# FFXIV_ACT_Plugin feeds Final Fantasy XIV combat data into ACT

> The FFXIV_ACT_Plugin is the parsing plugin that lets Advanced Combat Tracker read and display combat information from Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.0, with three different ways of reaching the game's network data. The catch is that the source is not public, so you are trusting a binary rather than reading it.

**ravahn/FFXIV_ACT_Plugin** — FFXIV Plugin for Advanced Combat Tracker

- Repository: https://github.com/ravahn/FFXIV_ACT_Plugin
- Stars: 766 · Forks: 60
- Language: Unknown
- License: not declared
- Published: 2026-10-21 · Updated: 2026-10-21 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/ravahn-ffxiv-act-plugin

## A binary parsing plugin whose source is not public

The repository is not a source distribution, and the README is upfront about it: the project exists to track releases and issues for the ACT FFXIV Plugin, and the source code is not currently public. What is published is a DLL file, and what that DLL does is enable the multi-game parser Advanced Combat Tracker to process and display combat information from Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.0. That split defines who this is for. A reader who wants to understand how a combat parser works, audit it, or build their own has nothing to work with here. A player who wants ACT to understand what is happening in a fight has exactly what they need, at the price of running a binary they cannot inspect. The repository layout matches that description, holding Definitions and Overrides directories, a Releases directory and the README, with no source tree and no build system to speak of.

## Reading a mix of memory and network data from the local machine

The plugin's job is described in one line: it reads a combination of memory and network data from your local PC. The memory side covers what the game process exposes about the encounter, and the network side covers the combat data the client receives. The interesting engineering decision is not the parsing but the transport, because getting at the game's network data on Windows is not straightforward and the plugin offers three different routes to it. Each route has a different privilege requirement, a different amount of setup, and a different failure mode, and the README is clear that they are alternatives rather than stages. The plugin therefore has three network access modes, described here as given in the README:```bash
http://advancedcombattracker.com/download.php
```

## Adding the plugin through the ACT Startup Wizard

Installation happens inside Advanced Combat Tracker, not through a package manager. The README lays out three steps, and the first is deliberately conservative: download and install ACT, and if you already have an ACT installation, remove any other plugins so there are no conflicts to start with. ACT itself is downloaded from the address given in the README:```bash
http://advancedcombattracker.com/download.php
``` The second step uses the ACT Startup Wizard, where the Parsing Plugin tab has a button to get available parsing plugins, where you choose number 73, FFXIV Parsing Plugin, and click the button to use that plugin, after which the wizard can be continued or closed as you prefer. The plugin is then loaded as plugin 73 in the wizard's list, and the ACT Plugins tab is where the plugin's own settings live, which is where the network mode is switched. Nothing is copied into a system directory by hand, and there is no separate installer for the plugin itself.

## Raw socket needs administrator rights, Npcap and injection do not

The three modes trade privilege against setup. Default mode uses a Windows raw socket for the game's network data, which means ACT has to run as a local administrator and a firewall rule has to permit it. Windows Defender will prompt you to add that rule, but for other firewalls you configure it yourself, which is where this mode starts to cost you time. The Npcap route replaces that with the separately installable Npcap package, which lets the plugin read network data and bypass particular firewall or VPN configurations, and it does not require running ACT as administrator. It is enabled from the ACT Plugins tab, then the FFXIV ACT Plugin tab, by turning on the Use Winpcap-compatible library feature. The third option, the Deucalion injection library, injects a small DLL into the Final Fantasy XIV game process to hook the functions that receive and process network data and exposes that data to the plugin over a named pipe. Deucalion is open source, which the README links out to the ff14wed repository, so the transport underneath that mode is inspectable even though the parser is not.

## The repository tracks versions, it does not carry a build

There is no code to build here, so the repository's job is release tracking, and the recent releases show how that works. Version 3.0.3.3 was published on 2026-10-13, 3.0.3.1 on 2026-09-17 and 3.0.3.0 on 2026-09-08, and the last push to the repository was on 2026-10-13. The four-part version numbers with a patch level in the third position are typical of a binary that has to be kept in step with the game client it reads. The top level entries, Definitions, Overrides and Releases, describe the payload: Definitions and Overrides hold the data that tells the parser how to interpret the game's structures, and Releases holds the distributed artefacts. The Definitions and Overrides split matters if you are following changes over time, because a data correction for a new client can arrive as a change to those files even when the code has not moved, and the README says the project exists to track releases and issues.

