Final Fantasy 14 Players Uncover Hilarious Dawntrail Benchmark Easter Egg

Following the launch of the Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail benchmark, some players discovered an Easter egg that changes the default benchmark character to Hildibrand or Brandihild, depending on which PC time settings were changed. Final Fantasy 14 players shared the Easter egg on social media and discussed the methods that caused either character to appear.

During the annual 14-hour Broadcast live stream, Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida pulled back the curtain on the official Dawntrail benchmark. While the program requires Windows 10 or 11, the benchmark offers players a glimpse of the upcoming graphics update for Final Fantasy 14 coming with Dawntrail. In addition, players can use their character's appearance data to see how they look while wearing the garments of the Viper. Plus, the female Hrothgar, the last playable race coming to Final Fantasy 14, can be previewed in the benchmark, and players can import benchmark character appearances into Dawntrail once the expansion enters early access on June 28. Players can also forego using their character in the Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail benchmark and run it using the pre-made male Hyur Midlander character instead.

However, some Final Fantasy 14 players discovered that the default benchmark character can be hilariously replaced. Twitter user @kiritannplum stated that a previous benchmark Easter egg returned in Dawntrail, and it changed the default benchmark character into Inspector Hildibrand Manderville, the main character of one of Final Fantasy 14's funniest side quests. In their post, @kiritannplum stated they changed their PC's date to April 1, or April Fools' Day, to get the inspector to appear instead of the default male Midlander. With Hildibrand taking up the mantle of the Viper, @kiritannplum scored an «Extremely High» mark in the Dawntrail benchmark.

In addition to Hildibrand, another character from the Endwalker chapter of the Manderville quests can appear in the Dawntrail benchmark.