And these days it simply makes no sense to alter the core aspects of a game too much if you’re going to be playing with other people that have no mods installed, and the servers would just boot you out anyway. However there are a bunch of fantastic game mods that you can install that will improve the textures and shadings of the game, and anything that’s on your side is usually safe. Other mods are generally not allowed and not likely to be allowed, so before you go modding just keep this in mind! There are safe ways to mod but with FF14 it’s a dicey subject, so always do your research first. Be warned, if you’re going to dive into the world of FFXIV mods by yourself, you’re going to come up with a ton of NSFW content. But worry not friend, I’ve filtered the most NSFW results from this list… although some of the most popular mods do happen to be a tad inappropriate for the workplace. Although should we really be gaming in the office? Undeniably yes, but let’s hit this list. UPDATE: This list of mods is in the process of being totally re-worked, and can be considered currently out-of-date. We are refreshing this list to feature only cosmetic mods so please check back again soon for a much more helpful collection!
24. Moogle Maps
Check Out This Mod This utility mod serves the fantastic purpose of replacing basic map textures with a new set of maps that allow you to look for treasures easier. You will also be able to sue this new set of maps as aid in your daily hunts. T he mod is really easy to install. All you do is replace the textures on the folder as instructed in the mod files, done! As the mod is a mere texture replacer, it doesn’t really interfere with any of the important game files and you can’t get in trouble using it. And you’ll be able to do whatever you want with the maps and open them whenever you need. Gone are the days of tabbing in and out of the game to find what you’re looking for.
23. Griffin Mount Retexture Pack
Check Out This Mod The Griffin Mount is absolutely fantastic in the game. But it does feel a bit boring looking at it for so long. With this mod you’ll be able to install up to four different textures for the griffin, allowing you to further customize the way the game looks even if only you will be able to see it. Much like every other mod in this list, the Griffin Mount Retexture only works on your side. However this is also what allows it to function properly with no compatibility issues.
22. Custom UI
Check Out This Mod Oddly enough, this mod wasn’t created by a modder. The Custom UI pack actually came with the game, which means that they were excluded for some weird reason. However this simply toggles the regular UI for the one that was hidden in the game files, enabling you to browse a much-improved UI in the game. There’s no explanation as to why this was hidden in the game files(that I can find). But hey, let’s not complain! It’s always good to see someone helping out the community by unlocking hidden features and releasing them for free.
21. HD Hrothgar Faces
Check Out This Mod The regular Hrothgar faces in the game just looked bad. They had basically no definition and it made the creatures look more underwhelming than they should have. So the Hrothgar faces mod improves the basic textures by simply replacing them with HD models. Those feline eyes and hairs aren’t meant to be seen in SD, and this mod makes sure that they’re replaced by a proper HD look.
20. Touch of Real Female
Check Out This Mod The vanilla female face textures that come with the base game look a bit outdated if you’re still playing FFXIV in the 2020s. So this mod aims to completely replace all of the base game textures and improve the look drastically by providing HD-looking faces to every single female preset in the game. How sweet. With countless of new improvements made to the base game, this is one of the best graphic mod-packs that you can install in XIV, as it combines plenty of other mods to create a new and refreshed look.
19. Touch of Real Male
Check Out This Mod Touch of Real Male is basically the same as the last mod I just mentioned, but the changes are made completely to the faces of males instead of females. It adds a lot of better-looking textures to the male presets, completely replacing all of the vanilla ones. Perfectly suited to those who have been playing the game almost a decade after its release. Bear in mind that none of these two face packs should have too much of a strain in your graphic performance.
18. The Newness HD
Check Out This Mod The Newness aims to provide every player is a new graphical preset that doesn’t cause any performance issues. Needless to say, it does a brilliant job at it. The game looks much better under this mod, and the framerate stayed practically the same as soon as I installed it. In fact, one could argue that the few frames that my computer dropped when I installed this mod were caused by the other HD textures that I had installed in combination with this shader pack. I really recommend you give it a shot – it’s fully worth it if you want to improve the look of the game.
17. HD Vanilla Redefined
Check Out This Mod This mod is very similar to the last one, as it serves as a complete collection of texture mods that change most of the vanilla textures that come with the base game. As such, this mod aims to keep the same feeling that the game offers. But still provide users with a unique set of 1k textures, all of which look far better than the vanilla ones.
16. Imperium Graphic Pack
Check Out This Mod Looking for some graphic presets? If so then give Imperium a try. This fantastic collection includes a whole bunch of amazing presets that balance amazing graphics without forgetting the importance of system performance. I do recommend trying out this mod with any of the texture changes that I’ve listed here, as it truly enhances the entire game as a whole. Better shading, lighting, and much better processing make this one of the best FFXIV mods that you can install to improve the graphical look of the game.
15. Alex’s Reshade Preset
Check Out This Mod I have to admit that this mod took my breath away for a bit. The lighting and shading makes the game look completely different to a point where you have to wonder if you’re playing FF14 or a brand new HD remake. Changes like this do require your computer to have enough processing power to work with these graphics, and a video card capable of running it is fundamental as well. As long as you have a good GPU and a handful of cores in your system you shouldn’t have any issues getting this mod to work.