## A terms of service warning that belongs in any evaluation

The README opens with a disclaimer, and it is not a formality. Use of the program is at your own risk, Square Enix does not permit the use of any third party tools, and the project states that Square Enix has said in interviews that they did not view parsers as a significant problem unless players use them to harass other players. The stated consensus is therefore not to discuss parsers or DPS in-game at all. That is a real boundary for anyone considering this, and it is different from the usual open source risk of a bug in a library: the exposure here is an account action from the publisher rather than a crash. The README also points out that if the plugin is used to harass other players, the leniency described above does not apply. Community discussion happens on a Discord server linked from the README, which the author says is for developing and improving the plugin and may be moderated if discussions go wild.

## Where a different approach would be needed

If you need to understand, extend or rebuild the parsing logic, this repository is the wrong place to start, since the source is not public and the only artefact is a compiled DLL. The realistic alternative in that case is the open source Deucalion library, which the README links to as a separate project, combined with your own reader for the combat data it exposes over a named pipe, and then a tool of your own choosing to display it. Deucalion covers the transport and the hooking, whereas this plugin covers the interpretation of the game's structures into combat events, and that second half is exactly the part that is closed here. If instead your question is only whether ACT can show FFXIV numbers, then the plugin is the answer and the three modes above are the only decision you need to make. The choice of Npcap over the raw socket, and over injection, is really a choice about how much you are willing to change on your own machine.

## Conclusion

FFXIV_ACT_Plugin suits a player who already runs Advanced Combat Tracker, accepts running a closed binary, and has decided that a parser is a risk worth taking for their own account. It does not suit anyone who wants to read or rebuild the parser, since the README states the source code is not currently public, and the repository holds only definitions, overrides and release artefacts. Before installing, read the disclaimer about Square Enix not permitting third party tools, pick the network access mode that matches your setup, and note that the version tracked in Releases/ was 3.0.3.3 on 2026-10-13 with the plugin still described as targeting Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.0.

## FAQ

### How do I install the FFXIV_ACT_Plugin in Advanced Combat Tracker?

Remove any other ACT plugins first, then in the ACT Startup Wizard open the Parsing Plugin tab, click Get Available parsing plugins, choose number 73 FFXIV Parsing Plugin, and click Use this plugin. The plugin's own settings live on the FFXIV ACT Plugin tab under the ACT Plugins tab.

### What are the three ways the FFXIV_ACT_Plugin can read network data?

A Windows raw socket in default mode, which requires running ACT as a local administrator plus a firewall rule; the separately installed Npcap library, enabled through the Use Winpcap-compatible library feature and needing no administrator rights; and the Deucalion injection library, which injects a small DLL into the game process and hands the data over a named pipe.

### Is the source code for the FFXIV_ACT_Plugin available?

No. The README states that the source code is not currently public, and the repository holds Definitions, Overrides and Releases directories rather than a source tree. The Deucalion injection library it can use is open source and is hosted separately.

### Can I use a parser in Final Fantasy XIV without risking my account?

The README states that Square Enix does not permit the use of any third party tools and that use of the program is at your own risk, noting that the publisher has said in interviews it did not view parsers as a significant problem unless players use them to harass other players. The stated consensus is not to discuss parsers or DPS in-game.

### What is the latest version of the FFXIV_ACT_Plugin?

The recent releases list version 3.0.3.3 from 2026-10-13, 3.0.3.1 from 2026-09-17 and 3.0.3.0 from 2026-09-08. The repository's last push was on 2026-10-13, and the plugin is described as processing data from Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.0.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/ravahn/FFXIV_ACT_Plugin/issues)
- [ravahn/FFXIV_ACT_Plugin on GitHub](https://github.com/ravahn/FFXIV_ACT_Plugin)
- [README](https://github.com/ravahn/FFXIV_ACT_Plugin/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/ravahn/FFXIV_ACT_Plugin/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/ravahn-ffxiv-act-plugin