Top Requested Features!
What did players ask for?
I asked players, 'From a systems perspective, what features could be added to Final Fantasy XIV to potentially reduce anxiety around RP?' My reason for asking this is: If something can ease the anxiety associated with trying something new in Final Fantasy XIV, then we might just have another player who feels more confident to explore the game differently. Can new features address this? Maybe. Players made requests related to online safety, learning, and more.
I also want to take a moment to acknowledge that introducing a new feature involves considering various factors. What the English-speaking communities across all DC regions (NA, EU, OCE, JP) desire might not align with the preferences of the Japanese-speaking communities due to cultural differences. Game design decisions rest with the developers, and this should be respected. With that understanding in mind, let's see what the players suggested. (They made many requests, and I can't cover them all!)
Poof!
Online Safety
On October 27th, 2021, important additions to the official FINAL FANTASY XIV Terms of Service were announced regarding ‘Prohibited Activities’. This included notes on harassment, stalking, consent, restraining orders, and much more. Since then, players have expressed their gratitude for these adjustments and also hope for future improvements to some in-game systems as well.
Housing
Players expressed a desire for individuals on their blacklist to be prevented from entering their houses or even appearing in the open world.
Most people agreed that it would be great to have some granular controls to change who can enter your house or not (Friends only, FC only, etc.). More importantly, perhaps a blacklist that could be tied to the house itself or inherited from the owner of the property could be added. Many ideas came up around the execution of this feature.
Stronger Blacklists? A Void List?
From a game design perspective, this topic raised many questions. Players expressed a desire to not encounter blacklisted individuals out in the open world or in dungeons, raids, etc. However, there's a clear potential for misuse without proper safeguards or intervention from Square Enix's support team. A possible solution to start with could be that if a player reports someone for stalking or harassment, a Game Master (GM) could then add that offender to a 'void list' for the reporting player.
Ultimately, these feature requests highlight the ongoing and necessary conversations about player safety in FFXIV.
Busy chat log!
Improved Chat System
Many requested improvements to the chat log. A common issue among English-speaking communities across all DCs is chat log congestion, whether in major cities or during RP events in player housing or outdoor areas.
Colored Names
Randomized color assignments to character names in /say, /shout, /yell, and /emote can help differentiate who is talking or interacting in busy settings. Many players enter roleplaying venues and walk right out simply because they cannot keep up with the pace of communication.
Focused Chat
Another way to help differentiate specific players in an RP venue or major city would be the ability to assign individual players to a specific chat tab. A player could select someone nearby and assign them to “Tab 5”, for example. They could then use that tab to focus on specific interactions or groups of players in any space. Additional chat tabs were also requested if something like this became a reality!
Export Chat Log
An export feature for chat logs, complete with timestamps and dates, would be beneficial for both PC and Console players in terms of online safety. I met a player who transferred to a different DC region and changed her name due to harassment. When the incident occurred, she became overwhelmed and logged out quickly, which prevented her from capturing screenshots of the messages as evidence. Many new players might not be familiar with the specifics of the Terms of Service related to safety or know how to handle such situations. Often, veteran players will advise them after the fact, and having the ability to retrieve a past chat log could significantly enhance the experience for new players.
Cultural Differences in Japan: After standing in the middle of a bustling Limsa Lominsa, I noticed that not a single message was exchanged for several hours. The Japanese-speaking player base explained that using /say in public settings is perceived as the equivalent of someone shouting. Their perspective is that they don't want to read about topics or stories that aren't of interest to them. They tell players to use /party, /tell, linkshells, or FC chat instead. To avoid being considered rude or facing backlash, players adhere to these guidelines without challenge. A bar owner on Elemental DC mentioned that she was reprimanded by several players for using /shout to announce that her venue would open in 15 minutes!
FFXIV Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LXXIX at TGS 2023
Region-wide Duty Finder & Party Finder
While watching the TGS 2023 presentation, Yoshida-san announced the introduction of a cloud-based server infrastructure hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). I immediately got excited because this could be huge. I’ll try not to bore you with technical details but AWS has ‘locations’ all over the world including Australia, Europe, Brazil, the USA, etc. The following is simply speculation. This could mean significantly improved latencies for more countries. Cloud-based infrastructure might mean an easier way to connect individual DCs within a single region for a shared Party Finder and Duty Finder. How about region-wide linkshells? More housing wards? We’ll have to wait and see how it’s utilized in the future!
Note: There is a specific way region-wide Duty Finder can work which I discuss in my next article about Cross-Region Travel. It outlines benefits for Dynamis DC and Materia DC and covers cultural differences across the regions.
Concept illustration demonstrating dual status symbols.
Dual Icons: /sprout & more
Below are some icons that players would like to see incorporated into the game in the future. Accompanying each is a brief definition and a neat bonus feature would be the ability to use two icons or statuses at a time. The short video is a concept of what that would look like.
/sprout It’s a bittersweet feeling for some once we lose our MSQ Sprout icon in Final Fantasy XIV. The ongoing joke is that once we lose this icon, we are now professional FFXIV players! While we know this isn’t true, it actually would be great to have the ability to turn this back on for a different reason.
What if we could activate this icon out in the world when trying something new or trying out a different role or class in dungeons? Personally, I worked on the MSQ cycling between all of the tanks (PLD, WAR, DRK, GNB) so I understood that role well by the time I reached 90. Players hesitate with learning new jobs or roles and it might be a good way to indicate via the Party Screen that you are a new healer or new to tanking in general. I do think this should be something the player can toggle off or on.
/observe Another concept would be the ability to indicate we are observing and do not wish to be interacted with in the environment. This specifically pertains to RP as /busy does exist however it blocks trades
Additional Social Icons: FFXIV has Estate Tags to describe certain establishments and housing in-game. For indicating staff roles in an RP Event, almost all of the tags are very useful to have! It would be a great addition to the roleplaying scene and help clear up some confusion for newcomers navigating the space.
Bonus: Speech Bubbles
Despite asking players for system enhancements and additions to help lower player anxiety, many participants could not help themselves and requested speech bubbles anyway.
The desire to say “Thal’s Balls!” is rather strong with the player base.
A Final Note
Silliness aside, this article summarizes a few features that some players hope to see in the future. It's not intended to represent the entire player base's views. Our primary goal is to encourage players to try new things and talk about what’s on the player’s minds. Thank you for reading, and don't forget to check out the upcoming Cross-region blog post!
