Larger Apartments?

When are we going to see a medium and large apartment? I remember it being discussed and that it was something you might be working on.

IMO all apartments should be bigger Perhaps the same size as the first floor of a large?

Mansion sized apartments? Where do I send my gil for such a penthouse?

Honestly the best QoL update that Square could do to fix the housing problem for all time would be to do the following:

*Update the current apartment floor plan to be the same size but have two floors instead of the one.
*Add a "weaker" version of the workshop to either be an apartment add on or integrate it into our Grand Company. You would be able to build an run at least one airship and one submarine (I would argue two would be fairer). You however would not have recipes to build walls/wheels in your workshop. Although we'd be better of with it assigned to the grand company.

These two changes alone would probably quell most of the belly aching because the only things folk would truly be missing out than would be an outdoor space.

Bigger is Better

Apartments should at least be twice the size of a normal FC room, I mean it's not like there is a shortage of them on most servers so merging a couple shouldn't be an issue. At least it gives us more room to decorate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Belladona

When are we going to see a medium and large apartment? I remember it being discussed and that it was something you might be working on.

---

No one will buy small house if there is medium/large apartment IMHO. Give option to add 2nd floor for apartment is more reasonable

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KuuroYuuki

No one will buy small house if there is medium/large apartment IMHO. Give option to add 2nd floor for apartment is more reasonable

---

Except there's always a scramble to buy up all the houses, and making apartments more appealing by being bigger would lessen some of the strain on the housing shortage.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KuuroYuuki

No one will buy small house if there is medium/large apartment IMHO. Give option to add 2nd floor for apartment is more reasonable

---

Not true. Plenty of people enjoy having a "house" and want to play with their yard. Especially as someone's much more likely to wander in and check it out as they're walking by versus going to the building and sorting through the 100+ apartments there that have no indication as to whether they're even furnished. And that's a big draw for a lot of folks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by InkstainedGwyn

Not true. Plenty of people enjoy having a "house" and want to play with their yard. Especially as someone's much more likely to wander in and check it out as they're walking by versus going to the building and sorting through the 100+ apartments there that have no indication as to whether they're even furnished. And that's a big draw for a lot of folks.

---

Yep. The people who just want a little space to decorate indoors and call their own and have access to the conveniences of a house (like vendors, bell, etc all in one place) will be happy to purchase an apartment, but those who are more dedicated to decorating and the housing system as a whole will still probably prefer houses. Heck, for a lot of avid decorators, a small is preferable to a large or even a medium because you have a better item limit density so you can do more cool things. (That's exactly why I'm not upgrading from my med!)

Apartments should be the same size and layout as the grand company barracks. I think that would be perfect without taking away from normal housing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Elamys

Yep. The people who just want a little space to decorate indoors and call their own and have access to the conveniences of a house (like vendors, bell, etc all in one place) will be happy to purchase an apartment, but those who are more dedicated to decorating and the housing system as a whole will still probably prefer houses. Heck, for a lot of avid decorators, a small is preferable to a large or even a medium because you have a better item limit density so you can do more cool things. (That's exactly why I'm not upgrading from my med!)

---

I stick with a small because I like the "L" shaped yard.

SE should add Grand Balconies to apartments as an add on fee. You can then add an Aetheryte to balcony and warp directly to your "yard."

Another option is to let FC Room and apartment owners choose to warp directly into their as apartments.

Just make apartments the same size as houses on the inside.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zyneste

SE should add Grand Balconies to apartments as an add on fee. You can then add an Aetheryte to balcony and warp directly to your "yard."

Another option is to let FC Room and apartment owners choose to warp directly into their as apartments.

---

This would be great!

A lot of great ideas! :)

Would be nice if we could upgrade their size, something like the following template:

https://i.imgur.com/aqZqSEP.png

"Problem" is, if you make them too large then houses becomes kind of pointless. I know if I could upgrade my apartment to the largest pictured above I'd probably ditch my small house.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jandor

"Problem" is, if you make them too large then houses becomes kind of pointless. I know if I could upgrade my apartment to the largest pictured above I'd probably ditch my small house.

---

House would still have the outdoors space and would still be kind of status symbol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MsQi

House would still have the outdoors space and would still be kind of status symbol.

---

I was envisaging the balcony as an outdoor space, a place to put your gardening patch and other normal outdoor furnishings, including an aetheryte.

But yeah, problem is in quote marks because it's not actually a huge problem IMHO, houses would still be wanted by people, I can definitely see it being used as an excuse to leave apartments permanently crappy though.

