I'm going to be buying FFXI towards the end of the week (a bit late starting, I know), and have been reading up on things I should know about.
I've come across the subject of servers, and wanted to ask about it.

In some reviews, they have mentioned that some servers have more japanese players than others and that, furthermore, you can't choose which server you are assigned to. Is this true?
I read that if you do not like the server you are allocated, you can restart the process and hope for a better result.

I want to get onto a good server, how can I do this? Which server is better considering I want to be playing with predominantly english speaking people?

I'm not sure if I have got any of this wrong, or whether I have misunderstood anything, but information or help would be appreciated =)


Jow

If you want to get on the same server has someone else, ask for a World Pass.


It's basically a password we buy in-game for cheap, and we give it to you when you create your first character. Then enter the name of the server and the password during the character creation process, and that's it.

What Sir Evad says is the truth. The only real way in FFXI to get on a server you want is to have a friend (who is already playing the game, to get a World Pass for you. What this is, is a ten digit number a current player has to purchase in the game, and who has to then pass it on to you. What you'll then have to do, is enter this number when creating your character (you enter it when you choose a name for your character). It will then assign you to the server that the World Pass was purchased from.

Otherwise, the server assignment is random based on how crowded they are at the time. Originally there was a trick you could use in order to eventually get on the server you wanted without a World Pass (as the server assignment is random, by cancelling your newly created character and starting the character creation process again would eventually land you on the server you want).

I used this trick to get on Midgardsormr when I first registered on FFXI back in January, and it still worked then (although it took me about four tries until I finally got the server I wanted - my previous server assignments being Lakshmi, Hades and Cerberus), but apparently, from what I have heard, Square Enix have since fixed this loophole and will no longer work. I'm not a hundred percent sure though, so it may (emphasis on may) still work.

(although it took me about four tries until I finally got the server I wanted - my previous server assignments being Lakshmi, Hades and Cerberus)



Why the hell did you not stay on Cerberus with the majority of the people here ? lol

Because most of my friends which play FFXI are on Midgardsormr, not Cerberus.

Don't worry, I did consider staying with Cerberus when I was checking the server assignment, but in the end, Midgard won out. I may create a new character on Cerberus in the future though, assuming I can find more time to play FFXI that is...

Ok, thanks. Cerberus seems like a popular choice on this forum, and I don't have any friends that play, so I guess I'll aim for that one.

How do I go about getting a world pass? Could I get one from you guys when I need it?



Jow

Ask someone here who is on Cerberus on the Forum, as I'm sure they'll be able to provide you with one (I can't though, as I'm on Midgardsormr, so I can only provide you with a World Pass to Midgard accordingly). Check the 'Name and Servers' thread at the top of this Forum to check who is on Cerberus.