since we have:

-multiple cultures/ethnic groups, with clearly different cultures

(everyone speaks the same language, though)

-clothing made largely of textiles, with bright colors and decoration because people like to look nice

(...and whatever Sadu and the Buduga think they're doing. it's NOT perfect, but it's not Dothraki "plain brown leather and horsehair trousers")

an effort was made! an imperfect effort, but there was research

-a mixture of sheep pastoralism and dzo (bisonish) hunting as primary subsistence methods

Azim Steppe feels like the most I’ve seen anyone actually try wrt central Asian horse nomads that wasn’t, like, clearly someone with a degree writing historical fiction

there was research! rather than exclusively dredging up hollywood stereotypes and claiming that there was "a dash of pure fantasy"

it really is

I mean it’s not a very big reference pool but

the bar is, to be clear, on the floor, but

ironically they aren't either horse or nomads in FFXIV - those dwellings are definitely permanent structures, by the size and weight of components

yol pastoralists

also:

-music and art

to be fair to the singular language thing I can excuse it with a dash of "language barriers seem to largely not exist on eitheirys at all"

between that and the Echo and the "shh they all speak Player", yeah

and in a game where the player speaks Beaver, you know what, we'll allow it.

language barriers only exist in relevance to meracydia since arr which is deeply funny to me.

yeah, I assume there's probably like... a trade language between the tribes (or those who actually speak)

and the WoL is shortcutting with Echo nonsense

I love that they have so many cultures