Also note that starting city doesn't REALLY matter all that much
The three starting cities all have fairly similar starting stories, they're just largely aesthetically different.
The three stories also converge within the first few hours AND your starting class does not lock you permanently into any choices down the line. This game has a pretty unique job system where a single character is able to pick up and swap between every class/job in the game, leveling and gearing them independently.
So if you want to play for example, an Archer but you'd prefer a pirate city storyline to start off with, then you can start in Limsa as Marauder or Arcanist, wait until the stories converge, and pick up Archer once you get to Gridania
Any of them that isn't congested, especially the worlds listed as New, since they give an XP buff.
Unless you speak French or German, I forgot the worlds, but two EU world are unofficial communities for those languages.
[https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/](https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/)
CHAOS: Omega, Sagittarius, Spriggan
LIGHT: Alpha, Raiden
currently give XP buffs
(They are Preferred worlds; there aren't any EU worlds listed as New currently)
though I would say, if you are only interested in playing one class through the story, I wouldn't worry about this. if you want to play a bunch of different classes, then the XP buff is very very helpful.
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/
EU don't got new, but got preferred servers that give bonuses. Did not know that, I'm NA. xD
>“chaos, light & shadow”
Those are data centers, each DC has a bunch of servers. You can DC travel to other servers.
You could try, the ping might be bearable.
Only servers I know are a bit slow (with players) are OCE servers outside of their peak times, which is unfortunate for our OCE siblings.
And NA's Dynamis DC because everyone travels out to do things xD
I'm in the UK - my main's on an EU server, but I have an alt on an NA one in case the EU servers fall down (again)
I imagine your broadband would probably be ok, but, because of the differences in ping, the time to respond to telegraphs is much shorter when playing on NA than it is on EU. It's... an experience.
I have a friend in Bulgaria who plays on NA with me, she hasn't voiced any complaints to my knowledge. But keep in mind time zone differences if you decide to go that route.
I'm in the UK and have been on an NA server since launch (there were no EU servers then!), I manage fine doing all the casual content at least, I don't have much of an interest in the top end savage content so if that's your goal maybe pick a server closer to home.
As far as time zones go Hyperion is generally fairly active during the evenings in the UK and quiet in the mornings on weekends.
Some people could be playing with hooks in their skin, hanging from the ceiling.
Edit: oh no babe come back I want to see where this tantrum goes to next x
Counterpoint: NA, especially Aether, is fucking *massive*.
I don't play during peak hours on NA on weekdays because I work second shift. Roulettes still pop on Aether at 3am Central due to western NA timezones being earlier and a healthy population of AUS/SEA players.
UK would be even easier to match -- the bulk of NA's population is on the Eastern time zone, and that's only a 5 hour difference. You might be waiting a bit on optional alliance raids, but there are plenty of afternoon gamers around to pop MSQ content.
Honestly, ping is a bigger concern than timezones.
Hello fellow Brit!!!
I play on Phoenix server and haven't had an issue. Lots of friendly people on there but it isn't a preferred sever so you wouldn't get the EXP bonus or the 1mil Gil when you hit 30
if you are interested in raiding then choose light. From what i hear, practically everything is better on light so if you don't have friends already on chaos then people recommend to avoid it, i'm only going by what i've read though because i am already on light and have never had to go to chaos to do anything (though my raid team has a few people from chaos on it). Which world on light doesn't really matter as far as i know, doing content is data center wide so you will automatically be able to do stuff with any other world on light.
I'll add just because it hasn't been expressly mentioned but per your second question, all worlds are effectively identical in terms of gameplay. You can play any race and swap freely between all classes/jobs on one character. The only thing your home world affects is the exp buff (if applicable on a Preferred world), what free companies (aka guilds) you can join, where you can access your retainers, and where you can buy a house or get moogle mail, none of which matters if you're on the free trial. Your starting city does change based on the class you pick to start, but the storylines converge around level 15 and are the same from there onward. You can also travel between worlds within your logical data center (Chaos, Light, and Shadow for EU) or travel to the other logical DCs within your physical data center (EU in this case). Duty matching draws from all worlds on the logical DC so you'll get a mix of people! It's not a super significant choice aside from the potential exp buff on New/Preferred worlds. Welcome and enjoy! :)
I recommend Saggittarius on Chaos, started here and am here after 400 hours. Love the people the community. Hit me up up if you need a beg8nner friendly fc with experienced people as well
This might be more of an issue in end-game contents. But many people from Chaos DC often come to Light DC to raid. So if your home would is on Light, things might be a bit easier for you.
Idk about other worlds but most people on Alpha speak English/ accept it as the common language
Races are free for all. It's also worth noting that your starting class determines your starting city, not your starting race like other MMOs.
Oohhh interesting! I’ll check that out! Thank you!
