When starting Final Fantasy 14, players have a plethora of race options to pick from. From the cat-like Miqo’te and scaly Au Ra to the hulking Roegadyn and the petite Lalafell, options come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. That said, two of these races – Hrothgar and Viera – have suffered from a glaring problem: they can’t wear the vast majority of hats, hoods, and other headgear. But that is all about to change in Final Fantasy 14 Patch 7.3, The Promise of Tomorrow.
To the outside observer, this may not seem like a big deal. After all, they’re just hats – one of the first pieces of equipment gamers hide in most RPGs. Even so, this missing option has cast a shadow over these two playable races in Final Fantasy 14 for years. It may have taken a while to get there, but Hrothgar and Viera will soon have the last laugh, as they are technically getting dozens of new cosmetic options in Final Fantasy 14‘s upcoming update.
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The History of Hrothgar & Viera Hats in Final Fantasy 14
Why Viera and Hrothgar Hats in Final Fantasy 14 Are a Big Deal
Final Fantasy 14 has a lot of playable races, each with two different clans that offer additional customization options. Hyur, Lalafell, Miqo’te, Roegadyn, and Elezen launched with the original Final Fantasy 14, with the missing genders – female Roegadyn, male Miqo’te, and female Highlander – coming in A Realm Reborn. Heavensward, the first FF14 expansion, introduced both male and female Au Ra.
Then, during Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy 14 got female Viera and male Hrothgar, with promises of adding the other gender options in the future. However, these last two races launched with a pretty big problem: most headgear cosmetics could not be displayed on them. The atypical lion-like shape of Hrothgar heads made it hard to fit these cosmetics onto their models, while the long bunny ears of the Viera provided challenges with clipping. Square Enix said it did have plans to fix this in the future, but gave no timetable for when that might happen.
Unfortunately, years went by without Final Fantasy 14 fixing this issue. Male Viera arrived in Endwalker, and Dawntrail added the female Hrothgar – but like their predecessors, they could not wear hats. More and more pieces of headgear were added to the Final Fantasy 14 cash shop, and became available as event rewards and dungeon drops, and yet, two entire player races remained unable to enjoy the lion’s share of them, save select flowers, hairpieces, and other small accessories.
How Long Have I Been Waiting For Viera and Hrothgar Hats in Final Fantasy 14?
|
Race and Gender |
Expansion |
Release Date |
Time Waiting |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Viera (Female) |
Shadowbringers |
July 2, 2019 |
6 years |
|
Hrothgar (Male) |
Shadowbringers |
July 2, 2019 |
6 years |
|
Viera (Male) |
Endwalker |
December 7, 2021 |
3.5 years |
|
Hrothgar (Female) |
Dawntrail |
July 2, 2024 |
1 year |
It is for this reason that Hrothgar and Viera finally getting hats in Final Fantasy 14 Patch 7.3 is such a significant win. Some fans have been waiting six years to use an entire type of cosmetic equipment, and many were beginning to lose hope that they would ever be able to. Now, Hrothgar and Viera players who have been hoarding old hats for years can feel vindicated as they beat the dust off of their old caps and coifs. This welcome surprise not only brings an end to a meme that has haunted fans of these races for the better part of a decade, but sets them up to be literally crowned the kings and queens of the update by unlocking over ten years’ worth of new customization options for them.
Patch 7.3 doesn’t have a release date yet, but it is currently expected to premiere in early August. That said, players should be sure to temper their expectations at first; not every piece of headgear will be included right away, so many helmets and more complex items may not work on Hrothgar or Viera until later. But at the very least, the first batch, including the option for Viera to hide their ears via a toggle, will be here soon – and hopefully, the rest will not take long to follow, and won’t have some of the issues existing Hrothgar headgear in Final Fantasy 14 has had.
Final Fantasy 14
- Released
-
August 27, 2013
- ESRB
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T for Teen – Language, Mild Blood, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Engine
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Originally the Crystal Tools engine, but currently it’s a custom engine using parts of the Luminous Engine.
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
