Data Centers/World Locations Info from the LIVE Letter

[Tonkra]

I dislike the fact that we "old" players wont be able to chose an other server at release (server transfer).. only new players can create characters where they want to (most of them for sure will create chars on the new recomanded worlds).

So that could mean, that i am still stuck on a server which is located in japan.. woot*
and dislike the fact also to try to seperate new players from the old. the community could use some fresh players as well.. !

[Starlord]

I dislike the fact that we "old" players wont be able to chose an other server at release (server transfer).. only new players can create characters where they want to (most of them for sure will create chars on the new recomanded worlds).

So that could mean, that i am still stuck on a server which is located in japan.. woot*
and dislike the fact also to try to seperate new players from the old. the community could use some fresh players as well.. !

Old players can't choose a "New players" Server because they have to establish their Economy first. We can however Transfer to an "Existing players" server that will be most likely split up into regions.

Masamune becomes NA
Ridil becomes EU
Balmung stays JP
Ragnarok stays EU

Those servers + the other ones I didn't mention we can transfer to

etc etc, I'm sure that's how its going to go, while New player servers will have New server names and you cannot transfer to them for a legitimate reason ( the economy). it will probably be 3 months to a year till existing players can transfer there. New players can transfer anywhere I think since no matter what their decision is it won't effect a new players economy, however they probably wouldn't be able to return to that new server till it's been fully established.

[Jaimie]

^ WTF can't you make your own instead of having to join one?

i make parties all the time so do your homework or STFU

and yes i cheat if my party is x/8 i'll do /sh experience points party do you need it Ry - Ry+6 x/8

[Atoli]

only new players can create characters where they want to

They stated that everyone can create a new character on any world he or she wants to.
That includes old players as well. You won't be able to transfer your character "Quichy Sturmbruch" to a new world at first, but if you want to create a new character, let's say "Quicky Sturmbuch", you can create him on any of the new worlds you like.

and dislike the fact also to try to seperate new players from the old. the community could use some fresh players as well.. !

Some new players will join the old worlds for sure. Most of them because they have friends who kept playing 1.0 and who they want to play together with and others because they just prefer joining an "old" server with an already established community, market, etc.
I understand SE's wish to not confront those who do not fall in the aforementioned category with grumpy old players flooding the market with their millions of Gil and while complaining how "everything was better/harder/etc. back in their time"..

[Ryo_Ohki]

Hooray for Square Enix and being pro-selective racism!!

This is a joke... Sadly there is no sarcastic font...

[Babydoll]

This really sucks...

I'm going to be heart broken if my friends disappear and pick another server because of this crap ;~;

[Abriael]

Honestly I hope this will be rethought before release. Regional server, no matter if hard-segregated or not, are one of the worst things that can happen to the game.

[Wynn]

Honestly I hope this will be rethought before release. Regional server, no matter if hard-segregated or not, are one of the worst things that can happen to the game.

Can you explain why you believe this in terms other than "I don't like it"?

Almost all MMOs have regional servers, including industry heavy hitter WoW, and nobody in those games bat an eyelash. It isn't even a concern. Not even a thought.

They would probably even think we are crazy for debating this topic the way we have been. Much like the jump issue.

[ejiboo]

well if this is going to work out how it sounds; segregated servers...that sucks hard. that's part of the whole FF experience playing with people from many different countries and languages. what a shame...

[Abriael]

Can you explain why you believe this in terms other than "I don't like it"?

Almost all MMOs have regional servers, including industry heavy hitter WoW, and nobody in those games bat an eyelash. It isn't even a concern. Not even a thought.

They would probably even think we are crazy for debating this topic the way we have been. Much like the jump issue.

The topic has been discussed for a million posts already.

1: we've been promised an international community since way before the launch of the game. Cultural diversity is a plus to many, and it was one of the element that made the Final Fantasy XI community one of the best in the MMORPG market.

2: global servers mean constant traffic at every hour. Local servers mean that playing at off times people find themselves in ghost towns.

3: Many of us have established contacts and friends from all regions (If i want to play only with Europeans, I'll walk out of the door with a soccer ball), and find that idea of splitting the current community, forcing people to chose between their friends in choosing to what regional server to go, is pretty much asinine.

The internet is a global affair, segregating people by region should be a thing of the past, and I'm rather appalled to see people (albeit an obvious minority) supporting it.

Hopefully SE will read and understand that the community doesn't want it.