After trypophobia complaints, Final Fantasy 14 icon was changed

Sage is one of the new jobs coming to Final Fantasy 14 as part of the Endwalker expansion, a healer class that fights with four floating blades called nouliths. Its icon is a representation of those four weapons. The MMO’s designers didn’t expect it to get such strong reactions.

“When we released new details for sage and reaper on the special site, we also included their icons,” producer and director Naoki Yoshida wrote in an update, “not thinking that they were particularly big reveals. We received feedback quickly from players around the globe, who said that the sage symbol made them feel uncomfortable or afraid.

It’s due to trypophobia, an irrational aversion to clusters of small, irregular holes. It is not a medical condition, as all articles on the internet must mention. If you have ever felt your skin crawl after looking at a photo of surinam or lotus pods (those that hatch from honeycomb pockets embedded in their backs), you will understand why. It’s thought that the sensation is due to our inherent fear of insects and decaying flesh. The photoshops that transpose patterns of holes onto human skin make me wish I hadn’t Googled them. The crumpets’ holes make them look gross, but then again, I don’t think they are that bad.

The original design for the Sage’s icon inspired a thread that spans 24 pages on the Japanese forum FF14. Turns out that people have strong feelings about things that look like a cluster of holes (the design of the iPhone 11 Pro’s three camera lenses had a similar effect).

The redesigned icon retains the concept of four levitating blades, but no longer emphasizes the holes in them. Yoshida stated that the design concept was unchanged, with the icon being based upon the four nouliths that make up the sage’s armament. Although the holes were intended to be added for details, they eventually became a cluster. The new icon addresses the problem by reducing the number of holes and accentuating the design concept. There will be comparisons, and some people may prefer the original. We believe designs like these are something that you will grow to love as you do the job. Please allow us to ask for your understanding as Endwalker approaches.

Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is scheduled to release on November 23.