New Servers For North America And Patch 6.38

In the midst of CCP Games' announcement of a new Web3 game, Square Enix published the news about new hardware for Final Fantasy XIV's data centers. 

In order to deliver an optimal gaming experience for future updates, we will be upgrading the hardware of our North American data centers. An extended period of maintenance will be scheduled for all Worlds while the equipment is being replaced.

All content on North American data centers (Aether/Crystal/Dynamis/Primal), including character data, will be automatically transferred to the new servers. No changes will be made to the Data Center/World Selection screens, nor to any character or World data. The physical location of all data centers will remain unchanged and the FINAL FANTASY XIV Development and Operations teams will exercise the utmost care in ensuring all data is safely and successfully transferred. Players will not be required to take any action following this hardware update.

We've known about plans to upgrade all of the FFXIV data centers since Producer & Director Naoki Yoshida's post about the subject back in January 2022. However, I think plans changed a little. Here is the information conveyed a month after the launch of Endwalker.

Currently, the North American Data Center houses three logical data centers and 24 Worlds (an 8:8:8 configuration). In order to cope with a drastic increase in player population, we are planning a two-phase major server expansion. Due to the global shortage of semiconductors, it has taken considerable time to procure server equipment, but the schedule calls for the first phase to be implemented around August 2022, with the second phase to follow in the spring or summer of 2023.

In the first phase of the expansion, scheduled for August 2022, one new logical data center will be established and four new Worlds will be added under it. In the second phase of the expansion, we plan to add four more new Worlds under the newly established logical DC, resulting in a four-logical-DC configuration of 8:8:8:8. While we had originally hoped to add all eight new Worlds at once in August 2022, the aforementioned semiconductor shortage has dictated that we introduce the upgrade in two stages. Again, we ask for your understanding and patience in this matter.

In addition to the above, we are also considering a yet-larger-scale upgrade at the time of the next major expansion (Patch 7.0). We will be sure to update you with further details regarding this as our plans take shape.

From the description, North America is getting the larger upgrade of all the server hardware before the next expansion, not at the time Patch 7.0 launches. Which means Yoshi-P still plans on upgrading the Dynamis data center from 4 worlds to 8.

Patch 6.38 was also mentioned in the latest announcement. While details are sparse, the x.38 patch usually is when the weekly unlock for Savage content is abolished. Also, the current PvP season will end with 6.38. The Hatching-tide event, running from 27 March to 10 April, should not be affected. FFXIV's holiday events are so short that the loss of 24 hours during the event should not impact the vast majority of players ability to complete the event.

With the 24 hour maintenance on 3-4 April, make sure to log in and set your retainers and Island Sanctuary jobs if you set yours to begin on Tuesdays. Personally, I start my Island Sanctuary weeks on Thursdays just to avoid events like upgrades. Enjoy the day off and get outside and soak up some natural vitamin D.