CRUEL! Shame on your SE

[Bright-Flower]

It's interesting to me just how much the Housing system in this game has changed since it's been implemented. I kind of think that not allowing players to sell their homes to other people directly was a big mistake. I understand that they don't want people to artificially inflate the housing market (as if that isn't already happening) but that is a simple fix. If they introduced a price cap this would solve everything. I would love to be able to sell my small house to a friend, but with the current system I can't do that. If I was able to sell it to him for the price of the plot plus "interest" ,as say a 1-3% buffer cap, then I wouldn't be inflating the price of the housing market and my friend would be able to buy a house instead of waiting for a ridiculous invisible timer and compete with 300 other people for it.

There's not a way to stop inflation of player selling prices when selling directly to eachother.

Even if there was an in game system where say you put a 3 mil small plot for sail, for a cap of 5 mil let's say. Somebody could still easily say 'I'll sell you this plot for 20 mil plus the in game 5 mil cost.' The only way to stop that is to make it unreliable that any one given person will get the plot after it's vacated, which is what the timer is for. The only issue there is you can STILL sell directly to people who already own plots, as they can immediately transfer in when you vacate it. Though that does at least leave an open plot in its wake for a person or fc with no house to buy later.

[shaiel]

Agreed, the fact that housing has had a shortage in full servers for such a long time is ridiculous. And this is while some people have multiple houses to themselves. Kudos to the players that were able to game the system & show how broken it is, and shame on the developers for not fixing the system. This is a form of end game for those that are interested in it. Most people I know on Gilgamesh have to do click spam on Placards with random timers, on the 1-3 houses that pop up in Goblet lol. The relocation system is dumb as well, because this means it's that much harder for first time home buyers to acquire a house as homeowners just go to scoot to a better location. Standing in front of a placard for 14-20 hours just so someone already with a house can move to there is nonsense. The fact that a plot says "for sale" then you click and it says not yet available is also nonsense. I had to go stand in front of a Placard for several hours on Famfrit and only got it at 3am because nobody else was around spamming with me. I suspect some of the people I've stood by placards on have macros as well, where they're still clicking even when they already won the house or it's already gone. What is SE's answer to any of this?

Right now, the options for people who want housing are:
-become a sign monkey and invest up to 24 hours of your life per plot, clicking every minute, with a good chance you won't get it or somebody will relocate
-server transfer or make an alt at a different, less populated world with housing available. Leave your friends, FC, etc behind
-buy an FC from somebody with an FC house (people do gil or IRL money) and then 'inherit' the FC from them

In ESO I own 30+ houses because they're instanced. I was able to decorate everything from a small inn room / apartment to castles to my own personal tropical island with a volcano. I've spent thousands of hours on ESO just decorating and doing fun stuff with my guild in instanced housing. I don't see why SE is able to have semi-instanced apartments in FFXIV and not semi-instanced houses. The size of an FC / apartment room is the same as the basement of a small house. You could make the wards mostly for FCs and then make apartments bigger with a balcony for a garden plot. At this point, SE can just sell an upgrade to the subscription so x dollars per month buys you a large house of your choice or they can also just straight up sell houses available for IRL money. If they want to do it that way, that's much less shady than the process people are doing to get FC houses on the gray market, and SE pockets the money to keep up with server upkeep or whatever is causing them issues with providing housing.

[Bright-Flower]

Yeah it's not easy to get a new plot on somewhere like Balmung.

I was able to grab one in 4.2 by going for an undesired Goblet plot, had no competition for it, but outside of new wards opening it's going to be hard especially if competing against people with click bots.

[MizArai]

The upstairs portion of a small house is smaller than an apartment or FC room. The downstairs portion is the same size.

The downstairs area is actually larger. If you put the main floor and basement of a small together you get exactly double the space of an apartment/ FC room (not counting the space from the stairwell).

[Poisonous]

Easy solution that apparently SE couldn't figure out: reverse the order of the timers.

1. Plot is abandoned.
2. Plot secretly goes on a random timer.
3. Once the plot can be purchased it shows as available.

Yes, some people will still be able to get a purchase through. But the same people who could do it before could do it still now.

