Over the past couple of years, Final Fantasy 14 has seen a massive influx of new players, including many from other MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. Because of this population boom, the game has updated its Prohibited Activities and Account Penalty Policy to ensure players old and new have a better understanding of what will and will not be tolerated by the game masters.
The new additions to the Prohibited Activities page mostly revolved around the use of the Party Finder, a tool used to help players form groups for various in-game activities. Final Fantasy 14 has banned the use of the Party Finder to advertise the sale of content clears, a practice sometimes called “raid boosting,” and is cracking down on what sort of events can be listed using the in-game tool. These restrictions are to combat real money trading, or RMT–the practice of selling in-game currency for real money.
Final Fantasy 14 also took this opportunity to go into further detail with the prohibited activities already listed in the document. Previously, the prohibited activities had no extensive detail or examples, to prevent incendiary players from finding loopholes. However, after receiving feedback from the Final Fantasy 14 community, the developers decided it would be more beneficial to give specific examples of behavior that would not be tolerated, like stalking, harassment, and non-consensual explicit gestures or statements.
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On top of that, the developers also pulled the curtain back on its Penalty Policy, and explained how it tracks punishments against Final Fantasy 14 players who have broken the rules. The developers have a Penalty Point system, which works similarly to how some state driver’s licenses do. Final Fantasy 14 is also introducing a new system where players who have earned Penalty Points in the past, but have since improved their behavior, will eventually have those points removed.
Final Fantasy 14 has earned a positive reputation because the developers keep an open line of communication with its players and are receptive to feedback. Considering the majority of MMORPG players are against RMT and raid boosting, most are praising Final Fantasy 14’s strong stance in opposition to it–especially considering World of Warcraft’s recent soft endorsement of the controversial practice via a co-lead’s participation in sale runs.
As is always the case with things like this, however, some players are upset with the changes, especially individuals who participated in the now-forbidden raid boosting. Final Fantasy 14 admits it is cracking down harder than it usually would, especially in regards to the Party Finder limitations, as the influx of new players means a new flood of RMT and botting practices in Final Fantasy 14, not to mention new people who are used to a very different community from Final Fantasy 14. Though some of its policies are more strict than its competitors, it is only because of its clear-but-severe stance that Final Fantasy 14 has been able to cultivate a community which is welcoming, patient, and diverse.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5. Endwalker launches on November 23.
Source: Final Fantasy XIV Website