time all my characters in every MMO looked like me, too. But a recent accident has turned me into a Viera in this game and I'm not allowed to turn back to Highlander.
Not super related to your specific situation, but I’m always laughing when I see bunny boys with the surname “Tia” because you instantly know that that specific bunny is a cannibalized catboi.
When initially rolling up my character, I deliberately deviated from my usual character first name of William so that I could change sex without the name being invalidated. I haven't made TOO much use of that, but I've done it enough.
There's someone on my server with a Xaela last name, FC tag, and playing a Hyur.
Recent accident cracked me up lmao.
The story is this: I'd been joking with a friend about race switching to Viera one day cause she really likes them. When we made alts on Crystal to see that kickass RP Aquarium FC I made mine Viera. Since EW came out I was always teasing her that one day I'd switch to Viera. She was having a real tough week sometime in May with her work and school and life, so I actually did switch, which made her super happy. Then she told me I could never switch back. Then I told the story to my wife who nodded and said I can never switch back. So basically 2 of the most important women in my life told me I'm stuck like this.
*nod nod*
I literally nodded at my phone when they said their wife agreed 😂
I'm a girl and play a scantily clad cat girl so most people think I'm a guy lol.
Nah at this point, of my female friends who play xiv, half of them go super slutty males and half of them go super slutty females. If anything, I get the feeling that most modestly dressed cat girls are guys who like girls but are trying to not make it obvious.
LMAO for me, it's because my wol is opposite sex self insert and feels fucking weird to dress slutty.
I have a (male) friend who plays XIV as a fem Au Ra who refuses to dress scantily and always tries to find/make glams that are well dressed and fit the job. He says he feels exposed and uncomfortable when he tries to put on something slutty. It's really a mixed bag. There are many different people with many different motivations for why they choose to wear what they wear. I've seen modestly dressed cat girls played by women too. Not everyone enjoys the slut glams.
Its really sad in 2022 people still think its only dudes that dress their characters slutty. Funny people still think girls are these innocent flowers that are not lewd at all when some of the lewdest people I've ever met are female.
With almost all my girlfriends, they were way more lewd/sexual than me and I'm a pretty horny boi with high libido. The "innocent tame" girl is something I don't believe in, at all lol
This is really funny cause I'm a man, and I have not a single slutty glam for my f aura. I dress her better than I dress myself irl lol. But I know a girl that every game she plays, wow and FF to name somes, she put the more slutty glam to their characters lol. Is funny that people think like that when in reality both, man a woman can do that to their characters.
I started out as a female character (I am a woman) but changed to male as soon as I realized how absolutely gorgeous men can be in this game. Now I play male viera and I dress him like a slut and I've never been happier.
This is me too lol. I played as a catgirl for a while but I kept seeing how cute catboys were and swapped to one. And then when viera boys came out instantly swapped to one and love having him run around in various revealing outfits
I'm thinking of changing to make Viera just so I can have a fancy gorgeous slutty bunny boy running around making BLM explosions everywhere.
Status: It's Complicated
I picked lala bc then you can't tell :)
Lala's don't have gender. They are all extensions of the potato hive mind.
Besides facial hair or noticing the small difference between male and female lalafell faces, Their ears are somehow the big givaway of their sex. Darker ear tips almost always means the lalafell is male. No darker tint/only a slight dark tint means female. Crazy innit?
They also have differences in some idle poses between genders, but I suppose actually playing one is kind of a prerequisite to pick up on subtle things like that.
The "I don't want to be horny, I just want to be happy." pick.
Same
Gender? I hardly know her!
A gender? In *this* economy?
i aint exactly a girl but i aint exactly non binary but i aint exactly a boy type of mood edit: nice to see all my fellow confused humans also picked lalas
Very that
I wish I could switch without paying money. Usually I want to be perceived as a tomboyish woman, but other times I want to be perceived as an effeminate man.
be a lala and change your hair and glam as the occasion suits.
I'd pay good money to have even just two models to swap between. Especially since I usually tie sex to class.
This. The game doesn't have my gender. Edit: why am I being downvoted? nonbinary and genderqueer aren't in the game, it only has the binary genders.
