I have no knowledge whatsoever on the RP landscape of the Chaos Datacenter, however I can share my two-year experience playing the game on Balmung from Europe.
The problem one is exposed to when playing from such a long distance is twofold. First, the connection to Aether is a distant one. This implies that routing failures and network maintenances are more likely to affect it. Then, there is latency. Using skills, moving around, dodging enemy casts, basically anything done in the game that requires a server response will take more time on Aether than on Chaos.
However...
I have been playing on Balmung from Europe since I started XIV. Leveling, crafting, gathering, raiding...are all fine to me. I have never felt that the latency gap there is between me (~150ms or more) and locals (~50ms or less) was big enough to justify a transfer. For a slow-paced game like FFXIV, that discrepency means virtually nothing.
And then, adding the social aspect of the game, I am not willing to give up the contacts I have made over those two years for a slightly smoother experience.
The choice is ultimately yours.
The problem one is exposed to when playing from such a long distance is twofold. First, the connection to Aether is a distant one. This implies that routing failures and network maintenances are more likely to affect it. Then, there is latency. Using skills, moving around, dodging enemy casts, basically anything done in the game that requires a server response will take more time on Aether than on Chaos.
However...
I have been playing on Balmung from Europe since I started XIV. Leveling, crafting, gathering, raiding...are all fine to me. I have never felt that the latency gap there is between me (~150ms or more) and locals (~50ms or less) was big enough to justify a transfer. For a slow-paced game like FFXIV, that discrepency means virtually nothing.
And then, adding the social aspect of the game, I am not willing to give up the contacts I have made over those two years for a slightly smoother experience.
The choice is ultimately yours.
