Final Fantasy 14 is one of the most popular MMORPGs right now, with millions of players across the world. With five expansions under its belt and more to come, Final Fantasy 14 is getting stronger than ever, with new players joining every day.

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If you're a sprout looking to start your journey in Eorzea, you may be wondering which server you should play on. While you can't really go wrong with any of the servers, each has its different communities that may better suit your preferred playstyle. Below, we'll take a look at which server you should play on based on your playstyle.

Which Server Should You Play On?

In Final Fantasy 14, servers are grouped by Data Centers, or the physical servers that are located in our world. These include North America, Europe, Oceania, and Japan. The closer you are physically located to the Data Center, the less likely you'll be to experience things like network lag. Because of this, it's important to choose the Data Center that you are physically closest to.

Outside of the Oceanean Data Center, each physical Data Center has multiple logistical Data Centers to choose from, and each of these houses different servers. As an example, the North American physical Data Center holds the Aether, Crystal, Dynamis, and Primal logistical Data Centers, and each of these have their own servers to choose from.

It's important to note that you can freely visit other servers within your Data Center using the World Visit System, so you can easily play with other players on your same Data Center. Additionally, you can visit servers on other Data Centers using the Data Center Travel system.

Now, let's take a look at each Data Center and its servers to decide which is the best fit for you.

North American Data Centers

  • Aether - One of the most popular North American Data Centers, with a large emphasis on endgame raiding and hardcore gameplay.
  • Crystal - Of the North American Data Centers, Crystal is considered to be the RP, or Role Playing server. Here, you'll have no trouble finding other players to role-play with.
  • Dynamis - This is a newer North American Data Center, and as such most of its servers have new player bonuses. You'll gain more experience up to level 90 as well as other bonuses if you make your character on any of these servers.
  • Primal - This is considered a middle option between Aether and Crystal, with focuses on both endgame content and social aspects. The Hyperion Server has a few dedicated Spanish-speaking communities.

Overall, no matter which server you choose, there will be others to play with. For instance, just because Aether is the defacto endgame raiding Data Center, there are still plenty of people on any of its servers that will RP or organize community events, while the opposite is also true for Crystal.

That said, if you want a strong new player experience with tons of other new players and a bunch of bonuses, any server on the Dynamis Data Center will be your best option.

European Data Centers

  • Chaos - Mainly focused on role-playing and social events, and has French-speaking communities, mainly on Moogle, as well as Spanish-speaking communities on Ragnarok.
  • Light - Raiding-focused, with German-speaking communities on Shiva.
  • Shadow - This is technically an "overflow" server for the other European Data Centers, meaning you can't actually make a new character here. As such, this server will be closed on August 27, 2024.

European Data Centers follow a similar trend to the North American ones. For the most part, these servers are primarily English-speaking, but you can definitely find communities that speak other languages on several of them, with Moogle, Shiva, and Ragnarok having the most prominent French, German, and Spanish-speaking communities, respectively.

Oceanian Data Center

  • Materia

The single Oceanian Data Center Materia is your only choice if you live in this region, making it pretty straightforward when choosing a server. These servers all offer new player bonuses, meaning no matter which one you choose you'll be in a good place.

Japanese Data Centers

  • Elemental - Has English-speaking communities, mainly on Atomos, Kujata, and Tonberry.
  • Gaia
  • Mana
  • Meteor

Outside of a few specific cases, most Japanese servers speak Japanese only. Unless you are an English speaker living in Japan (in which case, choose Atomos, Kujata, or Tonberry), we recommend against playing on any of the Japanese Data Centers, as communicating with others will be difficult.

New And Preferred World Bonuses

There are several bonuses you can earn for making a new character or transferring your existing character to a New or Preferred World. The specific servers that offer these bonuses change as population fluctuates, but you can see which are offering bonuses by checking the Server Status page on the FFXIV Lodestone.

These bonuses are divided into if you're making a new character on a New or Preferred World, or if you're transferring a character to a New or Preferred World. You can find the bonuses in each case below.

Creating a new character on a New World

Double EXP until level 90

10 Silver Chocobo Feathers, used to buy low to mid-level gear

1,000,000 gil upon reaching level 30

15 days of free play time.

Transferring a character to a New World

Home World Transfer is free

10 Gold Chocobo Feathers, used to buy rare mounts and other collectables

Double EXP until level 90, valid for 90 days after transfer

Housing reimbursement

Creating a new character on a Preferred World

Double EXP until level 90

10 Silver Chocobo Feathers

15 days of free play time

Transferring a character to a Preferred World

Home World Transfer is free

10 Gold Chocobo Feathers

Housing reimbursement

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