FFXIV Most Popular NA Servers: Which To Choose

Final Fantasy XIV is an MMORPG that might have had a rocky start back in 2013, but has since blossomed into one of the best MMOs around. Thanks to continuous updates and flow of content, FFXIV has developed a strong collective of die-hard fans.With the latest expansion, Endwalker, the game saw such an influx of players that restrictions had to be put for incoming new players just to cope with demands.

Thankfully, things are looking a little breezier and new players are free to sign up and jump into the world of Eorzea. But whether you're a completely new player looking to expand their Final Fantasy journey, or a veteran player returning after a break with a brand new character, you'll need to choose a server (or World) to join. If you're looking for a lively, energetic server then you'll want to pick a popular one. 

All Final Fantasy XIV NA Servers Explained

Final Fantasy XIV servers are separated into four Physical Data Centers: North American Data Center, European Data Center, Oceanic Data Center, and Japanese Data Center. Players are highly encouraged to select a Physical Data Center as close to their own location as possible. So, if you're playing in North America, you're likely going to want to select the North American Data Center.

Within the North American Data Center are four Logical Data Centers: Aether, Crystal, Primal, and Dynamis. The first three Logical Data Centers contain eight servers, or Worlds, whereas Dynamis contains just four. In total, players have 28 servers to choose from.

Aether contains the following servers:

• Adamantoise
• Cactuar
• Faerie
• Gilgamesh
• Jenova
• Midgardsormr
• Sargantanas
• Siren

Crystal contains the following servers:

• Balmung
• Brynhildr
• Coeurl
• Diabolos
• Goblin
• Malboro
• Mateus
• Zalera

Primal contains the following servers:

• Behemoth
• Excalibur
• Exodus
• Famfrit
• Hyperion
• Lamia
• Leviathan
• Ultros

Dynamis contains the following new servers:

• Halicarnassus
• Maduin
• Marilith
• Seraph

What Are The Most Popular North American Servers In Final Fantasy XIV?

Update 5 October: We've updated this article with the most recent figures for NA server populations.

With 28 total servers to choose from in Final Fantasy XIV, it can be daunting trying to pick a suitable one. Fortunately, there's a way to get a quick idea of the status of each server, which ones are allowing new characters to be created, and which ones are at capacity. 

Final Fantasy XIV's official Lodestone website continuously updates the status of each world, dividing them into their respective Physical Data Centers. For the North American Data Center, players can see the World status for each of the 28 servers. Each World will have a status next to it, which could be Standard, Preferred, or Congested. New characters cannot be created on Congested worlds, though it's a good indication of which ones are popular.

Occassionally, some Standard Worlds will prevent players from creating new characters at certain times. These tend to be Worlds that are prone to congestion. Don't be surprised if you see Cactuar in Standard status, but with a red marker preventing any new character creations. 

In NA Data Center — Aether, the most popular servers are usually the following:

• Siren — Population: 620,000 est.
• Adamantoise — Population: 560,000 est.
• Midgardsormr — Population: 590,000 est.

In NA Data Center — Crystal, the most popular servers are usually the following:

• Malboro — Population: 730,000 est.
• Brynhildr — Population: 700,000 est.
• Diabolos — Population: 680,000 est.
• Zalera — Population: 680,000 est.

In NA Data Center —  Primal, the most popular servers are usually the following:

• Famfrit — Population: 710,000 est.
• Lamia — Population: 670,000 est.
• Exodus — Population: 670,000 est.

As NA Data Center — Dynamis is one of the newest Logical Data Centers, there's not a huge amount of server population around. It's safe to say, however, that these servers are usually far less populated than others. For now, at least. 

Which NA Server Should I Choose In Final Fantasy XIV?

The Final Fantasy XIV server you choose should take into consideration a number of factors:

• What are you looking for from a server? 
• Do you have friends playing on a particular server?
• Are you looking to take advantage of special server bonuses?

If you're looking for a server that will always have a healthy player count, regardless of the time of day, then heading to the most popular server will be your best bet. However, if you're keen to spend a lot of time playing FFXIV with friends then it'll be better, and less hassle, to ensure you're all on the same server. You can always travel to different servers later on, but this won't be without restrictions, such as being unable to join a Free Company in the visiting server. 

Often Square Enix initiates certain bonuses on less populated servers targeted at new players, such as a significant boost in XP gain up to Level 80. If you're looking to boost through as fast as possible, without utilizing any level skips, than servers with these bonuses applied are a good bet. These can be identified as having the label "Preferred" when choosing a server.