Director and producer of Final Fantasy 14, Naoki Yoshida, replied to weeks of user input over the revised character models with a strategy that would span multiple content releases. Yoshida also gave a non-exhaustive list of examples of things that players have complained about in Final Fantasy 14, including the revised bone structures, the new lighting effects, and a few things unique to certain species, including the Viera and the Au Ra.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail's first significant graphics overhaul since A Realm Reborn was one of its main attractions. This version supported upscaling via AMD's FSR and Nvidia's DLSS technologies, and it includes new lighting and textures for character models and a variety of locales. Before Dawntrail was released, Final Fantasy 14 issued two benchmarks so that players may give input. In addition to letting players know whether their PCs could run the game, the benchmarks gave them an idea of how their characters will seem with the new graphics.

Following a review of the official Final Fantasy 14 forums, Yoshida informed players of the changes that would be made and those that might stay the same. Yoshida stated in a Lodestone article that in the upcoming months, Patch 7.1 and a few adjustments to player character models would be released together as a priority. According to Yoshida, the most common complaints from gamers included Au Ra scales with jagged silhouettes, Viera noses with darker-than-usual tips, and character hair that would occasionally float. 

Lead For Final Fantasy 14 Provides Detailed Reaction To Player Character Model Input

• According to Naoki Yoshida, some adjustments to the player character models will persist in response to continuous feedback.
• Changes to urgent concerns, like Au Ra scale textures, Viera noses, and specific hairdo issues, might be seen in Patch 7.1.
• Patch 7.2 or later may bring other issues—such as Au Ra horns flashing red—that will require some time to resolve.
• Some of the lighting adjustments made in Dawntrail will stay in place.

Character eyelash orientation in Dawntrail and concerns with character jawlines were two specific issues that were not assigned a deadline for a solution. Yoshida also mentioned that certain character lighting implementations will stay the same, such as eye highlights that, in the event that they were altered further, would produce strange glows. Other things, like lighting in the nasal cavity at particular camera angles, would likewise be left alone. Despite some technical difficulties, Yoshida concluded his response by saying that some quality-of-life improvements to the character builder in Final Fantasy 14 would be taken into consideration for a future release.

Yoshida expressed gratitude to the gamers of Final Fantasy 14 for their persistence and input. As further information regarding Patch 7.1 was revealed by Final Fantasy 14 at the 2024 Tokyo Game Show, it is unclear when additional graphical changes would be made.