There are plenty of items and services that can be purchased using real money in the official Final Fantasy XIV Online store, but many players attempt to bypass this by purchasing said features from other players.
Square Enix has once again emphasized its firm stance against the practice of real-money trading (RMT) in FFXIV, a practice in which players purchase accounts or pay for account services that are not for sale via the official FFXIV store. This has been a persistent issue in FFXIV, as well as in most other MMOs, that has been difficult to regulate in its entirety for many years, resulting in Square implementing new tools to stop it.
“Given that we continue to observe a certain level of RMT activity in the game each week, we will be increasing staffing, upgrading our tools, and adding new procedures to further strengthen our enforcement and provide our community with a safe and secure gaming experience,” Square wrote in a recent news update.
The development team detailed that the use of RMT actively goes against the FFXIV User Agreement, which all players are required to follow upon creating an account for the game, and can lead to the termination of said account at any time for violating its regulations. Though RMT is used for a variety of reasons to assist players in their experience across Eorzea, it is mostly used for purchasing Gil and limited-time items.
It is unclear what exactly the new procedures will be to tackle the growing issue of RMT or when they will be instituted, but Square Enix once again stands firm in its stance against it and any processes like it. Players are encouraged to report illicit behavior using FFXIV’s report function.
