Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
There's a lot that you can do in Final Fantasy 14. Conversely, there isn't much that you can't do, but Square Enix is making an effort to clarify exactly what activities are prohibited. The MMORPG's development team has noticed a rise in real money trading and is taking steps to put a stop to it.
The following was posted to the Final Fantasy 14 Lodestone:
Until now, when we discovered fraudulent recruitment listings by RMT vendors in the Party Finder, we first investigated for RMT activity before issuing penalties. However, many of these listings directed users to external websites, meaning an extensive process was required to substantiate allegations of RMT activity. This meant these fraudulent listings were routinely visible on a daily basis, a situation which has persisted until now.
Furthermore, as RMT vendors disregard normal gameplay and are only concerned with RMT activity, many of their fraudulent recruitment listings were created in the "Duty Roulette" category of the Party Finder. This meant that they were prominently visible upon opening the Party Finder menu, which became a major hindrance during normal gameplay.
Although various methods were considered for resolving this issue, in the interest of taking swift action without requiring extensive investigations, we have deemed it necessary to prohibit the advertising of RMT services and the creation of recruitment listings in incorrect categories within the Party Finder, actions which are routinely done by RMT vendors.
We apologize for the relatively restrictive nature of these changes compared to how the Party Finder was being used until now, and appreciate your understanding.
Real money trading has apparently been running amok in FF14's Party Finder system and this is Square Enix's attempt to curb the practice. Square Enix, for its part, will continue to closely monitor real money trading, even instances that aren't reported, and appears prepared to issue penalties to violators. These policy changes only look to be directed at real money traders, as those looking to exchange in-game currency through the Party Finder can still do so.
Square Enix's latest announcement comes with the Endwalker expansion's release just weeks away. Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is set to release on November 23 on PC, PS5, and PS4. If you want to learn more about that expansion, you can check out our recent hands-on preview.