What Determines If Characters Are Allowed On A Server?

I've got a friend that just bought the game, and we're trying to get a character made on the server that I'm on (Hyperion). So, what determines if a server is open or not? Is it updated manually or automatically? If I delete the character that was made a couple days ago for them to mess around with, will the server magically open up for us, or do we have to wait for someone to run their checks and open it?

Thanks.

Character creation restrictions are based on the number of characters currently logged into the server, not how many characters exist for that server. Although they do post updates to the restrictions online 4 times a day under the news tab of the lodestone, the restrictions turn on and off constantly depending the number of people logged in. In general, weekends are a horrible time to create a new character. I recommend waiting until a week day non-peak time, such as morning. If all else fails, your friend should try to create a character very early in the morning or late at night relative to the servers designated zone (NA/EU/JP).

Thank you!

Note your best bet is right before the servers go down for the patch today. People tend to log out early.