Races
Race is one of the two defining (and unchangeable) properties of a player character, the other being gender. They are divided into four categories: Humans, Newmans, CASTs, and Deumans.
Contrary to previous Phantasy Star games, where Race (along with gender) played a major role in determining stat growth, availability/performance of possible Class choices, and Race-specific abilities, Phantasy Star Online 2 unlimits all features and reduces stat growth variation between race to a minimum, making the stat differences between races nominal. This allows the player increased freedom in selecting a race based solely on available cosmetic options as opposed to gameplay influence.
Phantasy Star Online 2 features 4 different races to choose from, each coming in male and female variety:
Human
Humans are balanced - adaptable and resilient; they are the jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. They are able to succeed in any pursuit, be it close-quarters combat, ranged attacks, or the demands of learning photon arts.
Newman
Although not nearly as physically strong as Humans or CAST, Newmans have a tremendous aptitude for photon arts. While they can ably wield other weapons, they are unrivaled in their ability to learn, use, and withstand photon powers.
It is said that the Newmans first arrived from bio-engineering experiments the Void Organization produced, along with the CASTs and Mags. They are an offshoot of Humans that maximized photon ability via genetic manipulation.
CAST
The fully robotic CAST has all the strength and endurance one would expect from beings of their kind. While weak in their ability to handle photon arts due to their artificial bodies, their precision and fighting abilities are unmatched. CASTs have the unique ability to hover instead of walking, when the option is selected via the Salon Shop.
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It is said that the CASTs sometimes are made when a body of a Human or Newman is too weak to support their photon power, thus are transplanted into a CAST body. The memories of those before transplantation into the CAST frame are usually lost in the process, leading to some CASTs to wonder if they had consented prior to transferring to their new bodies.
Dewman
Dewmans are a damage focused race. They have lower defensive stats, but higher offensive stats. They have a horn on their head and have different colored eyes. Males have one horn, while females have two.
Dewmans are the direct result of experimentation of splicing Darker DNA with that of a biological host. This allow recessive Darker genes in them that gives them a powerful boost in photon control, allowing them to achieve high potential of utilizing their photons in the classes they master. They are distinctively similar to Humans with the exception of their horns and artificial photon eye. Humans and Newmans can be converted into Dewmans via an unknown process similar to CAST transfers.
