A popular Final Fantasy 14 mod is trending on Twitter after the program’s developer deliberately added malware to the third-party tool. This action led to a massive controversy that has been rippling across various Final Fantasy 14 Discords and other social media.GSHADE is one of many mods available to Final Fantasy 14 fans. While all third-party tools are technically against the Terms of Service for the critically-acclaimed MMORPG, some players choose to use client-side mods like GSHADE to improve or alter the aesthetics of FF14 without affecting actual gameplay.RELATED: Final Fantasy 14 Producer Comments on Omega Protocol ControversyHowever, Marot, GSHADE’s developer, recently revealed they deliberately put malware into the mod to discourage other third-party programs from tampering with it. The hidden code caused a forced shutdown of one's computer if GSHADE’s files were accessed by a third-party application in a certain way. Evidently, Marot hid malware into their program specifically to “teach a lesson” to another Final Fantasy 14 modder and admitted they could have implemented a virus or worse into the payload instead of a simple shutdown.

As one might imagine, players were infuriated by Marot’s actions, causing GSHADE and RESHADE–a similar aesthetics mod–to trend on Twitter. At press time, Marot has been banned from at least one popular Final Fantasy 14 Discord, and the FF14 subreddit put out a statement that it would no longer endorse GSHADE because of the developer's actions. Marot claimed the malware has since been removed, but the damage has already been done to GSHADE's reputation.

Apparently, some fans are having problems uninstalling GSHADE from their devices, claiming the program is demanding players update it to the most recent version before removing the mod. Players who use these tools and have concerns regarding malware or switching from GSHADE to RESHADE should consult one of the many guides created by other players to help them safely alter their system.

Unfortunately, this controversy is exactly why Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki Yoshida condemns third-party tools. Because these products are made by unofficial sources, Yoshida cannot ensure the safety of players who use these mods. Mod-reliant MMOs like World of Warcraft have had major problems with malware and viruses in the past, and Yoshida wants to avoid that with FF14.

Between the GSHADE debacle and the recent incident involving the punishment of players clearing Final Fantasy 14’s Omega Protocol raid with mods, third-party tools have been in the spotlight a lot recently. This negative press could spur Final Fantasy 14 to crack down on the use of third-party tools even more in the future.

Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.

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