After three years since their addition toShadowbringers,Final Fantasy 14is finally adding new hairstyles to the Hrothgar race. Unfortunately, these hairstyles came with an unexpected price for these cat-like characters–their prominent ears are removed while using them.
The new hairstyles are ones previously available to characters of the other playable races inFinal Fantasy 14. However, because of the way the Hrothgar’s head structure was designed, implementing their ears with the hairstyles proved to be a significant amount of work. Instead of delaying further, Square Enix decided to instead remove their ears entirely with these new hairstyles, allowing them to prepare several for the upcoming patch.
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Many fans initially thought the hairstyles were a joke since they were revealed duringFinal Fantasy 14’sLive Letter on April 1stbut were dismayed to find the hairstyles were releasing in such a state. They cited the long wait and attention the Viera race–initially added at the same time as the Hrothgar–has received as unfair. Many felt insulted by what they saw as a lazy solution and disliked how bizarre it made the Hrothgar silhouettes look.
However,Final Fantasy 14director and producer Naoki Yoshidahas already stated that the development team hears the criticism over the Hrothgar’s missing ears. Restoring the ears is possible, but it would take a significant amount of work, which would limit the number of new hairstylesFinal Fantasy 14could add to the Hrothgar.
To make matters worse, the preliminary patch notes stated these new Hrothgar hairstyles could only be accessed during character creation inFinal Fantasy 14orwhile using a Fantasia. However, it made no mention of the Aesthetician–Final Fantasy 14’sin-game salon which allows hairstyle changes for a small fee of gil, versus $10 for a Fantasia. This, at least, was an error; the full patch notes fixed this omission, clarifying that the hairstyles could be selected at the Aesthetician.
Unfortunately, Hrothgar is one of the least played races inFinal Fantasy 14, next to Roegadyn and Elezen. This meansFinal Fantasy 14will inevitably place a lower priority on fixing these issues than they would for other parts of the game that might affect a larger percentage of players. For the time being, Hrothgar fans will have to be patient–but should politely voice their opinions so Yoshida and the rest of theFinal Fantasy 14team continue to hear them.
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalkeris available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
