Good Morning, and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

When did you start having this issue? Is it a recent development?

When you first log into the game it will say the direct x version in the green 'Play' button (either 9 or 11). If you cannot change the Directx mode in the config on the launcher, then something is interfering with the Directx on your computer or it is not installed correctly. DirectX 11 comes with Windows 8 so make sure your Operating System is completely up to date.

Also make sure your Graphics card drivers are updated to the latest version (alternatively, if you feel the graphics driver update caused the issue, you can try to install an older, more stable version). Also make sure that any program that provides and overlay is also disabled. For example, if you have an Nvidia card, the drivers may suggest installing Geforce Experience. As this may interfere with the game, we suggest leaving this disabled or uninstalled. Also, try disabling or closing all background applications/programs (this can be done from the Task Manager. Press CTRL + ALT + DEL to bring up the Task Manager in Windows 8).

You can try a complete reinstall of the game as well. Make sure to delete any remaining FFXIV files from your computer, including any potential files in your ‘Documents’ folder. Then reinstall the game from scratch. If you need a digital version of this, it can be found here: http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/playersdownload/na/. Any updates or expansions will be downloaded to your computer once logged into the appropriate account.

A system restore may not be necessary for something like this, however if you have already done it, let us know if it solves your issue.

We hope we can be of assistance in helping you enjoy the exciting world of Final Fantasy XIV!