PSA: you might not want an individual medium or large house

Maybe you're trying to get a house right now, and feeling discouraged because all everyone seems to talk about is how great mediums and larges are, and--because the artificial scarcity caused by the ward system is objectively terrible--your chances of getting any house, let alone a medium or large, seem slim. Or maybe you're one of the lucky ones and you now own a small, but feel unsatisfied because you "should" own a medium, or the dream: a large.

A lot of players feel frustrated when they "only" get a small. I never have. I'm going to try to explain why, here. It's a long post, so I'm putting a TL/DR at the end. This post isn't trying to tell you you're wrong if you prefer a medium or a large. I'm asking you to consider points that don't often get discussed when housing comes up for conversation, in case you haven't thought of them before. This is intended as a PSA to consider, not a judgment on what you value!

As of this post, there's still opportunities coming up for the Mateus servers to get individual smalls, and in a few months every other DC will get new servers with new individual houses available as well. And the current assumption of the community is that after a few lottery runs, the FC-only wards will be opened up to individual buyers, and by that time all of the remaining houses available will be smalls.

There are way too few houses to meet current demand. Almost everyone hates the house-buying system, it's objectively terrible, always has been, I'm not arguing against that here, there are a billion other threads about that, I'm not trying to add to that here. But SE seems deaf and silent to our complaints, so for now at least we have to live with it. If I can persuade some players that (some of) the smalls are actually better than most/all mediums and larges, maybe you can go for one of those and be perfectly happy!

I think the desire for mediums and larges boils down mostly to two things: space and scarcity. Space: rounding a bit for clarity, mediums have roughly 2 times the floor space of a small, and larges have roughly 8 times. Scarcity: also rounding a bit for clarity, for every 7 smalls available there are 2 mediums and 1 large.

Seems clear, right? Mediums and larges have more space to play with and are more rare, therefore -of course- they're better! Well, maybe not, that's not the whole story.

There are three main other factors to consider: opportunity cost, location, and item density.

Opportunity cost: there are multiple ways to grind gil in this game, and most players think this really boils down to "is the boredom of grinding to an estimated 25 or 60 million total gil worth the pleasure of purchasing the plot, house, and furnishings for a medium or large for you". But that's actually the wrong way to think about it (sorry!), in a subtle but important way. It would cost roughly 5-ish million total gil to purchase and furnish a small house. So the way we should really be thinking about it is "is the boredom of grinding an additional 20 or 55 million gil worth the additional pleasure owning a medium or a large would provide, over owning a small and all the other things that could be purchased with that extra 20 or 55 million gil for you". Only you can answer that for yourself, but my point here is please make sure you're asking the right question!

Location: for me, most of the medium and large houses are poorly located. They have bad views, or they're not facing a potentially good view, or they're a long run from the market board, and so on. There are some exceptions, but even the exceptions are worse (to me) than my favourite smalls. Now, this is even more subjective, some players don't care about the outdoor view or market board access at all, and that's okay! But I do care about the view at least, very much, and you might as well, so please make sure to consider how you feel about that. Wander the wards, look at the plots, and consider how they make you feel. And keep in mind the locations considered by the majority to be best will therefore have that much more competition as well!

Item density: this requires a bit of math (sorry!), but what it boils down to is you can fit fewer items in the same amount of space, the larger the house. Mediums have about 2 times the space of a small and larges about 8, but smalls have an item cap of 200, mediums 300, and larges 400. This roughly means that for every 4 items you could fit in whatever size of space you're considering in a small, you could fit only 3 items in a space of equal size in a medium, and only 1(!) in a large. This is one main reason why so many larges have their basements--and more!--walled off and empty; they've hit their item limit well before they've furnished anywhere near the whole available space. And if there are no walled-off spaces, the furnishings often look spread out and sparse. This is my own personal main reason that I long ago decided I -did not want- a large: if I'm going to effectively shrink a large down to a small by walling off the rest of the space...I'll just buy a small and get the benefits of the lower price and better location while I'm at it! Maybe you feel the same way?

Now, in a perfect housing system, none of these would be issues. We could buy the house we wanted, in the location we wanted, with the view we wanted, and with an item limit that at the least scales equally with size. Unfortunately, we have none of these, and instanced housing isn't coming any time soon. We're stuck with the terrible house purchasing system we have. But maybe you can find a small that you like better than most/all of the mediums available, and therefore give yourself a better chance to win a house you can be genuinely pleased to own.

