Final Fantasy fans looking to invest their time in an MMORPG instead of the usual RPG have FFXIV. But whether you’re thinking of playing for the first time or looking for a better experience as a seasoned player, chances are you’ll want to join the best server. Below, we’ll be looking at the servers currently available, including those that are congested for the time being.
How to Choose the Best Server in FFXIV
Square Enix does its best to balance the population of all servers as much as possible so that there won’t be empty servers, and other servers won’t be too populated.
To this end, players who create new characters or transfer to new and preferred worlds will be given bonuses. The bonuses are meant to motivate players to populate younger worlds. Here’s what you can expect when you join new worlds:
- Double EXP bonus until they reach Level 80.
- 10 silver Chocobo feathers (can be exchanged for low-mid level equipment).
- 1,000,000 gil (once per data center region on a single service account).
- 15 days of free play time (once per single service account when creating a new character in new and preferred worlds).
Bonuses 3 and 4 can only be received by characters on the free trial if you purchase and register the game before reaching Level 30.
Server Locations Explained
FFXIV has many servers hosted in four physical Data Centers in different regions. The North American Data Center has four servers (Aether, Crystal, Primal, Dynamis); the European Data Center has two (Chaos, Light); the Japanese Data Center has four (Elemental, Gaia, Mana, Meteor); and the Oceanian Data Center currently has one (Materia).
The Oceanian Data Center is new and designed so that Australian, Central, and South Pacific Ocean players will enjoy better connections and won’t be limited to Japanese servers anymore.
What Does it Mean When a Server is Congested, Standard, New, or Preferred?
Each server has a number of worlds that are either full and won’t accept new players and transfers (congested), have a bit of space (standard), not yet populated and in need of players (new), or are sparsely populated and still largely in need of more players (preferred).
For this article, we’ll look at the worlds you can actually join, as well as those you can expect to get rewards from.
North American Data Center
Aether
- Adamantoise – Standard
- Cactuar – Congested
- Faerie – Standard
- Gilgamesh – Congested
- Jenova – Congested
- Midgardsormr – Standard
- Sargatanas – Standard
- Siren – Standard
Crystal
- Balmung – Congested
- Brynhildr – Congested
- Coeurl – Congested
- Diabolos – Congested
- Goblin – Congested
- Malboro – Congested
- Mateus – Congested
- Zalera – Congested
Primal
- Behemoth – Standard
- Excalibur – Congested
- Exodus – Standard
- Famfrit – Standard
- Hyperion – Congested
- Lamia – Standard
- Leviathan – Congested
- Ultros – Standard
Dynamis
- Halicarnassus – New
- Maduin – New
- Marilith – New
- Seraph – New
European Data Center
Chaos
- Cerberus – Standard
- Louisoix – Standard
- Moogle – Standard
- Omega – Standard
- Phantom – New
- Ragnarok – Standard
- Sagittarius – New
- Spriggan – Standard
Light
- Alpha – New
- Lich – Standard
- Odin – Standard
- Phoenix – Standard
- Raiden – New
- Shiva – Congested
- Twintania – Standard
- Zodiark – Standard
Japanese Data Center
Elemental
- Aegis – Standard
- Atomos – Standard
- Carbuncle – Preferred
- Garuda – Preferred
- Gungnir – Standard
- Kujata – Standard
- Tonberry – Standard
- Typhon – Standard
Gaia
- Alexander – Standard
- Bahamut – Standard
- Durandal – Standard
- Fenrir – Standard
- Ifrit – Standard
- Ridill – Standard
- Tiamat – Standard
- Ultima – Standard
Mana
- Anima – Standard
- Asura – Standard
- Chocobo – Standard
- Hades – Standard
- Ixion – Standard
- Masamune – Standard
- Pandaemonium – Standard
- Titan – Standard
Meteor
- Belias – Preferred
- Mandragora – Standard
- Ramuh – Standard
- Shinryu – Standard
- Unicorn – Standard
- Valefor – Standard
- Yojimbo – Preferred
- Zeromus – Preferred
Oceanian Data Center
Materia
- Bismarck – New
- Ravana – New
- Sephirot – New
- Sophia – New
- Zurvan – New
Those are the best servers to join in FFXIV for 2023 so far. Of course, this list will change over time, so be sure to check back if you’re looking to join a new server or world for any reason. With the newest 6.3 update out, there’s even more to do in Eorzea. Get the goodest doggo Corgi Minion, secure the Blackjack Mount, and unlock Ruby Weapon from FFVII with the help of our guides. We have more over here, too.
