Server Selection

[Aeorwyn]

Hello,

I just started playing this game for the first time two days ago. I am really enjoying the atmosphere of the game. So far all I did is walk around and talk with different npcs and did the side quests. I already reached level 5 while doing those quests. Before I progress any further I was wondering something about the server I am in. I am currently playing in Brynhildr (Crystal Data Center). Is that well populated server? What's the most populated server in NA? Is there a server where players RP a lot? Is there any server which is better for players who like to PvP? I live in the west coast of USA, so which server or data center would be closer to me? Basically, I want to know the server I chose is it best fit for me or not.

Can you guys please help out selecting the right server for me.

Thank you for in advance for helping me out.

Peace^^

[Enkidoh]

Welcome to Eorzea!

With the addition of the World Visit system that allows you to freely travel between different servers on the same data centre (with limitiations), it's meant servers have started balancing out, but as a general rule the server I'm on (Balmung) is usually regarded as the most busiest and heaviest populated server in the game (even more than the JP servers) - this is because it was originally considered the unofficial RP server back in the original version of FFXIV (version 1.0) so everyone flocked there when FFXIV ARR launched, even those who weren't into RP (I moved to it to join my friends who were long established here, having started on the JP server Ridill). But because of that Balmung has long been locked to new players and even transfers, save for some exceptions, so it's very difficult to get onto now sadly.

Because of this RP communities have started appearing on other servers as well - Mateus I hear is now the second RP server with a very large and active RP community so that might be an alternative. I haven't heard much about Brynhildr other than it's a relatively small and quiet server, but that's not a bad thing! Location doesn't really matter too much as all NA servers are in the same physical location (originally it was Montreal in Canada, but as I understand it SE moved them to somewhere else.). I live in Australia and have not too many issues connecting to a NA server.

Either way, if you're unsure whether your current server is right for you, try visiting another server by accessing the aetheryte in your starting city (Gridania in your case) and select 'Visit Another World Server' and choose a server - be aware that there are some things you cannot do or access while visiting another server. This page details the system further. Incidentally Balmung and Brynhildr are on the same data centre so you can visit Balmung if you wish.

Once again, welcome to FFXIV!

[HyoMinPark]

I can’t say what Brynhildr’s current population is, where it stands compared to other servers, or what the most populated server in FFXIV is now. In the past, the server with the highest population was usually Balmung. I haven’t been keeping up with LuckyBancho’s unofficial censes he does lately. Every so often, he’ll release unofficial surveys listing speculated populations and active character counts for each of the servers. They’re usually posted here or on FFXIV’s subreddit.

The servers of Balmung and Mateus are the RP-heavy servers. Both are on Crystal. You can world visit them from Brynhildr. Currently, both are Congested, so you cannot transfer a character or make a new one on them at this time if you are interested in moving to them.

I’m not sure which data center is the most PvP heavy. Specific server doesn’t matter as much since PvP participation is Data Center-wide (along with everything else one can do via the Duty Finder).

East coast versus west coast also doesn’t matter. All NA servers are located in California.

[Aeorwyn]

Thank you so much for the information. I wish I can somehow create a character into Balmung or Mateus server. Anyway, Brynhildr was one of the recommended server where new players get extra exp. That's why I joined that server. I saw a lot of players in the Granada city but not that many players outside in the combat zone. For the time being I think I will stay in this server since it's a recommended server for new players. I have tried to find out which server has more population myself online and none of the information seems to be up to date. I hope as I progress more and level up I encounter more players in my server.

Once again thank your for your response.^^

[RoseSymphony]

Per LuckyBancho's last census in October, Balmung and Mateus are still the two most populated servers. But as Enkidoh said, the world visit system makes it very easy to play on other servers! The reason you don't see many people outside cities is because all the higher level people are in higher level areas or in the residential districts, and there is also the rested EXP you can gain from being in a city or sanctuary (any town/outpost with an aetheryte or residential district), so if you're going to be idle or afk it's most beneficial to do so in one of those places. Most content is played cross-world with the Duty Finder (instanced party matching) and Party Finder (recruitment board) systems so you'll be seeing players from other servers all the time. If your heart is set on living on one of those servers, you can always check the Server Status page on the Lodestone to see if a server is open to new characters: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/

There is also the option of transferring your character if you don't want to start over, but that requires paying for that service on the Mogstation and since you only recently started you might as well make a new character.

[Palibun]

Balmung gets a bad rap for erp, but it shouldn't get in the way if you want to go with that one, the erp isn't as big as people make it out to be as no one will bug you to do it unless you ask (well, most the time, some may be weird but in that case blacklist lol)

Most severs are pretty good, i play on Jenova and we have a nice little community.
Sometimes small is better, and sometimes it's worse. I'd say do what everyone else is saying and try visiting Balmung and see what you think of the super crowded atmosphere. My first character was on the same world im pretty sure as you and it was a bit too small for my taste, but maybe you'll like it (this was over a year ago now though). Most of the benefits from each you can get with homeworld visit now.

If you wanted to try the primal or aether datacenters i'd recommend making an alt

[Tyssyn]

I've been on Brynhildr since ARR, I've always liked it. And now that we can world visit, any server on a data center is fine, you might prefer to choose one that has houses available.