Square Enix is apologizing for the confusion surrounding one of the new Final Fantasy 14 hairstyles introduced in patch 7.1, as it greatly differs from the contest winner that influenced it. The new ‘Doing the Wave’ hairstyle is described as “inspired by” one of the winners of the game’s Hairstyle Design Contest in 2023, but many players are upset that Square Enix’s finished version looks nothing like the style it’s based upon. In response, Square Enix says it will “look for other ways” to bring the curly-haired contest winner into the MMO in the future.
With Final Fantasy 14 7.1 finally here, the post-Dawntrail era is upon us. We’ve got even more MSQ, the start of the alliance raids, society quests, and a huge collection of job changes. There are also some brand-new hairstyles, with Square Enix taking direct inspiration from one Hairstyle Design Contest winner from last year. 40 fan-made hairstyles ended up as winners, with one curly-haired look being added as part of the MMO‘s new patch. Some players, however, aren’t keen on SE’s execution of the new hairstyle, noting that it takes a curly design and makes it more wavey. As a result, one of the company’s community representatives responded.
“Thank you for all your feedback on the hairstyle that will be implemented in Patch 7.1. We would like to apologize for the major confusion we have caused,” Square Enix community rep ‘Chesskyth’ writes on the official FF14 forum. “For this patch, we started work to implement ‘Natural Curls’ from the winning entries of the Hairstyle Design Contest, based on the idea of adding not only straight hair but also a variety of other hairstyles.
“However, as the development work progressed, the light, delicate, and voluminous curls required for ‘Natural Curls’ could not be implemented perfectly, despite the implementation of the recent graphical update in FF14, due to limitations such as the polygon count.”
“Therefore, the finished result is a hairstyle that has not been implemented as Natural Curls, but as a wavy bob hairstyle, which is called ‘Doing the Wave’ in-game,” the rep adds. “However, since we did use the winning entry as a reference in the development process, we included a statement to that effect in the patch notes. We are deeply sorry that this has resulted in a great deal of confusion and concern.
“Although we were not able to make it happen this time, the development team will continue to strive to implement many more hairstyles in the future. As for Natural Curls, which was not implemented in Patch 7.1, we will persevere in our efforts to look for other ways to implement this hairstyle.”
In both the full and preliminary FF14 7.1 patch notes, Square Enix says that the new curly hairstyle is “inspired by” one of the FF14 Hairstyle Design Contest winning entries. ‘Madqueenmomo’ designed the Natural Curls winner, and it’s proved a popular design as many players want more diverse styles for their Warrior of Light. 7.1 does have other new hairstyle options for Viera and Hrothgar, but they’re also straight and flat, like many other styles in the MMO.
As we venture into 7.1 make sure you didn’t miss the Final Fantasy 14 free Fantasia, and pick up any remaining Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail Aether Currents you might have missed.
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