Understanding FFXIV Datacenters and Server Travel

Datacenters in FFXIV are essentially large servers that host multiple worlds, each with its own unique settings and populations.

A world in FFXIV is essentially a single instance of the game, shared by all players who are logged in to that world.

Each datacenter is a separate entity, with its own set of worlds, and players can move between datacenters and worlds using the server travel system.

The server travel system allows players to travel to any world within the same datacenter.

A datacenter is essentially a large building or campus that houses a collection of computer servers and other equipment that support online services.

These servers are typically arranged in rows or racks, with each server being a powerful computer that can handle a large amount of data processing.

Datacenters require a lot of power to keep all the servers running, which is why they often have their own power substations and backup generators.

In the case of FFXIV datacenters, they are designed to support the massive amounts of data that come from the game's millions of players worldwide.

Physical data centers are located in four regions: Japan, North America, Europe, and Oceania.

Players typically choose the physical data center located closest to their residence to minimize network lag.

The closer your place of residence is to a physical data center, the less likely you are to experience network lag.

Checking the Server Status site can save you the hassle of trying to join congested worlds.

Any world marked as 'preferred' is a good bet, as it guarantees a spot and comes with the Road to 80 buff.

This buff boosts EXP by 100% until your Job reaches level 80, and you'll also receive 10 silver Chocobo feathers.

Worlds marked with a star are preferred worlds, so keep an eye out for those when browsing through options.

The Road to 80 buff remains in place for 90 days after character creation or until the world reaches a certain number of players.

Data Center Travel allows players to move their characters to another logical DC, enabling them to use features that are linked to the destination logical DC.

This feature is made possible by patch 6.18, which introduced the ability to travel between logical data centers.

With Data Center Travel, players can now play with all players in the same physical DC, overcoming the previous barriers posed by logical DCs.

You can think of this feature as something that enables you to play with a broader community of players.

Until now, logical DCs have been a sort of barrier to players, but this will be overcome with Data Center Travel.

There will be some restrictions, but generally, you can expect to be able to use features linked to the destination logical DC.

You'll want to choose a data center when you first log in, as it determines the Worlds you can play on. This choice is binding, unless you purchase a Home World Transfer Service from the Mog Station.

You can select from multiple data centers, and the one you choose will be denoted with a ★ symbol if it's the last one you played.

If you change your mind, you can switch data centers at any time via the Data Center Selection window at the title screen.

The Oceania data center, also known as Materia, is scheduled to go online on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.

Square Enix notes that the opening time is based on Japan time, so the data center could open late in the night in Pacific or Eastern time zones.

The transfer service fee will be waived for players moving to the Oceania data center at its opening.

Oceania will be the ninth data center for FFXIV, and it's expected to alleviate the latency and network issues players in the Oceania region have been experiencing.

If you're a player in Australia, New Zealand, or anywhere else in the Oceania area, moving to the new data center is definitely worth considering.

Players in other areas of the world can also move to the Oceania data center, but keep in mind that North American data centers might perform better for you if you're based in the United States.

Expansion plans are underway for FFXIV data centers, and it's exciting to think about what's in store.

Expansion of the current data centers is scheduled to begin in July 2022.

The Oceania data center will be followed by expansions in Japan, Europe, and North America.

The Japanese expansion will add a new data center, increasing capacity by nearly 50,000 simultaneous logins.

In Europe, the first phase of expansion is planned for July 2022, adding four new worlds.

The second phase in Europe is scheduled for Summer 2023 and will add a new data center with eight worlds.

North America's expansion will also happen in two phases, with the first phase in August adding a new data center and four new worlds.

The second phase in North America is planned for Spring or Summer 2023 and will add four additional worlds under the data center established in the first.

You'll be prompted to select a regional data center when logging in for the first time.

Your choice of data center determines the Worlds you may choose from after creating your character.

Characters are bound to the World and physical data center on which they are created, unless a Home World Transfer Service is purchased from the Mog Station.

You can change the data center at any time via the Data Center Selection window at the title screen.

If you've previously logged in with a character, the data center of the last character played will be denoted with a ★ symbol.

There are several types of datacenters that house FFXIV servers, each with its own unique characteristics. The first type is a cloud datacenter, which is a centralized facility that stores and manages data for multiple users.

Cloud datacenters are often virtualized, meaning they use software to create a virtual environment for each user. This allows for greater flexibility and scalability.

One of the main benefits of cloud datacenters is cost savings, as users only pay for the resources they use.

A second type of datacenter is a dedicated datacenter, which is a physical facility that is dedicated to a single user or organization. Dedicated datacenters offer greater control and security for users.

Travel to Other Dimensions is a feature that's been in the works for FFXIV, but it's still a bit of a wait. There is a data center travel system planned, which would let players visit worlds in other data centers.

This system has been delayed until patch 6.1, which doesn't have a release date yet, but is likely to come out sometime in March 2022.

The Aether Data Center was introduced in 2013, with the first servers activated on August 16th of that year. This marked the beginning of a new era for the game's infrastructure.

One of the most notable features of the Aether Data Center is its ability to handle high levels of traffic without any issues. This is evident in the fact that several servers were activated on the same day, with no Legacy Server designation.

Let's take a look at the servers that were activated on August 16, 2013:

As we can see, the Sargatanas server is the only one with a Legacy Server designation. This suggests that it may have been a special case or had a unique role within the Aether Data Center.

The Crystal Data Center is a type of data center that was added on April 23, 2019. It was created to redistribute certain existing Worlds.

The Crystal Data Center is a type of data center that was added on April 23, 2019.

Some Worlds were redistributed to the Crystal Data Center. The exact number of Worlds is not specified in the provided information.

Here is a list of some of the Worlds that were part of the Crystal Data Center:

The Primal data center is a unique type of data center that has been activated on specific dates. August 16, 2013, is the activation date for several Primal data centers.

The Legacy Server column in the Primal data center table reveals some interesting information. A Primal data center can either have a Legacy Server or not.

Let's take a look at the Primal data centers that have a Legacy Server. Excalibur and Hyperion are two Primal data centers with Legacy Servers. They were activated on the same date, August 16, 2013.

Here's a list of the Primal data centers with Legacy Servers:

It's worth noting that the other Primal data centers listed do not have Legacy Servers.

Shadow (Historical) was a data center that first entered service on June 11, 2024. It was used as a probationary world to mitigate server congestion on other data centers during Dawntrail's release window.

The four worlds on Shadow Data Center, Innocence, Pixie, Titania, and Tycoon, were only available for Data Center Travel purposes. No characters could be created on these worlds or moved to them using the World Transfer System.

The worlds on Shadow DC were listed as congested from the get-go to reflect their probationary status. This was a temporary measure to help manage server congestion.

Here's a quick rundown of the Shadow Data Center's history:

The Shadow Data Center was shut down on August 27, 2024.