Housing Scarcity is manufactured

[Theodric]

Thats just how MMOs work. Ya its scummy but its the whole genre. aint gonna change. Thats just being realistic

It can and will change provided more people speak out against it rather than give in to defeatism.

That's precisely how male viera came to be added to the game, after all. The decision to introduce gender locked playable races proved deeply unpopular and so enough people spoke up in opposition and it led to their implementation.

[Khryseis_Astra]

I think it's time we stop calling it a housing scarcity and actually call it just people wanting a specific plot and being too picky to take anything less than that.

Looking at Paissa, there are at least 250 plots on every server in NA with 40-50 of them being private plots and some servers going up to almost 70 (outside of Balmung because obvi reasons, they seem to be sitting at under 40 and all of Dynamis because again, obvi reasons). Some have been sitting for weeks on end without a bid.

The plots are there, there's no shortage. It's just people want what they want and will scream that there is one instead of just acquiring housing and waiting to upgrade. I'm sure when we get more NA servers that people still won't want to move to get a chance at the housing they want and instead continue saying that there's a shortage.

Are we looking at the same region? Because I’m looking at my server (Bryn/Crystal) and there’s more plots in LB than there are in Goblet right now. But for private buyers, that’s only 15 and 13 respectively. Some of them are at zero bids now but it’s only day 2 of the current cycle; they’ll be bid on before it’s done. The only ones left with no bids for multiple cycles are in the FC only wards.

The lotto has pretty much killed the “get what you can, upgrade later” strategy of the past, unless you’re lucky enough to get your first house uncontested. (And that isn’t happening…) Instant relocation is gone. People have been stuck in lotto after lotto with no success, just trying for anything. Hell I was trying to downgrade from a medium to a small, and it took me almost 9 months! On the other hand, those trying to upgrade or just relocate in general are going to be in the same lotto hell, so if the dream plot is up, you bid, or you might be waiting forever for another shot. And even those who are going for their first plot: someone is going to win it, so they may as well try.

What we really need is an instanced housing system in addition to the wards, so that everyone can have the plot size and neighborhood theme of their choice, and let those who want to suffer through the lotto for a ward house do so. Otherwise there’s never going to be enough ward plots for everyone on a given server, and definitely not enough mediums and larges for everyone who (quite understandably) wants to upgrade when they have the gil to do so.

[VelKallor]

What we really need is an instanced housing system in addition to the ward

..which is what I believe Island Sanctuaries will become over time.

[Jojoya]

To be fair, who want small plots even for FC anyways? The BiS for decorating now is a Medium plots and not Goblet, but they didn't provide enough Medium plots sadly...

Not everyone wants a bigger space. Not everyone fancies themselves an interior designer. Not everyone wants to spend that much gil on a house.

Even if they don't want a small in the long run, at least it's a foot in the door so they can start building their workshop and setting up FC rooms while they wait for something better to become available (and hopefully win it).

I definitely wouldn't see a 20+ member FC getting a small house but a FC with only 4-8 unique members? A small is plenty of room and the gil saved would give them a very good start on subs. They would have enough gil to buy schematic materials and/or sub parts the moment their sub ranks up enough for an upgrade without having to hope RNG gets them the right schematic materials in sufficient quantity in time.

Or, square could change the toxic business practice and extend the demolition timer, or remove it and do something about accounts with multiple houses locked down causing the issue in the first place.
Then just allow alts on the account to teleport to your house and alter it as much as wanted

They can't get rid of demolition because they'd quickly run out of space at the physical data centers to squeeze in more server hardware to open more wards. We'd quickly be back at the same problem that existed before demolition was added.

There will be disagreement on how long is long enough for the demo timer. Should it be 3 months? 6 months? A year?

You can take away houses from those players who own multiple houses and it's still not going to solve the problem. There would still be players who want a house but can't get one. There would still be players who got a small house but really wanted a medium or large that are going to be angry they still can't get a medium or large.

