We’ve been running a poll over the past 30 days asking the community what clans they were thinking about playing on release – and with almost 3,000 votes we’ve got far and away they best sample size for such an inquiry.  And, while these results may change over time as more information is released about each race and clan, we can still take a look behind the numbers.  But other than the bare results, what else can we see?  Let’s take a look…

So first let’s take a look at the results (on right).  These results are relatively straightforward. The Dunesfolk Lalafell take the top position with a fairly convincing 18% of the vote.

This makes some sense when we look at where we’ve come from.  The Lalafell are FFXIV’s adaptation of FFXI’s Tarutaru, and the Tarutaru were the most played race in FFXI (tied with the Hume), so we would expect to see the Lalafell near the top.  In fact, when we combine the clans and compare to the racial distribution in FFXI, we see a lot of similarities.

When we look more closely at the clan breakdowns (below), we see a fairly dramatic split between the two Lalafell clans as far as popularity – with a 51% difference between the two clans.  This also makes some sense if we think about it in terms of FFXI.  The Tarutaru had a racial advantage in magic, and while that advantage has been removed in FFXIV (we think), the Dunesfolk have a more magical appearance – so we would expect to see those that liked playing as the magically inclined Tarutaru gravitate more towards the Dunesfolk clan than the Plainsfolk clan.

The Huyr and Roegadyn show a slight differentiation between the clans – of only about 15%, while the Miqo’te and Elezen, on the other hand, were very evenly split between the two clans.

Hyur	Miqo’te
Elezen	Lalafell
Roegadyn

So what do we get when we put all of the above together?  A pretty nice split among the various races and clans.

Thanks to Blueyes and the rest of the posters in the Racial Distribution thread for the idea for this post. Thanks also to Fusionx for assistance with this article.
* Some numbers used in the charts are slightly different than the raw results due to additional responses since the charts were first made.

For the Lalafell lovers out there, 4Gamer has posted a host of new images for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

The official Japanese FFXIV site was updated recently and most notably we have some new information about the various clans of Eorzea.  As we have previously been told, each race will have two distinct clans which can be selected at the character creation stage.  Up until now we only had a limited amount of information as to certain of these clans, and very limited information about the visual differences between clans of the same race.  But no more – Square Enix has now provided information on all clans – complete with images.  Let’s take a look.

Race: Elezen
Clans: Forester & Shader

Forester		Shader

We see a number of differences right off the bat.  The skin tones is of course the most notable, with the Forester clan showing signs of typical pigmentation while the Shader clan displaying shades of gray.  The clothing in the bottom images suggests that the Forester clan is more “modern” than the Shader clan, but the top images show similar clothing (albeit in different colors) so the actual lifestyles of the two clans is still unknown.

Race: Hyur
Clans: Midlander & Highlander

Midlander		Highlander

So of course the most obvious thing here is what’s not here – a female highlander.  So we can see that the clans make gender distinctions as well as merely skin tone/physical distinctions.  The highlanders appear to be significantly more physical in their appearance.  We also see again a very distinct difference in the clothing of the two clans – with the midlanders being, again, more “modern” in appearance and the highlanders displaying a more rugged, outdoor look.

Race: Lalafell
Clans: Plainsfolk & Dunesfolk

Plainsfolk		Dunesfolk

Again we see some skin tone differences bewteen the two clans – although it is hard to tell whether that is just differences with the models chosen.  The real difference seems to lie in the clothing, with the plainsfolk appearing western in appearance and the dunesfolk appearing more middle eastern.  The dunesfolk in the top image show a gem on their forehead, which could indicate a more mystical (and/or magical) background – but that is pure speculation.

Race: Roegadyn
Clans: Seewolf & Lohengarde

Seewolf		Lohengarde

Well this one is again pretty clear on it’s face (pun intended) – red skin coloring vs. gray skin coloring.  Physically both Roegadyn clans appear similar in size, and while the armor is somewhat different there is nothing to suggest (from these images anyway) that the background for each clan is materially different.

