Final Fantasy 14 becomes way more immersive with this one setting disabled
Square EnixFinal Fantasy 14 players can drastically improve their experience and be more immersive by using a specific UI option in the Display settings.
It’s common for Final Fantasy 14 players to drastically alter the UI during their playthrough. Fortunately, the game has extensive options for letting you tailor the menus and hotbars.
Indeed, shrinking and moving the UI is pretty much essential if you want to play Final Fantasy 14 on the Steam Deck in portable mode, as you’re dealing with a much smaller screen.
Many players are unaware of just how extensive the display options are in the game and go through the entire story without ever making it easier for themselves. This is due to how ostentatious Final Fantasy 14’s visuals can be.
In a thread on the FFXIV Reddit, a user pointed out the option in Final Fantasy 14’s Display settings to shrink player names in the UI, showing the drastic difference it makes in busier areas, like the three starting cities. This is because the default name size is huge, especially when many people congregate in one location.
As other users pointed out, it’s also possible to restrict the names you see in Final Fantasy 14’s UI on the overworld. This makes for a more immersive experience, as you’re not constantly being bombarded with reminders that you’re playing an MMO instead of exploring a fantasy world.
(Toning down or removing the battle effects in Final Fantasy 14’s UI is also highly advised, as these can make it really difficult to follow combat in busier fights, especially when everyone starts firing off attacks and spells at the same time.)
A surprising number of people in the thread were unaware of these UI options. This might be because Final Fantasy 14 launched during the PS3 generation and has gradually added a ton of QoL updates over time, so the early hours of the game don’t outline how much you can tweak the visuals to your liking.