Final Fantasy 14 players respond positively to the Dawntrail benchmark

The Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail benchmark tool is now live, allowing players to try out the graphical upgrade with Update 7.0 on the go.

The improved lighting, textures and more have received a lot of praise on social media, but not everyone is completely happy.

The tool was announced over the weekend in the latest letter from the game's producer, along with some widely requested moderation changes.

The benchmark tool is intended for PC only, allowing users to test how the game runs on their system. Additionally, players can create a female Hrothgar, the new playable race appearing in Dawntrail.

Once downloaded, the tool uses an in-game trailer from Dawntrail to introduce its new South American-inspired environments and characters, as well as the new Pictomancer and Viper jobs.

Players can also create a new character, which will then appear in the benchmark trailer.

At last year's Fan Fest events, director and producer Naoki Yoshida explained that the graphical improvements to the characters will be subtle. Given that some players have been using the same characters for 10 years, the developers don't want them to look drastically different. Instead, there are small adjustments to facial shapes, textures and tones.

Elsewhere, the graphical update will notably improve ambient lighting and foliage density.

There are many positive posts on social media praising the new improvements.

There was also special praise for the female Hrothgar.

However, not everyone is happy with the changes that the graphical update brings. Fans have pointed out many small (and fixable) issues, such as: B. the glow of the Viera ear, differences in the fangs and the absence of the small spot on Lalafell's nose.

And of course there is a big difference between the pre-rendered trailer and the in-game.

Another big change was announced for Live Letter: expanded blacklist and restriction features.

Now blacklisted players will no longer be visible to those who have blocked them. A mute list has also been added, meaning player models will still be visible but no messages will be displayed. Up to 200 players can be blacklisted or muted independently.

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Dawntrail launches July 2nd – here's everything you need to know, including system requirements.