With the PC release just around the corner, this question is bound to come up for new players. The simple answer is:

UNLESS YOU ARE DEAD SET ON MIN-MAXING, JUST PICK WHATEVER RACE/GENDER IS MOST VISUALLY APPEALING TO YOU!

There are a few aesthetic things that some players have said they wish they had known that you may also want to keep in mind when making your choice:

• CASTs cannot use re-colorable Outfits, like the starter Outfits that are available for the other races.
• CASTs don't have access to "normal"-looking ears.
• Female CASTs need a Color Change Pass to change their Skin Color instead of just a Salon Pass.
• Deumans have different shadowing on their noses that make them look less sharp than other races.
• Deumans' horns cannot be shrunk to the point of non-existence, and will still be nubs which cannot be completely hidden with some hairstyles.
• Newmans have a red-ish undertone that is always visible no matter the skin color you select, and is most noticeable at the tips of the ears.

When it comes to stats, there are obviously those who will want to min-max, so here is some data if you fall into that category:

• First, based on various points of reference, these are the approximate level 90 Base Stats (ie. No Class, No Race/Gender, No Class Boosts):

• And here are the approximate stat multipliers for each Race/Gender:

• And the approximate stat multipliers for each Class:

Ultimately, the difference between the min and max only accounts for a small damage percentage, since even the largest stat gap (M/F CAST v. F Newman TEC-Pwr) is less than 100 Pwr (~84 TEC-Pwr as a lv75/75 Fo/Te, the current NA cap).

it's worth noting that they've stopped making the recolor-able full outfits that CASTs cannot use; like they will redistribute those once in a while (and on this server, they're introducing them alongside layer wear system outfits, which CASTs can use), but they haven't really made a new classic-style outfit in years now I think; if they have it'd have been for a collab or an item code reward.

@NextTime000 Yeah, the main reason I bring it up is because they are releasing NPC Outfits (like Candy Crown and Heretic Lord) in the Mission Pass, so some people have chosen them as their reward only to find out they can't wear them.

I am currently stuck on the idea of a FOcast, and I've read about it being harder to equip weapons. Has anyone had experience with a FOcast before?

@AyAyyRon At max level as a Force (and whatever subclass you pick) with a lv200 TEC-Pwr Mag, you should have no issue equipping anything even as a CAST, even more so if you level all your classes up to 75 for the Class Bonus base stats.

For reference, the best general purpose Rod, the Psycho Wand, requires 700 TEC-Pwr to equip, and a lv75/75 Fo/Te CAST with a lv200 TEC-Pwr Mag has ~776 TEC-Pwr, if we don't include Technique Power Mega Up or Class Bonuses. If we do take into account TPMU, with a lv200 TEC-Mag, you can equip a Psycho Wand as low as lv31/30 Fo/Te (~702 TEC-Pwr).

However, most 13* Rods have DEX requirements instead (which CASTs have the highest stat multiplier for), with the highest requirement being 475 DEX , though most only need 450 DEX, and a lv75/75 Fo/Te CAST has ~462 DEX (and you can get more DEX by leveling Bouncer and/or Braver to lv75 for an extra 30/60 DEX added to your base stats from the Class Bonus).

@AndrlCh

You always have so many organized Charts, Thank you.

But Just play your game as you'd like. Some people just want to be cheeseburgers.

I believe that it's a matter of personal taste, if you like elves then go with a newman for race, gender also would be a matter of taste unless you want to reflect your real life gender in your character, as for class that all depends on how you want to fight, if you prefer the in your face style of offense go with a hunter but if you would rather hang back and blast away with guns or spells choose ranger or force