FFXIV Data Center Travel explained: What is it and how to switch servers

Final Fantasy XIV’s latest patch lets players move between data centers and servers using FFXIV Data Center Travel. Here’s how it works.

Final Fantasy XIV’s 6.18 patch was released on June 5, 2022, and makes major changes to how players can move between servers and play with others. Previously, players could only travel between servers by using the game’s world visit system, something that allows them to enter other server worlds as a guest. However, it could only be done between servers that exist within the same data center.

While this is a great way for friends on different servers to experience Final Fantasy XIV together, there’s no guarantee that friends will share the same data center – meaning they currently can’t play together. Here’s what FFXIV’s 6.18 patch changed and how server travel will work going forward.

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Contents

• How data centers work in FFXIV
• FFXIV patch 6.18 update changes
• Server restrictions on FFXIV
• Launch issues
• Data center list

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How FFXIV data centers work

Data centers in Final Fantasy XIV are how servers are split in the game, with each acting as a home for a certain group of servers. Servers are split by region, and placed into the corresponding data center, with each center housing multiple servers under its roof.

Players can have a say in which data center they enter but will need to decide if it’s right for them by analyzing its player base, connection strength, and how many of their friends are on it. For many people, it’s an easy decision, as they can select the one that’s best for their local region – which likely houses their friend’s characters too.

Even if their friends are on different servers, but are part of the same data center, players can still hop between servers to play together. However, for Final Fantasy XIV players that have friends in different regions, the decision of what data center to select is a trickier one. The latest update has changed this, making life easier for lots of players, however, some restrictions will remain.

FFXIV Data Center Travel patch 6.18 update changes

In a stream earlier in 2022, FF XIV director Naoki Yoshida outlined how changes to the data center system would work going forward. After the 6.18 patch, these changes are now a reality.

Players will now be able to travel between data centers at will be following a process. At the character selection screen, there will now be an option in the menu to select the data center, as well as the server, you’d like to travel to.

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Once selected, you’ll then be transferred to that server as a guest and can run around the world and complete quests as if it was your own home server.  Although, your character will receive a ‘Traveler tag’ by their name to highlight them as a character that originated in another server.

Should you decide you want to go back to your original server and data center, you go through the same process at the title screen, only this time, selecting your home server.

FFXIV Data Center Travel server restrictions

Using the previous system, players could only select a server that was within their region and data center, but after the patch, players will be able to travel between servers and data centers, but will still be restricted by region.

Therefore, if you’re part of a North American data center, you’ll be able to bounce between other North American data centers and servers, but you’ll be unable to visit centers in Europe, Oceania, Asia, etc.

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Yoshida has stated his team is open to letting players cross-regional data centers in the future, but this is a decision for another day and will need to be considered by the developers.

All of the previous and existing server restrictions still apply after patch 6.18, so here’s what you can’t do when visiting a new data center/server:

• Access your retainers.
• Sell anything on the Market Board (you can buy things).
• Access the Moogle Delivery Service.
• Form/join a free company, and view said company’s information.
• Enter the housing lottery and buy a home.
• Hold or attend Ceremonies of Eternal Bonding (basically weddings etc).
• Enter Triple Triad or Lord of Vermillion tournaments.

Launch issues

Since going live, the new data center update has been met with some teething problems. Square-Enix is aware of the issues and has told players the following:

“We have received over 15,000 visit requests per minute and confirmed that the servers are unable to keep up with the high server load.

Due to the number of requests which makes it difficult to resolve the issue while keeping the Data Center Travel system open, we will temporarily suspend the Data Center Travel system and gradually open this feature as we monitor the situation. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

We’ll keep you posted on the server issues and update you when Square-Enix has managed to resolve the current problems.

You can also check their Twitter page for updates:

FFXIV data center list

Below is a list of all the existing data centers in Final Fantasy XIV, and each of the servers they house so you can prepare for FFXIV Data Center Travel:

North America

• Primal
• Behemoth
• Excalibur
• Exodus
• Famfrit
• Hyperion
• Lamia
• Leviathan
• Ultros
• Aether
• Adamantoise
• Cactuar
• Faerie
• Gilgamesh
• Jenova
• Midgardsormr
• Sargatanas
• Siren
• Crystal
• Balmung
• Brynhildr
• Coeurl
• Diabalos
• Goblin
• Malboro
• Mateus
• Zalera

Europe

• Chaos
• Cerberus
• Louisoix
• Moogle
• Omega
• Ragnarok
• Spriggan
• Light
• Lich
• Odin
• Phoenix
• Shiva
• Twintania
• Zodiark

Asia

• Elemental
• Aegis
• Atomos
• Carbuncle
• Garuda
• Gungnir
• Kujata
• Ramuh
• Tonberry
• Typhon
• Unicorn
• Gaia
• Alexander
• Bahamut
• Durandal
• Fenrir
• Ifrit
• Ridill
• Tiamat
• Ultima
• Valefor
• Yojimbo
• Zeromus
• Mana Anima
• Asura
• Belias
• Chocobo
• Hades
• Ixion
• Mndragora
• Masamune
• Pandaemonium,
• Shinryu
• Titan

Oceania

• Materia
• Bismarck
• Ravana
• Sephirot
• Sophia
• Zurvan

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So, that’s everything you need to know about FFXIV Data Center Travel’s changes. If you’re looking for more FFXIV content check out some of our guides below:

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