Final Fantasy XIV is a large MMORPG with a somewhat unusual server structure. In this guide, we’ll explain how it works and which server might be best for you.
These are the data centers: When you log into FFXIV for the first time, the first thing you’ll be faced with is the choice of where to play. It is therefore useful to know what the data centers are and how they work. If you are already familiar with them, you can jump to “Which server should I choose” via the overview.
Basically, the servers in FFXIV are divided into a total of 10 data centers, whose locations are in different regions of the world:
- The Light and Chaos data centers belong to Europe
- The Aether, Crystal and Primal data centers belong to North America
- Data centers Elemental, Gaia, Mana and Meteor belong to Japan
- Fresh data center Materia belongs to Oceania
There are no restrictions on where you can create your characters. So, theoretically, you can go to Japanese servers and play there.
However, since a distant location like Japan or Oceania also means a higher delay in playing, it is therefore advisable for German players to start on European servers.
On this overview map, you first select the desired region after logging in.
What about crossplay? FFXIV is available for PC as well as for PS4 and PS5. However, there is unrestricted crossplay between the platforms and there are no separate servers for it. So when you choose a server, you will automatically be lumped together with all the other players.
This is how the data centers work: The servers in a data center are all connected in FFXIV. When you go into a group content, such as raids or dungeons, you will be traveling together with players coming from different servers.
However, thanks to the “World Travel” system, it is also possible to physically visit other servers of a data center with your character outside of instances. The free option can be used by right-clicking in the character selector or in-game at one of the Aetheryte Crystals in the 3 starter cities.
You can choose the destination server and your character will be moved there, but it is subject to some restrictions. You will not be able to sell anything on other servers, and you will not be able to access your expanded sidekick inventory. However, you can still complete content and quests or hunt monsters.
Additionally, data centers in a region are connected and can be freely traveled. This option works similarly to world travel, but it can only be done by character selection.
Which server should I choose as a German player?
Different players always have different criteria by which they choose their server. Here are some of them and how they might affect your server choice in FFXIV. Based on that, you can then decide on a server.
Language – Where are the German communities in FF14?
In general, all European servers are international, which means there are no dedicated German servers like in WoW. The largest and most well-known German community is located on the server Shiva. A lot of German is spoken there, even in the newbie chat.
However, Shiva is very crowded and it is often not possible to create a character there. So if you absolutely want to end up on a server with a lot of German players, you have to camp the server status page and wait for Shiva to open.
Or you can create a character on any other server, because there are German players there too. With the exception of maybe very new servers like Alpha, Raiden, Phantom and Sagittarius, whose population is generally not very numerous yet.
To connect with German players, you can optionally:
Population – Where is a lot going on?
Different players have different preferences when it comes to population density as well. Some want densely populated servers, others like to start fresh and new. Both options are currently available.
In the summer of 2022, a whole new set of servers went online for FFXIV. On the EU data centers are:
- Alpha and Raiden on Light
- Omega and Phantom on Chaos
The status of the remaining servers is currently set to “Standard”, which means that their population density is roughly balanced. So if you want to start on fuller servers, for example because they are busier in the hubs or you are more likely to find a suitable Free Society, you can choose one of them from the list.
However, it can also be worthwhile to start on less populated servers. For this, FFXIV offers players many incentives. For the character creation on new worlds there are bonuses like:
- Double EXP up to level 79
- 1 Million Gil per Account
- 15 days free game time etc.
You can find the full list of benefits on the official site. On new servers, there are also still many free houses to bid on during the lotteries, where the competition is comparatively not as high as on old servers.
Preferred activities – hardcore or casual players?
The type of content you like to do can also influence your choice of server. However, with FFXIV’s open server structure, this is less of a deciding factor.
Regardless of your content preferences, you can freely team up with players from other servers to complete content.
- For example, thanks to world and datacenter travel, you can freely visit meeting places and venues of roleplayers
- Raiders can freely join like-minded players across servers and data centers.
- Same goes for PvP fans, with the caveat that Ranked PvP is not available on other datacenters. PvP in the Open World doesn’t exist in FFXIV, on any of the servers.
- People who like to do open world content like hunting or treasure maps can also jump from server to server and participate in it
So within a region, anyone can play with anyone. It will be necessary to switch servers every now and then, but that rarely takes more than a few minutes.
What does that mean for me now? So, in general, you have a lot of freedom when it comes to your server choice in FFXIV, and the likelihood that you will suffer severe gameplay disadvantages due to a “wrong” choice is very low.
If you prefer to travel alone, you can take a look at our guide to solo jobs:
Final Fantasy XIV: Which class is best for solo players?
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