14. HD Buffs Icons
Check Out This Mod Now this mod is a rework of the buff icon textures of the game, so they look much better when expanded. The original buff icons are blurry, and this mod was made by someone who clearly knows a thing or two about game art. All of the textures remain the same in terms of their design and symbols. But the icons do increase in scale by a lot. It’s basically a mod that improves the resolution of every single buff texture for the better. And if you like this mod then keep an eye out for a couple of other icon improvements that I’ve listed down on this list. You might want to combine them all!
13. Blue UI
Check Out This Mod Alright, so this mod is actually quite simple. And you might be wondering why I’ve ranked it at such a spot on this list. The answer is quite simple – I really, really like the look of it. And I think you will too. It might be because we’ve looked at the same UI for so long, but this small change truly feels really refreshing and makes the game look newer in my eyes. Don’t underestimate the fact that it only changes the color of the UI. You’re going to love it if you give it a try.
12. Chat Gray Box Remover
Check Out This Mod Another small mod that does more than it seems, the Chat Gray Box Remover makes the chat blend in with the game more naturally by removing the gray box. With the remover you’ll be able to select clearer boxes or remove it entirely if you wish, as the mod comes with three different options. This is particularly great if you’re tired of seeing the box cover up the corner of your screen. The mod even lets you switch back & forth of removing it, leaving only the relevant chat features there.
11. Flicker Optimization
Check Out This Mod One of the worst things that you have to deal with in FFXIV is the poor FPS that is often caused by the poor rendering of grass in the game. This mod aims to stabilize the FPS by improving processing. In theory, once you install this mod you won’t have to deal with any more flickering or any other sort of annoying aspect that could be causing performance issues when it comes to terrain. This deals with the basic grass issue of FFXIV, so your computer should run the game more smoothly if you properly install the mod. Worth a try to see what you think.
10. HD Skill Icons
Check Out This Mod Now this mod does the same as the HD buff icons, but it deals with the skill icons instead. This bad boy, combined with buff icons and item icons, is meant to improve the way the game looks as much as possible. It’s a great mod that serves a simple purpose, but the author did a fantastic job with the improvements in the resolution of each item.
9. HD Item Icons
Check Out This Mod HD Item Icons is the mod to complete the trilogy of avatar-enhancer mods. And this one is the most complete of the bunch as it aims to better the way in which every single item in the game looks. It’s a lot of work, so I’m just thankful someone took the time to do it and we aren’t being charged for it. Mods like this make me realize how much effort goes into the creation of free material that the author isn’t getting anything in return for.
8. Alive Gshade Preset
Check Out This Mod This amazing shade preset mod aims to reinvigorate the game look. And I think it’s safe to say they did an absolutely fantastic job. It makes the game look really gorgeous and removes some of the blurriness that you sometimes had to deal with when in-game. It comes with various options, but keep in mind that the better the graphics look, the more GPU power it’ll need.
7. Owl’s FFXIV Reshades
Check Out This Mod With plenty of options to choose from, Owl brings us one of the most complete reshades that you’ll find in the FFXIV modding community. The mod pack includes some of the best shader presets that the game can get. And it should go without saying, but these ones take a lot of computer resources as well. Most of these presets have a very high level of detail and it’s going to need to have a good graphic cards as well as GPU power in order to run. But in my opinion it’s well worth it.
6. Heavensword Sweet FX
Check Out This Mod Now we’re getting to the big leagues of reshades and shader presets. The Heavensword Sweet FX is my favorite shader mod, and it does a fantastic job at creating a more blended atmosphere in the game. It doesn’t change that much, but the subtle change makes the game feel a tad more “serious”. It’s hard to explain, so the best thing you can do is give it a go and check it out yourself. Always easy to uninstall if you don’t want it anymore.
5. AP’s Male Texture Pack
Check Out This Mod Alright, this is one of the most NSFW mods on the list. But it’s still one of the most popular mods so I had to see what all the fuzz was about. I mean, I’m assuming that people really love their male textures for some reason… but it does seem like this mod has a high level of detail and plenty of effort went into creating it. It changes male textures and adds more defined muscles as well as… Well… Nipples. Yep.
4. Owl’s Eyes of Eorzea
Check Out This Mod Tired of the bloomy-looking eyes in the base game? Check this one out. The creator of this mod went through every single eye model in the game and revamped it to make it look far better. There are hundreds of new eyes that you’ll be able to try, and they look pretty cool. I recommend this to everyone who has played the game for a few years who feels they need a change.
3. HD Eyeworks V3
Check Out This Mod HD eyes that look 8 times better than the originals that come with the base game would be awesome, right? Well all can be found with this mod. It’s quite a large project and the eyes have a very high definition level, so they definitely deserve a spot on my list.
2. Ruta’s Custom 2k Scales
Check Out This Mod This mod changes the way the scales look in certain characters in the game. The creator of the mod made a bunch of new hand-painted scale models and compiled them here which is really awesome. The crafting job is incredible and it just falls short for the first spot because of limited variety compared to the thousands of new additions that Hair Defined has. Do yourself a favor and give this a try. You won’t regret it.
1. Hair Defined
Check Out This Mod Finally we hit the top spot with this freebie. The mod enhances over 1000 hair textures that the base game comes with. I have to say, even without shaders presets, this looks fantastic. Imagine combining this with other graphics mods as well! And there are just too many additions to go over all of them, but trust me – you’ll want this in your FF14 experience. Give it a go.
