Male Mithra?!

Well, as promised, I will delve into this subject for a moment with what little information we have so far. Now remember, this is speculation and educated guessing on my part, but I put some effort and knowledge behind what I say, and it is not just random speculation.

First of all, it looks like there will indeed be Male Mithra, in fact, I am almost certain of it. As the FFXI players know, Male Mithra indeed exist in FFXI, but they are not a playable race. The first time one actually makes an appearance is in the Wings of the Goddess expansion for FFXI. His name is Lehko Habhoka and he was a technical adviser and commander during the crystal war. Now, a little about the Mithra Race as of FFXI.

In the FFXI lore and story, Mithra are a race of cat like people who originally came from a very large island far far to the south east. As of the time of this post though, we have never visited that island. There is a lesser island, much further north, located to the known world of Vana Diel, this island is called Elshimo. The Mithra made their presence there and took up fort, inhabiting the island, however they are not native to there contrary to popular belief. The Mithra also settled in and made their presence in the Federation of Windurst, where they helped the Tarutaru combat the Yagudo Beastmen.

There was however a design that Square Enix implemented with the race, to make them a Female Only playable Character. You see, the Mithra Tribes who settled in Elshimo and Windurst are comprised of Renegade Mithra Women. That's right, huntress's. Even though they speak of their rare men, or the men on their homeland, their tribes are composed from what you see, solely off of women. This is how Square Enix implemented Mithra as a Female Only race in FFXI, even though technically they were indeed NOT a female only race, and from what you learn from NPC's and from Lehko Habhoka, are perfectly common in their homeland.

Now, to equalize the Female Only race of Mithra in FFXI, Square Enix added a all Male race known as the Galka. The Galka work in a bit different way than the Mithra. They inhabit the Republic of Bastok mainly, and are originally from the ancient desert region known as "Altepa". The Galka are explained throughout the Bastok and other storylines as a "Divine" race, without gender, but are referred to as "Men" based on their appearance. You can think of them sort of like a "God" type race (although that's going a bit far, even though we love our Galka!). The Galka are born through a spiritual manifestation process which happens every so often in Altepa. You learn more about this from the Bastok Storyline in FFXI.

Now, how these races will work in FFXIV, I'm not very sure, but I will go on and explain why I, and many others are indeed almost certain there will be Male Mithra.

The developers said before, after the fact was to late, that they did want to add Male Mithra, but after the way the game was designed, it would simply not really allow for it. The Mithra indeed have males, and indeed it is very odd that you can only play the females. A lot of men actually play as Female Mithra just for the style and stats of the race. The biggest factor though is, Men want to be cats to! The entire "Bishi" and cute style of Male Mithra is a highly desired style from society and young men now days. It has been begged from Square Enix from many forums, from many communities and from many people that they add Male Mithra to FFXI, but it has never happened. Many people have dreamed and hoped for them for a very very long time, and many people have rallied together to try to get Square Enix to implement it, however it still has not happened for FFXI. Another thing to keep in mind, is that in FFXI you never really had the option to make a more "Feminine" male avatar. You were either Galka (Big and Bulky, Masculine and Strong) Elvaan (Tall, Strong, Langy, but Masculine) Hume (Short, Stocky, and built up) or Tarutaru (Tiny little midget dwarf person). There was no option for one of the most highly in demand and most favorite male styles in pop culture today. I think they see this now, and they would be crazy not to implement it.

However, in FFXIV, we are playing by a new set of rules, and the new races will most likely have new names and new stories behind them. This will allow Square Enix to finally be creative with the race that they, and everyone else, has always wanted to see the Male Counterparts to. You can call it fanservice, from both the audience and the publisher. Both parties have wanted to see it happen for a long time, and now they finally have the chance. It will give the developers something to create off of something that already exists, that they've always wanted to. And give people from FFXI the chance to also play as something they have always wanted. This could be a GREAT way to draw even more people from FFXI to FFXIV.

Not only that, if you look closely at the art work on the FFXIV website, you will see what appears to be a Male Mithra sitting at the table with his hand on his chin.



It is clear the other two Mithra in this art work (not seen in this clip) are clearly female, as much as it is clear that this Mithra in question is clearly a Male. I think Square Enix added it as a hint, and a teaser with other teasers in the art work as well (I'll go on more about that later). But to view the entire Art work, go to the FFXIV website.

I simply think there is too much at stake, too much to gain, and far too much to lose if they did not add Male Mithra. So while it has not been announced, if you use common sense, you can almost be guaranteed there will be Male Mithra.


You can view more discussions on this topic, and hear more on why most people believe and want Male Mithra in these threads on Allakazham, here, here, and there's probably more I've missed and am overlooking. The votes are in though, and worldwide it is very high in demand thing that everyone seems to want. They have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.