How FFXIV Dawntrail's blacklisting changes accidentally led to a sinister stalking problem

Modified Jan 11, 2025 17:38 IST

FFXIV blacklist — One player has turned the blacklist updates in FFXIV Dawntrail into a tool that makes it easier to stalk and follow players in-game (Image via Square Enix)

FFXIV doesn’t condone the use of mods and plugins, but one has made stalking/harassment much easier — all thanks to Dawntrail’s blacklisting update. The actual in-game changes were made to make it so players could completely blacklist someone’s account and never have to deal with them again. On the contrary, it was only a matter of time before someone took this, researched it, and utilized it in-game for purposes that are less than wholesome.

However, we will not be highlighting the creator of this plugin, or its actual name in the article — all that does is spread the word even farther than is necessary. However, it has created its own set of issues, and there’s a possibility that it could lead to further crackdowns from Square Enix, thanks to this FFXIV plugin, and their own blacklisting changes.

Note: We do not condone the use of any plugins or mods in FFXIV, as that is against the TOS.

One player created a bigger stalking problem in FFXIV Dawntrail, through the blacklisting changes

In FFXIV Dawntrail, the change to the blacklisting feature was met with joy and appreciation. It hides all details of a selected player — including their service account and in-game model. That person doesn’t exist for you any longer. However, there’s a mod/plugin made by one of the players that uses this information to find players.

The way this plugin works is it allows players to install it, and search for a character name within FFXIV Dawntrail, which then reveals pertinent account details - such as all the alt characters connected to your account ID. They’ll know every character you have, even if you don’t use them anymore.

Expand Tweet

According to a friend of the plugin creator, this was allegedly created because the creator of the mod was outbid on the Auction House. Their response was to create a plugin to find out who the retainer belonged to. It then spiraled to what it is now. There doesn’t seem to be a single benign use for this FFXIV mod either. All its done is make stalking and harassing players easier than ever.

The “good news”, if you can call it that, is that you can make yourself not appear in this plugin by heading to the creator’s Discord and putting in a request. That Discord has its own problems with incredulous toxicity.

Couple this with the fact that there are reports that “being made private” from this plugin doesn’t really work, since it still shows your account ID, and things of that nature. Given that one player has access to so much information about other players also gives rise to fears that they could use that information in other ways.

And to think, it all started over someone being salty about being undercut (Image via Square Enix)

To do this, you join their Discord, which gives them your Discord ID, and then you give up all your character names, and what servers they’re on to someone you likely don’t even know, so that they can keep your data private. Nothing about that sounds like a good idea.

Another thing that makes this such a dangerous tool, is you can't blacklist someone that you don't know is stalking you in the first place. If you don't know who it is, and yet they have all of your alts/et cetera, it's easier for those unscrupulous people to keep an eye on you. This is an unsettling thought, for sure.

On a personal level, I don’t really care about plugins/mods for FFXIV. Why would I? I’ve been using addons for years in World of Warcraft. However, I don’t use them - they’re against the rules in Final Fantasy XIV, and people have used them to cheat for years in a variety of ways. There are some that are purely cosmetic, and some to make fights easier.

It's genuinely unsettling to think about this whole situation (Image via Square Enix)

However, the important thing is that they are against the TOS. Moreover, this particular plugin seems like it could cause some serious harm. There’s no telling what Square Enix’s response will be but activities like this only harm the modding community - who already have to keep what they do quiet in-game.

Check out our other Final Fantasy XIV guides and features

Edited by Abhipsito Das