Can the dev's please change how we buy houses?

I just spent 7 hours spamming a placard trying to get a small house on my server and it got to point where I had to give up because it was physically harming my body. I realized that after I had given up that means I've given up on all housing because there's no way I can spend hours on end if another house opens up, my body is physically not able to do that even if I had the time in the day to do so. Please, take a look at the housing system and make changes because there are people who physically cannot try to purchase a house. I even have a few suggestions, some that are better than others obviously.

1. Remove the random timer. I know this is the worst on the list because the random timer is put in place to stop people from selling houses, but even with the random timer people still sell houses so it doesn't really do anything.

2. Lower the random timer. Currently I've heard it's anywhere from 30 minutes to 22 hours people might have to wait...22 hours? That is not okay at all. Maybe make it a maximum of 8 or 10 hours, but nowhere near 20 hours because there will be those people who sit there until they get it, someone else gets it, or someone relocates...that can cause a lot of harm to someone's body.

3. Make a "lottery" system. This one is what I wish our game had, and I'm surprised the team did not make it this way in the first place. Basically, a house goes up on the market, people notice this and they have to go with the right amount of gil in their inventory and hit purchase. When they hit purchase the gil is taken and they're notified that the winner will be drawn at a later time, for this I think 24 hours is fair. The winner will be randomly drawn and those who do not win can either pick their gil up at the housing NPC or they can get it mailed back to them, whatever is more feasible. Also, players can't enter the lottery for more than one house at a time, this means they can't enter the lottery for one house and go to another house and enter that lottery at the same time. This honestly would be the best way since it gives everyone a fair chance, people can go to work, go to school, sleep, eat, play the game...they can do something other than standing around and suffering.

I know none of these ideas will be implemented and I know that this post doesn't change anything...I just felt like I had to say something because I wanted a house but my body is physically unable to try and buy a house and I'm not the only one who is in this situation.

There used to be a fair system... but players complained that acquiring enough gil wasn't good enough. So now all you aspiring home-owners have to literally waste your free time away when you could have previously enjoyed the game as it is in order to acquire a house.

I transferred from Malboro, where I had tons of plots to choose from and could just click buy at my leisure. Not sure if it's still like that over there. But coming over to Behemoth was kind of a shock. I didn't even know that the random timer was a "thing."

Shortly before the expansion, I made it my goal to nab a house. I ended up hurting my hand so much clicking the placard that I had to wear a wrist brace to play the expansion. Still have to wear a compression glove just to use the computer.

So I had to give that up, but here's what I did: I parked myself in front of an empty plot before the pre-expansion 24-hour maintenance. To my surprise, no one else was there when the server kicked me. I got into the login queue pretty quickly on early access launch, and I was able to buy my plot! It's not a bad one either. Right next to where my old one was on Malboro, so I feel very at home.

Now, this was a unique situation-- most people were logging out near questgivers before the expansion. Also, 24-hour maintenances aren't common. But I think being patient and waiting for any sort of moderate server downtime definitely pays off. As it stands, the system is too tedious and painful, especially if many others are competing for the same plot.

I sat today for hours in front of the one plot on my entire server that was empty per chance, waiting for it to be, "freed up". Then one other person. Then five. Then 8. It's an FC buying it for themselves. They all had private houses. I have nada. Seriously. This system is ridiculous. Your amount doesn't meet demand. It's as unfair as it is a punishment to the people pumping money in every month.

I just don't understand why, if they really want to keep it this way, why not add more wards? It's ridiculous. I can't really justify no lifing a click farm like this just to get a house.

This is easily one of the most embarassingly awful systems I've ever seen in a videogame, partially because of the server limitations. I understand it's probably hard to load that much information so many times over but... Jeez, man.

I've spent a few hours doing the same you did. Not only did I spend my day off doing this, I managed to not get it, with a nice little bonus of getting taunted by the player that actually snagged it. It's humiliating.

Housing takes up no small amount of resources and I'm willing to be a nice chunk of our subscription. It now feels dirty to think that after 6 or so years straight of playing this game, I'm paying so that other people can enjoy content that I'm locked away from. Come Eden, I most definitely won't have time to sit and camp houses either.

It's tempting to say SE doesn't care. I'm trying not to get cynical about it, but it's been YEARS now.