My ideal plot is a small: Lavender Beds 39. (Not 9, specifically the subdivision 39.) It's a small. If I could only ever own one house on my account, with no way around the restriction like shell FCs or alts on different worlds, I would choose LB39. The waterfall view in the back is -gorgeous- to me; every time I log out I sit her down facing that view so that it's what greets me when I log back in again later. It's pretty much immune to paissa-house eyesores (although I'm lucky I don't have that in my ward anyway), I'm close to the market board and retainer bell, I was able to furnish the entire house so that it feels lived in and not wide open and empty, and I sometimes stop browsing the market board/retainers just so I can watch the absolutely stunning sunsets. It's her forever home, she's never leaving (although if Sharlayan housing is ever released she -might- be tempted! : ) Your favourite small might be different from mine, and that's fine; my point is your favourite plot might actually -be- a small, not a medium or a large.

Whew! If you got all the way to the end of this, then -thank you- for reading all of it! I hope it was worth your time, and that I gave you some good points to consider.

TL/DR: smalls are in some ways better than most mediums and larges. The three main reasons are: the opportunity costs of the additional time and gil required to purchase and furnish a medium or a large; the better locations of many smalls in terms of view and accessibility; and the greater item density per space the smalls offer over mediums and larges. I'm not saying you're wrong if you really do prefer a medium or a large! I just want to offer some points that -just might- persuade you to prefer a small instead.

I love my small, it's my forever home, I'm not moving even if I can; maybe there's a small out there for you that will make you feel the same way!

You sound like someone trying to eliminate competition for a scarce item by trying to convince others why it's a bad choice.

People like what they like for their own reasons. Trying to tell them they're wrong to like those things is a waste of time. Some will be like you and prefer the smalls because they like feeling confined in a small space. Others won't because they like large open spaces that can't be achieved with a small.

Smalls are only better in that they are easier to obtain due to lower price and larger supply. Players are going to go after the mediums and larges because of the additional flexibility that comes with them. You can turn a medium or large into a small sized space yet have 100-200 more items to place. Want an attic floor instead of a basement floor? You can do that with a medium or large. You can't with a small.

It's great that you find your small fits what you want. I'm sure there are other players who feel the same way but you're never going to convince the majority when the larger sized houses can give the best of both worlds.

Nah, I saved up for a large or medium so I know what I want.

I had a small. It sucked. I let it go so other people could have it.
Now I am homeless, unless you count the half a cardboard box that is my apartment.

I'm gonna go ahead and not do what the others are by assuming there's ulterior motives. People are ignoring smalls, so it could just be you legitimately trying to be helpful. With that said, I think it depends on the build someone is trying to do. If they want a hyper-condensed 'cozy' style, then yeah no reason to get a large. But if you want something in a victorian/gothic/insert third more period accurate style, larges give by far the most freedom to do exactly what you want with it.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

You sound like someone trying to eliminate competition for a scarce item by trying to convince others why it's a bad choice.

People like what they like for their own reasons. Trying to tell them they're wrong to like those things is a waste of time. Some will be like you and prefer the smalls because they like feeling confined in a small space. Others won't because they like large open spaces that can't be achieved with a small.

Smalls are only better in that they are easier to obtain due to lower price and larger supply. Players are going to go after the mediums and larges because of the additional flexibility that comes with them. You can turn a medium or large into a small sized space yet have 100-200 more items to place. Want an attic floor instead of a basement floor? You can do that with a medium or large. You can't with a small.

It's great that you find your small fits what you want. I'm sure there are other players who feel the same way but you're never going to convince the majority when the larger sized houses can give the best of both worlds.

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Sure, but I feel like there's quite a lot of people who got a small house and just leave it undecorated for ages because hey, maybe one day they'll get a medium or large which could never happen given their scarcity.

I think what the original poster is trying to say is instead of hankering over wanting a larger house, why not just decorate the small you already had and be satisfied with that? The issue with society in general is that everyone always keep wanting more (bigger houses, bigger cars etc.) and spent their whole lives chasing that and had to end up sacrificing other parts of their lives, whereas if they are able to just tell themselves that yes, this is what I have and I am already satisfied with that, they will end up much happier. Anyway I'm getting sidetracked but this is just my personal thoughts.

For exterior, I like smalls because the yards are L-shaped. I can neatly compartment or make hidden section outside the house. However, the item limit is not sufficient for my build without blocking the basement off. A small without the basement, I might as well get an apartment (which I do).

