The world's first Final Fantasy 14 team to beat the Dragonsong Reprise (Ultimate) mission has been congratulated by having their video deleted by Square Enix.
Over the weekend, the first team to beat the incredibly tough and unforgiving Dragonsong Reprise (Ultimate) in Final Fantasy 14 emerged. Square Enix and game director Naoki Yoshida briefly congratulated the team in a new blog post, but now it emerges that the YouTube video featuring the clear run has been DMCA'd by the developer.
The first teams to clear Dragonsong's Reprise (Ultimate) have emerged. Congratulations!For those of you who are still progressing, good luck as you continue pushing on at your own pace!❗️We'd like to add something about 3rd-party tools, so please read our next tweet. (1/2)May 9, 2022
The timing of the clear, and Square Enix's blog post railing against third-party software, can't be overlooked. Right now, it's not yet clear why the YouTube video has been taken down by Square Enix, but one popular community theory, which has credence in the post decrying third-party tools, is that the team were using software to manipulate the game's UI.
If you're unaware, modding Final Fantasy 14's UI via third-party software isn't actually that uncommon, and teams trying to be the first to clear a tough challenge like the Dragonsong Reprise (Ultimate) will install software which tells them which way to run to dodge certain boss mechanics in the mission, for example. This helps the team, but it's in direct violation of the rules laid out by Square Enix.
It's because of this, the Final Fantasy 14 community believe, that the YouTube video has been struck down by Square Enix. Yoshida and company are crystal clear about their stance against such software in the new blog post, saying that any and all software, no matter what is does, goes against the rules of Final Fantasy 14, and could even result in bans for multiple offences.
Right now, there's been no official comment from Square Enix about why the YouTube video showing the clear has been deleted. GamesRadar+ has contacted the developer for additional comment, and will update this article with any relevant information.
Square Enix is also investigating the ongoing housing crisis in Final Fantasy 14, and has outlined measures to fix the crisis going forward.
