Twitch streamers still blatantly cheating on stream.

[Saraide]

SE has never cared about third party tool usage as much as some people in this thread.

This is why they are so upset.

[KatiaRelanah]

This is why they are so upset.

Wild prediction based on the sheer hatred for aesthetic changes ITT: when 7.0 and/or the graphical update drops, people who don't have the hardware to run the updated visuals well will be up in arms about how much of an advantage the pores on the new character models unfairly advantages those players.

[Miracle_Diva]

Wild prediction based on the sheer hatred for aesthetic changes ITT: when 7.0 and/or the graphical update drops, people who don't have the hardware to run the updated visuals well will be up in arms about how much of an advantage the pores on the new character models unfairly advantages those players.

Wild prediction - 7.0 Viera and Hrothgar still can't wear hats.
Other races still have this unfair advantage. Privileged hat users.

[KatiaRelanah]

Wild prediction - 7.0 Viera and Hrothgar still can't wear hats.

You can't predict an inevitability.

Edit: Hard Mode: they can wear hats... But only in the "updated" mode. :^)

[Miracle_Diva]

You can't predict an inevitability.

Edit: Hard Mode: they can wear hats... But only in the "updated" mode. :^)

Plot twist - every other race could only use hats via preinstalled by SE mods all along.

[KatiaRelanah]

Plot twist - every other race could only use hats via preinstalled by SE mods all along.

I knew it! Visible viera and Hroth hats come with a 10% DPS buff!

EDIT: Hit my daily post limit with saying the same thing over and over in slightly different ways, anyways re: the below:

If you take the position that 3rd party addons are against the rules of the game then ANY use of 3rd party addons is cheating.

I personally feel that they are cheating because it is against the rules of the game and as such will not use them. That is MY choice and opinion.

That said I cannot know what someone is running on their computer unless they are stupid enough to broadcast it in video or talk about it in chat. It is a don't ask don't tell system. However if they harass someone with the addon you can bet I will report for harassment. Otherwise none of my business what they are running.

All right, fine, let's do this then:

Oxford: 1. act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination.

What advantage is being gained by having texture mods? Nobody has yet answered this.

I don't know how much more clearly I can put it... it is possible to simultaneously believe/agree/concede/acknowledge that all third-party mods/programs/applications/whatever are against Terms of Service (which I did, often and repeatedly), while also stating some are not cheating by definition.

Are texture mods against ToS? Yes. They are. I have never argued otherwise. Being against ToS != a cheat, though. Against the rules, yes. In violation of SE's terms, yes. Something that necessarily requires modification of the game in explicit opposition to the ToS, yes. BUT NOT A CHEAT.

Why is it so hard for people to concede this? Words matter. And people are adhering to this "mods are inherently cheats with no exceptions" position, presumably because it removes any need to accept that your black-and-white morality isn't a universal, objective truth before which all the evil, sinning mod-users must prostrate themselves. Sorry, I don't accept your false dilemma. I reject your position that cosmetic modifications are cheats, because you are seeking to end the debate in your favor by virtue of declaring victory on definitional grounds.

I don't have to smoke marijuana to opine on the morality or validity of the laws against it (whether pro- or anti-). However, neither do I become a wacky sovereign citizen who states laws are meaningless, nor an authoritarian nutjob who worships "the law" as an infallible thing that can never be changed. I say:

"yep, these are the rules as they stand, I for one obey them, but I can see why some people think they're silly",

or I say

"right now, the rules say the devil's lettuce is illegal, in accordance with my personal convictions... should they be changed, I will acknowledge that what was illegal is now legal."

Acknowledging existence of and abiding by current rulesets doesn't preclude discussion on whether such rules should be in place; conversely, being "on the right side of the rules" doesn't make your position infallible or above debate or discussion.

[Myrany]

If you take the position that 3rd party addons are against the rules of the game then ANY use of 3rd party addons is cheating.

I personally feel that they are cheating because it is against the rules of the game and as such will not use them. That is MY choice and opinion.

That said I cannot know what someone is running on their computer unless they are stupid enough to broadcast it in video or talk about it in chat. It is a don't ask don't tell system. However if they harass someone with the addon you can bet I will report for harassment. Otherwise none of my business what they are running.

[Sinesters]

OMg he uses ACT o noooooo hes cheating!, he can see how bad i am at this game please ban them.

What a bunch of feebus cringe post, get better at the game ACTUALLY play the game worry about yourself and leave others alone. Just cringe.

[Ravenblade1979]

OMg he uses ACT o noooooo hes cheating!, he can see how bad i am at this game please ban them.

What a bunch of feebus cringe post, get better at the game ACTUALLY play the game worry about yourself and leave others alone. Just cringe.

isn't ACT a grey area though. like they know it exists but don't care if its used unless you are actively using it to go after players who might not have the numbers or underperforming

[Iyrnthota]

isn't ACT a grey area though. like they know it exists but don't care if its used unless you are actively using it to go after players who might not have the numbers or underperforming

Officially there is no grey area. They've always been against 3rd party tools.
Unofficially people have their own opinions about what the dev team think, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter, they have to toe the Squenix line.

People like to think there's some kind of "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding stuff like ACT and visual mods, but the reality is they have no real way of tracing who is using them outside of the evidence people provide, be that a video, a stream, admitting it openly, or by disparaging party members for things you wouldn't be able to know without them.