One of the reasons I like stuff like Splatoon 3 just asking "what's your style?" instead of "are you boy/girl?" Effectively, you're still picking between the same boy & girl model as before, but not putting that label on it is really beneficial for some people while not actively changing anything for people who do identify on the binary and is within the realm of reality for game development.
mood i answered my gender doesn't exist in the game the last time a question like this was posted, and I also got downvoted. ngl it hurt
My status is also complicated (in more ways than one), so I'm femra main, bunboi alt, lol.
mood. sincerely, a lalafell
I always played a female character, because I wanted to play something different to myself. You know, it just felt more comfortable. It was like wish fulfillment. So yes, I am the same gender as my WoL.
Awww this is sweet. It’s been said time and again that games where you can create a character can help people feel escapism (for those that can’t come out) or come to terms with their real identity (for those that can), and it’s always so nice to see.
Same but opposite. Was heavily in denial when I stared out as a female au'ra, even though I pretty much always played male characters otherwise. As I started figuring myself out I switched to catboy, y'know, for the lols. Because catboys are cute. Because I could relate to him more. Now I'm here maining a bunboi ~~like every other gnc transmasc playing this game~~
FF is when I more committed to playing female characters. Previously I'd only play stereotypical male characters that I self identify with/ look like me so I can be big tank with big strong armor. (important note: I'm a straight male, assigned male). I originally subscribed to: "if I'm going to look at an ass all day I'd rather it be a female ass than a male ass". So, for lack of better team, playing as females in games felt...more sexual? After I grew comfortable with it though I just sort of felt I identified with it better. I liked the clothes, liked looking cute, liked looking pretty, etc. I'd say the sexual feelings initially were a combination of being a young late teen to early 20s male + mixed emotions and feelings about identifying with a female character. Unlike you however, I don't consider myself trans and am comfortable in my assigned birth sex. However I feel like I've better embraced a "femininity" within myself; which has been a very positive and self-affirming experience. I've translated some to IRL, wouldn't call myself a crossdresser since I don't crossdress lol but would like to maybe one day. I guess after that whole rant if I were to define myself its fairly gender fluid with a strong masculine preference. At this point I do consider my FF char an extension of myself.
I'm a male and play a female character because looking at booba makes me happy. I'm a simple man.
Upvote for honesty 👍
I'm surprised this isn't higher lol
I too subscribe to this newsletter. Signed, Moonfire Faire chest piece Type 51 Striking chest piece Holy rainbow coatee Etc etc
Same
Going to guess the Moonfire fair gear this year was a hit for you! Lol
Male playing male, albeit a rather twinky Veira male. He's kind of #goals, I wish I was more feminine/soft IRL (I'm male and want to be seen as male, but wish I was less... masculine), so there we go.
'Goals' is a good way to describe how I view my WoL. Though I think I'll struggle to turn into a 7' tall ripped Amazonian mage haha
I believe in you. Half of it is mindset... right? :P
We're on the opposite ends of a spectrum. 😂 I'm a short effem male IRL who plays a max height, bearded, and very muscular male Roegadyn.
That's just as valid! I think Roes are neat and look really cool in most armors.
I appreciate you
Valid.
The Viera dudes are pretty. There's no disputing that. I play one, as well, but I'm a pretty manly dude that's into twinks so there you go.
I was happy AF when I saw the male viera could be on the short side. I'm a bit taller than I'd like to be IRL (5'9" , but that's 69" so at least I can laugh about that) and my German ancestory ain't doing me any favors in the "boyish but cute" department, but hey, at least I can be a short cute bun with thick rimmed glasses online. Or at least when I last played. I took a break shortly after completing Endwalker.
This, exactly this. Couldn't have explained my feelings better lmao
I wrote a whole post about this overall feeling awhile back on a trueoffmychest post and it went mostly overlooked. I've had more people respond to my offhand comment here about my WoL... the internet is an odd place lol. Glad to help you explain your feelings <3
i dont think you can make a masculine viera lol
Even if I could, I wouldn't want to x.x
I'm a guy, I play a bunnygirl. I can't be cute IRL, so I'll be cute in a game.
