The main job in Final Fantasy 14 is Ninja. It is a satisfying rotation. I like that I can sometimes do ranged attacks. I like that I'm a little faster than everyone else. I like that if I fail, I get a rabbit on my head. It's fun.

However, it's always sad to see this job change from swashbuckling rogue to a Naruto knockoff at level 30. What disappoints me even more is that modders have fixed many of these problems and I can't use or recommend them. The latest mod is Laoqian's "Gunner" animation replacement, which replaces all of Ninja's animations with cyberpunk mayhem.

This mod is absolutely brilliant. Ninja's dagger is swapped for a double pistol, and his normal melee combos are cleverly changed into gun type sequences. Several skills are replaced with arm cannons, the ninja's water shuriken is replaced with a killer sniper rifle kill shot, and the "suiton" (an explosion of water that makes enemies vulnerable to trick attacks) is replaced directly with a rocket launcher.

There is also a holographic display of an animated girl. Her name is Shifty and she is in position to fire on the enemy from orbit. Frankly, this does little to break the immersion. The Fall Guys is trying to be canon, so anything is possible.

My favorite touch here is the way the old sage handles Mudra. For the uninitiated, a ninja has three mudra hand marks that can be combined in various orders to use ninjutsu. For example, the combination of "Heaven" and "Ki" produces "Raiden."

Laoqian has replaced these with holographic screens that can be superimposed without looking unnatural. All in all, really clever stuff, but I can't use any of it.

Generally speaking, mods are against Final Fantasy 14's terms of service. However, as the Square Enix blog points out, "it is impossible to check the programs installed on every player's PC."

Mods (moderators) give preference to mods (mods) that provide tangible benefits to the player, and usually the mod (mod) only if a player is reported to be using it.

This means that mods like the ones mentioned above are technically undetectable unless you consult someone. Despite these caveats, the FF14 modding scene is still very much alive. By being permissive, Square has put itself in a catch-22 - if they were to cut off the supply of mods altogether, players would leave in droves.

While I take a moral stance against anything that gives an unfair advantage, I personally think something like Gunner is clearly harmless. Unfortunately, I am in the public eye. My name is at the top of the article.

I have to look through the looking glass at these mods and sadly view a world I will never see, with its John Wick-esque barrage of guns, orbital attacks, and cartoon girls. I will have to put up with the usual sign language and staggered meals.