Race: Miqo’te
Clans: Seekers of the Sun & Keepers of the Moon

Seekers of the Sun		Keepers of the Moon

Similar to the Elezen clans, we see very distinct skin tone differences – with a pigmented clan vs. a less-pigmented/gray clan.  As was noted on our forums, you can also see that each Miqo’te appear to have a different left-eye color than right-eye color.  Note that the Lalafell Dunesfolk also showed this “ability.” 

That’s all for today’s update.  Let us know what you think of these new images and clans!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or asleep) for the past 8 hours,  you know that there are some new leaked images out there showing the FFXIV character creation.   So here they are:

But anyone can just upload images – let’s dig at least a little deeper shall we?

So in the first image we see… a Lalafell with…  wait for it… 5 fingers!  Ok… not news.  Actually I think the ears are a bit smaller than we’ve previously seen.  But let’s move on.

Ul'dah Concept Art

Second image we have some storyline elements.  We could wait for a translation but what fun would that be.  All of the  images look like they are from Ul’dah and it’s surrounding desert/mountain area.  So even if the text is about something different (and for the record the “title” at the top of the image does not seem to be the same word as Ul’dah on the Japanese website, we can still see a bit more scenery.

Now we get to the character creation scans.  Third image shows Hyur female in their skivvies.  The obvious thing we’re seeing here is skin-tone – and what looks to be a wide range at that.   We don’t know yet whether this is on a slider or there are fixed options, but given the marketplace one would think a slider, which would mean near infinite variations (once we look at all the other customizable options).

The fourth image shows a number of additional customizations – seemingly (here) eyes,  bust size (NB: this might not be the case – and instead that section of the image is showing clothing color), hair color and clothing color.  If we are getting sliders for skin-tone then these aren’t necessarily surprising.  But confirmation from Square Enix is always nice.

Fifth image (note that this is the same page as image one) shows more customizations via the Roegadyn.   Here we see at least five different hair styles (and facial hair), but better yet, scars and bandages.  Now the question becomes can we add scars and bandages to a female Hyur?  I certainly hope so – but time will tell.  The FFXI customization has select faces with tattoos, for example, but of course you could not add elements to other faces.  This is almost sure to change – allowing for the customization that is standard in the industry now, and was much needed in FFXI.

Finally we come to the last image showing… something.  Is it the large battleships we saw before in the trailer?  Is it a monster?  It is a monster attacking a large battleship?  I admit that this one stumps me.

This, along with the leaked images from the EU site, seems to support the speculation that a site update is coming.  And from the looks of it we might be in store for a massive one with more lore, more background, and character creation information.  We’ll keep our ears to the ground and see what develops.

Today we’re excited to announce the launch of the Eorzeapedia podcast: Aetheryte Radio!

Aetheryte Radio is the collaborative effort of two of the most popular Final Fantasy XI podcasts: Limit Break Radio and Pet Food Alpha. We’ve come together to deliver you a fun and exciting show that covers everything related to Final Fantasy XIV. You can find more information about the show here.

Join us for our first episode as we recap E3 2009 and talk about the information released with the update of the official FFXIV website!

Thanks to some vigilant forum members, we have new information about FFXIV from Japan. Images were leaked late yesterday evening from a 9 page Japanese magazine article believed to be released this week. Chances are high this is coming from Weekly Famitsu. Weekly Famitsu often uses furigana, small characters above kanji to provide the correct reading, which you can see in the leaked pictures. While the other likely magazine would be Dengeki PlayStation, which also goes on sale this week, Dengeki PlayStation doesn’t use furigana in articles. We’ll know more this weekend, so check back later this week for more complete coverage.

Until then, here is what we know from the images:

1) New Race Names!

From the pictures leaked so far, we can confirm the English spelling for 4 of the 5 races featured in the article.

