One of the most important choices you face when making a new character in Final Fantasy XIV is which Data Center (DC) to play on. While, ultimately, this comes entirely down to personal choice, there are a few things to bear in mind before making your decision.
Each Data Center in FFXIV contains a number of world servers, though the exact number of servers on each Data Center varies. My own Data Center, Crystal, is a North American DC containing the following world servers:
- Balmung
- Brynhildr
- Coeurl
- Diabolos
- Goblin
- Malboro
- Mateus
- Zalera
While Crystal overall carries a reputation for casual gameplay, each of these world servers carries a specific reputation that you’re unlikely to know if you’ve never played FFXIV before or are new to the Data Center.
For example, Balmung is known as the Roleplaying server and travelling to the Quicksands in Balmung is like a baptism of fire if you’ve never dipped your toe into that style of gameplay before, whereas if you’re wanting to get into heavy end-game raiding then Coeurl is likely better suited.
On the other hand, another North American DC, Aether, is well known for the PVP scene, so if you’re wanting to score top rankings in Crystalline Conflict, you’ll do well on any server within the Aether DC.
There’s a DC and a server for every style of play, but there are other things to consider too.
How to pick the right Data Center for you in FFXIV
Language barriers and culture shock
While Japanese DCs and servers are well known for their heavy emphasis on raiding, it’s definitely not a good idea to opt for playing on them if you don’t speak or understand Japanese. There are some Japanese servers that are very welcoming to English-speaking players, such as Tonberry or Kujata, which are home to many players from Australia and New Zealand.
While most of the gameplay doesn’t rely on talking and you can play for a very long time without interacting with another player thanks to Duty Support, FFXIV is an MMO in every sense of the word and eventually, you’ll encounter an issue if there’s a language barrier.
In terms of European DCs, there are specific servers that contain a high number of players who speak specific languages, but more on that later.
As well as the language itself, you also need to consider that each part of the world has societal norms that will obviously carry through to FFXIV. Playing on a heavily Japanese server, you’re expected to know and understand these societal expectations.
Location
Take it from a British woman playing on North American servers – if you play on a Data Center that’s away from your actual geographical location, you will encounter lag and it will affect your gameplay.
While these issues can be adapted to and overcome, they are incredibly irritating and limiting at times. You’ll have to say “excuse my ping” a lot and other players may question why you’re not avoiding things as fast as you should be. That said, location also isn’t the only thing to consider here.
Social circles
If you’re diving into some Eorzean exploration at this point, there’s a high likelihood that you’ve been brought into FFXIV by friends. With that in mind, if you want to play with them you should consider joining their server.
While you may have to deal with the aforementioned lag issues, you’ll also have a ready-made party whenever you want to dive into raiding or dungeon running. You’ll be able to avoid the woes of Party Finder, lessen queue times for daily roulettes and you’ll always have someone to run around Eorzea with.
Server status
It’s worth checking the Lodestone’s Server Status site before making your decision because it saves you the issue of trying to join worlds that are currently congested (over-populated), but that’s not the only reason to check this out first.
Any world listed on the site as being preferred is definitely something you should consider. Creating a new character on a ‘preferred world’ will not only mean you’re guaranteed a place, but you’ll also receive the Road to 80 buff. These worlds will be marked with a star when you’re browsing through worlds.
This buff remains in place until the world has a certain number of players populating it or until 90 days after character creation and will boost any EXP you earn by 100% until a Job reaches level 80. You’ll also receive 10 silver Chocobo feathers, which can be exchanged for low-mid level gear, helping you on your way.
How to switch servers in FFXIV
Regardless of which DC or server you choose to create your character on, rest assured that if you aren’t happy there you can always switch to a new server to join friends you’ve made along the way or simply for a fresh start.
With Cross-world travel, you can visit other servers or DCs to get a feel for the community there and if you find that you’re interested in a specific element of gameplay, you may find a place that suits you better than where you started. While visiting another world is okay in the short term, there are limitations that apply when doing so that can be avoided by simply upping sticks and moving.
To change worlds, you will need to pay a small fee of $18 USD/£12 GBP in order to use the Home World Transfer Service, but if you’ve found your place within Eorzea it’s something to consider. You can do this as many times as you like, as long as you wait a few days between each move.
Every FFXIV Data Center and their speciality
North America
| Data Center | Server name | Speciality |
| Aether | Adamantoise | Casual gameplay |
| Aether | Cactuar | End-game focus |
| Aether | Faerie | Social and beginner friendly |
| Aether | Gilgamesh | Hardcore raiding |
| Aether | Jenova | Raiding and social |
| Aether | Midgardsomr | Casual |
| Aether | Sargatanas | Raiding |
| Aether | Siren | Social and crafting |
| Primal | Behemoth | End-game focus |
| Primal | Excalibur | Hardcore raiding |
| Primal | Exodus | Casual and raiding |
| Primal | Famfrit | Social and beginner friendly |
| Primal | Hyperion | Casual, raiding and roleplay, many Spanish speaking players |
| Primal | Lamia | Laid back and good for beginners, many Spanish speaking players |
| Primal | Leviathan | Hardcore raiding |
| Primal | Ultros | Good for new players, watch out for trolls |
| Crystal | Balmung | Largest roleplay community of any server |
| Crystal | Brynhilder | Casual, good for beginners |
| Crystal | Coeurl | Hunt trains and raiding |
| Crystal | Diabolos | Quiet, good for beginners |
| Crystal | Goblin | Quiet, good for beginners |
| Crystal | Malboro | Good for new players |
| Crystal | Mateus | Roleplay-centric server |
| Crystal | Zalera | Casual and raiding |
Europe
| Data Center | Server name | Speciality |
| Chaos | Cerberus | Quiet, many Russian speaking players |
| Chaos | Louisoix | Casual, mixture of languages |
| Chaos | Moogle | Casual, many French speaking players |
| Chaos | Omega | Casual and roleplay |
| Chaos | Ragnarok | Hardcore raiding, many Italian speaking players |
| Light | Lich | Casual, quiet, good for beginners |
| Light | Odin | Hardcore raiding, many Scandinavian players |
| Light | Phoenix | Casual and raiding |
| Light | Shiva | Roleplay, many German speaking players |
| Light | Zodiark | Casual, many Italian speaking players |
Oceania
| Data Center | Server name | Speciality |
| Materia | Bismarck | Huge number of players from New Zealand, friendly to new players |
| Materia | Ravana | Raiding |
| Materia | Sephirot | Mixture of all activities, casual |
| Materia | Sophia | Roleplay and casual |
| Materia | Zurvan | Mixture of all activities, casual |
Japan
I’ve got to be honest, as an English speaking player who has never dipped their toe into the Japanese servers, I don’t know too much about most of them, especially the newly added Meteor DC. However, I can tell you what I do know.
The largest number of non-Japanese speaking players on Japanese servers are located on the Elemental servers, such as Kujata and Tonberry. Other Japanese servers, such as Masamune on Mana, are also welcoming to non-Japanese speaking players, but there is some etiquette to follow, such as not joining solely Japanese groups if you don’t understand the language or have a decent translation method.