In my opinion, part of the reason mediums and large are more sought after is simply due to the extra item limit those provide compared to smalls. There are other reasons of course but it's up to the individual and their ways of decorating the house.

I dont see the point of smalls when apartments are very comparable to them.

I'm after a Medium seeing as Large is completely filled on my server, unfortunate but Squenix likes it this way.

To me, Mediums have the ideal floor plan; the split-level design is something I prefer both IRL and in game. That being said, I've only had Smalls in the past because they're enough. I don't need a bigger space and don't want to focus on making the Gil needed to buy the larger plots. I can buy a small and decorate it to the gills, possibly even hire an interior designer, with millions less than I'd spend on the Medium plot and permit alone. With the smaller sized yard, I get more apparent item density than I would in larger plots with enough space to move around comfortably. I've found a small plot in Empyreum with a good view and reasonable access to the market board and if I win it, that'll be enough for me.

If they made a three-floor Small with a 3x3 square main and bottom floors and a 2x4 upper floor/attic, I'd be all over that.

I would gladly take a small if they would lift those restrictions on placement, such as gardening and whatnot. But that's also the point of getting the larger houses other than space.

So, I bid on a medium. I will leave the large house to the larger FCs, but the medium would help out even with my small FC. I'd like to reclaim my personal house useability for me. ;) Taking out the crafting tables and gardening would help me, and they can go back to the FC.

Smalls have a counterintuitive layout, mediums have their stairs that are inexplicably flipped from the way they should be and cut off valuable floor real estate all over the place, larges have asinine pillars and weird zone-specific differences and an awkward giant basement and the window room and all in all nowhere near enough item limit for the space. No layout is really ideal, every one of them will pop up some problem that interferes with your design goals eventually.

What gets me is when people declare "I can't live in a small!" before they've ever even tried decorating out a small or apartment space. It's shooting yourself in both feet and a recipe for unhappiness. Hell, in a non-zero amount of cases what people really want to achieve their goals that can "only fit in a large" is actually a small FC house and multiple alt rooms - trying to wedge too many purpose-built spaces into a single house is one of those things that torpedoes a design before it even starts.

Seriously, though: there's a reason the most valuable house in the game on the grey market is a medium, not a large. (Okay, multiple reasons, but still.)

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Originally Posted by Sindele

What gets me is when people declare "I can't live in a small!"

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A small house has more living space than my two bedroom apartment.....

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Originally Posted by Sindele

Smalls have a counterintuitive layout, mediums have their stairs that are inexplicably flipped from the way they should be and cut off valuable floor real estate all over the place, larges have asinine pillars and weird zone-specific differences and an awkward giant basement and the window room and all in all nowhere near enough item limit for the space. No layout is really ideal, every one of them will pop up some problem that interferes with your design goals eventually.

What gets me is when people declare "I can't live in a small!" before they've ever even tried decorating out a small or apartment space. It's shooting yourself in both feet and a recipe for unhappiness. Hell, in a non-zero amount of cases what people really want to achieve their goals that can "only fit in a large" is actually a small FC house and multiple alt rooms - trying to wedge too many purpose-built spaces into a single house is one of those things that torpedoes a design before it even starts.

Seriously, though: there's a reason the most valuable house in the game on the grey market is a medium, not a large. (Okay, multiple reasons, but still.)

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I have an apartment in game. It is FAR too small for me to do the things I wanted to do. Even with glitched lofts. This is why I am dead set on trying for a medium. I know full well I will probably not get one but I will keep trying as long as there are medium plots to be had.

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Originally Posted by Illmaeran

A small house has more living space than my two bedroom apartment.....

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That must be one tiny 2 bdr apartment then. Small houses are usually about the same size as 1-2 bedroom apartments (and probably don't need to mention the tiny house movement where they're even smaller). The main difference is the dwelling is detached from other homes so you get a bit of yard.

Somewhat irrelevant to the discussion though since housing in a game isn't for the purpose of "living space". It's a primarily creative and/or social outlet since we don't truly live in them with our characters (unless we're playing a game like the Sims).

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Originally Posted by Eraden

I have an apartment in game. It is FAR too small for me to do the things I wanted to do. Even with glitched lofts. This is why I am dead set on trying for a medium. I know full well I will probably not get one but I will keep trying as long as there are medium plots to be had.

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Which is the main problem. Smalls work well for some creative designs but they work poorly for most.

