Final Fantasy 14’s new 5v5 PvP mode, Crystalline Conflict, has apparently led to such an increase in bad manners among players that the game’s producer, Naoki Yoshida, directly addressed players in a news post regarding their behavior.
“We receive an unprecedented number of reports of uncooperative / sluggish or mocking behavior during fights,” Yoshida explains, before delving into the offensive trends in more detail.
The “uncooperative / dull” behavior that Yoshida highlights first is a little hard to determine, though many of us have probably seen a playmate sandbag it despite at least once.
“All PvP content, including Crystalline Conflict, is intended to be a match / skill competition between players,” Yoshida writes. “Participants must bring their best to the fight, and for this reason uncooperative or sluggish behavior is prohibited. Let us strive to do our best even in situations where defeat is imminent, whether you are interested in the reward or not.”
The flesh of the post, however, is a detailed list of other rude jokes that Yoshida politely asks Crystalline Conflict players to stop indulging in:
- Repeatedly using the Quick Chat phrase “Good job!” in an unfavorable situation
- Repeatedly using the Quick Chat phrase “Good match!” before the outcome of the match is even decided
- Excessive repetition of a particular Quick Chat phrase
- Persistently placing a negative goal marker on another Allied player
- Use and repeat an emote on top of a defeated opponent
- Firing fireworks on top of a decommissioned opponent
- Use of Tell or other methods to directly harass / criticize a player outside of a duty after a match is over
- Slander of other players through out-of-game means, such as social media
It’s almost unbearable to mention that it’s unforgivable to sling abuse through chat in the game or external social media, but it’s fun to see real ugly behavior lumped together with the more benign competition on this list.
Sarcastic use of a “good job!” or “Good match!” Quick chat strikes me as some classic good-natured slap reminiscent of “Very Good!” excerpts from Dark Souls, “What a rescue!” scorn from the Rocket League and “I use tilt control!” flex from Mario Kart Wii. The card-ping abuse also seems relatively harmless if it is annoying and could be solved with a cooling timer.
The funniest request is that players stop using emotion and fireworks to taunt their opponents. At least 70% of an emote’s usefulness is, in my opinion, good-natured PvP mockery, and the fireworks see me as the perfect naughty sendoff after playing an opponent. Maybe I just let myself get too dead for this kind of thing after years of Overwatch and League of Legends.
Yoshida concludes the post by reminding players that the FF14 team reserves the right to temporarily suspend them for three to 20 days for the conduct listed and that repeated or “unusually heinous” violations will result in a permanent exclusion.