In Final Fantasy XIV, you can buy from another server’s Market Board because purchases use the market of the World you are visiting. Ordinary selling, however, relies on your retainers, which manage listings, and can only be set up in the game on your Home World. Visiting another World does not move your character’s residence. The official Companion App provides a limited exception for items already stored with retainers.
World Visit and Data Center Travel do not change your Home World
World Visit allows temporary travel to eligible Worlds, while Data Center Travel extends the available destinations to other logical data centers or, on specifically authorized routes, physical ones. The routes available depend on region, patch and congestion. Neither system permanently transfers the character away from the Home World.
That is why Square Enix treats two permissions separately: buying from the visited World’s local market and putting items up for sale through retainers belonging to the Home World. The first travels with the visitor; the second stays tied to their original World. The Portuguese-language Moogle’s Cave guide also notes that visitors cannot access their retainers.
Permission chart: buying, selling, retainers and Companion
| Action | While visiting another World | Requirement or workaround |
|---|---|---|
| Buy from the Market Board | Allowed on the World you are visiting. | Purchases use the market of the World where your character is located. |
| List items for sale in the game | Not allowed away from your Home World. | Return home to access retainers and list items. |
| Summon, hire or dismiss retainers | Not allowed. | These actions require your Home World. |
| Move items between inventory and a retainer | Retainers cannot be summoned during a visit. | Move the items after returning to your Home World. |
| List items through the Companion App | Allowed with restrictions. | Only items already held by retainers; listings go to your Home World market. |
| List an inventory or chocobo saddlebag item via the app | Not allowed. | Place the item with a retainer after returning, then list it. |
| Buy through the Companion App | Allowed on the visited World. | To use the app to buy from your Home World market, return there in the game first. |
| Collect Moogle Delivery letters | Not allowed while visiting. | Collect them on your Home World. |
These are the trading rules during a visit, not permission to travel to every destination. Nor does Companion let you sell directly on the foreign World’s market: listings created in the app still belong to your Home World.
What can Companion sell while your character is away?
The exception is narrow. According to Square Enix, the FINAL FANTASY XIV Companion App can list items already held in a retainer’s inventory on your Home World market while your character visits another World. It does not allow you to list items carried in your character inventory or chocobo saddlebag. The app also cannot move those items to a retainer during the visit.
There is another distinction between listing an already stored item and directly selling or discarding something from a retainer’s inventory: the FAQ restricts the latter operation while allowing market listings of eligible items. Retainer ventures cannot be assigned through the app away from the Home World either. To manage items normally, you need to go home.
The app allows purchases from the market of the World being visited. To buy through the app from your Home World market, the FAQ says your character must first return there in the game. Item management and market transactions in the app are unavailable while the character is logged into the game client, although the market can still be viewed.
How to visit, buy and return home to sell
For the traditional World Visit procedure, interact with the main aetheryte in Limsa Lominsa, Gridania or Ul’dah and select Visit Another World Server. Choose an eligible World, complete the journey and use the destination Market Board to buy. To return, use World Visit again and select your Home World. Congestion can temporarily make destinations unavailable.
Where Data Center Travel is still used between logical data centers, travel begins at the character selection screen under Visit Another Data Center. Use Return to Home World on that screen to go back. Once home, summon a retainer and list your item on your own market. A temporary visit is not the separate, permanent Home World Transfer service.
The October 2026 change in Japan and regional limits
An official update introduced same-region player matching in Japan on October 13, 2026. From that change, trips between Japanese logical data centers use Visit Another World Server instead of the previous Data Center Travel procedure. Square Enix explicitly said the market rules remain unchanged: buy on the current World, list only on the Home World. The rollout to other regions was described as a later stage, not something already available everywhere.
Cross-region travel between physical data centers is not universally open either. Square Enix identifies Oceania as an authorized physical destination under specified conditions; do not assume reverse routes or other regional combinations are available without official confirmation. Check the latest Lodestone guidance for permitted destinations and restrictions before traveling.
If selling is blocked, what should you check?
First, check whether your character is still marked as a visitor. If you are away from the Home World, being unable to summon retainers or list items is a system restriction, not necessarily a bug. Second, check where the item is stored: the Companion exception applies only to items already with retainers, listed on the home market. Third, return to your Home World using the method that applies to your type of travel if you need normal retainer access.
Travel routes, congestion controls and access rules can change by patch and region. This guide reflects the official documentation and Japan update reviewed on October 26, 2026; it does not assume that unapproved cross-region travel routes exist.
