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In my time playing FFXI I have seen countless different posts/people state that race in the end makes no difference except in what gear you should use for whatever job you are playing. However, the difference in the end is actually more than this in some cases. The purpose of this thread is as stated in the title, an honest look at racial differences, solely so that people looking to start the game will have the information that would be useful for making their racial choice.
First of all I would like to point out that my race of choice was Elvaan. I'm not going to make some ignorant statement to the order of Elvaan being the best at everything or some trash. What I will say is this, there are certain jobs that some races are naturally better than others at. Now you might argue that gear + skill > race. This is true but, assuming gear was of an equal level and skill was equal as well, there remain certain races that would rise above the rest in certain jobs. I will proceed to outline a few of those and specific details as to why. In any chart, the stats in red are the highest of the races and the stats in blue are the lowest.
Summoner - Tarutaru have the highest potential to be the best summoners in the game. Period. The reason for this is simple. the only stats that actually matter for SMN are MP, Summoning Magic skill, and Avatar perpetuation reduction etc. So since everyone can get the same gear relating to these stats, and summoning magic skill is the same regardless of race, the only racial variable here is MP. As we all know Tarutaru have considerably more MP than any other race. For instance, Tarutaru SMN/WHM at 75 has a base MP pool of 978, versus Hume at 795 for same job and level. All other races are equal or less than Hume in MP.
Monk - Elvaan, Galka, and Mithra have the highest damage dealing potential.
Galka - 1753 HP 73 STR 70 DEX 77 VIT 61 MND
Elvaan - 1632 HP 75 STR 67 DEX 73 VIT 66 MND
Mithra - 1541 HP 67 STR 77 DEX 67 VIT 58 MND
Hume - 1541 HP 70 STR 70 DEX 70 VIT 61 MND
Tarutaru - 1345 HP 64 STR 70 DEX 67 VIT 58 MND
You will notice that while the top 3 on the list have some give and take, the bottom 2(Hume and Taru) are inevitably behind, that is of course only if being a DD is your sole concern. The numbers listed are MNK/WAR 75/37 btw.
I show these examples because I think it's important to realize the strengths and weaknesses within your race of choice. Those differences are part of their inherent beauty, and should not be diminished by pretending they do not matter. Also I would like to point out that you can play any job as any race of course. And if you are skilled at your job, can be a "Paragon of <insert job name) Excellence" no matter what your race is. However, while most jobs have many factors involved which make most races relatively equal with smart gear choices, there yet remain some(like SMN and MNK) that are more limited.
My main class is Paladin, and this is a job that is wonderfully fun(in my opinion at least). It also is one job which any race can play at on a very close level. For example:
Galka - 1452 HP 143 MP 75 STR 62 DEX 77 VIT 53 AGI 64 MND
Elvaan - 1331 HP 266 MP 77 STR 59 DEX 73 VIT 50 AGI 69 MND
Hume - 1240 HP 342 MP 72 STR 62 DEX 70 VIT 56 AGI 64 MND
Mithra - 1240 HP 342 MP 69 STR 69 DEX 67 VIT 61 AGI 61 MND
Tarutaru - 1044 HP 525 MP 66 STR 62 DEX 67 VIT 59 AGI 61 MND
As you can see, while HP and MP vary greatly, you can usually convert from one to the other with gear to even things out a bit. For the most part in the end the races roughly even out if geared properly(Though usually a Taru will still have more MP and less HP and perhaps less VIT). Many of the jobs, especially those with HP and MP, can be made to equal out this way.
In closing I would like to point out a few things. First of all the difference between the strongest and weakest race in each particular stat(not counting HP and MP) is usually about 8-11 points at 75. Elvaan usually have 11 more STR than Tarutaru, and usually 11 less INT, likewise that Mithra usually have 11 more AGI than Elvaan. Sometimes the difference may only be 8-10 points of whichever statistic. My main reason to point this out is that many people claim that racial differences are so minor as to be a non-issue when not talking about MP or HP. I am merely pointing out that this is not the case. 8-11 points is a serious difference, and even at 75 would probably take 2-3 slots of gear to equalize. However, once you have faced the reality of this, you can plan your gear accordingly, and using determination and cunning, figure out ways to go beyond your racial limits, rather than merely saying, "Race makes no difference."
