One Final Fantasy XIV player has unleashed a plugin (mod) for the game that while well intentioned allows for stalking of players across characters.
The mod “PlayerScope” scrapes the game for character Account IDs which then records the identifier and cross-references with other characters with the same account IDs. Thereby linking them to the same account (and presumably the same player).
This has caused a stir among players since it allows for individuals to be stalked across characters. Lying about being too sick to raid and want to do some Chocobo Racing on an alt? Oops, you’ve been found out. Not to mention in the drama-filled world of Roleplay, the stakes can be a little more emotional than just skipping your static’s raid night.
So how is the plugin able to access this data? Final Fantasy XIV released a new social feature with Dawntrail: blacklisting. This allows someone to block a user across their entire account to prevent them creating an alt and continuing to bother you. As a result, the account ID used to identify alts became easier to access for plugin creators.
So why create a plugin like this? Allegedly, the inspiration is petty (but completely understandable). According to someone claiming to know the creator, the reason for PlayerScope to exist was to identify people undercutting them on the Market Board (FFXIV’s Auction House). To be fair, I’d be mad too.
But unfortunately, the existence of PlayerScope may put the game’s entire modding community in jeopardy. Until now, Square Enix has operated on an “out of sight, out of mind” policy to mods. As long as you’re not explicitly cheating, and no one reports you, you’ll probably be ok. Mods aren’t officially allowed, but Square Enix appears to put little effort into curtailing them.
Most of the time, this isn’t a problem. Mods usually tend to be strictly cosmetic, or add some quality of life features at best. However the game’s difficult end-game content has led to some small cheats like halos to better see player hitboxes, or even more noticeable indicators for mechanics.
Even still, Square Enix hasn’t seen fit to step in just yet. We’ll have to see if the backlash to PlayerScope is what finally gets their attention.
Final Fantasy XIV is available now for the Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows (through Steam).