FFXIV Dawntrail benchmark hides a secret easter egg around a beloved inspector

Since the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail benchmark dropped, players have been sharing screenshots left right and center, especially with the screenshot sweepstakes in full swing. In the time since, players have discovered an interesting easter egg featuring everybody’s favorite bumbling detective.

You might have seen some very bizarre screenshots of Hildibrand, the haphazard inspector that’s the center of many well-liked side quests in Final Fantasy XIV (or even his low-poly counterpart Brandihild) leading the charge. I saw these too and, in true “believe everything you see on the internet” fashion, of course I had to try it out for myself. Did I manage? Yes. Was it easy? Not quite.

How to run the FFXIV: Dawntrail benchmark as Hildibrand

The process is actually pretty straight forward, for the most part. Just change the date on your computer to April 1 and then run the benchmark as the default player character. This second part threw me, because no matter how many times I ran the benchmark, even with the date changed, I still saw my newly updated (and slightly odd-looking) character. 

Well, it turns out that this easter egg doesn’t work if your own character is saved into the character creation of the benchmark software. To make it work, you’ll need to go back into the character creator and select the pre-made Warrior of Light included with the download. Now, you can experience the full benchmark with Hildibrand front-and-center.

How to run the FFXIV: Dawntrail benchmark as Brandihild

What he lacks in polygons, he makes up for in smarts. Brandihild is now a staple of the Manderville quests, but if you want to witness the sheer hilarity that is the benchmark starring him, you’ll need to change another setting. 

To get Brandihild, you’ll still need to be running the benchmark as the default character and have the date on your PC set to April 1, but you’ll also have to change the time to 2pm (or 14:00 for those, like me, who have had military time drummed into us from a young age). Then, you can see the polygonal detective make his way through all the sights and sounds of the upcoming expansion.

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail hits early access on June 28, with the full release arriving on July 2.