I encourage all of you, not only to know the monsters that you fight, but know yourself as well. Once you have done so, you will be far better prepared for whatever lies ahead in your adventures in Vana'diel.
First of all I would like to point out that my race of choice was Elvaan. I'm not going to make some ignorant statement to the order of Elvaan being the best at everything or some trash. What I will say is this, there are certain jobs that some races are naturally better than others at. Now you might argue that gear + skill > race. This is true but, assuming gear was of an equal level and skill was equal as well, there remain certain races that would rise above the rest in certain jobs. I will proceed to outline a few of those and specific details as to why. In any chart, the stats in red are the highest of the races and the stats in blue are the lowest.
Summoner - Tarutaru have the highest potential to be the best summoners in the game. Period. The reason for this is simple. the only stats that actually matter for SMN are MP, Summoning Magic skill, and Avatar perpetuation reduction etc. So since everyone can get the same gear relating to these stats, and summoning magic skill is the same regardless of race, the only racial variable here is MP. As we all know Tarutaru have considerably more MP than any other race. For instance, Tarutaru SMN/WHM at 75 has a base MP pool of 978, versus Hume at 795 for same job and level. All other races are equal or less than Hume in MP.
Monk - Elvaan, Galka, and Mithra have the highest damage dealing potential.
Galka - 1753 HP 73 STR 70 DEX 77 VIT 61 MND
Elvaan - 1632 HP 75 STR 67 DEX 73 VIT 66 MND
Mithra - 1541 HP 67 STR 77 DEX 67 VIT 58 MND
Hume - 1541 HP 70 STR 70 DEX 70 VIT 61 MND
Tarutaru - 1345 HP 64 STR 70 DEX 67 VIT 58 MND
You will notice that while the top 3 on the list have some give and take, the bottom 2(Hume and Taru) are inevitably behind, that is of course only if being a DD is your sole concern. The numbers listed are MNK/WAR 75/37 btw.
I show these examples because I think it's important to realize the strengths and weaknesses within your race of choice. Those differences are part of their inherent beauty, and should not be diminished by pretending they do not matter. Also I would like to point out that you can play any job as any race of course. And if you are skilled at your job, can be a "Paragon of <insert job name) Excellence" no matter what your race is. However, while most jobs have many factors involved which make most races relatively equal with smart gear choices, there yet remain some(like SMN and MNK) that are more limited.
My main class is Paladin, and this is a job that is wonderfully fun(in my opinion at least). It also is one job which any race can play at on a very close level. For example:
Galka - 1452 HP 143 MP 75 STR 62 DEX 77 VIT 53 AGI 64 MND
Elvaan - 1331 HP 266 MP 77 STR 59 DEX 73 VIT 50 AGI 69 MND
Hume - 1240 HP 342 MP 72 STR 62 DEX 70 VIT 56 AGI 64 MND
Mithra - 1240 HP 342 MP 69 STR 69 DEX 67 VIT 61 AGI 61 MND
Tarutaru - 1044 HP 525 MP 66 STR 62 DEX 67 VIT 59 AGI 61 MND
As you can see, while HP and MP vary greatly, you can usually convert from one to the other with gear to even things out a bit. For the most part in the end the races roughly even out if geared properly(Though usually a Taru will still have more MP and less HP and perhaps less VIT). Many of the jobs, especially those with HP and MP, can be made to equal out this way.
In closing I would like to point out a few things. First of all the difference between the strongest and weakest race in each particular stat(not counting HP and MP) is usually about 8-11 points at 75. Elvaan usually have 11 more STR than Tarutaru, and usually 11 less INT, likewise that Mithra usually have 11 more AGI than Elvaan. Sometimes the difference may only be 8-10 points of whichever statistic. My main reason to point this out is that many people claim that racial differences are so minor as to be a non-issue when not talking about MP or HP. I am merely pointing out that this is not the case. 8-11 points is a serious difference, and even at 75 would probably take 2-3 slots of gear to equalize. However, once you have faced the reality of this, you can plan your gear accordingly, and using determination and cunning, figure out ways to go beyond your racial limits, rather than merely saying, "Race makes no difference."
I encourage all of you, not only to know the monsters that you fight, but know yourself as well. Once you have done so, you will be far better prepared for whatever lies ahead in your adventures in Vana'diel.
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