There were a few too many holes in the previous blocking/blacklisting system, but that's getting fixed in the next expansion.
Over this last weekend, Square Enix and Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida hosted a lengthy livestream presentation speaking to various details of the upcoming Dawntrail expansion, and the blacklisting/blocking system is a prominent feature getting some changes. The system has a few too many flaws in its current state that keep it from being effective at blocking a player or their harassment, but Dawntrail will fix it right up and make it more functional.
Square Enix hosted the Dawntrail livestream over this last weekend, going through about 14 hours worth of changes coming to the game, as shared by PC Gamer. It was in the second half of the stream (both of which are posted on YouTube), that Naoki Yoshida addressed the blacklisting/blocking system. Simply put, he admitted it’s not enough as is and is getting some reworks in the Dawntrail expansion. The current existing system will be preserved in a new muting system while blocking and blacklisting will become more robust.
Source: Square Enix
As for blacklisting itself, the issues with the current system came from the fact that it doesn’t do much to stop actual harassment. It works much like a mute in that you can’t see messages from a blacklisted player and they can’t see party finders you host. They can still enter your player housing and if you were friends with them prior, it doesn’t remove you from their friend list, including being able to see your online status.
“We have so many players now that use this game as sort of a second world," Yoshida said according in a translated statement. "I think it is time we implement features to protect everyone's experience.”
With the new features, players will not only be muted when trying to interact with a blacklisting player, but any additional characters made on the blacklisted player’s account will also be blocked. Blacklisted players can still end up in a raid with you, but their profile will be blanked and you can choose whether or not to see their messages in chat.
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail is set to go into early access on June 28 with full release coming on July 2, 2024. Stay tuned for more updates on the expansion leading up to launch.
TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.