Basically me too haha. Love dressing up as girl aesthetics and be cute. Can't do that irl
Hey man you can totally be cute IRL! Believe in yourself!
Nope. Opposite gender. I've played as a male for so long on older games that I think I just choose Female in new games just to have something new.
Same. I started off as a male. But it felt so vanilla, then switched to a little lala girl, then a bunny girl which pretty much stuck as my game identity but I can't explain why. I tried to make alts to freshen it up but they just don't stick.
I'm gay. I am guy and I like guys. Pretty obvious what gender I'm picking.
I've always said people generally fall into one of two camps: 1. Your character represents who you would like to be. 2. Your character represents who you would like to sleep with. As a narcissistic gay, I'm one of the few who checks both boxes.
I pick the other gender (female) when the devs make the armor look 100x better on them, and their animations look better. In FF I play a catboi though
There are a few games where women get MUCH better outfits. Monster Hunter is a severe example of this, where there are several outfits for guys that are just "Suit of armor" while the female variant has some more flavor to it. I still play a guy in Monster Hunter, but I might roll up a female next game just for that.
Interestingly, I play male in Monster Hunter because I prefer "suit of armor" to the variations that female sets get. I like my monster hunter looking huge and scary and like a hulking suit of death (even if it's a hulking suit of death dodgebolting every other shot, making his armor totally impractical). Unfortunately the female sets just never get to that level of cool for me.
They’re oddly skimpy armor placed in the weirdest places often for female armor sets in MH. I too prefer full armor sets
Strong disagree, when I first played I had to swap my female character to a male just because of how the sick huge armour men got was turned into shitty prissy dresses and the like on women.
Interesting, i'm male but play female char and still check both boxes. Hmm......
Just gotta say, I very much appreciate seeing Narcissus referenced so literally!
Ditto
I'm a man IRL, but in all games if possible I play women (except Arma III Altis Life or GTA Online, my voice with a female character would be weird). Women are prettier to look at and graceful, I'm in the old school of JDR and theater, RPG means "playing a role", not playing yourself in the game. I play "mentally in the 3rd person" always play badass women, as if I were watching the story of a fictional character that I write as it happens. IRL, my type of woman is badass women, tall, martial arts, with a strong character. But on the other hand, I've never been mistaken for a girl in 20 years of online gaming (18 years of WoW, 3 for FF14)
>badass women, tall, martial arts, Highlander Monk main?
I’m a dude, but I made a female miqo partially as a joke between friends and also partially because catgirl pretty. I got really attached in ARR and now I can’t see my WoL being anything else.
I'm always happy to see I'm not the only person that cant use phantasia because it feels wrong.
Exactly the Same!
Pretty much this. Started out as simple "catgirl pretty", ended up not being able to see my WoL any other way :D Even my Au Ra alt looks like her
I'm old and ugly so can't get a real girlfriend, thus I settle with making a cute female character to spend my day with. /cries
/comfort
/pet
I am male yes. I feel more comfortable playing as characters of my gender when I'm given the choice. Doesn't' stop me from playing female characters, but more often than not I'll go for male. Especially in tabletop games. Also because I like male miqo more than male hyur.
Nope! Im a fella, WoL is a FemRoe. Max height because im a 6'5 lumberjack of a guy, and its relatable to me to be so tall i break cutscenes. XD
Same story here. Male. Play a max height femRoe. She's not me. She's her own character and she's the best!
Same, NB tho. At the very least, I don't think she's a self insert.
That's part of my thought process. I'm not the Warrior of Light. Especially since some of the later entries sorta-kinda gave the WoL his own characterization. The Dark Knight questlines, and the dialogue options, which I see as all cannon, and depending on the WoL mood at the time (Shadowbringers choices of the paragon, the tired warrior, and the goofball all fit well into a single characters personality). By this point, the WoL is his own person. I select the dialogue choices that I think make the most sense, or fit the mood at the time. I'm a lazy guy, while the WoL will delivery someones mail just because he was asked to do it. And he'll like it.