Certainly, they need to get around to fixing the alt exclusion but that's not going free up more houses because most players don't have multiple characters owning houses.

Again, a better instanced system removes all the problems we currently face because of the ward system. No one has to go without a house. Everyone can get the exact house location and size they want on their current home world regardless of world population. Anyone who wants to own multiple houses could own multiple houses without impacting another player's ability to get a house. There is no need for demolition since no one would be locked out of the system that met the requirements to purchase.

OOOOOOOOOR, they could just fix housing, I know that's absolutely crazy, they could add more wards so people can have houses, or have self-creating wards for when all of the wards reach capacity.

You're right. They could fix the housing system. They aren't doing it.

That doesn't leave us with much choice, does it? We have to deal with the system in its current state. If someone objects to the demolition system, then they have the option to not buy a house.

And I still don't care that you need your Shiro 60 limited in quantity to make you feel special. Repeating that over and over every time the subject of instanced housing comes up isn't going to change that. The rest of us aren't paying for this game to stroke your fragile ego.

[Stormpeaks]

And I still don't care that you need your Shiro 60 limited in quantity to make you feel special. Repeating that over and over every time the subject of instanced housing comes up isn't going to change that. The rest of us aren't paying for this game to stroke your fragile ego.

Yet you aint getting a welfare shiro 60 as instanced, so obviously they like it that way ; ) Enjoy instanced housing on the island

[kaynide]

As a proud owner of Shirogane 7 (or 37, whichever), and Mist 50, I would say it is not where I started, and it took quite a bit of time/effort/patience to get them.

I wanna say our first FC was like.. under the aqueduct in Mist. 11 or 12, was awful.

Point being, you can choose to compete for the same one everyone else wants with a 1 in 100 chance, and probably not win it anyway, or you can shoot for a solid 1 in 10. Maybe a 1 in 1-3 if you’re lucky. And if you regularly check the wards, you might find one on auction that’s not in sync with demo timers (like someone moved and abandoned their lot).

You’d be surprised how many slip under the radar.

[Boblawblah]

Yikes, it's a bit sad seeing people pretending paying a monthly sub to keep a virtual house is some sort of prestige symbol.

[Jojoya]

Yet you aint getting a welfare shiro 60 as instanced, so obviously they like it that way ; ) Enjoy instanced housing on the island

I wouldn't take a free Shiro 60 if someone offered to give it to me, it's not my style. If I really wanted one I could have had it when Dynamis opened. Competition for larges on Marilith that first lottery period was very thin except on the Mist 5/35. Instead I took a LB 33 (for playful reasons, my Coeurl FC has the same plot).

The island doesn't have instanced housing. Can't enjoy what doesn't exist and to be honest, I'd rather not have the island become instanced housing.

But then you know my feelings on the subject because that's come up in some of the other discussions we've had over in the Housing forum.

[Stormpeaks]

I wouldn't take a free Shiro 60 if someone offered to give it to me, it's not my style. If I really wanted one I could have had it when Dynamis opened. Competition for larges on Marilith that first lottery period was very thin except on the Mist 5/35. Instead I took a LB 33 (for playful reasons, my Coeurl FC has the same plot).

The island doesn't have instanced housing. Can't enjoy what doesn't exist and to be honest, I'd rather not have the island become instanced housing.

But then you know my feelings on the subject because that's come up in some of the other discussions we've had over in the Housing forum.

You having your opinion is fine, however attacking me because I have a different definition of housing than you have... is really weird but you do you, however I'll respond with the same vitriol

"Prestige" is different for everyone, and should be respected as such, I dont insult people doing only fishing in the game because they like to fish, nor do I insult people doing content because they like content.

[Rolder50]

Its an MMO. Its entire model is to keep as many people subscribed for as long as possible.

And yet people constantly praise Yoshi-P for saying that you can take breaks from the game... despite systems like housing actively discouraging it.