In Final Fantasy 14, players currently may not be able to see their characters upon logging in. The message “Character data could not be loaded” is displayed, but there is no need to worry.
What’s happening right now in FF14: In recent weeks, the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has been inundated with new players. It is recording a new peak of players every week on Steam and even briefly surpassed Destiny 2 on Steam and landed in the top 10.
However, the consequence is that the game’s servers are struggling to cope with the influx. Especially in the evenings, long queues occur and players receive an error message upon logging in: “Character data could not be loaded.”
Experienced FFXIV veterans will be familiar with this error. It has occurred frequently when, for example, a new expansion was released or after server crashes. New players don’t need to worry if they encounter such a login window. Your character has not disappeared, and you do not need to contact FFXIV support because of this.
What you can do: Due to the high influx, the servers are simply having trouble displaying your character on the login screen. If you receive the error message, just click your character’s name in the upper right corner, and you will enter the queue.
Once it’s your turn, you will enter the game with all your belongings. However, be prepared for longer waiting times.
Server status red – Character creation not possible
Why can’t I create a character? The high influx of players in FFXIV has also meant that new players wanting to start with the MMORPG cannot create characters. Especially during the evening hours, when many players are online, the servers tend to close down.
This is not a permanent condition. If you have chosen a server that is currently closed, you can wait until there are fewer players online. Character creation is usually possible again in the earlier morning hours.
Only when a server is displayed as “full” in the overview can no new characters be created there permanently. Currently, this is not the case on any European server, but it could change at any time due to the high influx of players.
On the official site, you can check the current server status and see which servers are open for character creation.
Why is there so much happening in FFXIV right now? In recent weeks, several major streamers have jumped into the MMORPG from Square Enix and brought their large communities with them into the game. This includes particularly the WoW streamer Asmongold, who is currently raging through FF14’s raids, as well as his colleagues RichWCampbell and AnnieFuchsia. This has led to a flood of newcomers who are now exploring the MMORPG.
At the same time, there have likely also been many players dusting off and reactivating their inactive accounts. Perhaps to prepare for the release of the Endwalker expansion. This comes from an unofficial census conducted by the player LuckyBancho. According to the estimate, about 250,000 active paying players have joined FFXIV since April 2021. Complete newcomers and players on the free trial version were not counted.
The numbers from LuckyBancho are an estimate and thus neither 100% accurate nor official. However, they can serve as a rough guideline and show a trend.
How about you? Are you one of the players who decided to give FFXIV a chance? Or are you one of the returnees who want to quickly level up and gather gear before Endwalker? Or perhaps none of the above?
Let us know in the comments and tell us what you think of the current FFXIV hype.
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