Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV features four base character categories: disciple of war (which includes weapon combat classes); disciple of magic (which includes magic spell-using classes); and the disciples of the land and the disciples of the hand (which both include numerous crafting classes). For the purpose of our play session, we were encouraged to create characters belonging either to the disciple of war or disciple of magic group, so we created one of each, a burly and brand-new Roegadyn Hellsguard of the lancer subclass (a warrior profession that specializes in using polearms and hurled javelins) and an Elezen Wildwood of the conjurer subclass (a wizard profession that uses canes and wands to summon powerful magic). We then later had a chance to try a pre-created character at level 40, a Miquo'te lancer, in a high-level hunting ground. We'll start with the earlier experiences first.

The current version of FFXIV Online's character creation is a simple, streamlined process that lets you jump from race to appearance to profession in a few easy steps. After choosing your character's race, and, where appropriate, gender (all races have both genders available, except for the Miqo'te, who are only female, and the Roegadyn, who are only male), you then choose your profession and can customize your character's appearance by selecting different preset values for several customization points. Among other things, you can choose your character's height, skin tone, hairstyle, facial features, voice, and facial "characteristics," which include facial scarring and cosmetics. You then choose your profession and your character's "nameday" and "guardian," the former being your character's birthday; the latter being the deity your character worships. While the role of birthday and religion haven't been completely finalized yet, it's likely that your choice of guardian will grant your character certain specific powers at some point. Interestingly, Final Fantasy XIV will let you save the appearance of any character you create as a template, so that if, at a later date, you wish to create an identical character, you can simply reload the template of your last character.