XIV’s population problem has never been as glaringly obvious as it is right now, what with the absolute flood of new players flocking to the game. It’s no joke – I tried to log into poor old Twintania on a Sunday night and was met with a queue of over 1,500 players. I haven’t run into those numbers in an MMO outside of an expansion launch (and this was pre-Endwalker release). The XIV team at Square Enix are no strangers to managing these difficulties with population. They’ve already added a few new ways to make it easier on the existing players – like prioritizing people who actually pay for the game when it comes to World access, for example. Players who find themselves on overly congested worlds can make use of the Home World Transfer Service to move, and that’s when you’ll encounter the term “Preferred World”. Preferred World is one of four World classifications used to describe the population level of a server in simple terms.
What Are The World Classifications?
There are four World categories in total. New Worlds have just been added, and will usually provide players with bonuses for transferring or creating new characters on them. Congested Worlds are suffering from an overpopulation crisis, and will not be available for transfer or character creation. Standard Worlds are operating at a standard & workable level of population. And Preferred Worlds are underpopulated – that’s why the game hands out incentives for people willing to transfer to them. It’s also worth noting that Home World Transfers to New Worlds are totally free, as are transfers from Congested Worlds to Preferred Worlds. Using the Home World Transfer Service for any other sort of transfer will come with a fee, so bear that in mind.
What Do I Get For Transferring To A Preferred World?
Preferred Worlds give you a number of bonuses to play on them, and they vary depending on whether you’ve transferred or made a totally new character. Making a new character on a Preferred World will grant you an incredibly valuable double EXP gain buff until that character reaches level 70. This will stack with any other EXP buff you might be able to gain, too. So if you’ve pre-ordered Shadowbringers and picked up that sweet Menphina’s Earring accessory, that’s a 230% boost. You’ll also receive ten silver Chocobo feathers, which can be exchanged for rewards at any of the Calamity Salvager vendors. If you attain level thirty on your new character during the Preferred World bonus, you’ll also be gifted fifteen days of free playtime. That particular reward can only be attained once per account, so you can’t keep cheesing it for free playtime! Transferring a character from a Congested to a Preferred World will also give rewards. As mentioned above, the Home World Transfer fee is waived entirely for these transfers. You’ll also receive the more valuable Gold Chocobo Feathers, which can be exchanged for rare and desirable mounts. Square Enix is so determined to get players to jump ship that they’ll even refund the costs of your housing estates and apartments, alongside massive gil compensation for furnishings that can’t be transferred over. That’s an astonishing three million gil for housing estates, and a cool half million for apartments. Of course, as we’ve covered before, money isn’t really the biggest obstacle to getting a house in Final Fantasy XIV. You’ve got to navigate a whole other system of outweighed supply and demand to get one of them, so it’s not just the financial implications to think about.
Is It Worth Creating/Transferring A Character To A Preferred World?
That really depends on what you’re looking to get out of it. The rewards are decent, but if you’re already embedded on an existing server, those perks alone are unlikely to make the decision for you. They’re more of a nice bonus if you’re already planning to move. But creating a new character on a Preferred World is a different story altogether… That EXP buff can make a massive difference to leveling your first character, although you’ll likely still end up held back by the time it takes to clear Main Scenario Quests!
Which Characters Are Eligible For The Home World Transfer Service?
There’s quite a few rules and regulations around this process. You need to have an active XIV service account – transfers aren’t open to people playing on the free trial. This even counts for returning players making use of a Free Login event. You can’t have reservations for the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding, you can’t be in possession of an invite to the ceremony, you can’t have optional items purchased with real money hanging around in your Delivery Moogle. With the exception of a couple of specific circumstances, you also cannot hold ownership of land, apartments, or estates. All of these properties must be relinquished before transferring unless you’re transferring to a New or Preferred World. In that case, absolutely DO NOT relinquish your property – you won’t be eligible for the gil reimbursement and furnishing compensation if you do! For a full list of requirements, check out the official post on the Home World Transfer Service.
How To Use The Home World Transfer Service
To get the process started, you’ll need to log in to the Mog Station. Select “Home World Transfer Service” from the “Additional Services” tab, and follow the instructions to apply. You won’t be able to access the game until your character transfer is complete. If you’ve applied to transfer multiple characters at once, you won’t be able to access the game until every character has been transferred. Don’t be dissuaded, though – it isn’t usually a lengthy process. Most players report a wait time of ten minutes, with the possibility of running a little longer if the service is especially congested.
