Final Fantasy 14 actor speaks out after backlash for her Dawntrail role, says MMO director Yoshi-P apologized on behalf of Square Enix: "He was very kind"

Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail trailer screenshot showing Wuk Lamat, a Hrothgar woman with fiery long hair, aboard a ship at sea — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail arrived with its fair share of controversies, sitting with "Mostly Negative" to this day – one of which was central character Wuk Lamat, a protagonist whose unpopularity saw some fans aim unfair abuse toward her voice actor.

Sena Bryer, the talented voice behind Wuk Lamat, was the target of online hate following her role in the Final Fantasy 14 DLC. It got so bad, in fact, that director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida had to address the "personal attack" on the actor from community members. He instructed fans at the time, "Any sort of criticism, bring it to me, I'm the one approving this material." It turns out that Yoshi-P didn't just discuss the issue with players – he approached Bryer, too.

The actor reveals as much in a new interview with The Gamer, explaining that she actually brought the abuse to developers' attention when it initially started post-Dawntrail's release in 2024. She warned Square Enix, "There's a narrative they're trying to push, and they're saying things about you, as well." The studio let Bryer know devs were "on the case," but it wasn't until a short while after that she spoke to Yoshi-P himself about the backlash.

During this year's Anime Expo in Los Angeles, Bryer met the director. "I did meet Yoshi-P for the first time," she recalls. "We arranged a meeting, and he was like, 'I want to apologize on behalf of the team for what happened to you.' He was very kind, and we had a very kind little talk about it." In a wholesome turn of events, then, Bryer solidified her new friendship with Yoshi-P with a little gift: a handmade necklace.

"I gave him a bead necklace someone made for me that is eight feet long and says the entire, 'Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy 14?' [meme]," Bryer says, amusingly adding that the director "really didn't know what to do with it." I don't know about you guys, but I'm having the time of my life imagining this moment unfold myself – and I'm so here for such silly, heartfelt exchanges between the cast and devs.

Even though playing Wuk Lamat proved difficult after Dawntrail launched – the abuse and all things Bryer endured considered – she doesn't regret taking the role. "The bad things that have happened have been outnumbered 200 to one," she admits. There are "100 positive Twitter DMs for every bad one" in her inbox, after all. She is, however, concerned about the impact the hatred she lived through could have on any other aspiring actors.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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