First off, the familiar Humes from Final Fantasy XI are being reborn in XIV as Hyurans. Similar to the Humes in XI, the Hyurans make up the largest part of the population. The article states that they have gone through three large-scale migrations coming from nearby continents and various islands. Bringing new ideas and technology with them, they have become the driving force behind making Eorzea an advanced civilization. They value freedom in the sense of being free to do what they wish thanks to their diverse backgrounds with different languages and cultures stemming from different homelands. The race is now divided into two main groups: the Midlanders that settled in the plains and the Highlanders that settled on the plateaus of Eorzea.

Next, the Lalafells. They seem a little taller than their Tarutaru counterparts. UPDATED AUGUST 6th This race used to live in islands to the south but thanks to trade, they have now settled in Eorzea as well. Few of them live in colder areas. They tend to put a lot of weight on respecting ties by blood relationships. However, this does not mean that they are exclusive of people of other races. The Lalafells have good relationships with everyone.

Sorry for all those people who were hoping but there is still no confirmation of a playable male mithra-like character in FFXIV. Next up in our list is the Miqo’te. They are suited to be hunters due to their keen sense of smell and are very territorial with other Miqo’te. Because of this, even many of them that live in the cities live on their own. Like the Hyurans, they are divided into two main groups. Those active during the day are called Sun Seekers. The nocturnal Miqo’te are referred to as Moon Keepers. UPDATED AUGUST 6th The Miqo’te are the minority in Eorzea. They first came to the area when they were chasing after prey over the once frozen sea many years ago.

There are also no pictures of any female equivalents for the new tail-less Galka race known as Roegadyn. This race of burly strong men live near the northern seas. They often fill the role of soldiers or bodyguards. Being a seafaring race, some of them are even pirates. UPDATED AUGUST 6th There are different groups that make up the Roegadyn race as well. Zevoruf’s are the ones you often see in Rimusa Rominsa. On rare occasions, it is also possible to see members of the Roengalde clan in the city of Urudaha. This group lives in the mountains.

UPDATED AUGUST 6th The Elezen are a nomadic race full of pride. They believe they are the chosen people of the gods and were the first to settle in Eorzea. They have very keen hearing. It is said that they could hear a rat sneeze a league away. They have a bloodied history of battling with the Hyuran but now the two groups coexist together peacefully for the large part. There are some groups however who still don’t like the Hyurans, like the Shader clan who live in a remote area.

Other rumors state that there is the chance that there could be other playable races as well. However, this is not something that can be confirmed at this time.

It seems that there is an interview that goes with the article as well. It confirms there will be slight differences in the abilities between races. One rumor states that in the part of the interview we can’t see, the developer says that the difference will not be as large as it was in FFXI. Also, your playable character will be nearly identical to what you see during the character creation process so they want you to take a good long look at the screen and take time selecting your character.

___________________________________

2) Customization!

Good news on this front. Players will be able to do some amount of customization to their character model. It’s not clear yet how much people will be able to customize their character but some things like hair style, skin color, and face will be customizable. Here’s to hoping for a wide wide range of customizable features.

___________________________________

3) The Armory System!

We’ve heard before that character growth will be heavily dependent on the weapons you use. Inline with that, they revealed the Armory System. There are four large categories: Fighter, Sorcerer, Gatherer, and Crafter.  These categories are broken down further into various classes. Specific information has not been released on how many classes will be in each category but some examples have been given so far.

Crafter Blacksmith and Chef	Sorcerer Shaman and Illusionist	Gatherer Fisherman and Horticulturalist	Fighter Swordsmen and Archer

The write up of the article makes it sound like you change your class by changing your weapon. Other rumors include the fact that you will be able to change your class anywhere at anytime. Also, they are looking into allowing you to master all of the categories.

There are other rumors floating around right now online as well. For example, they are looking into giving people some flexibility to customize the position of windows in the user interface. Another rumor states that weapons will be damaged overtime by using it in battles or such. How much of this is true and how much is mere rumor? We’ll have to wait until this weekend when the magazines are released.