The ability to customize the layout, HUD or UI in any video game is a major benefit to me in any video game as I tend to be particular about where I want certain information to appear. Over the years I have modded countless games and while many of these mods have included mechanics that change gameplay, the overwhelming majority of mods I have installed include HUD layout changes to make sure that I don’t miss information I need.
Thinking particularly on The Witcher 3, I remember having to install a mod that showed more details of the durability of your Gear since I always got into situations where I got into combat with broken Gear, ultimately risking my life in almost every circ*mstance.
Now, though mods exist for FFXIV it is strongly advised that players do not use them as they are against TOS and may lead to the termination of your account. I’ve already spoken about this before when I covered how to play music in FFXXIV since one of the most popular mods is a program that will automatically input the notes you want to play on Bard.
I do have to say, while there are some frustrating elements to FFXIV that I wish they would allow players to customize more, the HUD is not one of them. While yes, FFXXIV often feels like a messy game with too much info slathered across your screen, realistically all of it can be moved, resized and ultimately, changed to fit the user’s preference.
For years I simply used the default layout of the game, essentially telling myself that “this is the way it was designed so it must be ideal” but this year I’ve gone full-tilt into customizing my HUD, having alternate versions for each Role, creating Macros to open new layouts and pretty much redesigning the look of the game to suit my needs better.
While today I will be covering how to move your Chat Box specifically, let me know if there are other HUD elements you’re struggling to make feel right. I’ve been working on a longer post to cover all of the average player would want to change, but as this is going to be personal to each player it would be very helpful to hear input from others on what you find frustrating and need to customize.
Note: If you have any questions about FFXIV that you want me to cover feel free to leave them in a comment below, you can also ask me while I am streaming on Twitch, YouTube or in our community discord.
HOW TO MOVE YOUR CHAT BOX IN FFXIV ON PC
Moving your Chat Box in FFXIV is quite simple but there are hidden elements you may not have noticed were there at first. A player will need to hover over the “General” tab of their chat window, left-click on it and drag it wherever they would like it.
But, did you know that you can do this with any of the alternate filters you have created? For example, I have a Chat Filter that only has FC Chat, my community’s Cross World Linkshell (CWLS) and any /Tells players send me.
I also have a Filter that is dedicated to informing me when my Retainers have completed a Venture or have sold a resource, so if and when I need to go back to them since I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to making Gil.
Though cycling through these chat windows is easy to do and is most often the way that I navigate through these chats, there are some forms of content where I choose to ultimately segregate these chats and have them all freely float over my screen. One of these tasks includes Fishing, where it’s not a problem if more of my screen is covered.
To segregate the chat filters players will have to click on the label associated with the chat window they want to appear on its own, so for example my Event Window has all of the important Retainer information so I would left-click it and drag it wherever I need.
While I have configured my game to suit my needs, such as having notification sounds for CWLS and Tells, the segregation of these chats helps ensure that I don’t miss important information when I may have accidentally filtered the sound while working and if you know anything about me, I often feel bad when a community member asks a question in the CWLS and I miss it.
I’m really happy I stumbled on this function since it’s helped me stay on top of the tasks I am trying to complete that day and since I tend to struggle with keeping on top of my Retainer Ventures or sales, this has drastically helped me, especially in situations where I need to send my Retainer on multiple Ventures throughout the day to obtain enough resources to complete the task I’m working on.
Players can quickly reset this layout at any point by left-clicking on the name of the Window they dragged out and dragging it next to the other tabs. This is also how you can change the order of the Chat Filters
The General Tab is the only filter that will move all chats at once.
HOW TO MOVE YOUR CHAT BOX IN FFXIV ON PS4 AND PS5
It’s a bit more complicated to move a Chat Box on the PS4 and PS5, especially if you are using a controller. While using a Mouse it will follow the same steps as above, though with a Controller you’ll have to do the following:
First, you must set your controller into Virtual Mouse mode. To do this, hold down your L1 and R3 buttons. To my understanding, though feel free to correct me as I’m not the most proficient on Controllers and could only try it with my Xbox Controller on PC, this is the Left Shoulder button and your right Joystick.
You should now see a cursor on your screen, which you will need to move on to the General Chat Filter. When above the General Filter hold down your L2 button, or the Left Trigger button and the hand will become a fist. This informs you that you are ready to drag the General Tab.
You will need to hold down the Left Trigger until you have moved your Chat to the ideal location as letting it go will place it where you currently are, though realistically you’ll be able to continue where you left off relatively easily by simply holding the Left Trigger again on the General Tab.
Once you have moved the chat window to the desired location ensure that you hold down L1 and R3 once more to exit the Virtual Mouse mode.
As mentioned the Xbox Controller on PC works the same way, simply hit your LB button (the Left Shoulder button) at the same time as your R3 button to enter Virtual Mouse Mode and use your right Joystick to move the Mouse around the screen. The LT button (or Left trigger) will initiate the ability to drag.
Again, if any of this terminology is incorrect please feel free to correct me. I’ve been working on brushing up on my knowledge of controllers and *cough* time to date myself… the last time I thoroughly enjoyed playing on a Controller was the Gamecube. Since then, I haven’t enjoyed the feel of them in my hands and regularly make mistakes pressing buttons since they’re more congruent. Does anyone else feel this frustration or am I just an old man now?