IMO concerns about improvements to apartments making houses seem pointless are premature. Right now on large servers we have the opposite problem. I think if apartments were a more attractive alternative to housing it would make them feel more like an option and less like a consolation prize for not being able to get a house.

I like Jandor's designs a lot, and I hope SE does something like this in the future.

If SE wanted to take the easiest route.:

• Small is what it is now.
• Regular is the size of the ground floor of a medium without either staircase, the FC workshop door leads to the balcony area instead.
• Penthouse is the same as before but with an upstairs area too, essentially making largest apartment a medium house without a basement.

I think those would be decent sizes, and the only properly new area to create would be a balcony.

I recall them making comments about the difficulties of having balconies because of phasing and viewing the housing district and who sees what but there is an easy way to solve all that, stick the balconies on the back of the apartment building so they're looking away from the housing district...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jandor

If SE wanted to take the easiest route.:

• Small is what it is now.
• Regular is the size of the ground floor of a medium without either staircase, the FC workshop door leads to the balcony area instead.
• Penthouse is the same as before but with an upstairs area too, essentially making largest apartment a medium house without a basement.

I think those would be decent sizes, and the only properly new area to create would be a balcony.

I recall them making comments about the difficulties of having balconies because of phasing and viewing the housing district and who sees what but there is an easy way to solve all that, stick the balconies on the back of the apartment building so they're looking away from the housing district...

---

I like those size ideas. That's FAR better than the FC room we get now. I could actually do something nice with my apartment instead of trying to work out the logistics of how I want to slot everything together. Especially if it came with the medium housing item limit... *grin*

Yes please! I just checked out apartments for the first time, they are TINY! I want to be able to purchase a super large, high ceiling penthouse like apartment with a nice sized balcony for SOME outdoor furnishings! Obviously it wouldn't get the space capacity of an actual large house, but that's fine! Please square, why you no do this?! I am a legacy player and still have yet to be able to purchase a house... T^T </3 </3 <3/

I hope the Devs take this apartment design into consideration for the fully completed Ishgard restoration. That area is really huge just to be a place for doman enclave like npc weekly quests and a porting area to housing wards.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jandor

https://i.imgur.com/aqZqSEP.png

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jandor

Would be nice if we could upgrade their size, something like the following template:

https://i.imgur.com/aqZqSEP.png

"Problem" is, if you make them too large then houses becomes kind of pointless. I know if I could upgrade my apartment to the largest pictured above I'd probably ditch my small house.

---

Sadly, I don't think balconies will work because that would mean redesigning the outside of each apartment building. But everything else, like the larger room size, is good and I wish we get it soon.

IIRC devs said balconies were part of the original plan, but were cut because they were nearly impossible to implement.

How about if balconies where made to face a non populated area, but is a scenic area like for example mountain ranges or the sea with some npc sailboats sailing around, all on the east and/or west direction for sunrise and/or sunset view.

I'd much rather have a view of the back of the apartment building like your suite in the Chrystarium than having to look at people's Paissa and Chocobo houses or a bunch of Shirogane castles in areas that are not Shirogane. I absolutely hate seeing those. It would be even nicer if we got view options like "do you want an apartment with view of the ocean or the apartment garden or a view of the city proper (i.e. Gridania, Kugane, etc.)?"

The designs suggested by Jandon would be nice too.

Also, as a decorator, I doubt small houses would become obsolete because of better apartments. As a decorator, it's absolutely crucial to have a house in a ward in order to get traffic.

I have a house, an FC house, an apartment and an FC Room on my main character that are all extravagantly decorated. Most people whom I give tours say that the Lakshmi temple I did in my apartment was their absolute favorite. However, my apartment and FC Room don't get any traffic unless I specifically ask people to go there and take a look at it. As for my house and FC, when people see the yard, they want to go in and check it out on their own.

That being said, obviously there are people who want to keep their house closed off and private, as well as people who have a house and don't decorate it all just so they have access to gardening and the workshop. I think for those players, the improved instance housing should be an option, so they can free up the space for people who actually want visitor traffic.

I am 1000000000000000000000% making apartments larger or come in different sizes. I love decorating! I would be head over heels with having the option of spending more gil for a bigger apartment so I could do... MORE DECORATING!

On my main I have a Large personal estate, an FC estate (I don't personally own it, but I helped decorate it!), an FC apartment, and a personal apartment.

I have several alts with personal apartments and FC apartments.

I would do raw, bloody MURDER to have bigger apartments to do MORE DECORATING!

This can only be a win for players and for SE. I don't think it'll "cure" the housing market (because tons of players and Free Companies very much DO want houses), but it will make a HUGE swath of the player base happy to have larger apartments for personal expression and decoration.

