Yoshi-P’s Weird Stance on the FFXIV ‘Stalker’ Mod Cornered by SE Addons

A couple of weeks ago, there was a change in the Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) blacklist functionalities, when a third-party addon had the ability to expose player IDs to users. This essentially made it possible for the addon to identify all the alternative characters related to a player who blocked you. The addon was subsequently tagged as the “stalker” mod as it allowed individuals with malicious intentions to harass your side characters after they have been blocked on your main character.

Since that time, the MMORPG group hasn’t communicated on this matter, worsening the whole situation.

At last, Producer/Director Yoshi-P has broken the silence with an official forum announcement, but his answer seems powerless and clearly shows the difficult position Square Enix is in regarding third-party mods.

In his response, Yoshi-P acknowledged the concerned mod and highlighted the information that can be revealed by the mod, including a part of the in-game player ID. He further points out that players’ credit card and personal account information can’t be accessed by such tools.

So, what is the team doing about the current issue? Oddly enough, they are still discussing options internally. Some potential steps could be “Requesting to remove and delete the implicated tool,” or “considering legal steps.”

And that’s the end of it.

Essentially, they’re pleading for it to stop.

The post goes on to restate their position on mods and urges players not to disseminate information on how to use them. He finishes with, “Our stand against their use will remain strong.”

If by “strong stance” he’s implying that the team has always been vocal against their use, that’s fair. They’ve been consistent with that message. However, the team’s “nudge nudge wink wink” approach can’t exactly be described as “strong.” Addons have always been this “we’re okay as long as you keep it on the down-low” matter.

This approach has finally landed SE in the corner they’ve painted for themselves and I’m genuinely surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

The suggestion to delete the mod is acceptable, but it doesn’t really resolve the issue. The current version would be deleted, but it’s easy for anyone (including the original mod’s developer) to simply reproduce another one and be less public about it. Threatening with legal consequences might discourage others from creating similar addons, but which legal steps could you actually undertake? You’d need to present your case in court and face the defense saying that they are not doing anything to “hack” into data they shouldn’t access. The mod simply retrieves information that the client exposes, as do many mods.

If I were to defend myself in this case, I’d simply question the court as to why SE isn’t suing ALL mod developers for breaching TOS if that’s really the only transgression I’ve committed.

So, what action can SE take? Firstly, they could modify what THEIR client reveals to potential addons. However, that’s simply a temporary solution to the ongoing issue. A more sustainable remedy would be either to fully endorse addons and provide official support/approval of them, or commence a vigorous campaign against mod usage.

The initial alternative seems like something the team isn’t enthusiastic about managing. The latter comes with the risk of infuriating a broad section of your game’s audience who use certain mods for completely “legitimate” purposes. Role-playing features, quality-of-life and accessibility mods, and other harmless mods do provide “net positives” within the community. Would these players remain if these were entirely removed and not incorporated into the game by SE? I can’t say. The latter option may also involve the game monitoring player computers more closely, a step many are reluctant to allow for valid privacy/security reasons.

One thing is certain, Square Enix is responsible for the current situation and now (at last) must face it, likely necessitating a tough decision in one direction or the other soon.

In the meantime, the upcoming Live Letter stream has been announced. Look out for patch 7.2 news on February 7th at 3 AM PST.