The Hyur was one of the original five starting races of Square Enix’s second MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, alongside Lalafell, Elezen, Miqo’te, and Roegadyn. The Au’ra race was added in 2015 as part of the Heavensward expansion, and then later on in 2017 two more races were added, the Viera and Hrothgar, as part of the Stormblood expansion. Each race has two different clans that give two different looks, though players can greatly customize their characters.

The Producer and Director of the game, Naoki Yoshida, has since stated that it’s likely that no more races will be added to the game due to the “tremendous amount of time and resources are required to develop one.” As one of the initial races, many players probably think they know all there is to know about the Hyur, but you might be surprised by some of the following facts. Spoilers ahead.

10 Hume Origins

The Hyur race of Final Fantasy XIV is based on the Hume race of Square Enix’s first MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI. In fact, all of the starting races are based on the available playable races from Final Fantasy XI, though they have all had name changes. However, in Final Fantasy XI there was only one style of each race, unlike the two different clans of Final Fantasy XIV.

Additionally, there is more gender availability in Final Fantasy XIV, as Miqo’te and Roegadyn can be either gender, whereas their Final Fantasy XI counterparts of Mithra and Galka could only be male and female, respectively.

9 Base Stats

Each race within Final Fantasy XIV has different base stats, including differences between the two clans of each set race. The Highlander Hyur (on the right) share the highest strength base stat with Xaela Au Ra and Hrothgar, while Midlander Hyur (on the left) shares the highest intelligence base stat with Veena Viera.

Highlander: 23 Strength / 20 Dexterity / 22 Vitality / 18 Intelligence / 20 Mind

Midlander: 22 Strength / 19 Dexterity / 20 Vitality / 23 Intelligence / 19 Mind

8 Not Eorzean Natives

Final Fantasy XIV is set in Eorzea (though the expansions have since added new domains) and as the Hyur is one of the starting races you’ll find plenty of them around. The densest Hyur population is in Gridania, though they are Midlanders. You can find their larger counterparts, the Highlander Hyur, in Ul’dah.

You’d be forgiven for believing that they are native to the area as they are present in every city at the start of the game. However, the Hyur did not originate from Eorzea and actually migrated there long ago, bringing their technologies with them. In the Stormblood expansion, players find that Doma of the Othard continent has a high Hyur population, so it’s possible they originally came from there.

7 Ivalice Equivalents

Final Fantasy XIV players come to learn that Eorzea is just one of many worlds, as the original world was split into 13 different reflections and Eorzea is “the source” world. The latest expansion Shadowbringers allowed players to travel to another of the reflection worlds called Ivalice.

As Ivalice and Eorzea are both reflections of the same world, they bear similarities, but as they have each evolved in different ways over time they also have marked differences. One of the differences in Ivalice is that the Hyur are called Hume, a nice throwback to Final Fantasy XI. Additionally, Ivalice itself is a recurring world within not just the Final Fantasy franchise, but other Square Enix titles too, such as Vagrant Story.

6 Midlanders

When it comes to the Hyur, there are more Midlanders than there are Highlanders throughout Eorzea and though they are prominent in every city, you’ll find a higher number of them in Gridania. This isn’t unusual as Gridiana is home to the Padjal, mysterious holy figures with special powers who are born from certain Midlander bloodlines.

The Midlander Hyur are supposedly taught literacy from a young age and are considered better educated than Highlanders, as well as some of the other races, which ties into them having a high intelligence base stat.

5 Highlanders

Highlanders are known to inhabit the more mountainous regions, such as Gyr Abania, and this is also where their name “Highlanders” came from. They are larger in size than their Midlander counterparts with broader features.

Although Highlanders were native to Gyr Abania, with its capital city being Ala Mhigo, they were largely forced out when Garlemald conquered them and so they traveled to Eorzea as refugees. A large number of Highlanders can be found in Ul’dah as they were drawn there by tales of wealth.

4 Names

When it comes to customary names for the Hyur, Midlanders generally use names that are similar to Anglo Saxon and Celtic names from the 17th century. Additionally, surnames are often related to professions or the area in which the character comes from. The exception to this are the Hyur from the eastern continent of Othard, who generally feature names based on real-life Japanese naming conventions.

On the other hand, Highlander names are more similar to medieval European names, such as having Germanic origins. Highlanders are known for their strength and warfare, so naturally, their names have a more violent touch to them with some choosing to go by nicknames earned in battle (such as Raubahn being called The Bull of Ala Mhigo).

3 Roegadyn Similarities

Highlander Hyur bear some resemblance to the Roegadyn race (shown above), being both larger in size than other races and having similar names. In fact, the similarities do not go unnoticed in-game, with Midlander Hyur ridiculing Highlanders for this very reason.

Midlanders like to joke that this means that Highlanders are less “Hyuran” because of their resemblance to Roegadyn, and it is said to have caused many fights between the two clans. Considering the advantage in size that the Highlanders have, it doesn’t seem wise to pick a fight with them.

2 The Final Fantasy XV Connection

Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XV did a collaboration event called Adventurer from Another World, where each game featured side-quests pertaining to the other game’s content. For the Final Fantasy XV in-game quest, players would be rewarded with Eorzean style costumes for Noctis and his crew.

The four main characters each received a starting race outfit for four of the races, with Noctis getting Miqo’te, Gladio getting Roegadyn, Ignis getting Elezen, and Prompto wearing the Hyur outfit. Lalafell gear was not featured, which is understandable due to that race’s small size.

1 Final Fantasy XIV Poster Boy

In the promotional images and trailers for the main game and all of its expansions, it is a male Midlander Hyur who takes center stage and is presented as “the Warrior of Light” (the role that players take in-game). This recurring character has been shown in different job classes, usually displaying one of the new job roles of the expansion that the trailer is for.

Although the male Midlander is the prominent character for marketing and promotional materials, there was actually a female Midlander CG model made also, but it hasn’t been used since the original launch of the game.

NEXT: Final Fantasy XIV: The 5 Best Minions (& 5 Worst), Ranked