Critically-acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 didn't quit start off that way when it launched in 2010. After Square Enix placed a new team on the project, led by Naoki Yoshida, Final Fantasy 14 transformed into a game that millions of players have come to love. Yoshida, lovingly referred to as Yoshi-P by fans, has helped lead the MMO to new heights with three successful expansions, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers. Earlier this year, Square Enix revealed an upcoming fourth expansion called Endwalker, which would conclude the current storyline for Final Fantasy 14.
Last month's Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival revealed new areas, new jobs, and other new gameplay elements that would come in the Endwalker expansion later this year. One announcement for the Endwalker expansion was a pleasant surprise for many players, and that is the planned inclusion of male Viera and female Hrothgar character options. The Viera and Hrothgar used to be gender-locked races, and there were both external and in-game lore reasons why that was the case.
Final Fantasy 14's Viera Race
Square Enix revealed that male Viera will be added to Final Fantasy 14 in the coming Endwalker expansion. Previously, this playable race was gender-locked, only allowing players to choose female Viera. The ability to play as a Viera woman was added in for the Shadowbringers expansion, although it was considered as early as Heavensward. It had been a race that was long-requested by fans, but required a serious development investment along with the Hrothgar.
Square Enix explained away the gender-locking of the Viera with development reasons, but also with lore reasons. There are different things to know about the Viera overall, but it is true that male Viera are rarely seen compared to their female counterparts. The race first appeared in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, but are mainly known for their appearance in Final Fantasy 12. In Final Fantasy 14, the Viera can belong to two tribes: The Rava Viera live in the Golmore Jungle, and have darker-colored skin to help them blend into the jungle, while the Veena Viera live around the Skatay Range in Othard, and have lighter-colored skin.
In all of their appearances, the Viera are a reclusive people that live in forests. They follow the "Green Word," which is the set of laws that govern their behavior, such as the tradition of avoiding outsiders. Viera are also a matriarchal hunter-gatherer society, surviving off the land, and any visible tribes are comprised of women and children. Male Viera do not live in the main villages, but keep to the forests, out of sight. Their main purpose is to protect the Viera villages from outsiders and danger, but can occasionally return to those villages.
According to lore, male Viera return to their home village every three to five years to mate. When they leave to return to the forests, they take any adolescent males with them and train them to follow the "Word of the Wood," which is basically the male Viera's protectors code. Young Viera men train for many years with their masters before they are allowed to go off on their own. Since this training can often be brutal, some young Viera die in the process, which leads to even less male Viera overall.
While the "forced" separation between each gender in Viera society can be confusing for some fans, it just happens to be part of their societal traditions. In Final Fantasy 14, a Viera woman even commented on the concern, stating: "Long has our kind endured understanding that the distance 'twixt two bodies does not dictate the distance 'twixt two souls." While the lore reasons for not having male Viera in Shadowbringers were understood by fans, players still wanted the option. News that the Viera would no longer be gender-locked was well-received by several fans, and the reveal of male Viera led to "bunny boys" trending on Twitter.
Final Fantasy 14's Hrothgar Race
Unlike the Viera, the Hrothgar race was specifically created for Final Fantasy 14. Prior to Shadowbringers, many fans had been requesting a more "beastly" playable race, and the Hrothgar was Square Enix's response. Though the Hrothgar were created for the MMO, they were actually based on the Rhonso tribes from the Final Fantasy 10 games. In Final Fantasy 14, the Hrothgar are split into two different clans: The Helion Hrothgar tend to have more warmly-colored fur, and generally serve under the reign of a queen, while the Lost Hrothgar tend to have more cool-colored fur, and are more nomadic, taking up many trade professions.
Square Enix also revealed female Hrothgar would be added to the game, to complement the addition of male Viera. While there is new artwork of a Hrothgar as the new Reaper job coming in Endwalker, no official designs for female Hrothgar have been revealed. The new models are still in development, and will release some time after Endwalker launches.
Like the Viera, Square Enix had lore reasons as to why female Hrothgar weren't originally added to the Final Fantasy 14. Although there is plenty to know about the Hrothgar, there is vastly less established lore when it comes to societal functions for the Hrothgar. Even though the Helion Hrothgar follow a queen, the number of women in their populations are actually surprisingly few. For a race created just for the MMO, this lore fact was probably specifically made to explain the gender-locking of the race.
Why Hrothgar and Viera Won't Be Gender-Locked Anymore
Square Enix continues to reach new player count milestones for Final Fantasy 14, but that doesn't mean that development on the game is easy. When it was first revealed that Viera and Hrothgar would be gender-locked in Shadowbringers, Naoki Yoshida offered another explanation that wasn't based on lore. Since adding the Viera had been a long-time fan request, but adding a more bestial race was also a long-time request, the team had to compromise. In order to make both races available for Shadowbringers with limited resources and time, each race had a prioritized gender.
New playable races require an enormous amount of time to successfully modify every gear piece to fit the new models, and that is also evidenced by the fact that certain head gear pieces on the Hrothgar and Viera aren't visible at all. Yoshida has also said the Viera and Hrothgar in Shadowbringers would likely be the last races added to the MMO, which led to a bit of outcry among fans. However, even back then, Yoshida said the developers would listen to fan feedback to see whether the team would invest in creating male Viera and female Hrothgar when developing the next MMO expansion.
Fan feedback is what led to the inclusion of female Viera and male Hrothgar in the first place, and it is what's leading to the addition of male Viera and female Hrothgar with Endwalker. Having more complete options when it comes to playable races is also another way to improve the Endwalker expansion from other Final Fantasy 14 expansions. While there may be lore reasons to not include the choice, players want to experience the fantasy of the game in whatever way they choose.
In any case, fans of the game will be able to enjoy the MMO for a long time to come, as Square Enix stated it expects to continue developing content for Final Fantasy 14 for five more years, at least. Plus, with Endwalker releasing later this year, fans won't have to wait too much longer to experience the conclusion of the storyline focused on the Zodiark and Hydaelyn Primals.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5. The Endwalker expansion will release on November 23rd, 2021.