The FFXIV team was caught cheating while removing challenging new raid

ONE Final Fantasy XIV raid team had their world record achievement revoked after they were caught using tools developer Square Enix considers a form of cheating.

Unnamed_ , a FFXIV raid team, became the first in the world to do so The Omega Protocolan exceptionally difficult new ultimate raid first introduced to the MMO in update 6.31 last week. But shortly after the official one FFXIV The Twitter account congratulated the team on their achievement, a video circulated online by an Unnamed_ raid player who uses UI mod plug-ins to zoom out the game’s camera to get a better view of the raid match, according to PC player. (The use of third-party tools is prohibited in FFXIV.) The incident resulted in the team being penalized, and game director Naoki Yoshida expressed his deep disappointment.

As reported by PC playerSquare Enix retired all eight Unnamed_ raid players’ achievements to clear the raid and the team’s record has been hit by FFLogsa website that tracks FFXIV raid data.

One of the strangest aspects of the story is how the cheating was revealed. Everything seemed normal on Monday morning, when the team posted screenshots of their kill and cemented themselves as the first in the world to remove the Omega Protocol. However, as PC player reports, later the same day an unlisted YouTube video appeared and showed a member of Unnamed_ in the raid using a mod that allowed them to zoom out from the action and see the battle from a wider vantage point. As for where the video came from, Unnamed_ member Feuer E’, who watched his teammates tackle The Omega Protocol raid through Discord’s screen sharing feature, claims that someone hacked their YouTube channel and uploaded the video to it. The YouTube channel name, which translates to “Divine Judgement,” was created two days before the video’s publication date. You can watch the video below.

FFXIV players often use plugins for quality of life purposes such as modifying cosmetic items or damage logs, but the use of camera plugins is considered a no-no, especially in World First raids, a constant source of tension between high-level players and Square Enix.

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While some FFXIV players online took to playing with the raid team’s cheat by posting memes, others pointed out how common the use of plug-in modules is in the community, especially to remove a raid.

Kotaku contacted Square Enix for comment.

The in-game rewards the team received from the raid have been revoked. In accordance a translated screenshot of a message between a raid member and a FFXIV game master, whose translation was confirmed by PC playerGM told a team member of Unnamed_ that even if they weren’t directly cheating, they were “still exploiting the cheat and therefore profiting from it,” before telling them to delete the items they received.

“Sorry for the late notification. We all just got in-game punishment for this matter,” Unnamed_ member Tatsuya Suzuki wrote in a tweet. “Finally, I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused FFXIV the development team, the community and all my friends. I will be careful in my activities from now on.”

Yoshi-P’s punishment

In a blog postsgame director Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida said how “extremely disappointed” he was with the raid team’s use of third-party UI mods, “as a player.”

It is extremely disappointing for me personally to see this fuss about third party tools again in the wake of what happened with Dragonsong’s Reprise (Ultimate). As the individual entrusted with full oversight of FFXIV, it is my responsibility to countermeasure and control the use of these tools, as well as educate people not to use these types of third-party tools – this is especially unfortunate when, as a gamer, I root for anyone who learn this content by trial and error and strive to remove.

At the end of the blog post, Yoshi-P reiterated that if FFXIV team detects “illegal use of third-party tools” in the future, he will not recognize that raid team as “the true world first.”

Read more: Final Fantasy XIVThe director asks you not to be an asshole

“I want to apologize specifically to the many of you who continue to clear this content without the use of third-party tools, consistently stream your progress, and continue the trial and error process,” Yoshi-P wrote at the end of FFXIV blog posts. “But please be aware that the development and operations teams are noticing all your passion. Be sure to take proper care of yourself as you continue to tackle the Omega Protocol (Ultimate).”