I'm dealing with this now. I think making a RNG timer that no one can see to prevent what some people were doing (that are still doing it) is ridiculous. Why prevent so many innocent people from buying a house if it's available?

It's one thing if I can't get a house because they're all taken, I'm completely fine with that. But a random RNG timer where we have to sit here? In a pay to play game? Not okay.

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Originally Posted by Dreamsoap

I just don't understand why, if they really want to keep it this way, why not add more wards? It's ridiculous. I can't really justify no lifing a click farm like this just to get a house.

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They claim not enough server space to open more wards, I believe. Very much the same reason why there's no intention to add glamour dressers in our rooms.

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Originally Posted by ern815

They claim not enough server space to open more wards, I believe. Very much the same reason why there's no intention to add glamour dressers in our rooms.

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The glamour dresser issue is because of a problem associating the glamour dresser with an individual. I think SE said it might be possible adding them to apartments since only one person can own an apartment spot at any point in time but houses have quite a lot of restrictions on them.

Will be interested to see how SE handles this.

A lottery system is an awful awful idea. It should be first come first serve. If you aren't there when the timer opens, well better luck next time. I think the timer on new opened housing is fine, its just intensified by the housing crisis and the demand being faaaaaar larger than the number of plots available. They should just future proof housing with 30 wards and be done with it already. Never have to touch it again. Server capacity is not a valid excuse with the massive amount of money they get from subs. They could easily increase it, they just aren't doing it.

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Originally Posted by Vaell

A lottery system is an awful awful idea. It should be first come first serve. If you aren't there when the timer opens, well better luck next time. I think the timer on new opened housing is fine, its just intensified by the housing crisis and the demand being faaaaaar larger than the number of plots available. They should just future proof housing with 30 wards and be done with it already. Never have to touch it again. Server capacity is not a valid excuse with the massive amount of money they get from subs. They could easily increase it, they just aren't doing it.

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The problem I have with the current system is it gives an advantage to people using autoclicker addons and it encourages people to farm for hours on end for a small chance at being the first one.

A lottery system would give people a fair share at it without encouraging people to sit there for hours not knowing when the timer will come off and won't give you an advantage if you use an addon.

I really see no downside to using a lottery system, and this is coming from someone who already owns a house.

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Originally Posted by Bright-Flower

The problem I have with the current system is it gives an advantage to people using autoclicker addons and it encourages people to farm for hours on end for a small chance at being the first one.

A lottery system would give people a fair share at it without encouraging people to sit there for hours not knowing when the timer will come off and won't give you an advantage if you use an addon.

I really see no downside to using a lottery system, and this is coming from someone who already owns a house.

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So you want rng when we already have rng? Please...

The only fair system is the old system. Make the plots really expensive and let players gamble with the devaluation timer.

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Originally Posted by MaybeOliverB

The only fair system is the old system. Make the plots really expensive and let players gamble with the devaluation timer.

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No, it's not. The old system only benefited those with loads of gil. Devaluation does not matter to players who have enough gil to buy multiple wards.

A fair system would be instanced housing.

If SE insists on keeping future housing in persistent neighbourhoods:

I support a lottery system with limits on how many people can enter the lottery list or as someone else has proposed in another thread, a lottery system with a waiting list,where you can either queue in the list for a specific plot or any plot which becomes available.

I honestly hate that someone can relocate to a house, despite the timer. Like, I can be at a house 3 hours before anyone else, but the moment someone who already has a house decides they want to move there, they can buy it before I even have the opportunity. either everyone should get the timer or nobody should get the timer, its completely unfair that some people get it and some people dont.

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Originally Posted by MaybeOliverB

So you want rng when we already have rng? Please...

The only fair system is the old system. Make the plots really expensive and let players gamble with the devaluation timer.

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The old system benefited people with tons of gil who would pay people to vacate houses leading to highly inflated costs to get housing. It's the reason why the implemented random timers, so you can't directly sell the plot to someone else. Though this is a half measure as you can still pay someone to vacate a plot and then xfer into it if you have a house already.

Lottery rng would be fair rng without the stress of having to camp a plot not knowing when it's going to come up or worry about people with addons having an advantage. It's fair, prevents direct plot sales, and is all around easier on potential buyers.

