Why FFXIV’s Housing System Is Failing Its Players, and Why It Must Change

[Llamalass]

The never-ending simping for Squee.

Does it not get tiresome?

How much do they pay you?

[ShadowyZero]

you never answered my questions SoloWing just conceding to your delusional rants as usual to protect the billion yen company from any back lash or criticism while continuing to gate keep a piece of content we all willingingly pay to have access too.

how much lower are you going to sink?

[Solowing]

you never answered my questions SoloWing just conceding to your delusional rants as usual to protect the billion yen company from any back lash or criticism while continuing to gate keep a piece of content we all willingingly pay to have access too.

how much lower are you going to sink?

If housing is considered content. Don't you already have access to it..? Unless you're ob Balmung?

[Solowing]

you never answered my questions SoloWing just conceding to your delusional rants as usual to protect the billion yen company from any back lash or criticism while continuing to gate keep a piece of content we all willingingly pay to have access too.

how much lower are you going to sink?

I joined in 2014. Apts didnt exist. Now imagine a version of the game that doesn't have apartments. Would you prefer that? Would you prefer something to partake in housing? Or what would you rather have nothing at all?

My concern was the fact that I couldn't partaken housing whatsoever back then because i didnt have a plot (nor did the demo timer exist). Apartments solved that problem. So my problem was TECHNICALLY solved.

Your issue isnt housing. Your issue is you want a plot. A plot isn't a feature, housing is. They've defanged you via technicality. Player housing can be a plot, but it doesnt have to be a plot to be considered player housing.

The housing sizes is just another carrot on a stick. Given that you're complaining about it. The only way to get a plot is by chasing the carrot. They offered you a smaller carrot that's easier to get. But if you want the bigger carrot you're gonna have to keep bidding. And to do that your subscriptions gonna need to be active. And then when you get one your subscription is gonna need to be active to keep it.

Im not against tripling the wards to 60 nor am I against upgrading aspects of the apts, as long as they don't encrouch on plot sizes. If we get plot layouts then sure bump apts up to a small. An as the standards of plots go up, apt can have improvements added to it. But never enough to make them 1:1.

Some players are indirectly paying money to retain their plot, giving out a 1:1 version with all the amenities and none of the drawback is going to irks players who have to maintain a sub to keep their plot. While other players get the exact same thing without having to come back at least once in 45 days. But also that wouldn't benefit S.E just letting players off the hook.

They need to just get rid of the mixed ward system, let players choose what type of house they want. PVT or FC. I get they've always want to plots available for FCs but the only ones who have a leg up on that is shell Fc owners who preemptively level up an Fc and wait out until a plot open up and can win it easily unless other players preemptively level up their Fcs. Get rid of that to even the playing field. If you're Fc doesnt meet the criteria then you should only be able to set itcto a private if you you win and accept the plot Tldr: Remove mixed wards. Allow winner to choose if Fc is Pvt or Fc so more players can bid, and shell fcs can't corner a plot if its Fc only.

[Solowing]

The never-ending simping for Squee.

Does it not get tiresome?

How much do they pay you?

I very much do like the ward system.I like that it has a sense of permanence. I like that if I decide to give my address out here. Anyone can come across it organically or directed freely. No friend list required or needing to be logged in.

I also do really like i have neighbour's that help give life to even a small section of the ward. I see the sparks of the idea coming to fruition. However it needs the players to make it work. If you had an entire ward fill the housing had housing enthusiasts, role players, venue owners, and hangouts. It could be that vision.

But what happens in reality in a ward. You get a few housing buffs. But most of the wards at least on Primal are empty as those players decorated, never/finished and or became dinsterested and moved on. Limsa is less isolated, alot of player activity going on. It's a central shared hub. Where players from different servers an data centers are coming and going.Plenty of chances of emergent interactions The housing wards are out the way, and serves no gameplay reason to visit it. You can stumble into a housing ward by accident. But you will never end up in a ward unless there is something there you seek out within the ward. But players like being where players congregate, and the housing wards isnt that. It's the main city state hubs.

