Mods are a controversial issue in the FF14 community and violate the terms of service. Let me warn you that the shot was obtained from an unknown friend.
More broadly, I’m against mods that affect gameplay in general, like last year’s Dragon Song Reprise (Ultimate) controversy. (opens in new tab) We don’t need a World of Warcraft-like arms race between developers and modders.
However, some mods add such nice features that I am shocked that they are not part of the core experience. orange guidance tomestone mod (opens in new tab)available via the Dalamud plugin.
Final Fantasy 14 is ripe for jokes, with a beloved story and a vast world to explore. The best social aspect of this game comes from sharing that story with others. This mod allows you to do this by leaving a tangible imprint in the game world.
The orange Guiding Tomestone brings charming meme nonsense to Eorzea that’s usually relegated to Twitter and Discord. It works surprisingly well, allowing you to see other players’ messages, rate them, and design your own.
The best part of this mod is in the presentation itself. It would have been easy to copy Dark Souls or Elden Ring assets and call it a day. Instead, this mod uses a custom set of runes that look completely out of place in the world of Final Fantasy 14.
The mod has several options for phrases. There’s an entire library of Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Bloodborne, but there’s also a custom his pack filled with objects and NPCs from Final Fantasy 14 itself.
Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker has proven to be a bit of an isolated experience so far, as there are currently no exploration zones. This mod doesn’t use it at all if it does, but it patches that hole so well that I’m surprised it’s not a feature of the base game.
Ultimately, the big draw of Final Fantasy 14 is the collaborative episodic narrative that we all participate in. Being able to leave fun graffiti in the world of Eorzea feels like a logical next step, and in Dark Souls, these messages bring vibrancy and grim humor to the grim world. Final Fantasy 14 makes an already vibrant world even brighter.
