A Final Fantasy XIV hacker has streamed themselves cheating in Crystalline Conflict and clipping through floors for hours on Twitch. The unknown cheater, who used symbols in their name, was highlighted by another FFXIV streamer, Sox Shimiki, who detailed the exploits on Twitter/X.
In a stream in front of over one thousand viewers, the hacker was able to move freely in the Crystalline Conflict arena prior to the start of the match, and then hover above the arena, dealing damage while taking none themselves.
In a later clip, the hacker seemingly decided to use their powers for good, as they clipped through the floor of Limsa Lominsa to discover a dozen real money trading bots also using exploits.
After streaming for several hours on Oct. 19, the hacker was banned, and flaunted their suspension to viewers. The penalty was handed down for both “Cheating and Botting” and “Prohibited Activities.” The suspension was detailed to last for a minimum of 10 days. This would mean the hacker would return to the game on Oct. 29 if the ban is not extended. The hacker erroneously wrote onscreen for viewers to “Look for me on the 19th day of October, brothers.” hinting that they’d return in the future.
Blatant cheating in FFXIV PvP has sparked community demand for change
The brazen cheating has sparked outcry from the PvP community and FFXIV fans at large who are calling for more moderation in-game. PvPrimal, a PvP community for the Primal Data Center, stated on their Twitter/X that “The guy who cheated yesterday showed there is no Z axis check for the Crystal so he can enter orbit and still contest the Crystal. Which means there is no actual way to beat him if he wanted. This needs to be changed if the GM response is going to be so slow.”
Others echoed the sentiment in replies to Sox Shimiki’s original post. Many valid points were brought up, including questions over why GM response was slow, why the game client doesn’t automatically kick players who are out of bounds, and why the Crystal in Crystalline Conflict can be pushed by a player floating miles (malms) above the arena.
The hacking incident also comes just days before the finals of the Crystalline Conflict Regional Championships for Europe and Oceania at the FFXIV Fan Festival 2023 in London. In a time when Square Enix is pushing the competitive side of its PvP content, this hacker has shown the playing field isn’t always as level as it seems.
Update 10/20/2023 at 11:05am EDT: According to a Twitter account supposedly run by the hacker, Square Enix has terminated the account accused of hacking. The Twitter user claims they will use another account next week to "completely ruin the economy" and expose why 99 and 100 parses from those who use FFLogs "may not even know their rotation... manually, that is", insinuating those players are using third-party tools to achieve such results.
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