It would be fun if the Apartment had a Workshop... That the whole apartment complex has to share, like a communal bathroom but for building subs and such. (Ofc, to each their own stuff, but you still get to meet your neighbors.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ReiganCross

It would be fun if the Apartment had a Workshop... That the whole apartment complex has to share, like a communal bathroom but for building subs and such. (Ofc, to each their own stuff, but you still get to meet your neighbors.)

---

Kinda like how FC houses have a shared crafting room, that's a cool idea.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ERMITANYO

How about if balconies where made to face a non populated area, but is a scenic area like for example mountain ranges or the sea with some npc sailboats sailing around, all on the east and/or west direction for sunrise and/or sunset view.

---

If you haven't been in them, this is what the Kugane Inn has. One wall has a window that appears to be looking out into a small garden; I kinda wish we could have a wall furnishing like that for the houses but I doubt it will work with the limitations they have.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jandor

If SE wanted to take the easiest route.:

• Small is what it is now.
• Regular is the size of the ground floor of a medium without either staircase, the FC workshop door leads to the balcony area instead.
• Penthouse is the same as before but with an upstairs area too, essentially making largest apartment a medium house without a basement.

I think those would be decent sizes, and the only properly new area to create would be a balcony.

I recall them making comments about the difficulties of having balconies because of phasing and viewing the housing district and who sees what but there is an easy way to solve all that, stick the balconies on the back of the apartment building so they're looking away from the housing district...

---

A slightly different way to take it would be more of a horizontal expansion.
-Small is what we have now.
-Medium would be the size of 3 apartments in an L shape as if it were a corner section of the floor.
-Large would be the size of 12 apartments in a box shape as if it were a full floor of apartments.

This would give something different and unique to apartments that don't exist in regular houses so they don't feel like a half built house.

Currently Inn Rooms (The stuff you can get on the major cities) comes with more features than Apartments. Have it be about more than just decoration! Give it a small intern garden thingie (Since Balconies can't be a thing). Give it a damn Aetherite! Allow it to access the MB! Allow it to buy the vendor people!

Make it essentially what it was meant to be, a private house.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ReiganCross

Apartments don't even get teleporters on them

---

Whatever do you mean? Purchase of an apartment automatically gives you a teleport to the building where the apartment is located. Then all you have to do is click the door and select "Go to your apartment". You also automatically get access to the building's chocobo stable. No need to buy either aetheryte or stable like you would have to do for a house.

If you're upset it doesn't teleport directly into your apartment, you don't get teleported directly into your house either. You're teleported next to the entrance to your plot, just as you're teleported next to the entrance of the apartment building.

A house doesn't come with Orchestrion, Crystal Bell, Summoning Bell, Armoire or Toybox. You have to buy those things for your house if you want them in your house just as you can buy them for your apartment if you want them for your apartment.

There's a marketboard right outside every apartment building. You might have to run a ways to get to a marketboard from a house depending on the plot.

Try buying an apartment to understand what they're like before you start making statements that aren't true. They aren't nearly as bad as some players want you to think.

Apartments have 2 downsides: size and lack of outdoor area to place outdoor furnishings/garden plots. They've got a few perks - they will never demolish, you get automatic teleport and stable access without requiring purchase of additional items. They've got the best ratio of items to floor space for housing in the game. If you can add a furnishing to a house, you can add it to an apartment with the exception of aetherial wheel stands (which can only be placed in a FC house and not private houses).

If you have multiple characters on the same world, you can buy them all apartments in the same building to get the same interior space or larger than you would get with a house and moving between apartments is as simple as clicking the door and selecting the other apartment. You could also coordinate with friends to do the same thing if you want to feel like you're sharing a house with your friends. I just recently did this with my own alts - 5 apartments all in the same building with each apartment serving a separate function (living area, kitchen/dining, study/guest room, master bedroom, garden deck). I set up fake doors on walls to make all the apartments feel interconnected (and darn me if I haven't run into the fake doors on occasion trying to get to the next "room").

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

They've got a few perks - they will never demolish,

---

This I was not aware of. Having fairly recently just got an apartment.

I would love a larger apartment with a small outdoor area. With a larger storage as well, that holds everything house related. Floors, walls, indoor, outdoor. With the normal house benefits, like a workshop, etc. I loved the instanced housing of EQII, I would have no problem picking various instanced sizes if it had everything. As of right now I mainly paid for an apartment for the 100 storage, and to take some baby steps into decorating, especially now that all my crafters are nearing level 40 and can craft a more variety of stuff. Plus all the seasonal rewards they keep giving us.