Final Fantasy XIV’s initial release of the game landed it as a critical and commercial failure, but a new team took over to fix it and it later re-released as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which has gone to be very successful and is now a fan-favorite. As of 2019, the game had over 18 million registered players and it has had three expansions since it was re-released.

The game initially had five starting races for players to choose from, with each race being based on one of the races available in Square Enix’s previous MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI. The Au Ra race was added in the first expansion, Heavensward, and Viera and Hrothgar were added in the latest expansion, Shadowbringers. As one of the most recent additions to the game, there may be a few things you don’t know about the Hrothgar, so check out these interesting facts.

10 Origins

Lore about the Hrothgar explains that the race originates from Ilsabard, a continent which is to the northeast of Eorzea. Ilsabard is made up of many smaller nations, though most of those have been conquered by Garlemald. Ilsabard is known to have a cold mountainous northern region, whereas the southern areas feature foggy wetlands.

Females are said to be extremely rare within the population and are very seldom seen by other races. Because the Hrothgar have such fearsome appearances, they apparently frightened the native Eorzeans when they first migrated over, but after learning the local language they were soon accepted.

9 Helion

Like the other races within Final Fantasy XIV, the Hrothgar are split into two different clans with different appearance traits. Of course, players can greatly customize their characters at the beginning of the game and change their looks to suit their personal tastes.

Firstly, there is the Helion, which features more colorful furred bodies. This specific clan is said to hail from southern Ilsabard, where they were ruled by a single queen who they were extremely dedicated to. Interestingly, the Helion did not name themselves, instead, the name was given to them by scholars who observed them and noted that their lives revolved around their queen.

8 The Lost

The other clan of the Hrothgar race is the more wintery-colored variants called The Lost. It is said that their cold-colored fur is indicative of them straying from the warm embrace of their queen.

These Hrothgar are known to be far more free-spirited and were originally a nomadic tribe who undertook various professions while on the road to earn money, such as mercenary work or peddling wares. However, they would refuse any work that would ultimately tie them down and prevent them from traveling.

7 Name

The Hrothgar race may well be named after the historical Danish king of the same name, but the name also derives from the German name “Hrodger” or “Hrotger”. These names are a combination of two elements, with the first meaning glory or honor, and the second meaning spear.

That means the name “Hrothgar” could be translated as “glorious spearman,” which likely refers to their loyalty to their queen, as well as their proficiency in warfare with weapons, particularly the gunblade.

6 Race Restrictions

The Hrothgar is a restricted race in terms of cosmetic adjustments. Players cannot choose hairstyles for them, as their hair is tied to their face option. However, it’s worth noting that the customization options allow for the fringes or locks of hair to be adjusted.

Additionally, most headgear is invisible when on the Hrothgar model due to the considerable work it would have taken to accommodate their unique character models. Originally, no headgear was planned to work with this race, but after some fan feedback, the team worked to surprise fans with certain workable items such as glasses.

5 Gunbreaker

Surprisingly, despite the promotional material and concept artwork portraying a Hyur in the Gunbreaker role, the job actually originated with the Hrothgar. Their race is said to pass the art of the gunblade from one generation to the next and that Queen Gunnhildr, the Hrothgar queen from Ilsabard, originally utilized Gunbreakers as her personal royal guard.

Of course, in the Final Fantasyfranchise, the Gunbreaker role takes its inspiration from the gunblades of Final Fantasy VIII, where they are wielded by Squall and Seifer.

4 Ronso Influence

The Hrothgar race was heavily based on the Ronso race from Final Fantasy X, which Final Fantasy XIV pays tribute to by having Ivalice (one of the other reflected worlds from the Shadowbringers expansion) call the race by the Ronso name.

Originally, the Hrothgar race was meant to be a lot hairier but it is decidedly less furry due to game limitations. As such, the fur across their body is mainly short, only really having furrier patches on their shoulders, limbs, and collarbones.

3 Gender Locked Race

Hrothgar is one of two gender-locked races in the game, alongside Viera, which also released as part of the Shadowbringers expansion. This came as a surprise to fans as although it’s not a new feature, as certain races were gender locked in Final Fantasy XI, those race equivalents had since been unlocked with the release of Final Fantasy XIV, leading fans to believe no gender restrictions would ever be put in place.

Hrothgar is locked to male and Viera is locked to female, though the game explains the other genders do exist. The game’s director and producer, Naoki Yoshida, has said of the missing genders that if the team “can find a way to address the various problems which are preventing us from implementing them, then perhaps someday you’ll be able to see them for yourself,” but also emphasized that there was no promise they would ever be added.

2 Base Stats

The Hrothgar race has identical base stats, regardless of whether you choose Helions or The Lost. As a race, it shares the highest base strength stat with Highlander Hyur and Xaela Au Ra. Additionally, it also has the highest mind base stat alongside Keeper of the Moon Miqo’te, Dunesfolk Lalafell, and Raen Au Ra. Hrothgar also has the lowest intelligence and dexterity base stats of all the races.

Helions: 23 Strength / 17 Dexterity / 23 Vitality / 17 Intelligence / 23 Mind

The Lost: 23 Strength / 17 Dexterity / 23 Vitality / 17 Intelligence / 23 Mind

1 It’s Likely One of the Last Races to be Added

Final Fantasy XIV currently has eight races in total and the game’s director and producer, Naoki Yoshida, has said there likely won’t be anymore. In a Letter from the Producer, he stated that adding new races takes “a tremendous amount of time and resources”, going on to explain that each new race takes a lot of work because they “require new faces, hairstyles, bodies, and other assets. In addition to this, they need to be capable of equipping all existing items”.

Yoshida stated that “this is likely to be the last time we add new playable races,” meaning that Hrothgar, alongside Viera, is likely to be the last race ever added to the game.

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