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Originally Posted by TwistedTea

No, it's not. The old system only benefited those with loads of gil. Devaluation does not matter to players who have enough gil to buy multiple wards.

A fair system would be instanced housing.

If SE insists on keeping future housing in persistent neighbourhoods:

I support a lottery system with limits on how many people can enter the lottery list or as someone else has proposed in another thread, a lottery system with a waiting list,where you can either queue in the list for a specific plot or any plot which becomes available.

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Originally Posted by Bright-Flower

The old system benefited people with tons of gil who would pay people to vacate houses leading to highly inflated costs to get housing. It's the reason why the implemented random timers, so you can't directly sell the plot to someone else. Though this is a half measure as you can still pay someone to vacate a plot and then xfer into it if you have a house already.

Lottery rng would be fair rng without the stress of having to camp a plot not knowing when it's going to come up or worry about people with addons having an advantage. It's fair, prevents direct plot sales, and is all around easier on potential buyers.

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And what has changed since? Literally nothing regarding house trading. Except aspiring house owners have to resort to using automation or waste their free time. Players purchase relocations for personal and FC houses and players still trade FC houses (that's been ongoing since 2.1)

If you two seriously believe that a lottery system is fair, you must believe that communism is fair. :rolleyes:

Grinding to get what you desire, in this case... housing, is the only fair system.

Lottery would work just add some invisible counter that goes up every time you fail to get a house rising your chance to get another one.Also add private relocators in that lottery with a higher initial bonus chance tada RNG might still screw you over but you won´t waste hours on hours while tring it

I really think the current method of buying a house needs to change - I keep finding uncamped plots, stay there for 6~ hours or so and I'm STILL blocked by the almighty invisible timer. I think I have camped houses for well over 36 hours now (not concurrently), but even so.... this is getting to be too much, especially as I am so horrendously unlucky.

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Originally Posted by Billythepancake

I honestly hate that someone can relocate to a house, despite the timer. Like, I can be at a house 3 hours before anyone else, but the moment someone who already has a house decides they want to move there, they can buy it before I even have the opportunity. either everyone should get the timer or nobody should get the timer, its completely unfair that some people get it and some people dont.

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Your statement, that some people are dealing with the timer and others don't, is completely false.

Did it cross your mind that relocators had had to deal with the timer when they were, like you, trying to buy their very first house? Why should they have to deal with the timer for a second time? That would be unfair.

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Originally Posted by Ishgardian

Your statement, that some people are dealing with the timer and others don't, is completely false.

Did it cross your mind that relocators had had to deal with the timer when they were, like you, trying to buy their very first house? Why should they have to deal with the timer for a second time? That would be unfair.

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There are some who like to repeatedly relocate with the purpose of resetting the housing timers, just to screw with campers.

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Originally Posted by Nix

There are some who like to repeatedly relocate with the purpose of resetting the housing timers, just to screw with campers.

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Because some people have nothing better to do than trolling doesn't change the fact that first time house buyers have to go through the timer. All of them with no exception.

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Originally Posted by MaybeOliverB

If you two seriously believe that a lottery system is fair, you must believe that communism is fair. :rolleyes:

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Lol,non-argument.

I think a lottery system would be better. For example:

1. If a player wants a specific plot, they have to click on the placard within the hour it opens and put down a refundable deposit. Only the first 10 people, will be in the list/lottery hat.

2. If a player wants a random plot, the players chooses whether they want a small,medium,large and the system informs them when such a plot becomes available.

They then put down a refundable deposit and this list should be limited to the first 30 people within an hour after the system sent out the notification.

This does away with the need for spam clicking and doesn't create long waiting lists. The RNG here would come down to frequent checking when plots become available and 'fighting' those on the current lottery list/hat.

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Originally Posted by TwistedTea

Lol,non-argument.

I think a lottery system would be better. For example:

1. If a player wants a specific plot, they have to click on the placard within the hour it opens and put down a refundable deposit. Only the first 10 people, will be in the list/lottery hat.

2. If a player wants a random plot, the players chooses whether they want a small,medium,large and the system informs them when such a plot becomes available.

They then put down a refundable deposit and this list should be limited to the first 30 people within an hour after the system sent out the notification.

