Final Fantasy XIV: The Endwalker expansion will be released soon. Like many FFXIV expansions, Endwalker will introduce a new playable job, the Sage. There was just one problem. The Sage class icon had three tight, round holes in it.

This became a serious problem for players with trypophobia (a phobia of clusters of small holes). However, FFXIV's director made it clear that the design would be changed to be more neutral, so players with trypophobia can now rest easy.

The information comes from a post on the official Final Fantasy XIV website titled "Sage Job Icon Design Change." FFXIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida himself authored this update. For those who have never played Square Enix's popular MMORPG, let me explain that when you create or enhance your character, you can choose from a variety of classes called "jobs." Each of these jobs has a different icon associated with it, allowing players to easily identify other characters, and their own.

"When we published the new information about the Sage and Reaper on the [Endwalker] site, we didn't think it was a particularly big reveal and included icons," Yoshida wrote. But we soon received feedback from players around the world that the Sage icon was offensive and frightening."

For those unfamiliar with the previous sage icon design, it is a collection of four small bars, each with a diamond-shaped knob at the end. In the center of each diamond shape was a colorless hole. This proved to be an offensive design to many trypophobia players, and their reactions ranged from discomfort to fear.

The new design only eliminated the holes, but did not change the other shapes. As Yoshida argued,

"The design concept has not changed and the icon is based on the four gnollis (weapons), the armour of the wise: ...... To address this issue, the new icon reduces the holes while emphasizing the design concept. Now, comparisons will inevitably be made and some may prefer the original. We believe, however, that such a design will become familiar as you play with it, and we hope you will bear with us as we move forward with "Endwalker."

In short: FFXIV's latest expansion included design elements that made some players uncomfortable. The director took their concerns seriously and made small but significant changes to the design. It is hoped that this will make players who are trypophobic (trypophobia) feel a bit more at ease, while still maintaining the distinctive iconic look of the sage job.

The Endwalker expansion itself will be released on PC, Mac, PS4, and PS5 on November 23 for $40. The game assumes that you have completed all previous expansion content, so if you have not played FFXIV, now would be a good time to get started. The base game and the Heavensward expansion are free to play, but there is a fee after that.