The playerbase in Final Fantasy XIV loves to show off their characters, and one of the easiest ways to go about that is to set up an Adventurer Plate. You can view any character’s plate as long as they have set one up, and the creativity from the community seems endless.
It’s easy to see why players love these Adventurer Plates so much. At a glance, you can see what a character looks like, what the player likes to do in-game, when they are usually online, and more. If you want to set one of these up for yourself, but are not sure how to go about doing so, this is the guide for you.
How to set up your Adventurer Plate
You can find the Adventurer Plate option in the character menu. Clicking into it will give you a very basic layout, and a menu to the side listing a few options. You’ll be using this menu to alter the plate and make it truly your own. Changes are reflected in real-time, but are not made public until you save your plate, so don't be scared to play around with your options to find something you like.
How to change your Portrait
The main feature of your Adventurer Plate is your character’s Portrait. You can either edit this from the Edit Portrait menu inside your Adventurer Plate, or select an existing one from your Portraits menu. Changing your portrait is the most complex part of your plate, and you can get really creative to show off some personality. The Edit Portrait menu has two sections; Design, and Character.
Design
The Design tab has some presets, but also allows you to choose your own custom settings. You can pick a background, frame, and accent for your portrait in this section. You’ll be able to see what the selected options look like on the right side of the menu.
Character
The Character tab is where things get a little more interesting. Here you can pick a pose for your character, using something akin to the Gpose system. There’s a long list of poses to choose from using the dropdown menu, arrows, or my personal go-to, the list option. Along with a pose, you also get to pick an Expression. You can mix and match animations with expressions, giving your character a flair that typically can't be achieved anywhere other than a portrait.
Once you’ve picked a pose and expression, you can pause the animation by hitting the pause button underneath the portrait preview, allowing for unique results. Along with pausing, there’s options to move your character and the camera to catch the look you’re going for. Facing the camera, looking at the camera, zooming in and out, and rotating the camera are all the tools available below your preview window.
After all of that, there’s still lighting to consider. You can control both Ambient and Directional lighting for your portrait. You can set the intensity, color, and, in case of directional lighting, the position of these lights to highlight and shade your portrait as desired.
How to change your plate design
With your portrait taken care of, it's time to look at the rest of the Adventurer Plate. Inside the Edit Plate menu, there’s a list of options to go through. You can once again choose one of the presets provided for you, or you can make your own custom plate. This menu also allows you to choose which side you want your portrait on with the Invert Portrait Placement checkbox.
We recommend you get creative with this. Make your plate stand out from the masses and come up with something that reflects your style and shows your aesthetic. There are so many options to choose from in this section, it’s rare to see two of the exact same plates.
Editing your Profile, Search Comment and Privacy Settings
This is where some of the basic information about you and your character goes. You can set your favored job and title, select up to six icons to reflect your playstyle, and show people your active hours.
The Search Comment displayed in your Adventurer Plate is the same one that is displayed in your Search Info. This menu gives you a convenient spot to change your Search Comment. You have up to 60 characters to use here, spread over a maximum of 4 lines.
The last section of this menu is the Privacy Settings. Here you can set who can view your Adventurer Plate. Not everyone wants to show off to the entire playerbase, and Square Enix has taken that into account. If you want to keep your plate private, or make it so only friends can see it, you can limit the viewability here.
How to unlock additional options for your Adventurer Plate
In addition to the options available to you right away, there are various ways to acquire more of them through Framer’s Kits. Some can be bought from Tribal Quest vendors, others from PvP vendors, and some of the more rare kits can be obtained through Ultimates. There’s also those that are rewards from quests, limited time events, and Variant Dungeons. With more and more kits being added to the game through updates, the possibilities for your Adventurer Plate only continue to grow.
Now that you know exactly how the Adventurer Plate system works, it’s time to use your imagination and show off your creative side. With so many options, and so many different playstyles, there are countless designs to consider to display your own personal style.
