Final Fantasy 14's latest patch features a truly bizarre character model that's been cut in half, and it could be hiding secrets yet to come.
Be warned: spoilers for Final Fantasy 14's patch 6.5 follow!
Final Fantasy 14 patch 6.5 went live yesterday, October 4, so naturally dedicated MMO players have already seen and done all the new main scenario quests. Contained within the final quest is a tease of an unknown character, shown only from the waist down, in a move deliberately meant to disguise the character's true identity.
As it turns out, there literally is no upper half to the enigmatic character. The Reddit post below sees a Final Fantasy 14 dataminer pulling patch 6.5 apart at the seams, to prove that in the shot where you see the mysterious character model from the waist down, they actually don't have a complete model at all.
[Spoiler: 6.5] Ending cutscene full model and details. from r/ffxiv
The description of the Reddit post breaks down more details from the character model. It turns out a portion of the character's butt is missing, possibly where a tail would sit, and what's more, their legs are distinctly hairy. The dataminer posits that the character's true height, when not cut off at the waist, could be comparable to a female Highlander or female Roegadyn.
Like other NPCs found throughout Final Fantasy 14, the character model doesn't have a generic sprinting ability. Its jumping animation is allegedly "unique," but decidedly similar to that of a female Highlander and female Au Ra. The dataminer says they've also sussed out that the character has whiskers and may even have a flower attached to them – though how you figure this out without a top half to reference is beyond me. Perhaps something in the file names themselves.
Players think this could be tied into the graphical enhancements we're due in Final Fantasy 14's big 7.0 update. We know that the overhaul will freshen up the game for PC and PS5 players, as director Naoki Yoshida previously stated, so it wouldn't be out of the question to provide new character models for players as part of the upgrade.
"I just think its hilarious they knew we would datamine this. I seriously want January here now!" writes one comment, alluding to the fact that the figure might be uncovered in Final Fantasy 14's eventual patch 6.6 in early 2024. The history they're referencing here is the fact that dataminers previously spoiled the Crystal Exarch reveal in Shadowbringers by delving into the game's files to reveal that the character was actually G'raha Tia in disguise.
So depending on who you're listening to, this new character model could indicate a new playable race, a unique NPC, overhauled character models, or all three. We'll either be waiting until early 2024 for patch 6.6 to find out for sure, or maybe all the way until summer 2024 when the Dawntrail expansion finally arrives.
Yoshida previously revealed Final Fantasy 14's dev team has enough material for two expansions, meaning another one succeeding Dawntrail could be in the works.
