In Final Fantasy 14, a new policy prohibits the use of third-party tools, and one Twitch streamer discovered what happens if you ignore it.
Square Enix is cracking down on any and all Final Fantasy 14 players who install and use third-party tools as part of the most recent patch. Such items are now illegal, and anyone caught using them risks suspension or even a lifetime ban.
Twitch streamer BagelGooseFF either missed or ignored the memo, and was banned live on stream as a result.
He and other players were taking part in the new raid, Dragonsong’s Reprise (Ultimate), when he was abruptly booted from the raid and teleported to an empty room.
Square Enix doesn’t want people cheating, so banning third-party tools makes sense, but BagelGooseFF wasn’t technically cheating.
According to the video of his ban, the only change he appeared to be making was to the user interface. To show countdown timers for the party’s buffs and debuffs, which you can’t normally do in Final Fantasy 14.
The video is no longer available on Twitch, as BagelGooseFF’s channel has been temporarily suspended as well, possibly due to his Final Fantasy 14 ban. It was, however, uploaded to LivestreamFails.
It makes no difference whether this is considered cheating or not; Square Enix prohibits it.
The use of third-party tools is strictly prohibited, as stated in the Final Fantasy 14 terms of service. Players who are found to be using third-party tools will have their accounts suspended, or in the case of repeated offenses, permanently banned.
Some players use tools to change the user interface because they believe “existing functions are insufficient for tackling high-end duties.”
In response, he promises to improve this aspect so that people are less likely to use third-party tools.