Fix Housing Megathread

[Jojoya]

I don't really understand the point of the fee then. We've already got the requirement that people step inside/interact with their house at some point over a span of 45 days. They have to be logged in to do that.

There's also the issue that depending on where a person is in the game, gil can be very easy or very difficult to get. I think most endgame folks aren't going to have a problem paying a substantial fee, but a sprout that's still going through the MSQ, who may have scraped and saved their gil to be able to afford a plot, might have a serious problem.

Do you like to pay money for things you aren't using? Most people don't. They like it even less when they have to keep paying that money month after month.

Add a fee for houses and you've created a deterrent. Those who don't use their house and aren't making that much gil are far more likely to relinquish it, making the plot available to buyers who would use it. That's gil being drained by something they aren't using that they could be spending on glamours, minions, emotes, hairstyles, etc. that they would use. It won't deter everyone but it will deter many players, leaving more houses available for those who will actually use their house.

It's something a limited resource system needs to keep those limited resources actively used. Someone who only walks into their house to reset the demo timer isn't using it.

The only reason I'm for one is because this is a limited resource system. If SE would get smart and start putting resources into an improved instanced housing system, it wouldn't be necessary. Neither would demolition and purchase timers.

As for the sprout saving up their gil for a house, it doesn't matter. There are none available for them to buy. If they do get lucky, the same methods they used to save up for the house could be used to pay the monthly fee. The game doesn't stop rewarding you gil just because you bought a house. Or they could take up gardening. It's easy to make a million gil a month once you own a house thanks to that garden and it only takes 2 minutes a day.

People who complain about always being poor aren't even trying.

If someone feels the purchase price plus a monthly fee is too large an amount to pay, they can ask a friend with a house to add them as a tenant or get an apartment. It's amazing how many people keep crapping on apartments just because they aren't a house.

Apartments are perfect for the infrequent housing user or the new sprout that hasn't had time to accumulate a lot of gil. Cheap. No demolition to worry about. Free Chocobo Stable. Free Miniature Aetheryte access. Free mailbox access. Someone who barely visits their house certainly isn't doing any gardening so they can't claim they need the house so they can garden.

All my characters share a house and it's not the one owned by this character. It's not a FC house, either. It's 5 apartments all in the same building. I've got a spacious entry and living room. Large kitchen and dining room. Cozy study with a small guest room and bath tucked in. Somewhat cluttered Master Bedroom suite with bath and dressing areas. Garden patio with a sky view.

All that for a mere 2.5 million gil (less than a small house costs), I have 2.5 times the interior space of a small, the ability to place 500 items and store an additional 500 items, and I never have to worry about it being demolished if I stop playing the game for a few months.

[Almagnus1]

Add a fee for houses and you've created a deterrent. Those who don't use their house and aren't making that much gil are far more likely to relinquish it, making the plot available to buyers who would use it. That's gil being drained by something they aren't using that they could be spending on glamours, minions, emotes, hairstyles, etc. that they would use. It won't deter everyone but it will deter many players, leaving more houses available for those who will actually use their house.

It's also one of the few things LotRO did right that wasn't a problem, especially since you could prepay rent out to a month or two, and would get mailed when you were down to your last week.

People who complain about always being poor aren't even trying.

Some people need to learn how to manage their money, and this is a far better place to do it than IRL.

It's amazing how many people keep crapping on apartments just because they aren't a house.

Only real reason I look down on it is because (AFAIK) you can't crossbreed in an apartment as that must be done at a house. IMO I don't think gardening should be attached to housing and I'm hoping that changes with Endwalkers.

[Jojoya]

Only real reason I look down on it is because (AFAIK) you can't crossbreed in an apartment as that must be done at a house. IMO I don't think gardening should be attached to housing and I'm hoping that changes with Endwalkers.

Keeping a Jute cycle going is one of the reasons that I keep my house instead of letting it demo and living out of my apartments.

But those of us who actively crossbreed are the rarity among house owners. Many don't have a garden patch at all and it's empty as often as it's planted. When it is planted, it's more likely to have shards/Krakka Roots than a crossbreed set up.

Considering how few house owners are engaging in the activity, I don't see it as a reason to "look down" on apartments. Instead, it's just an extra perk for house ownership (with the corresponding risk of demolition).

I never camped a placard. Just timed the releases right. Like 95% of home owners. And yes you’re asking for a luxury item to be uniquely available to everyone when it’s advertised exactly as that; “luxury”

Where in the game's advertising is it described as a luxury item? Please provide a link for it.

On a side note, Mr. Happy just did an email interview with YoshiP. One of his questions was related to housing, specifically as to whether the apartment updates briefly mentioned in the past as design considerations were still in the works. YoshiP's response was they decided they would rather use their resources to provide more houses for players than to redesign the apartment system.

I know some players are attached to the idea that houses are supposed to be some sort of exclusive player club but SE's responses since the decision was made to open houses to individuals and not just FCs have not supported that. The current situation is mostly because the size of the player base, and thus demand for houses, exploded in a way SE never anticipated. Their nice little niche MMORPG gained a more mainstream popularity that they had quietly hoped for but never actually expected to get.

[Almagnus1]

Keeping a Jute cycle going is one of the reasons that I keep my house instead of letting it demo and living out of my apartments.

But those of us who actively crossbreed are the rarity among house owners. Many don't have a garden patch at all and it's empty as often as it's planted. When it is planted, it's more likely to have shards/Krakka Roots than a crossbreed set up.

Considering how few house owners are engaging in the activity, I don't see it as a reason to "look down" on apartments. Instead, it's just an extra perk for house ownership (with the corresponding risk of demolition).

I think we're looking at a chicken and the egg problem.... a lot of potential gardeners don't want to deal with a house so get turned off to it, and probably quite a few of the housing peeps don't want to garden.

[Jojoya]

I think we're looking at a chicken and the egg problem.... a lot of potential gardeners don't want to deal with a house so get turned off to it, and probably quite a few of the housing peeps don't want to garden.

Likely. Hopefully Island Sanctuary will address it, though my gut feeling is the farming there will not be the same items currently covered by gardening. Hopefully we'll learn more next weekend.

[Seleni]

I think we're looking at a chicken and the egg problem.... a lot of potential gardeners don't want to deal with a house so get turned off to it, and probably quite a few of the housing peeps don't want to garden.

And some house owners, who wanted to do gardening before getting the house, might have found actual gardening too much of a chore.

You have to tend to the crops once or twice daily. The process itself involves clicking and selecting from menu, so after a couple times it start to feel tedious. (And I say that as ex-FarmVille player) Most crops take 5-7 days to mature, so after planting it’s 5-7 days of you performing this mundane tasks daily before you finally get to harvesting.

For those who cannot login daily, either by oneself or among a couple responsible friends, it’s an impossible task.

And if you don’t have botanist, then your only source of many of the seeds, to start cross-breeding, is the marketboard. As botanist I tend to send my botanist retainer to grab seeds instead of getting them myself, because the process of getting 4 hidden seeds felt not worth my time.

Last night, with a low grade fever and tired, I had to drag myself to start up my gaming pc and login just to make sure my curiel & royal kukuru plants won’t wilt. The seeds took too long to get and are too expensive (to me) to buy for them to go to waste. And I was wondering to myself if it’s really worth the effort.

It’s gotten to the point where I’d found gardening more like work than game, after just a couple months. Many of those who’s owned house for years probably just decided it’s not worth their time to do.

[Sotaris]

May I suggest making some friends on your server or DC and they can tend the plants for you. That's what I do when I can't login every day ^^