Elvaan own, hands down. We have the most strength of any race, which is handy for melee classes, and average dex for accuracy (Although the Mithra have a lot more). We have very low agility, which does not favor us for classes like Ranger and Ninja (Rangers need agi for ranged accuracy, and ninjas need to dodge), but we do very well as tanks and front-line damage dealers. If playing a melee class, be sure to equip all of the dex+ gear you can find, since that increases accuracy--all that strength does no good if all you do is miss! Although Galka are actually better tanks (Higher HP and vit), Elvaan make superlative damage-dealing classes. Try out Warrior (Although they are usually tankers early on, they also make excellent damage dealsers), Monk, Samurai, Dark Knight, or Dragoon. Of the above, I prefer Samurai. It's like the job was made for the Elvaan race.

As far as mages go, Elvaan have a lot of catching up to do. We have very little MP or int, which makes us gimp Black Mages unless we have some very good gear to make up for it. I'm thinking Astrals, here. The main advantage of Elvaan mages is that we're not glass cannons. If you overnuke, it's not game over the first time the mob hits you, which gives the tank some respite if Provoke isn't ready yet. Elvaan White Mages have an advantage over their Taru counterparts, though--Elvaan have the highest mnd in the game; The Tarus may have a higher max MP, but in a party setting how often does the puller really wait for the whm to get max MP? They usually pull as soon as the MP hits what they feel is the minimum amount of MP to carry the whm through a fight. High mnd means your heals will heal better, your enfeebles will stick better, and your banishes will do more damage. Elvaan Red Mages are merely average...many people don't want the rdm to melee, which means most of the Elvaan's advantages are going to waste. Red Mages need int more than mnd. And lastly, Elvaan bards are sheer ownage. I get SATA'd on all of the time, and live through it. How many Tarus do you know who can say that? MP isn't as much of an issue for a bard, since songs don't consume MP, so you only need enough to power your sub. In my case, that usually means throwing out a poisona here and there, and I usually recover full MP just from Ballading the mages. Although no race really edges any other out in Charisma, a bard's most important stat, an Elvaan's sturdiness and strength make us better bards than those who play Taru in order to get more MP...cater to your main, not your sub.