FF14 is finally fixing the fact my carefully-constructed portraits keep reverting to a goddamn driver's licence photo whenever I change my goddamn gear

Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail will receive its first numbered patch in a week. While there are a lot of new features, including 1,180 improved feet over 118 items and a host of other improvements, it also fixes one of the most annoying things I've encountered in an MMO.

Okay, let's get some context. Final Fantasy 14 introduced the adventurer plates system in patch 6.1, almost one expansion ago. You can create a cute little mini-profile with the help of a variety of framing kits. In patch 6.3, the Duty Portraits system was introduced. When you load into a mission, your party members and you will be greeted with a variety of cute, custom-made poses.

There's one thing that has been nagging me since January 10,2023: the goddamned things kept resetting themselves all the time.

You have to go through three menus every time you change gear. There's also no way to know that this has happened. Even seemingly innocuous changes like showing or hiding the hat can cause it to break. This is when your portrait is replaced by a photo of your character staring at the camera with a dead-faced expression, like they are taking a bad driving licence photo.

It's embarrassing to find out this happened when you load into a duty. All your friends on your voice call will laugh at you, calling you a fashion failure. (I may need better friends). Well, ha! No more! Square Enix added a new dialog screen to the 7.1 patch, which is the feature that I am most excited about. It's buried at the bottom of the patch notes. As the notes state:

If the gear shown in an instant portrait differs from the gear you have equipped, you can update the instant portrait by using the window displayed. This setting can be adjusted by checking or unchecking 'Use as Instant Portrait.' in the Edit Portrait Window."

I would have preferred to have the option of having it update automatically without any questions, but this is a good compromise. Patch 7.1 will be released on November 12th, the day that all your fashion woes are solved.