FF14 releases a paid cosmetic you can recreate for free in-game, and oh boy are people unhappy about it

An image of three adventurers in Ysale's outfit amidst a frostbitten landscape under a clear blue sky.
(Image credit: Square Enix)

We've been giving Final Fantasy 14's cosmetic store bigger and bigger passes as time's gone on. Like most FF14 players, I'm grateful we don't have to deal with loot boxes or battle passes or any of that nonsense—so what's the harm in a $29.99 motorbike to grease the wheels now and then? We're paying for our hubris now, because this is not great.

Square Enix revealed the Iceheart's Attire on Twitter/X yesterday. For the uninitiated, this is the outfit of a central character from the Heavensward expansion, Ysale (otherwise known as Lady Iceheart). They've sold similar outfits in the past, allowing players to pay a few bucks to get NPC-specific gear for their Warrior of Light, either for virtual cosplay reasons or as unique options for entirely new outfits.

The tweet reads: Now close your eyes, for one last time, and say goodbye... …to your old attire, because a new optional item, Iceheart's Attire, has arrived to the #FFXIV Online Store! http://sqex.to/ffxivstore

https://twitter.com/FF_XIV_EN/status/1701913762184519993 (Image credit: @FF_XIV_EN on Twitter/X.)

The only problem? You can basically recreate this drip in-game, for free, as Inksrocket on the FFXIV subreddit points out in a post that's garnered over 3,000 upvotes at the time of writing.

ffxiv from r/ffxiv

There are obviously some minor differences, but the Lady Iceheart outfit you can make at home is pretty much there. Qalexiaffxiv on Twitter/X took to the site to fully lay out how you could recreate something that's basically just as good. Everything (except for the robe) is gear you get from completing a tutorial named the "Hall of the Novice" at around level 15.

The post reads: What is the problem with adding her hair? The clothes are already in the game #FFXIV #Elezen. After the post is an image demonstrating an outfit one can make with items already in the game.

https://twitter.com/qalexiaffxiv/status/1701924605101851020 (Image credit: @qalexiaffxiv on Twitter/X)

The chest piece Qalexiaffxiv mentions is a level 90 piece of gear exclusive to spellcasters, while the paid equivalent can be used on all jobs—except user Tazthemenace found a class-agnostic equivalent in the Altered Felt Robe, so it doesn't even have that going for it.

The post reads: "the in-game top is casters only so thats why i bought the mogstation version" no its not, you still got scammed Lvl 49 altered felt robe is for ALL classes and was my primary glam during ARR. There is then a picture of their character wearing the item in question.

https://twitter.com/tazthemenace/status/1702084625697316948  (Image credit: @tazthemenace on Twitter/X)

This might've been fine if Square Enix were to release Lady Iceheart's unique hairstyle along with the set, as they've done for other similar outfits in the past. But nope, nary a platinum tress in sight. Safe to say, this has not gone down swimmingly. Lucy Pyre, a popular FF14 Vtuber, commented: "this is 18 dollars? you know it's not april 1st yet, right? you are joking, right??? haha funny????? 18 dollars??????? 18 dollars ?? ? ?" 

I've kept her question-mark spacing intact, because I feel like it properly conveys our shared bafflement. YouTuber Kouagon also posted this, which at the time of writing has about 400 more likes than the original announcement. A small ratio, but it checks out.

The post is a meme of Mr. Krabs from spongebob digging up a grave, representing Square Enix in this whole debacle.

https://twitter.com/Kougaon_/status/1701953217326723345 (Image credit: @Kougaon_ on Twitter/X.)

FF14 is my favourite MMO, but these dunks are super well-deserved. The outfit's barely different from its free counterpart—which can also be dyed, by the way—and doesn't even offer the hairstyle you'd need to digitally cosplay the character. As user TheGayViera writes: "Go buy a big mac, go buy two. It's legitimately a better use of your money."

Harvey Randall
Staff Writer

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.

Read more
A hyur in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail looks amazed, standing in a gorgeous forest city-scape.
In a sea of bad videogame clothing, I've already fallen in love with Final Fantasy 14's upcoming collaboration with BlackMilk
A 2B statue from the game Nier: Automata.
Square Enix thanks the thirstiest fans in the world for buying Tifa figures and a $2,600 statue of Nier: Automata's 2B
Sahn-Uzal Mordekaiser revealed in silhouette against a white moon and a blood-red sky.
League of Legends is getting a hotly anticipated skin for its lich necromancer Mordekaiser, but fans' joy has been 'obliterated' because it's 'stuck in a $200 fomo gacha store'
A herd of chaotic dinosaur mounts gathered in Dornogal, the capital city of The War Within.
Alas, it's been estimated that WoW's $90 FOMO dinosaur mount probably made Blizzard around $15-17 million, and at this point I think we all deserve to be here
A Vanu Vanu munches on a soft taco
Final Fantasy 14 is, you guessed it, still making bank for Square Enix as Dawntrail rakes in the big bucks, though it might not be all sunshine and tacos
Honey B Lovely
The state of Final Fantasy 14 in 2025: It's in a weird spot, huh?
Latest in Final Fantasy
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Sphene applauds in Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.2 story.
I'm not yelling 'we're so back!' yet, but Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.2 story could be the first sign the MMO is returning to what made it so critically-acclaimed
Koana, a main character in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, stares thoughtfully at a book in his hands.
After a controversial coding slip-up fed stalkers info on their victim's alts, FF14 wipes the slate clean to try and fix its mistakes
A lolporrit squeals in excitement while being driven in a moon buggie in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, patch 7.2.
Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.2's trailer has me finally hyped to get stuck back in—and to go to the moon and pilot some mechs, because why not
In a world of WoW Classics and Old School RuneScapes… could Final Fantasy 14 ever do the same?
Honey B Lovely
The state of Final Fantasy 14 in 2025: It's in a weird spot, huh?
Latest in News
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event