Final Fantasy XIV isn’t taking any chances. Naoki Yoshida, the game’s producer, and director made a statement about trolling in late April. Now, Square Enix has spoken out against more issues in the game, saying that FFXIV mods are unacceptable and that anyone caught using them will be sent to an in-game jail.
Final Fantasy XIV is the most popular active MMORPG in the world. In that world, raids have grown in popularity to the point where people hold unofficial “world’s first” races whenever new multi-stage raid missions are released. The idea of modding one’s game comes with these player competitions.
Mods for the HUD are used by players to keep track of battle mechanics, damage-per-second output, and boss behavior. Modifications of this nature are not permitted in the game.
Naoki Yoshida stepped up once more to chastise players for their bad behavior. On May 9th, he released a statement clarifying third-party tools and the game’s position on them. Because the races are unofficial, Yoshida admits that participation is usually limited. They have, however, gone so far as to recognize and partially blame players who have previously achieved these goals.
Square Enix promised to take action against players who disobeyed the rules in the statement. This was demonstrated when FFXIV streamer Hiroro was forcibly detained in-game while using FFXIV mods. Outside of a special event, players don’t usually have access to the jail, which is a dungeon called the Mordion Gaol. Mordion Gaol is designed to discipline players “without interfering with other players’ gameplay.”
Furthermore, Hiroro isn’t the only one who has been punished for using FFXIV mods. With visible mods on his screen, streamer Bagel Goose was also forced to teleport to jail. Bagel Goose received a week-long Twitch suspension for cheating in a multiplayer game, according to Melo, a raidmate.
Hiroro refused to comment further on his prison sentence, and as a result, all of the footage from Twitch and YouTube was removed.
It’s unclear how long these players will be locked up. Many members of the community have since pointed out other well-known players and streamers who use mods. It remains to be seen whether Square Enix notices their efforts and decides to ban them. Regardless, Square Enix has made it clear that FFXIV mods are not to be used.