This does away with the need for spam clicking and doesn't create long waiting lists. The RNG here would come down to frequent checking when plots become available and 'fighting' those on the current lottery list/hat.

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So anyone with a job during the day is unable to get a house as they have to spend most of their off time watching aetherytes for houses? As much as I agree with people on some aspects. The "lottery" system isn't one of them, sorry. It's a bad system people are proposing.

Let's all come to the agreement that SE probably never intended for players to camp a particular house, doing nothing for 20+ hours, and still be unable to get the listing. Not to mention that the current system is essentially a lottery anyway, just one that you have to continually press buttons for.

Instead, let's kill two birds with one stone.

• Keep the random timer as is and don't limit the number of people who can apply for the house nor how many houses they can apply for at a time.
• When applying for a house, you have to put down the cost as a deposit. If you do not win the raffle, then your money is automatically shipped back to you via moogle mail with a 50,000 gil fee subtracted.
• If a player relocates their house to the vacant location, the deposit will be returned without charging the player a fee.
• The moment you win a house, all other listings that you are still entered in will have their money sent back with the fee removed as if you lost the listing.
• Restrict the purchase of Private houses to players who have completed the Shadowbringers MSQ (obviously this would update with each expansion release, and any character owning a house prior to this change would not have to give up the land).
• If for some reason, the timer is expired before anyone enters into the raffle, then the land can be bought normally.

This way, players only gain a moderate advantage by having a lot of gil, and in return it acts as a major gil sink on the economy. In return for giving wealthy players this advantage, it opens up housing to pretty much every player with the money to buy a house, since the ridiculous timer means occasionally popping in for an hour or two every day and checking the aetheryte once will probably alert you to any listings currently on the market.

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Originally Posted by Eskuire

So anyone with a job during the day is unable to get a house as they have to spend most of their off time watching aetherytes for houses? As much as I agree with people on some aspects. The "lottery" system isn't one of them, sorry. It's a bad system people are proposing.

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Sorry but a job,family,IRL responsibilities are not a good argument against a lottery system:

"I have a job and a family, I don't have time for Savage raids."

In an MMORPG, those with more time to play will always have an advantage.

Under the current system, more than 10 players can be camping a placard clicking for more than 22 hours.

If anything, the current system is not job/family IRL responsibilities friendly.

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Originally Posted by The_Last_Dragoon

Instead, let's kill two birds with one stone.

• Restrict the purchase of Private houses to players who have completed the Shadowbringers MSQ (obviously this would update with each expansion release, and any character owning a house prior to this change would not have to give up the land).

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Curious as to why you included this as a requirement. Not everyone has access to the latest expansion and currently the restrictions to own a house are:

• Character with level 50 in 1 of the classes.
  
• Second Lieutenant in 1 of the Grand Companies for Personal Housing. Rank 6 or higher Free Company for Free Company Housing.

Why do you think the current restrictions are not sufficient?

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Originally Posted by TwistedTea

Curious as to why you included this as a requirement. Not everyone has access to the latest expansion and currently the restrictions to own a house are:

• Character with level 50 in 1 of the classes.
  
• Second Lieutenant in 1 of the Grand Companies for Personal Housing. Rank 6 or higher Free Company for Free Company Housing.

Why do you think the current restrictions are not sufficient?

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It's because the problem lies with players who either horde houses using alts or scalp them in order to sell the space as a transfer fodder. By requiring the current MSQ, it ensures the player that wants to purchase land is active and purposely hinders players who want to buy more than one through alts. Without these limitations, a raffle type system would run rampant with wealthy players easily being able to snatch up land at the meager price of a level skip potion and an afternoon's worth of dungeons and head hunting.

Additionally, this wouldn't affect veteran players who already own houses and have simply not played through the expansion yet. The only real victims would be new players that mysteriously inherit a massive fortune prior to finishing the MSQ. In fact, to say that a player, who has several million gil and is indeed an active enough player to want a house without somehow already having one, would not have the latest expansion of a game that they've invested so much time into is both irregular and unlikely.

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Originally Posted by TwistedTea

Sorry but a job,family,IRL responsibilities are not a good argument against a lottery system:

"I have a job and a family, I don't have time for Savage raids."

In an MMORPG, those with more time to play will always have an advantage.