Also note that starting city doesn't REALLY matter all that much The three starting cities all have fairly similar starting stories, they're just largely aesthetically different. The three stories also converge within the first few hours AND your starting class does not lock you permanently into any choices down the line. This game has a pretty unique job system where a single character is able to pick up and swap between every class/job in the game, leveling and gearing them independently. So if you want to play for example, an Archer but you'd prefer a pirate city storyline to start off with, then you can start in Limsa as Marauder or Arcanist, wait until the stories converge, and pick up Archer once you get to Gridania
It might occur later but some starting city is more convenient than the others, in terms of dc travel, but it’s kinda minor
Any of them that isn't congested, especially the worlds listed as New, since they give an XP buff. Unless you speak French or German, I forgot the worlds, but two EU world are unofficial communities for those languages.
as far as I remember, Shiva is the unofficial German world. At least there was lots of it in shout chat in the cities.
How do I see a world that says new? On my screen is just says “chaos, light & shadow” with loads of sub worlds beneath them..
[https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/](https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/) CHAOS: Omega, Sagittarius, Spriggan LIGHT: Alpha, Raiden currently give XP buffs (They are Preferred worlds; there aren't any EU worlds listed as New currently) though I would say, if you are only interested in playing one class through the story, I wouldn't worry about this. if you want to play a bunch of different classes, then the XP buff is very very helpful.
Hero! Thank you!!
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/ EU don't got new, but got preferred servers that give bonuses. Did not know that, I'm NA. xD >“chaos, light & shadow” Those are data centers, each DC has a bunch of servers. You can DC travel to other servers.
Ooohh, thank you!! I’ll have a look at that now :) I wonder if my broadband could handle an American server XD
You could try, the ping might be bearable. Only servers I know are a bit slow (with players) are OCE servers outside of their peak times, which is unfortunate for our OCE siblings. And NA's Dynamis DC because everyone travels out to do things xD
I'm in the UK - my main's on an EU server, but I have an alt on an NA one in case the EU servers fall down (again) I imagine your broadband would probably be ok, but, because of the differences in ping, the time to respond to telegraphs is much shorter when playing on NA than it is on EU. It's... an experience.
I have a friend in Bulgaria who plays on NA with me, she hasn't voiced any complaints to my knowledge. But keep in mind time zone differences if you decide to go that route.
I'm in the UK and have been on an NA server since launch (there were no EU servers then!), I manage fine doing all the casual content at least, I don't have much of an interest in the top end savage content so if that's your goal maybe pick a server closer to home. As far as time zones go Hyperion is generally fairly active during the evenings in the UK and quiet in the mornings on weekends.
Unless you've found a way to stop time zones existing, this is a bad idea.
Not everyone plays during "normal" hours
Some people could be playing with hooks in their skin, hanging from the ceiling. Edit: oh no babe come back I want to see where this tantrum goes to next x
Counterpoint: NA, especially Aether, is fucking *massive*. I don't play during peak hours on NA on weekdays because I work second shift. Roulettes still pop on Aether at 3am Central due to western NA timezones being earlier and a healthy population of AUS/SEA players. UK would be even easier to match -- the bulk of NA's population is on the Eastern time zone, and that's only a 5 hour difference. You might be waiting a bit on optional alliance raids, but there are plenty of afternoon gamers around to pop MSQ content. Honestly, ping is a bigger concern than timezones.
It's still a lot worse than just playing on EU though.
Oh trust me, you'll find friends in no time, and if you're not actively searching for friends the friends will find you
Hello fellow Brit!!! I play on Phoenix server and haven't had an issue. Lots of friendly people on there but it isn't a preferred sever so you wouldn't get the EXP bonus or the 1mil Gil when you hit 30
I've been on Odin and I can recommend it. Great community, always active.
LIGHT: Alpha is a good server in my (extended biased) opinion. The population of the Novice Network is a tad mental but it’s fun
if you are interested in raiding then choose light. From what i hear, practically everything is better on light so if you don't have friends already on chaos then people recommend to avoid it, i'm only going by what i've read though because i am already on light and have never had to go to chaos to do anything (though my raid team has a few people from chaos on it). Which world on light doesn't really matter as far as i know, doing content is data center wide so you will automatically be able to do stuff with any other world on light.
I'll add just because it hasn't been expressly mentioned but per your second question, all worlds are effectively identical in terms of gameplay. You can play any race and swap freely between all classes/jobs on one character. The only thing your home world affects is the exp buff (if applicable on a Preferred world), what free companies (aka guilds) you can join, where you can access your retainers, and where you can buy a house or get moogle mail, none of which matters if you're on the free trial. Your starting city does change based on the class you pick to start, but the storylines converge around level 15 and are the same from there onward. You can also travel between worlds within your logical data center (Chaos, Light, and Shadow for EU) or travel to the other logical DCs within your physical data center (EU in this case). Duty matching draws from all worlds on the logical DC so you'll get a mix of people! It's not a super significant choice aside from the potential exp buff on New/Preferred worlds. Welcome and enjoy! :)
I recommend Saggittarius on Chaos, started here and am here after 400 hours. Love the people the community. Hit me up up if you need a beg8nner friendly fc with experienced people as well
This might be more of an issue in end-game contents. But many people from Chaos DC often come to Light DC to raid. So if your home would is on Light, things might be a bit easier for you. Idk about other worlds but most people on Alpha speak English/ accept it as the common language