So... Phase 4 and beyond, speculation ...

[Catapult]

Don't you think they'll use the names they used in Beta? I thought that was their intention leaving them the same names, so that people could make plans with their friends about what server to go at launch.

I suspect they were explicitly designed for use in testing as placeholders. As for why they would move to weapon names on all servers, I'm gonna have to go digging for the history...

Edit: Jackpot. It only took me 45 minutes to find this post from mid-February 2012.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...l=1#post552237

■Absolute reform of world names■

Until now, Worlds were named after historical towns/cities from the FINAL FANTASY series, but heading towards the release of 2.0, we decided that this World Merge would be a great opportunity to change the names of all Worlds.

The World names currently in use may be unfamiliar or difficult to understand for those who are not hardcore players, so we wanted to change these names to be more familiar to casual FINAL FANTASY players, as we approach the release of 2.0. Also, as we look to expand FFXIV, some of our visions for the future, such as releasing content based in Worlds from previous FF titles, will require us to use names previously reserved for Worlds as names of cities and other locations instead. (For example, we feel like Midgar has too powerful of an image associated with it to be used as a name for a World. Also, we would like to reserve the name Gold Saucer for the casino, not a world.)

With that said, we would like to select the names of Worlds from the “Legacy Item List” which represents the history of the FINAL FANTASY series. Here are a few world name candidates:
・Ridill
・Excalibur
・Ragnarok
・Aegis
・Balmung

We understand that there are players who have a deeper connection and attachment with the current World names, but we hope you understand that we decided to change these names with the future development of FFXIV in mind.

We will reveal the new World names along with the Topics announcement for the revised World Merge specifications.

[ArkhamNative]

I suspect they were explicitly designed for use in testing as placeholders. As for why they would move to weapon names on all servers, ....

I can't deny what I read with my own eyes, but I have to hope SE has changed its mind on this. A whole lot of people just spent over a month debating and deciding which worlds would be their new home. Individually, among RL friends, within guilds and LSes, non-FF guild alliances, geographical neighbors, roleplayers; I find it hard to believe SE would pull the rug--or literally, multiple planets--out from underneath them all.

[Catapult]

I can't deny what I read with my own eyes, but I have to hope SE has changed its mind on this. A whole lot of people just spent over a month debating and deciding which worlds would be their new home. Individually, among RL friends, within guilds and LSes, non-FF guild alliances, geographical neighbors, roleplayers; I find it hard to believe SE would pull the rug--or literally, multiple planets--out from underneath them all.

Would anyone happen to know if the Japanese community were doing the same? Or is this just an English thing? I'm curious.

It must be said that SE only ever called them beta servers.

[JillyBean]

I can't deny what I read with my own eyes, but I have to hope SE has changed its mind on this. A whole lot of people just spent over a month debating and deciding which worlds would be their new home. Individually, among RL friends, within guilds and LSes, non-FF guild alliances, geographical neighbors, roleplayers; I find it hard to believe SE would pull the rug--or literally, multiple planets--out from underneath them all.

Would anyone happen to know if the Japanese community were doing the same? Or is this just an English thing? I'm curious.

It must be said that SE only ever called them beta servers.

Well it's definitely going on in the English side of the Beta forums. This is why I thought the World names would remain the same. As for if these same conversations are taking place on the JP side, maybe we need to put out the Subligar Signal to Reinheart to find out...

EDIT: I have put out the Subligar Signal http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post1009517

[ArkhamNative]

Would anyone happen to know if the Japanese community were doing the same? Or is this just an English thing? I'm curious.
It must be said that SE only ever called them beta servers.

I know the Japanese specified some "international servers" for playing with foreigners on NA and JP regions, and mentioned the Oceania ones. Their contact forum (like Friend & LS plaza) is full of LSes naming their server, just like with all other languages. Elsewhere, French, German and other language communities have named chosen servers as well.

It definitely wouldn't be the first time a company (or even FFXIV) had changed beta world names for launch, but surely someone from SE would have said something by now if they were about to wipe out all this community planning.