Final Fantasy 14’snext expansion is imminent, and in preparation for the big day,Square Enix has released the preliminary Patch Notes forEndwalker. Buried in the flood of exciting information was an unexpected gift: the critically-acclaimed MMORPG was removing the gender restrictions on five popular outfits.
InFinal Fantasy 14, certain outfits are only wearable by male or female characters. WithEndwalker’srelease, five of these outfits – three previously available only to female characters and two to male – will be equippable by characters regardless of their gender.
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The Spring Dress, the Loyal Housemaid’s Attire, and the ThavnairianBustier, previously only wearable by female characters, will now be able to be worn by men. On the other hand, the Loyal Butler’s Attire and High House Justaucorps will be able to be worn by female characters, where previously only male characters could equip them. These restrictions are being removed for all of the individual items that make up the outfits, including hats, gloves, boots, and pants. These outfits are now fully available toall characters inFinal Fantasy 14regardless of gender.
These outfits join the growing line of gear where gender restrictions are no longer present inFF14. Previously, the tuxedos and dresses available to characters through the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding wedding events had their gender locks removed, as did the bunny outfits from the Golden Saucer.
The 2B dress from theNiercrossover raid was implemented in the game as gender-neutral as well, and earlier this year,Final Fantasy 14surprised fans by revealing the Male Viera–a previously female-only playable race option–and promising a female option to the male-only Hrothgar some time in the future.
Final Fantasy 14players were elated when they saw the gender restrictions being removed from these items. Many players had created custom designs for these outfits for male characters, especially the ThavnairianBustier. The gradual removal of gender-locked content is a great step towardsmore gender inclusivity inFinal Fantasy 14. By allowing characters of any gender to wear these outfits, Square Enix has given players more ways to express themselves.
Most players hopeFinal Fantasy 14continues this trend. There are still many gender-locked outfits in the game, and thoughEndwalkeris taking big steps forward towards inclusivity, players will not be truly satisfied, nor truly free to express themselves, until the restrictions are removed fromFF14entirely.
Final Fantasy 14is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5. TheEndwalkerexpansion launches on December 7.
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