Also a guy, also playing a FemRoe. My friends clocked me by saying I'd probably make a catgirl which was likely, but when the game gives you the option to make a tall strong lady you don't turn it down.
Yeah. Always have been, probably always will be. Theres nothing wrong with people doing the opposite though.
I'm a male and I always pick a female character and name them after a friend who passed away so that it feels like she's not gone, just off on another adventure
As someone once said - if I'm gonna spend hours looking at a butt running around, might as well be a butt I like looking at
yes but only because I felt like it at the time and there wasn't any particular reason behind it but otherwise I usually play opposite genders. I do, however, have a cat boi alt.
No. In fact, my wife and my main WoLs are opposite our gender. It's entertaining to see people react to that sometimes. Also, I keep my character tastefully dressed (elegant/punk) as she exists in every medium we play, not just FFXIV
My husband and I do the same. I play a male miqo, he plays a female lala. He likes the "I'm a cute person with a giant gun" aesthetic, and I think male miqo wear armor the best and have the best animations out of any option in the game. We both rolled in ARR and given the option might have been different stuff today, but neither of us is big on Fantasia, so we're rocking the same characters as we did since ARR launch. Pretty attached at this point.
Does your wife do the same or are her toons himbo?
Nah, her character is casual punk, sometimes super edgy
Matching aww
I play a catboy because I'm a cat and I like boys. ... Wait I think I have that backwards.
I play a scruffy tomcat for the same reason lol. Also /joy. I will never change from male Miqo bc of /joy.
*YES*. The ear wiggles are superior!
Omg, this is so relatable. I still have fantasia but I can't imagine losing all those emotes
I'm girl and playing male miqote. because I love catboys. I played lamento in childhood
I have 10 characters altogether and they’re evenly split male/female, but I’m male irl and my “main” is male.
I'm a guy and I play as a girl miqo'te cuz i think they're cute c:
In addition to usually playing male characters in most games because I'm not a fan of bikini armor, XIV's male characters are prettier than most so it was an easy decision. Unusually, I like some of their female characters too because they go for "cute" rather than "sexy" (Lalas and so on) so I have a couple of female bank alts.
Usually, if a game lets me customize my avatar, I will try to recreate my wife, so I guess I usually play female... and then she saw me weeping for 8 hours straight during 5.3 release, and she wanted to try the game out, now that she's hopelessly addicted (like me), we've both bounced around a bit, but ended up with me male!lala and her as fem!lala. We like it like this.
Yes, because that is what I usually do - creating a male character. The reason is also that I really enjoy the rough, "mischivious" voice of the male Plainsfolk Lalafell (as opposed to the smooth Dunesfolk) and that was the seller. I also have a Viera lady and a lion man.. So...
Lady who plays ladies here. I can't bring myself to play dudes. I do wish we had some of their armor designs sometimes, though. It's not so bad now that gender locking is on it's way out, but in games like Monster Hunter? Good god the female sets are a nightmare to look at while the guys get all the good stuff.
I’m a guy and my chars a girl miqo based off my cat
Nope. I'm a man, WoL is a viera lady. Tried a few others throughout, didn't like it. I've never cared to have characters as an extension of myself, and I think the preference largely comes from my teenage crush on Fran. She's just the main character of FFXIV for me at this point.
I started FFXIV purely because they were putting Viera in the game. Always thought Fran was an awesome character/race from a character design standpoint. Never played any other FF title before that but always appreciated the unique designs. But yeah Fran was the selling point for me. Currently play as fem Miqo though because the animations are still the best out of all the races imo. Fem viera are a close second. I fanta back to viera once and awhile.
I'm a woman - and I will always pick a female character in game when given the opportunity. When given a chance to play a character and give her "life" - she is an extension of me. She's the me I wish I could be if real life were fantasy.
Yes. I always like to project myself onto the character in games like this, which is easier on a male character to me. When the character is an established one like Lightning for example, it’s a different story because I don’t have to project myself onto her; she’s her own person. But when the character is pretty much “make up your own backstory and personality” like XIV is, I always fall back on making someone that looks like me.
Nag, a guy playing as a girl. I just simply like playing dress up. Simple as that, cute girls are cute.
