Nope you didn't add enough plots SE...

[PharisHanasaki]

Which time exactly? With the timezones being what they are the right time will only be right for one continent. Admittedly there are problems with the housing system (I got my house in Shirogane but I understand the problem). But the release time can't be blamed. There is no correct answer for that.

Timezone? 3am PST isn't exactly nice for everyone either People in the West don't get to sleep at all while people in the East can take a nap. Haven't seen anyone complaining.
People will still take a day off to get a house since we've done it in the past. And I think prime time isn't in the morning either, but after everyone has got off work.

[Lunafreya]

Me too. SE deserves all the flak because they are such an incompetent company.

[Alistaer_Bestia]

While an FC does not NEED a house per se, in order to be competitive an FC estate is needed in most cases. in a situation where available PLOTS are scarce, allowing individuals players to buy those plots while multiple FCs are vying for a plot really seems to be shooting FCs in the foot. also the random timer? yeah it deters selling but it also makes it so someone who has been waiting for hours for a plot can have it snaked by someone who just showed up at the exact right time. How about a moratorium on individual players buying plots on high pop servers?

[Penthea]

While an FC does not NEED a house per se, in order to be competitive an FC estate is needed in most cases.

What do you mean by this? There aren't fc rankings that give rewards based on what fc ranks the highest in something. Or do you mean that having a house is a good recruitment tactic?

in a situation where available PLOTS are scarce, allowing individuals players to buy those plots while multiple FCs are vying for a plot really seems to be shooting FCs in the foot.

I'm on the fence about this. I did agree with SE allowing fcs to purchase houses in new wards first, but they did say that based on data they have collected that it makes sense to allow both individuals and fcs to purchase plots in new wards at the same time. Perhaps what the data showed was more favourable for less populated servers. Perhaps not. I suppose only time will tell when the new wards come.

also the random timer? yeah it deters selling but it also makes it so someone who has been waiting for hours for a plot can have it snaked by someone who just showed up at the exact right time. How about a moratorium on individual players buying plots on high pop servers?

Yea the placard timer did help to improve one problem, but it ended up creating others in its place. I'm really not sure what SE can do about this without creating new problems or allowing old ones to come back, unless they add a tremendously enormous amount of wards to the point that any sort of placard mechanic aside from purchase would be unnecessary. Or you know, proper instanced housing...which will probably never happen : /

[Kenky]

The issue here is, well..

Several times, when New plots have opened up and SE giving FCs almost exclusive rights to those plots for the first few weeks, they were barely touched if not left abandoned all-together. Then they were all eaten up once Personal House owners had the ability to purchase the plots.

When FCs get given an advantage, it's ignored or unaccepted. Then when they lose said advantage, they whine because they don't have it. Despite not using it when they had it in the first place. Not all FCs are like this, mind. But a vocal enough amount of them giving the general assumption that it's a waste to offer it.

[Jojoya]

While an FC does not NEED a house per se, in order to be competitive an FC estate is needed in most cases. in a situation where available PLOTS are scarce, allowing individuals players to buy those plots while multiple FCs are vying for a plot really seems to be shooting FCs in the foot. also the random timer? yeah it deters selling but it also makes it so someone who has been waiting for hours for a plot can have it snaked by someone who just showed up at the exact right time. How about a moratorium on individual players buying plots on high pop servers?

When plots were added in 5.1 and only FCs were allowed to purchase for 3 months, the new wards remained half empty on most world until the private purchase moratorium was lifted. During that time, most of the occupied plots were occupied by private owners who had relocated. Many of the FCs that did buy are the shell FCs that players use to get around purchase restrictions.

The simple truth is there is not enough demand for houses from FCs to warrant another private purchase moratorium. If a FC wanted a house, they should have bought it back in 5.1 when there was no competition. They declined, they missed their chance. Now they can compete against everyone else.

