Hear me out: Paid housing

[Stormfur]

So I know it's a sore subject BUT hear me out. I don't like paying for things unnecessarily in game either and I rarely buy stuff off Mog Station.

HOWEVER, the housing situation being what it is in game, I think it's time we seriously considered paid housing options. And here's why:

Housing bots are faster than we'll ever be at clicking and scooping up houses the minute new wards are available. At the moment, they're not being punished despite all our complaints. That means the problem, much like market manipulation even when there's concrete proof of it, is going to keep happening for the foreseeable future. Either it's not as much of a priority for the three people in charge of monitoring that or whatever. I can't begin to guess. But it is what it is.

And part of me says we shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of having something in game that's advertised on the main site (or at least it used to be) and that on top of a monthly fee. I get that.

But with that being said, I think the paid housing option would alleviate a lot of issues.

- You can still keep the neighborhood look-and-feel (although frankly I've never so much as seen another soul in my ward)

- You could buy a specific plot on the mog station, so you could be assured of the spot you want. Just like in game, different plots would have different prices.

- Once you buy a house with actual money, it's yours until you cancel your entire account, not just pause your subscription. This would eliminate the need for a demolition timer since new wards could be made as old ones are filled up.

- The biggest complaint is lack of server space, well, here you go. We're paying for server space. (I don't claim to know the ins and outs of this). It would be a one-time fee. SE would truly make bank and you'd have a lot more happy customers.

- This would also open up the potential for more wards elsewhere in the game. Imagine housing wards in the Viera forest or Azim Steppe. Imagine having a Sky Pirate home in the clouds. Perhaps the community could even vote on where they'd like the next wards to be.

And before anyone says I'm bitter about not getting housing, I actually used to have a medium house in game, and I have enough gil to buy another if I wanted to, but I frequently take breaks so it would get demolished anyway, so there's no point. I'm happy enough with my little apartment but thought that this would be a good way to fix the constant issues that keep coming up.

Those who still want to try for a home the old-fashioned way can still do that, but those of us that don't mind spending a little more for a guaranteed space can choose to do that.

What are your thoughts?

[ItMe]

- This would also open up the potential for more wards elsewhere in the game. Imagine housing wards in the Viera forest or Azim Steppe. Imagine having a Sky Pirate home in the clouds. Perhaps the community could even vote on where they'd like the next wards to be.

[...]

What are your thoughts?

I think they should be able to do this without us paying extra.
I also wonder how many people would abandon their house if we suddenly had to start paying real money for it.

[Doozer]

No.

This is not a new idea.

No.

[Stormfur]

I mean, yes, in a perfect world I also think they should do it without us paying extra. I also know it's not a new idea and deep down I really think that our sub fees + mog station stuff that we already purchase ought to easily cover whatever chunk extra housing would cost. I mean, that's what Mog Station was supposed to do IIRC: allow the game to make more money to be reinvested back into the game (and maybe it is and I don't know how much servers cost, I'm totally willing to admit that too). But those that already have a place wouldn't suddenly have to pay for it. Same as if new wards are released.

It's just that I feel the frustration that players have when they finally manage to have that much gil but housing plots get gobbled up by bots that speed teleport in seconds. It's unreal. Throwing money at it shouldn't be the only solution, but other games have already jumped on that, and I really think it's only a matter of time before SE does too (like it or not). I'm just hoping that if it does come to that (as much as I wish it wouldn't), that we broaden the potential for housing a bit instead of just forest/island/desert/snow.

[Rofel]

No, thanks.

[Vahlnir]

I'd rather they fix the issues currently plaguing housing before considering paid alternatives.

[LaylaTsarra]

Only if you pay for it.

[Divinemights]

I like how people making "self-proclaimed smart" ideas when they don't even understand how SE's server infrastructure work at all.
Their server infrastructure is not as simple as one you "pictured" in your head.
Overall Japanese's server technology is behind Western by one generation where Chinese and Korean are already much more advanced than Japanese in this category

How do I know this?
It is from a podcast from one of the Asia game publisher explaining why they are unable to publish FF14 in their country but they can publish WoW instead.
It is due to lack of physical spaces to keep the servers and the high maintenance of the FF14 servers.
Especially SE's approach is go for stability where they are always use server from same manufacturer (this is why you rarely seeing server congestion or failed patch day from FF14)

Just imagine this game publisher is able to host WoW servers but not FF14 due to physical space for server.
The cost of SE is open a dedicated house ward is much costly than you expected.

[Stormfur]

I like how people making "self-proclaimed smart" ideas when they don't even understand how SE's server infrastructure work at all.
Their server infrastructure is not as simple as one you "pictured" in your head.
Overall Japanese's server technology is behind Western by one generation where Chinese and Korean are already much more advanced than Japanese in this category

How do I know this?
It is from a podcast from one of the Asia game publisher explaining why they are unable to publish FF14 in their country but they can publish WoW instead.
It is due to lack of physical spaces to keep the servers and the high maintenance of the FF14 servers.
Especially SE's approach is go for stability where they are always use server from same manufacturer (this is why you rarely seeing server congestion or failed patch day from FF14)

Just imagine this game publisher is able to host WoW servers but not FF14 due to physical space for server.
The cost of SE is open a dedicated house ward is much costly than you expected.

Oh I don't claim to know how it works, and I'm sure it goes WAY deeper than just "not enough space/resources". And I also know that this game makes a ton of money but it gets siphoned off into other things.

But wasn't that kind of what the Mog Station was supposed to prevent originally though? Keep more of FFXIV's money IN FFXIV? I remember there was a major backlash when it came out too... but if they did away with it suddenly tomorrow people would FREAK OUT because they couldn't get those cherry trees or that school uniform or whatever. If people are willing to throw $25 at an outfit or a mount or whatever, why not something else permanent in-game in the form of a house they can call their own? If it's too cost prohibitive then yes, that answers that, but I still don't get why you can pack 48 people into Castrum without so much as a hiccup, but neighborhoods are asking too much.

To be fair though, I'm one of those people who thinks that everything, absolutely everything, should be obtainable in game without spending actual money. That includes enough housing for everyone.

[Penthea]

If people are willing to throw $25 at an outfit or a mount or whatever, why not something else permanent in-game in the form of a house they can call their own?

Because we're paying for it already. What you're asking for wouldn't be any different to removing Gold Saucer outfits from vendors and putting them in the cash shop.

but I still don't get why you can pack 48 people into Castrum without so much as a hiccup, but neighborhoods are asking too much.

This isn't even apples and oranges. This is apples and fish. You're comparing a zone that has a predetermined appearance that players cannot customise to an area that is customisable to the point that there are literally millions of possible variables in its appearance due to player chosen decor. The amount of information a housing area holds is significantly higher than a non-housing zone of the same size because each housing area is different and almost everything at a plot can be customised in real time. Never mind how a housing area isn't capped at only 48 people per instance. If you think these are similar you may as well start comparing the glamour dresser to combat classes.