[AnnaRosa]

The housing timers are without a doubt the most cruel and hideous mechanic I have seen in a game ever.
SE has the most talented crew in any company in the gaming business and you honestly think I will believe that this was the best that you could come up with.

I am aware, so before the internet justice warriors come to defend their beloved SE with their excuses, stop while you're ahead.
I know it's not a NEEDED thing in game, however I want it. I pay to play the game. I am trying to play the game, I don't need to justify why I want it, I do have a fc room and apartment. I just want it. That's all there is to it.

It's content in game that I want.

HOWEVER with that being said, how on earth could SE invent such a disgustingly awful housing.
A team that brought graphics to an almost insane perfection, and brought games to a whole new level of beauty with it's creative worlds, flamboyant characters and STUNNING game play, and you really think that an invisible timer was the best option.
I have been going at this for weeks. Multiple houses taken from me just because I walked away to rest, take care of my health, eat, ect.
A lot of my free time devoted to finding a house in game. I love this game, it's beyond beautiful. BUT THIS IS THE UGLIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN A GAME EVER and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Because I know that SE has the ability to make it better. They simply choose NOT to.

Shame on you SE for implementing such a disgusting thing in game. SHAME.

End rant.

Player can't you transfer to a world with more small plots available?
Every data center has one server with more plots available and you can still use world visit system to meet with your friends.
In chaos DC we have two servers with so many small plots for sale you would be able to purchase now one for the modest price of 1.400.000 gil in Louisouix and Omega.

Changing subject they did the timer to prevent RMT to acquire many houses so later on they would sell it overprice via party finder but it worked in a way it reduced the amount of houses they would buy.

Although we can not estimate the real time for "random timer" after one month of Chaos DC housing census (some days did share in forums others did not to not flood the thread with posts of mine only) could observe that the majority of the plots sell up to 24 hours, yes is a huge time to wait and click, but honestly it work the RMT reduced the number of their houses.

[Satty]

Player can't you transfer to a world with more small plots available?
Every data center has one server with more plots available and you can still use world visit system to meet with your friends.
In chaos DC we have two servers with so many small plots for sale you would be able to purchase now one for the modest price of 1.400.000 gil in Louisouix and Omega.

Changing subject they did the timer to prevent RMT to acquire many houses so later on they would sell it overprice via party finder but it worked in a way it reduced the amount of houses they would buy.

Although we can not estimate the real time for "random timer" after one month of Chaos DC housing census (some days did share in forums others did not to not flood the thread with posts of mine only) could observe that the majority of the plots sell up to 24 hours, yes is a huge time to wait and click, but honestly it work the RMT reduced the number of their houses.

I am not leaving my friends and fc behind for a house, what kind of horrible thought process is that.
I shouldn't have to give up the things I love for content in game.
I want the content, not need it. I specified that. I don't need to justify my wants either.
So to be straightforward. No, absolutely out of the question.

[Iromi]

I think a good solution is to do what Yoshida said would be done ages ago. Separate FC housing from personal and have more housing wards.

I'll never forget when personal housing came out and after them saying it would be separate it was just all shared between individuals and free companies.

[Voidedge_Ragna]

The timer is to prevent blackmarkets of plots
Which were up to 30mil for a small on ragna ... pick your poison ... a chance for all or a huge amount of gil.

Till we get instanced plots this wont change.

[Jojoya]

Right now, the options for people who want housing are:
-become a sign monkey and invest up to 24 hours of your life per plot, clicking every minute, with a good chance you won't get it or somebody will relocate
-server transfer or make an alt at a different, less populated world with housing available. Leave your friends, FC, etc behind
-buy an FC from somebody with an FC house (people do gil or IRL money) and then 'inherit' the FC from them

Or you buy an apartment because an apartment is housing just as much as a house in a ward is. Not to mention every character on your account is allowed to buy an apartment once they meet the purchase requirements. Last I heard even Balmung has apartments available.

At least you point out that instanced housing is a better system as it allows all players to purchase what they want. Let's keep encouraging SE to implement better instanced housing instead of expanding/changing a ward system that does not and never will meet the overall needs of the player base.