Under the current system, more than 10 players can be camping a placard clicking for more than 22 hours.

If anything, the current system is not job/family IRL responsibilities friendly.

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And a lottery based system would be? Hell, you could probably free up 1/8th of every server if you just make houses account wide and only 1 purchaseable per SE account, a majority of people who hold onto them to flip them for 50 million for a small would be out of a business. I get the frustration, believe me I do to those who don't have houses. But on an active server, with an expansion just launching and no news on added wards, having a lottery system with a server full of active players and giving them an hour window is just masking a problem that still constantly exists.

Mew's point of making them the old 2.0'ish levels of pricing is correct. Hell I saved for a ridiculous long time just to buy a small back then, and at one point I was in an FC on Gilgamesh before I left that server that they literally owned almost every house of the entire ward to themselves. 3 million is a drop of a hat to someone who plays this game for a reasonable amount of time and understand how a market works, making it a luxury price, something the player NEEDS to work for would put a halt to people just snatching up random houses on alts with auto clickers.

Would you rather drop 10-30 million on a small just by walking to the placard and clicking buy, or would you rather deal with an RNG lottery in both scenarios against a random guy with 150 million gil and a bunch of alts all holding 7 of his 150 mil on them with blank FC's on the same account with an auto clicker set up specifically to buy them? Then he'll go on reddit housing to sell those same smalls for 60 million?

When things are cheap and affordable then it'll create a high demand for something of limited stock. High cost with high demand and limited stock creates a niche'd market. Thus you weed out the randoms with 5 million camping a placard for 22 hours, if developers aren't willing to do anything about it, then they need to weed out demand. And that's the only way aside from a complete makeover of the entire system, which they've sidestepped for 2 years now.

Alright you know it's bad when players are getting physically injured trying desperately for a house. Then only to have a bot beat them to it and then the player giving everyone who lost the house the electronic middle finger. Please take care of yourselves the house is not worth your health. I agree the current housing system is unhealthy. Both physically and emotionally. I mean it causes you to automatically hate anyone and everyone vying for the same house, and as stated in this thread causes some physical health issues. Not to mention the massive time sink it may take you to finally get one.

I won't even try buying a house. I would rather have everything done to me the Angry Video Game nerd says he would rather have done to him than play those bad games, than try buying a house now. Good luck in your house buying endeavors, and don't hurt yourselves please.

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Originally Posted by Ishgardian

Your statement, that some people are dealing with the timer and others don't, is completely false.

Did it cross your mind that relocators had had to deal with the timer when they were, like you, trying to buy their very first house? Why should they have to deal with the timer for a second time? That would be unfair.

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I understand how you feel but if you decide you want to move for whatever reason you are also deciding to re enter the housing market. Unlike the unworthy 1st time home buyer if you were to lose the placard spam contest you have a home to go back to, they do not. Just because you won round 1 does not automatically mean you should win round 2. But it is the way it is so enjoy giving the hopeful 1st time buyer the finger as you swoop in and take it and start moving in your stuff.

I like to note that some people have several homes somehow, in my Ward the first 4 plots have the same last name and 3 dead FCs, unsure how that’s possible

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Originally Posted by Jirah

I like to note that some people have several homes somehow, in my Ward the first 4 plots have the same last name and 3 dead FCs, unsure how that’s possible

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Absolutely nothing prevents anyone from acquiring 8 FC houses on a single server at this moment. No loopholes involved.

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Originally Posted by The_Last_Dragoon

In fact, to say that a player, who has several million gil and is indeed an active enough player to want a house without somehow already having one, would not have the latest expansion of a game that they've invested so much time into is both irregular and unlikely.

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I made 20 million gil before even reaching endgame 5 years ago, when making gil was much harder to make than it is now. If someone wants to make gil, it's very easily made, especially in the game's current economy.

Might be worth noting that endgame back then meant level 50.

SE might increase the prices of plots in the housing districts when they decide to make housing districts a sort of legacy housing area, and simultaneously when an instanced form of housing is implemented that way everyone can have a house in the determined instanced zone, with all the utility and possibly aesthetics of a plotted house minus the plot

Friend and I have been trying for 12 hours on two different plots, one right next to the other, to get a house for our FC. BOTH plots are still unable to be purchased. This is honestly absurd.