friend from another region!

[Jilliebeans]

hello! i have 2 friends that are from Mexico and want to play with me on the NA server, how does it work? can they purchase the NA product? also, would the ping (internet connection) be decent to play?

[rance-sama]

Mexican players usually get paired in the same Data Center as the NA players.
As long they are in the same Data Center, your friends can visit you with World Visit.

[Bacent]

Well they'd be able to play on any (NA/EU/JP) server in the game (I'm in US and play on an EU server with friends), but the ping is really depending on the location and with their gaming setup(s).

[linayar]

Mexico is part of NA, so I think that is the version they should buy. But regardless, outside of the Korean and Chinese versions, I think all the other versions should allow you to play in any region.

[Edax]

hello! i have 2 friends that are from Mexico and want to play with me on the NA server, how does it work? can they purchase the NA product? also, would the ping (internet connection) be decent to play?

They don't sell them as server products. Just buy FFXIV. Making a character in the North American Data Center will be their best bet. As for ping, it would depend entirely on their IP address and internet service. Bad internet service means they'll have bad ping no matter what.

[Anienai]

hello! i have 2 friends that are from Mexico and want to play with me on the NA server, how does it work? can they purchase the NA product? also, would the ping (internet connection) be decent to play?

Make sure they pick Roegadyn and have fun.

[WhiteArchmage]

Mexican player here. I'd recommend playing on ethernet cable, as at least my company hiccups on wi-fi every now and then, leading to some weird lag at the worst moments. Other than that the ping SHOULD be fine unless they're from, idk, Guerrero or Quintana Roo, i.e. way in the South and thus farther from the servers, but shouldn't really be notiecable.

Note: México is weird in that we're part of NA but for legalese we're not. As in, SE promotions, contests, refunds, etc. don't apply to México. I think it's because SE would HAVE to make their contracts and contest rules in Spanish and it's not something they're interested in. Can a Canadian player confirm if Quebec has the same problems?

[Jilliebeans]

thank you so much for all the answers!!! so if you are from MEX and making an account, can you still use your "personal address" or do they have to borrow mine address? sorry this whole things are pretty new and a bit confusing for me.

[Jojoya]

Can a Canadian player confirm if Quebec has the same problems?

It's local laws regarding promotions and contests that exclude Quebec residents from many game contests and the like, not language. It could be the language issue for Mexico, though I don't know for certain.

Does the game license specifically exclude Mexico residents from even buying the game? Otherwise I can't think of why they would be excluded from any normal refund provisions.

[Lozza]

This may be a little more complicated than it has been made out.

Jilliebeans, I have no idea whether your friends in Mexico will purchase a NA key for the game, or a PAL key. (I think we can safely assume that they will not be purchasing a JAP key.) The reason this is important is because your game key needs to match the account you sign into. Example I have to sign into the mog station via the EU mog station page. There is a JAP page and an NA page. The game key needs to match your SE/Mog station account type.

Personal example - my sister lives in the US, had been living in the US for several years when she bought FFXIV on Steam, only Steam gave her a PAL key. She went to make an account, SE/mog station directed her to the NA account creation page she made an account and then all of the sudden she gets told her key is invalid. Steam wouldn't give a refund, SE wouldn't switch it for a NA key. SE's solution was telling her to make an EU account, which she did. She used an old address where we'd lived in France as children and then changed it later to her US address. (Since this was years ago they may well now allow for addresses outside the various regions to be listed on creation.) Unfortunately for my sister when she went to buy HW Steam gave her a NA key. Frustration ensued and eventually SE swapped the key for an EU one so she could put it on her account. I bought SB and SHB for her, since my gifting via Steam thus far has generated the appropriate PAL keys that her account needs.

Does this apply to your friends, I don't know. I'd like to think that Mexico and Canada are both NA keys, however I do have some Canadian friends who have bought boxed copies that gave them a PAL game key.

Outside of ensuring that your SE/Mog station account matches your game key region, there are no region locks. Your friends can play on the same server as you, though depending on where they live and their ISP their connection to the game may differ greatly to yours.