In Final Fantasy XIV, your server is your foundation. That’s where you’ll face off against the forces of evil as the Warrior of Light, make new friends, and even perhaps find yourself a home away from home. Your initial choice of server is very important. It’s also key if you want to move servers, as it could cost you depending on your choice.
There are currently four North American Data Centers—Primal, Aether, Crystal, and Dynamis—each with a cadre of Worlds to their names. The first three Data Centers have been around for a while and have a collection of eight Worlds each, while Dynamis is brand-new and only has four Worlds at the moment.
Certain Worlds are also marked as “Congested”. These Worlds have a heavy population count, meaning they won’t allow the creation of new characters. Until the “Congested” tag is removed, you won’t be able to join those Worlds.
How to choose a World and Data Center in FFXIV
If you’re faced with this choice, you may find that many of the decisions are already made for you. For example, if you live in Japan, a North American Data Center will result in higher ping should you choose it. You’ll also likely want to be in a World where your friends have already established a home. Newer Worlds have newer communities and economies, if that’s an important factor for you.
FFXIV Data Center Travel and World Visit
You can easily travel between Worlds on the same Data Center with the World Visit system. This lets you visit another World from the aetherytes in Limsa Lominsa, Ul’dah, or Gridania. These transfers are relatively quick, outside of general server congestion. If you transfer Worlds, you won’t be able to use your retainers, sell items on the market board, use Cross-World Linkshells, or deliver mail via the Moogle Delivery Service.
You can also now travel between Data Centers thanks to the new Data Center Travel System. That means, North American players can travel to any other Data Center in the region; this means a player on the Primal Data Center can jump over to the Dynamis Data Center since they’re both in North America. You aren’t able to jump from the European Data Center over to the Japanese one, however. Many of the restrictions from the World Visit system also apply here.
What are the different World statuses in FFXIV?
There are four different available World statuses in Final Fantasy XIV. These statuses determine if you can create characters on a server, if server transfers cost money, or if you receive any special bonuses for a transfer. Here are the different World types:
New World: A recently added World. Players who transfer to or create new characters on designated new Worlds will receive special bonuses.
Congested World: A crowded, highly populated World. Cannot be selected for new character creation or Home World Transfer destinations.
Standard World: Inhabited by a manageable number of player characters.
Preferred World: Relatively sparsely populated World with room to spare. Players who transfer to or create new characters on these Worlds will receive special bonuses.
What are the current World populations and statuses in Final Fantasy XIV (Updated April 2, 2024)
Below you’ll find the server populations for every World in FFXIV, and their current status. Currently, there are no preferred Worlds on the North American Data Center. This knowledge comes from FFXIV Census, which currently lacks information for the new Dynamis Data Center. Server status comes from the official Lodestone World Status page.
Starting as an esports journalist in 2018, Jessica has been writing for a little over five years now. She is a big Final Fantasy XIV nerd who has been playing since 2021 and has put a more than 5,000 hours in it since then. She also teaches journalism at Rowan University.
