Quote Originally Posted by kaynide View Post
Also, I’m of the mind that the housing wards should be limited to FCs only, and even then with rather strict requirements. Like for a Large house, I think it’s would be totally fair to require 8 different accounts (not characters) enrolled in the FC..and said 8 members have to have played in the past 45 days. Theoretically should be easy since larger FCs should have more than this 8 minimum. Make it 6 for medium and 4 for small.
See, I'd flip this; make the housing wards for individuals only, and give FCs instanced housing. (Ideally, make the FC instanced housing an airship, because yes airships good more airships please.) That way any FC has access to the workshop system and space for garden plots (greenhouse on the airship!); not being able to get a house doesn't lock them out of participation in those systems.

Additionally, change up apartments. Make apartments have a rooftop garden space (where you can put outdoor items, garden, etc.), and make apartments with larger layouts available. A luxurious penthouse where you can have multiple floors, things like that. That way, players who can't get a house in one of the wards still can have access to do all the decorating they want to, as well as having access to gardens and whatnot; a scarcity of housing plots can't cut them off from those systems.

Meanwhile, you can still have the 'neighborhood' feel of the housing wards for those who really want it in personal housing. For all I thought the neighborhood stuff was obnoxious in terms of the scarcity compared to the instanced housing in WildStar or SWTOR or whatever, when I finally did get a house I had a couple of my neighbors see a new house go up and someone in the yard working on things; they came over with housewarming gifts, and I made new friends. (One of whom I periodically run roulettes with!) That made me come around a bit on the neighborhood thing; I think there is some value to a housing plot having an actual presence, not just being off in its own little instanced bubble where you don't have neighbors.

The problem right now isn't that housing is a scarce resource. The problem is that housing is a scarce resource which is not optional if you want to do gardening or FC workshop things; entire other systems—systems which can generate rare materials needed for various desirable craftable objects, no less—are gated based on owning a house. And that is a serious problem.