The Solution to the Housing Dilema

[Payadopa]

I just rode around the ward where my FC's house is. There are 18 out of 30 plots occupied. Those 18 FCs have about 300 members collectively.

Went past every house. Went past the vendors. Went into the hot springs area. Went past the jumping puzzle towers. Went by the apartment building.

Silent. Empty of life other than me.

It's not a neighborhood, it's a ghost town.

That would be such an easy fix if they would
incentivise being in wards more. Like an EXP buff if you stay there for a few minutes. Something of that nature.

[Shazzinoth]

No thanks. I like the neighborhood feel to the wards.

What neighbourhood feel?
This argument always comes up yet every ward I have ever seen, unless there is an event happening there, has always been a ghost town.

[Jojoya]

I think instanced housing will more likely nuke the capital cities - the quicksands and aetherytes as eventually people sink deeper into enclaves.

Not true. Those players hang out there because they like to see all the players coming and going (or be seen). Most of them will already have an apartment or even a house if they have an interest in housing but still prefer to be at the Aetherytes. If they wanted to be AFKing in housing, they'd already be doing it.

I wish they had thought to include a gardening allotment to go with the apartments when they were first introduced. Giving people a means to access the gardening feature would go a long way towards making apartments a good alternative to non-instanced housing. Adding a second or third floor to the apartments or an outside balcony would also add hugely to their appeal.

We have gardening in apartments via the flowerpots. If there's a seed that can be grown, you can do it in a flowerpot.

What players can't do with the flowerpots is produce new seeds via intercross. The vast majority wouldn't touch intercross even if they had a house. The majority of those left who give it a try will end up stopping after a month.

I know people dream of having cheap Thavnairian Onions but in all honesty you're better off buying the onion from the marketboard then spend all that time it takes to produce the onion seed and grow the onion doing other things that would earn more gil than you paid for the onion. The layers of RNG involved (will I even get a seed and will it be the one I want if I do?) can be very frustrating.

That would be such an easy fix if they would
incentivise being in wards more. Like an EXP buff if you stay there for a few minutes. Something of that nature.

Even something like that wouldn't help. If I'm at my plot 60 house, player A is at their plot 42 house and player B is at their plot 33 house, we'll never see each other because we're too far apart. Never mind all the players who own the other houses in the ward who either aren't online or had already stopped at their houses to get their buff and are in other areas doing other content. Never mind all the players in other wards who might own the same plot numbers and even be there but won't be seen because they're in different wards.

What neighbourhood feel?
This argument always comes up yet every ward I have ever seen, unless there is an event happening there, has always been a ghost town.

I get the impression that some people feel that it's the buildings and not the people who live/work in those buildings that create a neighborhood.

They feel how they feel, can't argue that even if you don't feel the same way.

It's still not a reason to justify a system that doesn't allow every player to get a house if they want one.

[Silverbane]

I know people dream of having cheap Thavnairian Onions but in all honesty you're better off buying the onion from the marketboard then spend all that time it takes to produce the onion seed and grow the onion doing other things that would earn more gil than you paid for the onion. The layers of RNG involved (will I even get a seed and will it be the one I want if I do?) can be very frustrating.

Agreed. My spouse gardens for the challenge involved in Thav Onions, not because it saves any money.
Lots of other activities yield more than enough gil to buy a Thav Onion in the time you have to invest in growing one.

And you'll probably never make back the price of a housing plot by growing stuff there.

[Wolfenrir]

The mistake was allowing private ownership. The original intent was for the housing wards to be for FC's only and they should have left it that way.

Yeah because things don't change over the course of time, that excuse is horrible.

[Gaspodia]

We have gardening in apartments via the flowerpots. If there's a seed that can be grown, you can do it in a flowerpot.

What players can't do with the flowerpots is produce new seeds via intercross. The vast majority wouldn't touch intercross even if they had a house. The majority of those left who give it a try will end up stopping after a month.

I know people dream of having cheap Thavnairian Onions but in all honesty you're better off buying the onion from the marketboard then spend all that time it takes to produce the onion seed and grow the onion doing other things that would earn more gil than you paid for the onion. The layers of RNG involved (will I even get a seed and will it be the one I want if I do?) can be very frustrating.

I expect you are right, but I think it's important to give everyone the same chance at experiencing this part of the game and a balcony where a plot could be added or a plot at a separate allotment that's tied to the apartment would give them that.

[HeyMcFly]

No thanks. I like the neighborhood feel to the wards.

Me too, i love the ghost towns & never seeing anyone there as if it were abandoned
such a good system

[HeyMcFly]

I don't think we will get instanced housing but I 100% am for it

The housing needs a full overhaul- I do think the wards need to be left for FCs but make private house instances which are all cottage sized that you can upgrade through donating/ crafting etc (like the doma & firmament) and after reaching a certain limit, your house increases in size & you can add more garden plots/ get more space etc
This won't happen so my other solution is listed below

In the meantime:
FC rooms & Apartments also need to be priced evenly & expanded upon by increasing their size & adding rooms/ floors and introducing a roommate option as well as a garden if someone wants it
The new house Wards when they are eventually added, need to be made fully private wards

[Jojoya]

And you'll probably never make back the price of a housing plot by growing stuff there.

Shards. One Deluxe Garden Patch growing shards using just normal potting soil is still about 20k gil a day. You'd earn the cost of the most expensive small plot back in 6 months.

Use Shroud topsoil to increase yield (depending on the going price or if you're buying it with tomestones) and you'd get that gil back even faster.

People are so obsessed with Thavnairian Onion prices that they overlook much simpler yet still profitable options.

[mauiestlauiest]

No thanks. I like the neighborhood feel to the wards.

You and anyone else that says about "foot traffic" are liars. I live in a very crowded world. One of the highest populated. My FC has a house in Goblet, I have a house in Shirogane and I'm in Mist often. There is no traffic at all. It's all a ghost town.