[Penthea]

When FCs get given an advantage, it's ignored or unaccepted. Then when they lose said advantage, they whine because they don't have it. Despite not using it when they had it in the first place. Not all FCs are like this, mind. But a vocal enough amount of them giving the general assumption that it's a waste to offer it.

The simple truth is there is not enough demand for houses from FCs to warrant another private purchase moratorium. If a FC wanted a house, they should have bought it back in 5.1 when there was no competition. They declined, they missed their chance. Now they can compete against everyone else.

To be fair to OP their fc was formed this year, so clearly they didn't get the chance to get a fc plot when previous wards were released. However it is true that on many servers wards were far from full during the period in which only fcs could buy plots. Certainly if the situation on Chaos was quite like most servers I can understand why SE have decided to allow private owners to purchase on the launch day of the new wards this time.

[Alistaer_Bestia]

Have you TRIED to buy a plot recently? or are you just basing this on the situation from almost a year ago?

[Alistaer_Bestia]

I wish i could magically go back in time to 5.1, is that an option? I guess bugger me for not having the foresight to join a non existent FC a year ago? man, I suck for not being able to see the future and complaining about something that's a problem now and not a year ago.

[Penthea]

I wish i could magically go back in time to 5.1, is that an option? I guess bugger me for not having the foresight to join a non existent FC a year ago? man, I suck for not being able to see the future and complaining about something that's a problem now and not a year ago.

Right lets give you some real advice to make the best of a bad situation. Here are the things myself and an officer did to prepare for purchasing a plot.

• If you're not fussy about where you get a house, aim for The Goblet. It is by far the least popular residential area. You can transfer plot location at a later date when a plot your fc likes better becomes available. With the relocation mechanic you can entirely bypass the placard timer so you will not have to worry about it again once you have a house. Shirogane appears to be the most popular residential area, and Mist is often the second most popular.

• If you can get others that you trust to also be able to purchase a house for the fc then get on voice chat so you can coordinate with each other while you search for a plot.

• If you you are teaming up with others in your fc to purchase a house make sure their fc rank has house purchase permissions. You can create a special house buying rank temporarily if someone is in a rank that a lot of other members are in. Obviously get this sorted before the day the new plots arrive.

• If you want specific plot locations then plan your journey. Figure out and write down what aetheryte locations you need to use and then the direction you need to go in once you have teleported to the closest location to the house. If you are doing this with multiple people then give each person a different route to take if they are aiming for different houses, or the same route you are taking if they are searching for the same plot in other wards. Be mindful that subdivisions don't have the exact same map, they're rotated. So while you may need to go north in the main part of the ward for a house, you may need to go west instead for the same plot in a subdivision. It's pretty simple to work out, you just need to remember that subdivisions are not the exact same. Also it really helps to practice the journey before launch day so that by the time that day comes you know exactly where to go.

• Have a list of backup plots that you will aim for so that you are ready if the plot you want is unavailable and plan the journeys for those too.

• If you want a medium house or a mansion then have backup cottages to aim for. The fact is there is an extremely small amount of mediums and mansions so they get snapped up very very fast. You have a far better chance to get a cottage. Better to end up in a small house than none at all. You can relocate to a larger plot at a later date.

• Flag yourself as busy the moment you get online. Players initiating trades with you can interrupt you teleporting and interacting with the placard. It would really suck to miss out on a house because another player traded with you in order to slow you down. Being flagged as busy prevents players from trading with you.

• Remove aetheryte tickets from your inventory the day before the new plots come and store them on a retainer. If they're in your inventory they will create an extra step in travelling if you try to teleport to a completely different part of the game.

• This is obvious but I will say it anyway. Make sure you have the gil you need to purchase a house in your inventory before the day the new wards come. If you don't then collecting gil is an extra step that will eat into precious house hunting time. You cannot use gil stored in the fc chest to purchase anything, including houses. Something that a few players found out the hard way while trying to get a plot.

I hope this helps. Good luck!