Square Enix Updates “Prohibited Activities” To Crack Down On Final Fantasy XIV RMT Bots

Although they will never fully be rid of them (no game ever is), Square Enix continues its efforts to cull RMT activity within Final Fantasy XIV. As part of these ongoing efforts, and apparently after realizing there had to be a better way of going about things than following RMT vendor links back to their websites, the XIV team has decided to update the prohibited activities in the game to include the advertising of RMT services altogether, as well as the creation of recruitment listings in “incorrect categories” in the Party finder.

If you’re wondering exactly what this means, Square breaks it down further, explaining that this is because RMT activity is generally very specific and often takes place in the “Duty Roulette” category of Party Finder. This consists of “fraudulent recruitment listings” that in addition to just breaking RMT rules were causing problems with normal gameplay. To prevent this, Square is now prohibiting offers to help players clear content or obtain items. This is not to say that you can’t help people do these things, but that it is no longer acceptable for anyone to “advertise” that they’ll assist with clears or other activities in exchange for something. That includes listing an actual fee or telling players to join or follow a link for more details.

If you’re someone who actually does need help with something and are willing to compensate another player for their time, that’s acceptable.

In other words, buyers can post that they are willing to buy, sellers cannot post that they are willing to sell.

The second item prohibited is using the Party Finder to recruit members to participate in things like housing promotions, or to advertise items for sale in the incorrect category. A category already exists for those things, and that is “Other”.

As Square Enix is busy updating the prohibited activities policy, they’ve also made other changes to it clarifying a few things for players. One thing of note is that, according to the announcement, the policy now clarifies the differences between “stalking” and “improper following”. For this reason, they suggest that players review the documentation in question, just so you know where things stand. Square Enix also confirmed what many suspected about a "penalty points" system being used in the background and provided some info on how you can slowly recover over time from previous offenses.