Pushed to quit after 1,860 days subbed

[Solarra]

I really don't understand this obsession whether the OP was at fault (especially since they've admitted as much and are not asking for their house back or complaining the demolition was unfair).
The point is, under the present system people do lose houses that they actually wanted to keep. Since housing is in such short supply I think we've all accepted that some sort of demolition is necessary, OP included.
What I find hard to accept is that people also stand to lose their furniture if they don't log in within a relatively short time. There is no justification for deleting virtual assets (some of which may have been purchased from the cash-shop). I can think of no other game that does this to players who are still paying a sub.
Edit: I can't think of any other game that does this even if your sub lapses.

This issue is compounded by the fact that notification emails appear to have gone astray and that the timer is only visible for 15 days and tucked away on a secondary tab of your timers menu. I really don't think it would be unreasonable to put the timer somewhere more prominent and have it always visible. From the time you leave your house that timer starts ticking down, so let us see it.

[Sigma-Astra]

But, every time before you're able to log in, you have the option to visit the Lodestone for information. The game literally gives you headlines and topics that you should click on and read BEFORE you even log in to play the game. It's not supplementary reading when the game literally posts it right in front of your face each and every time you log in. We may as well argue that people reading their tool tips is supplementary reading because people already don't do that and it's already in-game.

The patch notes are there to let you know what changes have been made and what is still on the mend of being fixed. If you choose not to read them, that's your own fault, not the fault of SE. If they never even gave us that information at all, period, you'd have a better point. But, it shouldn't matter where the information is located at. The point of the matter is that they're giving us that information regardless, it may not be in-game like you like it to be, but the fact of the matter is that it's still there to be read and learned.

You can't complain there's no information regarding something when there is. You're just lamenting that it's not in a more convenient location for you to read it, which is a moot point. The Lodestone is part of the game, you literally cannot log into the Lodestone or do anything without an account. They make the presence of the Lodestone apparent every single time you try to log into the game.

[Ilyrian]

What I find hard to accept is that people also stand to lose their furniture if they don't log in within a relatively short time. There is no justification for deleting virtual assets (some of which may have been purchased from the cash-shop). I can think of no other game that does this to players who are still paying a sub.

I think this is a really interesting point.
Not wanting to derail too much but this is an issue I have with things like the cash-shop etc.
I think a lot of us need a wake-up call like the OP: nobody owns anything in this game, not even the things we bought with cash from the shop.
Everything is in essence rented from SE and they can - at any moment, flip the switch and take it all away. No recourse, no explanation.
I think it should be kept in mind when spending huge amounts in the cash shop on virtual items, and this is applicable to all games, that we own nothing.
But that's just a personal gripe against cash shops in subscription MMOs - it's not right to give people the impression that they own something.

[Iscah]

one of the housing NPCs in every single ward every district of the game, explains the demo timer to you if you speak to them.

I knew about the demolition timer from this in-game source before I was even eligible for a house, because I found this NPC and read through all the instructions.

Also if I remember correctly you have to go to that person (or someone next to them) to buy your house permit in the first place? Maybe it hasn’t always functioned that way though.

[Solarra]

You can't complain there's no information regarding something when there is. You're just lamenting that it's just not in a more convenient location for you to read it, which is a moot point. The Lodestone is part of the game, you literally cannot log into the Lodestone or do anything without an account. They make the presence of the Lodestone apparent every single time you try to log into the game.

I'd love to know how many people actually do check the lodestone every time before they log in to the game. I hardly ever do. It's time consuming on PS4 as pages take so long to load. I'm not saying I'm right, just saying that it's not something I regard as part of the game or as a necessary part of my log in. But we're getting sidetracked. The Lodestone doesn't tell you if your house is about to be demolished, either.

I think it would be a great idea to have the information in a 'more convenient location'. If it stops people losing houses they wanted to keep and cuts down on work for the GMs, surely that would be a good thing. After all, this is a game, not some sort of character development programme.

[R-Pete-G]

I'm not quite sure why you are hung up on not having to refer to outside sources to learn about the game. Do you refuse to look at https://xivdb.com/ or http://www.ffxivclock.com or any other guides/sites that make your in-game life easier?

But, regardless, if it is so absolutely necessary that you learn everything from in-game sources, I feel the need to point out that one of the housing NPCs in every single ward every district of the game, explains the demo timer to you if you speak to them.

XIVDB and FFXIVClock are great examples. They're optional, complementary resources. You can use them, but you won't literally lose content you've earned if you don't. Imagine a system that deleted your relic weapons if you didn't do something with them on a regular basis, that was only properly documented and broadcast on XIVDB.

As for the housing NPCs explaining the demolition timer, it's under the 3rd level of dialogue options, triggered by choosing "What happens if I abandon my estate?" - which is fairly ambiguous, and appears to relate more to a wilful decision to abandon without even a hint that it might document any automated process. That's a staggeringly obtuse way to see the explanation of auto demolition, and is still woefully unclear when compared to the precedent of most other features through which FFXIV has set the expectation of a player.

[Kurando]

but because I doubted Squenix's capacity to make really important information available as they should.

But you know housing is not that important of a feature, it's not required to play the game and it's mostly for glamour/self-fullfilment purposes. Sure you can put lots of money and time in to it but anyone can do that with any of the optional features the game provides, but it's only important to you and not to SE so you cannot put the complete blame on to them. You didn't check the Play Guide (lodestone or ask around etc) when it came to housing, you made the assumption this was like another MMO and your house was permanently safe, and kinda feinted ignorance for playing the game for so long and not knowing at all how it works. The house and it's stuff is gone and that's unfortunate, but like a few have stated, it's clearly not as important until you lose it.

[R-Pete-G]

But, every time before you're able to log in, you have the option to visit the Lodestone for information.

No offence, but that kinda derails the rest of your post. The Lodestone is an optional resource for the game. It is very much supplementary reading.

[Gemina]

No offence, but that kinda derails the rest of your post. The Lodestone is an optional resource for the game. It is very much supplementary reading.

While this is true, what needs to be said is that while it is optional for the player to read, it is mandatory for things like the Lodestone to provide such information. This covers their butts when things like a player getting blindsided by their house being demolished happens.

The same thing can be said if a player was to get upset because they didn't know about server maintenance resulting in loss crops or something. They can go to GMs all day, but fact of the matter is they did indeed provide the information, and also did so with a reasonable amount of time for it to be read.

[R-Pete-G]

Absolutely.

I think a lot of the discussion does boil down to a split over what people consider to be a reasonable level of due diligence in researching a feature of the game you're using. Clearly there's some strong opinions here, and it's a lot more subjective than perhaps people realise from where they personally would draw that line. My own stance will always be that a game should communicate anything of significance - and something like losing a house and its contents is pretty significant - without leaning on resources external to the game to do so clearly.

That seems to have struck a nerve with the community here, which is why it's getting focused on perhaps. But as some have recognised, the poor communication on auto demolition is really only a side-point in my experience I'm relaying as a whole. My main grievance is the loss of furnishings alongside that, which a lot more people seem to agree is handled very poorly indeed.


This has been an interesting thread. I genuinely didn't expect it to get so many replies, and I'm guessing a lot of this activity is from disagreements on how the housing system works that have existed long before I posted. On a slightly sour note, it has been a little disappointing how quickly people on either side of the conversation have turned a little nasty - towards one another more so than towards me as the OP. I guess it's an internet forum for an MMO, so I shouldn't be too surprised. But whether or not people are able to put themselves in the shoes of the people they disagree with, I've always considered the FFXIV player base to be that bit more civil and mature than the other MMO crowds.

Don't let that slip, at least.