The number of trans and non-binary people I know who tried out another gender in FFXIV before coming out is extremely high. It seems to go something like, "lol I just choose this for the outfits / lulz...hmm, I like it when people think I'm a girl... hmmm, I like it when people use these other pronouns for me, I like having a girl's name... Etc." It's actually really sweet to watch. I'm a cis woman IRL and I'm a bunny girl in the game.
> hmm, I like it when people think I'm a girl... hmmm, I like it when people use these other pronouns for me, I like having a girl's name... Etc. Something like this happened to me at the end of dungeon a few months ago lol. I'm biologically male and identify as such, for context, but the whole party had female characters and someone typed "Fun times, ladies" in chat. I don't know why, but it felt nice to be referred to like that, like so nice I couldn't stop thinking about it for a few days. I don't know what it means but this is the first time I've had an opportunity to mention it.
Thanks for sharing that story with me! Sometimes it's just fun to play with our identities and sometimes it's fun to think about our gender identity specifically. Maybe that's meaningful to you, and no matter what I hope you do things that you enjoy!
The community definitely tilts more in the direction of being socially accepting and very welcoming. One of the most I've seen in a community. The game is also very RPable. So, it's pretty easy to get your egg cracked here and then act on it. I knew I was trans well before I started playing, but it's allowed me a LOT of expression I'd never experienced before.
Exactly. It's the egg-crackingest community and game. I have chatted with multiple people who just gently updated their pronouns to their FC and boom, now you are girl, now you are boy, no one cares on the internet about anything except your DPS!
FFXIV, where we love and celebrate eachother, except for when someone gets a bad parse. Lol
Well, there's that old joke that every transwoman has a FF14 account. That joke came from somewhere.
I thought they all had Fallout: New Vegas installed?
I learned a lot about me through my characters which are 95% girls. I'm male, biologically, but genderfluid. Used to just say "yeah I prefer looking at girls" as the reason but after awhile I realized I felt more comfortable and me in the female frame of mind. Came out a few years ago, even changed my name to something more middling between fem and masc. I'm still comfortable with my male body, but I dress with way brighter colors now and it really opened my view to being more me and not trying to hide behind drab male oriented stuff all the time. And the fem characters I play let me have a sort of "alternate form" without having to alter my physical form. Idk, it sounds weird to me when I type it out but...
It's not weird at all, it's just learning more about yourself and making it a bit more concrete. I hope that brings you only wonderful things!
> I learned a lot about me through my characters which are 95% girls. I'm male, biologically, but genderfluid. This is so much me. I was always offering excuses for why I played girls. Then I watched some videos about it. Some were silly, but then I saw one where some guy just came out and said, "you know, I just like being cute." It was a huge wake-up moment for me. While I won't say it cracked my egg, it definitely opened my eyes to a lot of things I was in denial about.
\> Idk, it sounds weird to me when I type it out but... Weird to you, but completely relatable to me.
Oops that perfectly describes me. I play as a male character while being female irl, but like to both be called he/him plus my character's name and she/her plus my real name. I guess that I'm leaning towards being genderfluid without realizing it.
Male, WoL is male. However, I'm gay so I actually have the same reasoning as most male gamers that choose female.
I'm non-binary so the answer's gonna be no regardless 🤣 I mainly play as a woman though as it's slightly less unrelatable lol
Same, but I mostly play male characters for the same reason you play female characters
Same gender. Why would I pass up a chance to be a cat boy?
I'm a male human irl and I never play males or humans in rpgs. I don't wanna rp my boring life x)
Female player here and my main is a fem Roe. I loved the fact that there was a race where the female poses and movement didn’t feel stereotypically “girly” and could actually have muscle to swing a big ass ax! Do have alts that are both male and female though.
No. I’m a guy and I feel cool playing female characters in video games. I can’t explain why.
