In the wake of the noise in the community from different reaches of the internet regarding mod usage, I've been wanting to find a place to air out my ideas on the matter. This thread is meant to address frustration in regard to current character customization in the base game and the drive that causes players to seek out this broad category of modding.

1.) Sliders -
From newer hits like Baldur's Gate III and Dragon Age: Veilguard to classics like Fallout and The Sims, games with character creation sliders are overwhelming well received and highly loved. Many FFXIV players using mods to alter their characters' appearances are simply aching for their Warriors of Light to have unique facial structure that the game just does not allow. With the concept of sliders for character creation not being the wholly new task from a game design standpoint, adding such functionality to FFXIV seems like an obvious way to make players happy. Adding extensive creative freedom to the character design process is a huge factor in players' willingness to apply mods to their game. Making facial sliders inherent to the base game would not only encourage player creativity, but would also open new avenues for forming communities around the lovely designs players make of their Warriors of Light.
2.) Hair -
In addition to commentary regarding facial sliders hair options are severely limiting at base level, and uninspired and ill-diversified at the Mogstation paid level. FFXIV needs to have more hair variations available to all character types, as well as potential for length sliders. (Length sliders could even still be linked to the item Modern Aesthetics - Great Lengths!) Hair is a great factor in players' decisions to apply visual mods to their Warriors of Light.
3.) Body -
While the base game has minimal options with regard to the chiseled/muscular look of Warriors of Light, there is much to be desired of the character body types of all races. FFXIV has featured fatter characters and older characters in NPCs, though Warriors of Light overwhelmingly appear as thin and youthful. Adding additional options for base bodies, while maintaining species-specific indicators, would be an overwhelmingly positive implementation to the game's character creation feature! Let characters have unique fat and muscle distribution!
4.) Colors -
Lastly, expanding on the existing color palettes for hair, eyes, skin, etc. is absolutely a must. Color options as they currently stand are embarrassingly limited for such an excellently beautiful game. Implementing custom color variations when it comes to visible character traits is required at this point.
These are just a handful of topics, but I believe that if FFXIV and Square Enix developers want to steer players away from modding, advancements in character creation and customization is needed.