Preferred Worlds

[Spinetti]

There just aren't any Preferred worlds right now. Preferred status is granted to worlds that have low active populations, but between people wanting to catch up in time for Endwalker launch and people switching over from other games due to XIV getting more exposure, all the worlds seem to have drawn more new and returning players.

And the possibility that there will be preferred worlds again may change every patch? Or does it change automatically without the patch? Thanks for answering!

[MistakeNot]

And the possibility that there will be preferred worlds again may change every patch? Or does it change automatically without the patch? Thanks for answering!

Preferred/Congested/Standard worlds only change in conjunction with maintenance - which usually implies a patch as well.
When this status of worlds change there will alway be a notice posted on The Lodestone, and this is also shown in the launcher.
The notice for the latest one is https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...edc87b0f349e88

Note: Even non-congested worlds can be locked for character creation. This can change from minute to minute though, unlike the Congested/Preferred/Standard world status.