A controversial third-party plugin forFinal Fantasy 14called PlayerScope which exploits a security flaw to track character data without player consent has made the rounds on social media as users raised concerns over its potential for abuse.Final Fantasy 14players also expressed their worries over actions that Square Enix could take.
The terms of service strictly prohibit the use of third-party tools inFinal Fantasy 14. However, that has not stopped someFinal Fantasy 14players from using them for quality-of-life features, cosmetic reasons, or gaining an unfair advantage in high-end content. During the Futures Rewritten (Ultimate) raid in November, one of the competing teams called GRIND wasfound to have used aFinal Fantasy 14cheatthat added a red targeting reticle that is not normally there, which led to GRIND’s disqualification from the Race to World First event.
DespiteFinal Fantasy 14’s ongoing efforts to improve the game’s quality-of-life functions, a notorious third-party tool has caused players to signal some alarms.On the r/ffxivdiscussion subreddit, players have discussed the ramifications of PlayerScope, which allows users to scan the Account ID data of any character they see without the target’s knowledge or consent, including main and alternate characters and retainer names.The update toFinal Fantasy 14’s blackliststhat arrived in Patch 7.0 also changed the way account ID data is stored on the client side, enabling PlayerScope to scrape the data with little effort. The character data obtained by PlayerScope is then uploaded to a server maintained by its author and not by Square Enix. In response, players shared their worries that bad actors would use this to stalk and harass anyone, on top of potential security vulnerabilities.
PlayerScope Draws Worry From Final Fantasy 14 Players
Although the creator has released an opt-out function via their Discord server,Final Fantasy 14players have expressed concerns that the exploit could lead to Square Enix implementing an anti-cheat client in the future. The company has been making efforts on the community front, recently creating a new anti-harassment policy allowingSquare Enix to take legal action against employee abuse by toxic fans.
Between the PlayerScope controversy and a string oftechnical issues that plaguedFinal Fantasy 14’s servers, the game has had a rough start to 2025. It’s uncertain how Square Enix will respond to players' worries.
