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
Racial Features:
- "Natural" skin color; restricted to a range between pale and dark.
- Normal ears.
- Balanced stat growth in comparison to other races, who have increased and decreased stat growth in select areas.
Humans are the first race created by the Photoners based on their high Photon compatibility, and serve as the basis for all other races. Humans sport balanced attributes and are adept at essentially anything, between melee, ranged, and Technique capabilities, they can do it all.
Newman
Racial Features:
- "Natural" skin color; restricted to a range between pale and dark.
- Sharp, pointy ears. Ear sharpness and length can be adjusted in the Salon.
- Higher R-ATK/T-ATK/R-DEF/T-DEF growth. Lower HP/DEX.
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
Racial Features:
- Robot body. CASTs are restricted from equipping certain cosmetics. CASTs accept exclusive "CAST Part" items and Head Parts in addition to normal cosmetic options. An option for swapping between normal running and "hover" running is available in the Salon.
- Freely customizable skin tone; any color in the spectrum can be selected.
- Higher HP/S-ATK/R-ATK/S-DEF/R-DEF/DEX. Lower T-ATK/T-DEF.
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
Racial Features:
- Horns. Males have one horn, while females have two horns. Horn length and position can be adjusted freely in the Salon.
- Dichromatic eyes are available as an option in the Salon. Access to a unique eye pattern not usable on other races.
- "Pale" skin color; restricted to a range between blue and red.
- Higher ATK/DEX. Lower HP/DEF.
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.
