New Player(s) Coming Tonight/tomorrow...

hi all myself and a friend of mine will be embarking on our FFXI adventure as soon as our updates finish installing sometime tonight/early morning hours and i am looking for some advice as to what server we should head. ive read a lot about dead servers and i dont want us to get stuck on a server that has nobody to group with us... any advice would be much appreciated while i read through other server posts.
thanks much =)

I'd say Fairy. But, I may be biased. >.> And if ya do choose Fairy, hit me up with a /tell and I'll get you a pearl to my LS.

I've had a blast on Hades; it's certainly been more fun than Shiva was, and Gilgamesh was pretty lame a couple years ago. One thing I can say about hades though, that I wish I couldnt: we absolutely fail at besieged ; ; seriously, we lose the candy after like, every 3rd level 8 fight

I've heard good things about Fairy and Alexander. Avoid Valefor, though. Server is filled with elitist jerks..nobody helps anybody, they just stand around Whitegate staring at each other, arguing microscopic stats and bashing other linkshells.

I am biased but I personally like Phoenix. ^_^ I have meet some very nice people on this server and have yet to have an issue finding exp parties or endgame/mission parties. If you do happen to come to this server let me know via /tell and I would be glad to help you or give you a LS pearl. :)

what time zone are you in? this might help finding a good LS. also, are you new to the game, or are you a returning player?

you might be looking for a helpful social LS that does xp parties, or a more advanced LS that does sky, sea, and other events (missions), or maybe an endgame LS.

let us know what you are looking for.

If ur looking for a good server come to carbuncle , Theres like 1k ppl on the server. and No one helps anybody and they like to trash ppl Alot! Sounds like fun? Sure does

we are in EST time zone

and yes we are new to this particular game but not MMO's in general(WoW, EQ, ect.)

lolWoW, just remember as you come to this game, there are two words that will preserve you for all your years: lolpup and loldrg

I don't know about every server, but Remora doesn't have enough people to form real EXP parties for many many level ranges. That's a real problem for new players. :s Like you can level by soloing FoV but that's really gross. Unless you had a lot of friends and planned to "static" with them, it's going to be tough I think. At least on Remora. :s

WoW is gay, like RuPaul's sexual conquests.

Ifrit is fun, most of the people have a sense of humor, so shouting in Whitegate will get attention.

People help others, with missions and ***, usually its beneficial for all parties.

Other than that, feel free to drop in.

i know i am leaving wow for a reason :P i want to group with people and form friendships and work together toward a common goal.. not solo myself to max lvl and then stand around looking at gear haha. i was leaning toward shiva or phoenix because it seemed they have more players at this link i found : http://www.ffxiah.com/data.php

If you decide to come to Sylph, let me know ^^

In general most of my LS is EST/CST/PST based, though we have a decent number of EU time players.

We're always making random groups for things (most missions for example), and in general, you'll never be short for help^^

The only thing we ask for is that you don't sit and cry if people say they can't make it.

the LS I'm with is social. we have players from Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Hawaian and even some Europeen time zones than range kids to adults. we have one rule, the language is G rated. this helps on reducing the BS and drama within the LS, and makes it a very welcoming environment. our LS also have links to another LS that does sky, sea, and other endgame events.

many players in our LS seem to be always leveling various jobs, either in xp parties or in campaign battles.

also our players help each other a lot.

we are far from being the biggest social LS on the server, but we have good, polite, and helpful players. since our LS has a wide range of time zones, there if rarely a time that no one is on. during Eastern prime time, the number players on the LS range from 8-15.

I've only been on Pandemonium, and from my experience, I would say people are very helpful and polite. there are always some expections. you just need to ignore them.

if you choose Pandemonium, send me a tell in game, and I will try to hook you up with some pearls, for you and your friends.

phoenix is nice, and sketch is right- avoid valefor like the plague

We have some really nice folks on Gilgamesh........Alyria,Xarchangel,Minusseven,Tallulah,Tousou,Mairah.....all of these and more post on this site and seem like nice folks.I can vouch for Minusseven and Xarchangel personally,Xarch helped me to do my G1 many months ago and all he asked for in return was a teleport Dem :-)

I've heard both Asura and Fairy are two of the more popular servers for new players. Mostly due to high population and a large social community of linkshells.

My assumption for the "dead servers" you've heard about is that they've got smaller server populations and tightly-knit endgame communities. I know this is the case on Diabolos, as so many people do endgame there is just no assistance for new players. New players on my server don't last very long because of this.

Asura is known for their high population of drama llamas.

If you seek help on the boards here often, Asura would be a good place since there are so many here.

All the cool people are from Ramuh, though.

Even though I'm on Carbuncle now, Asura wasn't a bad server. Just stay away from the drama ;)

Carbuncle has low drama, but also a low pop. The majority of the pop is Japanese as well.

Those numbers can be deceiving and the number of US > EU > JP ratio may not be in your favor. I can't speak in detail about the JP populations of either Shiva or Phoenix.

Also, more players isn't "always" a good thing. The more players, the better when it comes to leveling or finding pick-up groups to do missions or events. However, when you're looking to camp an NM or farm, more players will be a detriment to you.

In addition, even on a server with a small or smaller population, if you have a good reliable linkshell and friends, you'll never be without people to level with or do missions/quests/events with. =)

My LS for example, is a social shell and a Dynamis shell. Dyna is an end-game event btw. We're also starting Sky within the shell for people that need drops. (Sky's an end-game event with farming/NM's as well btw. >.>) We do various random things within the shell helping people with NM's, Missions, leveling 1-75, Astral Burns (Fast/cheap way of leveling), etc.

Everyone in the shell is very friendly and helpful, which creates a great environment. =)

i want to thank everyone for replying so quickly and being so courteous :) i am still up in the air between phoenix and fairy. i cant decide which bcuz i dont have any way to test them out haha. If someone could give me pro's/con's of each i would be eternally greatful!

I'd say choose a server that has a good social ls waiting on you if possible. Having a good ls will make this game much more enjoyable.

Since you will be new to this game some basic advice is to take any advice given, but don't take it for fact. Do research on other jobs when you can, not just the job you want to main. (knowing other jobs, helps you do your job better)

Also feel free to ask questions on these forums and do self research on wiki, try not to bombard your ls with too many questions as some find it annoying and will not have a good impression of you. (try to build good relationships with everyone if you can)

May be a bit late, but if you are looking for a server with a good helping base, I would say Seraph. Also, if you do need a good helpful starting LS my Linkshell is always taking new members to join. Doesnt matter if your a seasoned veteran or just starting out. We also have members from all time zones, and are looking to get more so that there is always a good number of people to talk/ask/help out one another.

<3 Carby Server

I have a made a lot of mules on different servers but born and raised on Asura. The one thing I've noticed is where each servers bazaar mules are. Some servers Upper Jeuno, others Battalia Downs; on Asura we've been Rolan-marting it forever and I don't see that changing :)

ended up joining Fairy server. my in game name is bronwynn so please send me a tell so i can get to meet some of ya :)