FFXIV: Portrait System Updates - It Kinda Works?

       by        Game: FFXIV Guide       

In Patch 7.1 for Final Fantasy XIV, one of the most anticipated features was an update to the portrait system. This system allows players to set up character portraits tied to specific gear sets, enabling them to personalize their appearance in various in-game content like PvP and PvE. While this update promised to streamline the process of updating these portraits, players have experienced a mix of success and frustrating issues.

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What Is the Portrait System in FFXIV?

The portrait system is a feature that allows players to customize how their character looks in-game, especially in instance content. Players can assign portraits to their character that are linked to particular gear sets, and these portraits include customizations like backgrounds, foregrounds, and poses. Once you've updated your gear set, you can easily design your character's portrait. However, this feature has always had its issues, and Patch 7.1 aimed to fix and improve it.

The Issue Before Patch 7.1
Before the update, there were notable issues with the portrait system. For instance, any changes made to gear sets could break the portrait. For example, if you equipped new glasses or swapped out a weapon, the system often wouldn't update properly. Players would need to go through multiple steps to make sure the portrait updated, which was time-consuming and often resulted in failure.

What's New in Patch 7.1?

Patch 7.1 introduced an automatic update feature when changing gear sets. Previously, you'd manually need to go into the portrait editor, select the "update gear" button, and then go through another series of steps to get your portrait to reflect the new gear. Now, players should see a new window pop up after updating their gear, with the option to update the portrait automatically.

The new window gives you the option to "update" or "cancel" the portrait update, and it seems to work most of the time when you select "update". This update is supposed to make it easier and quicker to reflect any gear changes in your portrait without requiring additional manual steps.

Does It Work?

While the update sounds promising, there are still some issues that persist. If you press "update," it generally works, but there are many instances where things go wrong.

Unexpected Behavior with Gear Changes: Some players have reported that the portrait will break or behave strangely when switching between jobs that share the same gear set but have slightly different settings. This is particularly problematic if one of your gear sets is linked to multiple jobs, and you make changes to one job and then switch to another.

Broken Portraits: Even after updating, there are situations where the portrait either doesn't update or defaults back to a previous state, causing a broken or incorrect appearance. For example, characters might glitch or appear in odd poses that were not intended.

Confusing Interface: The system also seems to have a confusing interface. If you press "cancel" after making changes, instead of reverting back to the last working portrait, it breaks and requires a manual fix. This inconsistent behavior makes it feel like the portrait system is not reliable, which is frustrating when you're trying to use it quickly and efficiently.

Why Is This an Issue?

The core frustration is that, while the portrait system has the potential to save players time by automating the update process, it still requires manual intervention in many cases. If a player makes a change but doesn't want it applied, they should be able to "cancel" the update and go back to the original settings. However, the current system does not fully support this function and ends up causing more issues, rather than making things simpler.

Additionally, the fact that portraits can still break in instance content after being "updated" is another frustrating issue many players encounter. It's a step backward for what was meant to be an improvement.

Community Feedback

The feedback on this update has been largely negative, with many players voicing their concerns on social media and forums. A common complaint is the system's failure to properly reflect changes, and some players report that their portraits get stuck in strange poses or locations after an update. This has led many players to abandon using the portrait system altogether, as it becomes too tedious to maintain or update.

Some players have even suggested that Square Enix should consider reworking the entire portrait update mechanic, potentially allowing it to work more intuitively or automatically, as originally envisioned.

The Future of the Portrait System

It's clear that the portrait system still needs more work. While the new changes in Patch 7.1 are a step in the right direction, they don't completely solve the issue of inconsistent updates. Players are hoping that Square Enix will follow up with additional fixes in future patches, either through bug fixes or additional updates that better align the system with player expectations.

FAQs: FFXIV Portrait System Updates


What is the Portrait System in FFXIV?
The portrait system in Final Fantasy XIV allows players to assign customized portraits to their character, which are linked to specific gear sets. These portraits can include custom backgrounds, foregrounds, and poses. The system is intended to update automatically when you change your gear, reflecting your character's appearance in various types of content, such as PvP or PvE instances.

What did Patch 7.1 change in the Portrait System?
Patch 7.1 introduced an automatic update feature for the portrait system. When you make a change to your gear set, a window prompts you to update the portrait. If you press "update," it will automatically update your portrait with the new gear. This update was designed to make the process quicker and more intuitive, reducing the need for multiple manual steps.

Why doesn't the Portrait System always update correctly?
Despite the update, players are still encountering issues where portraits break or don't properly reflect changes. This includes instances where the portrait goes back to a default state, glitches with odd poses, or fails to update after changing gear. The system doesn't always function as expected and sometimes requires manual intervention to fix.

What happens if I press "Cancel" after updating my gear?
If you press "cancel" after updating your gear, the portrait may break or revert to a previous, incorrect state. Instead of canceling the changes and returning to the last working portrait, the system may result in a broken display, forcing you to manually fix it by going into the portrait menu and saving again.

Can the Portrait System break during instance content?
Some players have reported that the portrait system can break during instance content after an update. Despite the system showing that it has been updated, portraits may display incorrectly or reset to a default, incorrect appearance during activities such as PvP or PvE instances.

What should I do if the Portrait System doesn't work properly?
If you encounter issues with the portrait system not updating correctly, the best course of action is to manually go into the portrait menu and save the changes again. In some cases, the system may require additional adjustments, such as reselecting your gear set or reapplying the portrait after making changes. Keep an eye out for further updates from Square Enix, as they are likely to fix these bugs in future patches.

In theory, the portrait system update should have been a time-saver, but it has instead caused more confusion and frustration for players. The process to update portraits, while simplified on paper, is still full of bugs and inconsistencies that make it unreliable for many users. Hopefully, Square Enix will take player feedback into account and continue to refine this feature until it works as intended.

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