The housing system in this game NEEDS A COMPLETE GD OVERHALL. Complete stupidity....

[rachcouture]

and a crap ton of smalls that no one gives a F about.

I love the small houses, though...

I'm of the opinion apartments should have never been added, so of course I'm not going to tell them thanks for it. They were a wasted opportunity. It's not just gardens that's missing, they're also missing the outdoor section to put our outdoor furniture in. The ability to choose house size would also be nice. Real instanced houses should have been what they did, not apartments.

Maybe you don't appreciate them, but I do; adding apartments as an option made it very easy for me to give up my house in exchange for something with significantly less expense, nor requires me to sign in all the time (I tend to come and go with breaks that last over a month). As much as I would like to see it, instanced housing is a pipe dream that I don't ever see happening, at least not any time soon. Apartments were easily the best choice out of plausible solutions, both in ease and functionality.

Instead of asking for complete reworks that would have to start from the ground up, we should be suggesting improvements to the existing system.

[Maero]

I have long been an advocate for instanced housing, they could keep non instanced but have a mix and give people choice.
It's not as if people cannot visit you, look at ESO for example housing is instanced but inside that instance you have a house, yard, interior, etc..

[MomomiMomi]

Maybe you don't appreciate them, but I do; adding apartments as an option made it very easy for me to give up my house in exchange for something with significantly less expense, nor requires me to sign in all the time (I tend to come and go with breaks that last over a month). As much as I would like to see it, instanced housing is a pipe dream that I don't ever see happening, at least not any time soon. Apartments were easily the best choice out of plausible solutions, both in ease and functionality.

Instead of asking for complete reworks that would have to start from the ground up, we should be suggesting improvements to the existing system.

Proper instanced housing could have offered all of that as well.

And yes, instanced housing isn't coming. And that's because they already gave us apartments. And FC rooms. And the ability to buy houses in wards as a personal. And Shirogane. And more wards. All of these additions keep pushing us further away from the real and best solution.

Instead of all of these things, none of which have actually solved the problem, they could have put their efforts towards a real solution.

[JowyAtreides]

Proper instanced housing could have offered all of that as well.

And yes, instanced housing isn't coming. And that's because they already gave us apartments.

Therefore they should expand on apartments whilst maintaining the current housing system.

I like to hope that, as in the past half a year they've given us external furniture as event rewards (swimming pool, pumpkin carriage etc) and a vast number of players can't use these, that there are plans in place to allow people to have some external space one way or another.

I do doubt it, but it would be a pleasant surprise.

[Nix]

I dont want instanced housing.

In ESO housing is dead, no one give a flying duck about it because it is instanced, it makes it almost impossible to socialise around the houses thanks to the annoying invitation system which no one cares to play with. In FFXIV housing is a lot better thanks to the shared areas with other plot owners, you could visit someone else house and look at it outside any time you want and meet the owners too. The accomplishment of owning a nice house is also a ton lot bigger, you have spent time to buy and build that house that everyone on the server could see, with instanced housing any feeling of accomplishment is completely gone and playing with housing turns out to be a waste of time.
FFXIV housing is a lot more alive than in other mmorpgs thanks to the housing design and this is a straight up fact everyone here keeps forgetting about.

I could bet 10 mln gil that most of you would forget about housing altogether once you will get your own personal large house that only you could see and enjoy.

I spend 80% of my time in game in either one of my mansions (1 personal, 1FC) - the wards are dead as hell. There's only really one person I see at the retainer bell, and when I do see them, it's maybe once every 4 months.
The wards are absolutely not as bustling as people claim them to be. Having instanced plots may be a great way to alleviate this, but as they are now, they're just so, so quiet.

Also, I love decorating, but keep my houses locked up so random people can't enter. I decorate for the pure enjoyment of it, not so that random people I've never met can give me a virtual pat on the back. I would be perfectly fine trading in both of my larges for instanced ones.

[Chille]

I have had a small house in the goblet since housing came out, little plot for my lala on Ultros. I just grabbed a medium patch after deciding time to upgrade.

Those complaining about only having small houses, yes it sucks if your after it for an FC but grab the small house now rather then being to worried about a medium or large. Plus this will mean when the next wards come out you will have a better chance at grabbing a medium house or a large when the wards are locked to fc/private relocation.

[Shougun]

I think this brings the point straight home, lots of people want instance housing but they don't realize the consequences if it was done, I like housing the way it is even if I don't have a personal medium house

I don't think the point goes anywhere . . . You can see other people's houses in an instanced system too. You can feel accomplished in it too. I don't think you realize that you can have everything they said and be instanced as proven by games that have had the system. . . Also as proven (albiet personal experience and majority comment when talking to people) that FFXIV's housing isn't some wonderland of interactions. Lose my 4 interactions a year for a more powerful more plentiful and dynamic system... Oh no, how will I socially ineteract now... Lol. If you say the reason interactions are low is because I don't set them up then fine, but that is literally something you can also do with an instanced system too so a bit irrelevant for the whole interaction conversation. Even neighborhoods can be achieved in an instanced system if one tried hard enough, like Wildstar's community (a super plot of 5 giant plots and 5 huge houses)

Nothing stops people from interacting in an instanced system, upgrading, or feeling accomplished, furthermore the ward system doesn't have to die either (for those who want to see a neighbor's house from their yard).

[Edax]

Here's a simple fix, if you don't use your house within two days it's taken away.

That's ridiculous. It took me 3 weeks to decorate my house and real life would have caused me to have lost my house a hundred times by now if 2 days was the demo timer limit. Everyone would complain how anxiety inducing owning a house would be if it took so much time and effort to furnish it just for it to be taken away so terribly easy.

[SerLuke]

If “the wards are dead” maybe that just means the time for auto demolition should be shortened a bit?

[Nix]

If “the wards are dead” maybe that just means the time for auto demolition should be shortened a bit?

Not really - the houses are in use, but nobody hangs out actually IN the wards, since there's no reason to. Everyone's doing dungeons or hiding out inside their houses.