Update, February 1: The Final Fantasy 14 raid group that kicked off drama so wide-reaching that the MMO’s director was forced to weigh in has confirmed that everyone involved has been punished.
One of Unnamed’s members took to Twitter to update the community on the situation in both English and Japanese, confirming that the group has received in-game punishments and that they were “truly sorry for all the trouble” caused to the Final Fantasy 14 development team, the community, and their friends.
Another team member went one step further, showing a conversation with a game master confirming that all the loot and titles obtained from clearing the Ultimate raid would be stripped away.
In his initial post, Naoki Yoshida explained that, had the team been found guilty, he personally wouldn’t recognise them as the first team to beat the Omega Protocol Ultimate raid. Since then, another team has claimed to beat the raid.
Update, January 31: Final Fantasy 14’s director and producer, Naoki Yoshida, has addressed the ongoing fallout over the Omega Protocol Ultimate raid, promising to take action against those found to be using third-party tools.
In a new blog post, Yoshida explains that Square Enix is currently carrying out an investigation into claims that the team currently claiming World First used plug-ins, such as a modified zoom function. As such, the team won’t be revealing who actually completed the Ultimate raid first just yet.
“I want to apologise specifically to the many of you who are continuing towards clearing this content without the use of third-party tools, consistently streaming your progress, and continuing the trial and error process,” Yoshida says. “However, please know that the Development and Operations teams take notice of all your passion. Please be sure to take proper care of yourselves as you continue to tackle The Omega Protocol (Ultimate).”
Yoshida also notes that the team is aware of the community’s desire to see an official raid supported by Square Enix, with proper regulations enforced. “This is a topic which needs to be discussed internally, so please allow me to keep this as an item for future consideration,” he says.
Original story: Six days after its launch, a Final Fantasy 14 raid team has claimed the world’s first title for the ultimate version of Omega Protocol. It hasn’t taken long, though, for that win to become shrouded in controversy over broken rules.
Last night, a well-known raid group called Unnamed posted screenshots to Twitter revealing that the group had completed the raid – no footage or raid logs were provided, though that’s not too uncommon for Final Fantasy 14. Members of the group then appeared in the game’s social areas with their freshly won loot, so people had ample evidence to suggest the raid was completed somehow.
Not long after, though, footage emerged of Unnamed’s clear, revealing they used several plugins such as a third-party zoom tool. Naturally, that goes against the MMO’s Terms of Service agreement, sparking debate over how legitimate the run is and if bans should be handed out.
A popular Final Fantasy 14 stats tracking website has stated that the team will go with whatever Square Enix chooses to enforce, though the developer hasn’t said anything at the time of writing. As Aita Japan CEO and Twitter user Audrey shares, the phrases ‘world first’, ‘zoom hack’, and ‘third-party tools’ have all been trending over in Japan.
Naturally, the long zoom seen during the raid clear has also been turned into a popular meme that the community is having fun with.
I just woke up to this and I did not hesitate.#UNNAMED #FFXIV pic.twitter.com/vadlw5Ee8vJanuary 31, 2023
One of my discord friends just sent this to me and I'm HOWLING pic.twitter.com/fJG6POLsgPJanuary 31, 2023
As a result of the fallout, Unnamed has pledged to face up to the consequences of whatever happens and disband as a group.
If you’ve been out of the loop, Final Fantasy 14’s Ultimate raids are about as brutal as it gets regarding endgame content – you can read our previous story about everyone’s struggles with The Omega Protocol Ultimate here if you’re curious to find out more.
The tricky raid tier was first introduced back in Stormblood, and we’ve seen four so far, with Omega Protocol being number five. The race to complete world first isn’t something that Square Enix typically regulates, so it’s very much a community event. Regardless, fans of the long-running MMO have made their thoughts on the recent raid victory more than evident.
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