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Square Enix has something of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for the Final Fantasy 14 community in regards to mods. The use of third-party plugins is outlawed and against the MMO’s terms of service, but modders still continue to create them for FF14 and their use is fairly well known. Now PlayerScope, a troubling new mod that was made public recently, is causing panic among the community and is being dubbed “a stalker’s wet dream.”
PlayerScope is a third-party plugin that allows anyone to search a Final Fantasy 14 character name, which then brings up that player’s account details. Available information includes all of the character names under that account, how long ago they logged into the MMORPG, and even details on exactly where they’ve been. These details are uploaded to a server, which allows PlayerScope users to track players with just a few clicks.
The ability to track this information was made possible by Square Enix’s blacklist changes that arrived when Dawntrail launched in July 2024. One FF14 player even warned that this could be used maliciously six months ago. The company has consistently warned players that the use of third-party tools is “strictly prohibited” and anyone found using them would have their accounts “suspended or permanently banned for repeat offenses.” That’s not stopped the rise of PlayerScope, though.
The PlayerScope plugin is very concerning, considering it can be used for harassment and stalking. One Redditor even calls it “a stalker’s wet dream.” While the FF14 blacklist is effective at deterring harassers in the game, the information provided by PlayerScope makes it easier to find the person tied to the account.
One Discord community’s messages were leaked via screenshots (seen by PCGamesN but not shared here to protect those targeted) where women streamers and players were posted and users chose whether they would “rape or shoot them.” While the Discord isn’t directly tied to PlayerScope, finding streamers outside of FF14 is made easier with the information provided by the plugin.
The developer of PlayerScope, who goes by the name ‘Generall’ in the mod’s Discord, says that they plan to make it possible for FF14 players to “opt out” of their data being displayed by PlayerScope. The community isn’t thrilled with this either, considering they must join the PlayerScope Discord to opt out. Generall has declined to make the system opt-in, claiming it would defeat the purpose of the plugin.
Dalamud, a mod manager that most players use to implement third-party plugins in Final Fantasy 14, is powerless to disallow the mod because of its ability to add custom repositories that don’t conform to Dalamud’s guidelines. In theory, Dalamud could ban PlayerScope, but because of its open source code, the development team would end up spending a significant amount of time chasing new custom repositories for this mod, Dalamud says in a statement.
The large majority of the FF14 community is vehemently opposed to PlayerScope, but unless its creator chooses to take the plugin down, it’s unlikely much will be done about it. Some modders are worried that due to the serious issues PlayerScope creates, Square Enix will step in and finally swing the ban hammer on all mods, which is always a possibility. It is very unlikely Square will do something on its end to make pulling the account ID impossible, since it would require it to make changes to comply with a third-party plugin, which as a whole is strictly prohibited.
This egregious invasion of privacy comes at a bad time, considering there’s a free login campaign going until Thursday February 6, giving players four days of FF14 without needing a subscription. If nothing is done, players might jump ship to a new MMO in a time where free MMORPGs are in abundance.
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