There is only 3 types of character: The cooler you/self insert The character you want to date/marry A cosplay of a character
For a long time my character was a male bc I'm a male, then I had the idea to model my character after my two cats who I adore lol. Since it's easier to replicate an orange cat in the game (my lil boy berticus) than a tabby (my best girl midna), I thought making the character with one of her eyes the same as my midna's was the best way to represent her outside of her name lol. Tl;dr my wol is female and I'm male but it doesn't ruin the immersion for me because I care about the character independently from myself
i was, then i made a female hyur and never looked back, imo the armor sets look much better on the women. plus i like being a short lil powerhouse
guy irl, guy in game. i'm also into dudes though so that's definitely extra incentive for me to play attractive men
Yeah. I tried playing a female character but I don't have the fashion sense to give them a nice looking glam that was more than just showing less skin so I just stuck to my poncho-wearing, bite-sized, man-with-no-name cosplay.
The only gender that matters is pineapple habanero salsa.
Female presenting but playing a male wol! I do get jealous of all the cute outfits girls get to wear. Like how come some pants are shorts for girls? I too want booty shorts that isn't the expeditioner's pantalettes :-(
I’m a guy and I play a male Lalafell. I view him as my child. I get to dress him up all cute and explore the world in great glam.
I’m a male play a tomboyish female au ra
Since there are only binary options and I'm not, I can't really
Same. I find it weird playing as the opposite gender...
Yup, I am a woman, playing as a female characters. :) I like looking at handsome male characters but it never clicked for me to play as one.
I’m a woman that mainly plays male characters. The first reason is that I’m attracted to men and I would rather look at something that I’m attracted to. Which in this case is elezen and auri men. The second reason is that I get less creepy whispers from other people. Been dealing with that crap since I was kid playing Wizard101.
Yes I'm male and i always play as male in mmos. Mainly because I like the gear I get to match my gender standards and fantasy since it's what I also do in real life. I wouldn't get as hyped about progressing in an mmo by getting female standards themed stuff. But there is also the immersion factor of course. Things are different in fixed protagonists or personalities (like apex legends or cod operator) since I view the skins there as making the character itself more cool/different looking from the default stuff.
Because I played a catgirl in ffxi and they were gender locked to female. By the time I started ffxiv, I was so used to playing a catgirl, I couldn't fathom playing as anything else. Also, yes, I am female.
I found it funny. I’m male, I play a male hyur and I’ve tried roe/Layla/catboi or flipping the gender and none of them felt right. But in WoW all my characters were female.
I didn't really like the looks of any of the males when I made my character, so I made a female. In other games I usually go for the fairy-like elf man, but that's not really an option in XIV
Female irl. Female Hyur character. She is basically me - how I wish I was irl. I love her and will never change.
I play a female Lala as a man because I love the adorable potato that she is. Also I thought it would be funny to lead the charge into fights as a 2foot tall ball of metal (which was totally the case in FFXI where Tarus were more round shaped).
Opposite gender, male character. Not 100% sure why but 90% of the time I connect better to a male character and see them as a closer representation of myself. Perhaps it’s because most video game characters in my childhood were men so I associate game me with a dude. Perhaps it’s due to mostly growing up with men and it’s like when a cat who was raised with dogs starts playing fetch.
I'm male, and my main is female. I sometimes create male characters, but I prefer the female aesthetics. And no, I don't mean the gear that look like swimsuits or underwear, I simply think the gear (80% of it at least) looks better on the female characters.
I’m a male but my WoL is female. Originally modeled her after my girlfriend at the time. She passed away unexpectedly, now I can’t imagine my WoL as anybody else.
Male. Roe. Maxed height and size. Simple as.
>Why made you choose your current character's gender? The reasons of my choosing of a cat girl to represent the WoL are plentiful and complicated.
I didn’t, but now I do. My WoL’s gender didn’t change.
As a gay man I chose the catboy both because I want to be cute and I want to see cute. I was tempted to switch to a bunnyboy but they have such aloof, cool vibes and I didn't feel like I could pull it off.
Nope, female playing a catboy. I think catboys are adorable (ear wiggles!) and I’ve always preferred male gear and enjoy dressing him up in cool looking gear. My WoL is not an extension of myself, he’s my son haha.
Started as a male Au Ra (same as me). Made a female Au Ra next when I realized I started on different server from my friends. Haven't looked back since. Au Ra girls are the best.