FFXIV Omega World First Team UNNAMED Punished for Using Cheats

Square Enix seems to have taken action against members Team UNNAMED, the team of FFXIV Omega World First raiders. According to a tweet posted by member Haruka Setsuna, Square Enix is invalidating the achievement for members of the team and removing associated titles, gear, and items connected with the initial win.

https://twitter.com/Haruka_Setsuna_/status/1620502206645669888

The tweet from Haruka Setsuna consists of an apology to the members of the Final Fantasy XIV community and their friends who supported them. They also reported that they received a punishment in-game, posting screenshots of a chat exchange with FFXIV Game Master (GM) “G.X.”

The exchange showed the GM stating that Square Enix confirmed that Haruka Setsuna was “involved with a captured video from The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) that included cheating.” Although the player themselves did not directly commit the concerned act, the cheats used worked to their advantage, causing them to “profit from cheating.” The GM stated that since the player did not commit fraudulent activity, an account warning would not be issued. However, the achievements and title obtained from clearing The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) would be removed from their character. They were also instructed to manually discard the weapon received from the clear immediately.

Since the debut of Final Fantasy XIV‘s “The Omega Protocol (Ultimate)” raid on January 23, 2023, organized teams of players have been racing to be the first to complete the current top-level challenge in the game. Team UNNAMED in FFXIV were the first to report a clear on January 31, 2023 (Japan Time), but evidence emerged that members of the team had used third-party tools or hacks to gain an advantage. Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida issued a statement reiterating the rules against the use of third-party tools in-game. He also said that if Square Enix found that an FFXIV Omega World First raider was found using such methods, that the team would not recognize the feat officially.

Final Fantasy XIV is available on the PC, PS4, and PS5. The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) appeared in Patch 6.31.