It would be really nice to learn why SE is having such difficulties providing size options for apartments. It's something they said they were looking into doing back in Stormblood. I'm not referring to the ability to upgrade an apartment after purchase. The technical limitations preventing that I can more or less understand. I'm talking about a player being able to walk up to the Apartment Caretaker, say I want to purchase an apartment, have the caretaker ask "what size"?, player picks tiny (current) or small or medium or large (equivalent to house interiors) and they purchase that size. Many players would be fine foregoing a house if they could get a house sized interior, especially when there would be no risk of demoltion.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

That must be one tiny 2 bdr apartment then.

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12 paces side to side, so about 18 metres x 18 metres. or 324sqm. 2 floors make it over 600SQM.

That's pretty big.

(As in all games, the camera behind your head changes one's impression of the true space.)

Garden Plots. That is it. If I could hold as many Garden Plots on a small or even an outdoor apartment I would never care for a large home. However the housing situation has left a bad taste in my mouth after camping a place for 30 hours straight only for a dude to stroll up and move his house...

I live under a bridge now. It's my bridge.

As someone who successfully migrated datacentres for housing purposes, I can with clarity confirm that Small plots are inferior to Large plots in every single way! At least this is my humble opinion ever since I managed to claim a large plot. Fingers crossed for all people waiting for theirs to be unstuck. Hopefully soon <3

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

That must be one tiny 2 bdr apartment then. Small houses are usually about the same size as 1-2 bedroom apartments (and probably don't need to mention the tiny house movement where they're even smaller). The main difference is the dwelling is detached from other homes so you get a bit of yard.

Somewhat irrelevant to the discussion though since housing in a game isn't for the purpose of "living space". It's a primarily creative and/or social outlet since we don't truly live in them with our characters (unless we're playing a game like the Sims).


Which is the main problem. Smalls work well for some creative designs but they work poorly for most.

It would be really nice to learn why SE is having such difficulties providing size options for apartments. It's something they said they were looking into doing back in Stormblood. I'm not referring to the ability to upgrade an apartment after purchase. The technical limitations preventing that I can more or less understand. I'm talking about a player being able to walk up to the Apartment Caretaker, say I want to purchase an apartment, have the caretaker ask "what size"?, player picks tiny (current) or small or medium or large (equivalent to house interiors) and they purchase that size. Many players would be fine foregoing a house if they could get a house sized interior, especially when there would be no risk of demoltion.

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If they implemented different sizes of apartments, I would buy a large and never take so much as another glance at ward houses ever again. A yard is nice but what I REALLY want is an interior that is large enough to be able to be customized to suit my tastes. If I could have that, I would be happy to forgo a yard.

The crap item limit for Large plots is a huuuuge negative. To make something look lived in you have no choice but to wall off areas and it sucks. That said, I still rather have to wall off a bit and have more item limit and a huge garden than a small. I did have that same lavender beds plot for a while before I moved my fc house, I did really like that spot but what I HATED was the flowers dotted all over the grass and I couldn't get rid of it. So I moved us to shiro then to Ishgard.

If it wasn't for demolition I would aim for a medium, because it has the best space/limit ratio. As it stands I'll just stick with my apartment and FC room because I don't want to lose the ridiculous amount of time/gil/effort if I have to take a break from the game for whatever reason.

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Originally Posted by Sindele

Smalls have a counterintuitive layout, mediums have their stairs that are inexplicably flipped from the way they should be and cut off valuable floor real estate all over the place, larges have asinine pillars and weird zone-specific differences and an awkward giant basement and the window room and all in all nowhere near enough item limit for the space. No layout is really ideal, every one of them will pop up some problem that interferes with your design goals eventually.

What gets me is when people declare "I can't live in a small!" before they've ever even tried decorating out a small or apartment space. It's shooting yourself in both feet and a recipe for unhappiness. Hell, in a non-zero amount of cases what people really want to achieve their goals that can "only fit in a large" is actually a small FC house and multiple alt rooms - trying to wedge too many purpose-built spaces into a single house is one of those things that torpedoes a design before it even starts.

Seriously, though: there's a reason the most valuable house in the game on the grey market is a medium, not a large. (Okay, multiple reasons, but still.)

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Out of curiosity, what specific house is that?

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Originally Posted by Raim

Out of curiosity, what specific house is that?

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I believe he's talking about Lavender Beds Plot 41, which is the most sought after property in all of Eorzea.