[angelar_]

"The dragon-slaying boy eventually becomes the dragon."

It's all a matter of perspective.
Before judging too harshly, consider this: put yourself in that same corporate seat, with the same pressures, responsibilities, and compromises; and chances are, you'd end up making similar choices… maybe even worse.

I don't know, I mostly see a dev team that takes messy shortcuts all over the place programming and data structure-wise, then responds to any request for better from players with "That's actually very difficult." As if it's not their jobs to solve that problem.

No interest whatsoever what happens on the corporate level. Not my problem, or any other player's problem. No reason it should be if their interest is to refuse to respond meaningfully to what players have been asking to be addressed for a vast majority of the game's lifespan.

[Yuniko]

Ultimately. I just think that SE, has made quite a few lies, and is blowing hot air at us who are hoping for a housing improvement... but it's just met with SQUEE blowing hot air at us. so :shrug:

Can't do much when the devs and creators are not even willing to do fluff about their own game.

[Divinemights]

I don't know, I mostly see a dev team that takes messy shortcuts all over the place programming and data structure-wise, then responds to any request for better from players with "That's actually very difficult." As if it's not their jobs to solve that problem.

No interest whatsoever what happens on the corporate level. Not my problem, or any other player's problem. No reason it should be if their interest is to refuse to respond meaningfully to what players have been asking to be addressed for a vast majority of the game's lifespan.

True, it’s really not our problem.
That statement is more about poking fun at the “simple mindset” of “I pay a subscription, so I should get anything I want” or, on the flip side, the “SE is just a small indie company..bla bla bla”
Take Blizzard as an example: massive funding, advanced tech, and now even under Microsoft’s umbrella.
Did any of that suddenly change their corporate agenda?
Nope.
In fact, word is they have laid off core developers ahead of the next expansion

[ShadowyZero]

well damn i come back and an entire section of this place got yeeted lmao

[Rolks]

The housing system in Final Fantasy XIV is long overdue for reform.

...

Apartments Are NOT a Substitute for True Housing

I'm confused. Do you want housing? Or do you want a trophy case for you the peacock off to your friends?

A lot of your complaints can be satisfied by getting a room in your FC house. Does your FC not allow you to contribute to the decorations in the yard? Are they not allowing you to use the workshop or do gardening? That sounds like a problem with you and your FC. At least half of the FCs that I've belonged to have allowed me to do all of those things, and the other half I never asked. So it sounds like a problem with you and your FC, if you're not allowed to do all that with them. But you can show off your FC room to your friends and FC mates.

I have a house. No one ever visits my house but me. I've had a house in one form or another for three years. I've had people by about 5 times. They go, "oh cool," then leave and never come back. For the most part, a house is something for you. No one else cares about your peacocking. And since it's mostly for you, SE recognized this and made the apartments. Are they as good as houses? No. But it fulfills the need of someone who wants to decorate a personal space for themselves.

Auto-Demolition: A System That Punishes Vulnerability

1. No, you risk losing their plot, not everything you've built. When you come back, they can enter the lottery to try and get another one. There is a limited supply, and SE needed to put in place a method to ensure turnover.
2. 45 days is a LONG time. I took at month break for mental health purposes one winter, and was still able to log back in and get my house. Yes, even me, the alleged housing snob, has run into mental health issues and taken not one, but several mental health breaks from the game, and I have easily been able to maintain my housing. If you are taking off more than 45 days, why are you still paying your subscription?
3. And yes, this is an MMO. SE makes it's money by putting in place things that encourage you to log in and engage. That is the entire essence of an MMO. It's not toxic, the whole design of MMOs is to make you compulsively log in on a regular basis.
4. The time limit isn't toxic, it's practical. Think of all those people waiting on housing. And there are a lot. Whenever SE freezes the demolition process for things like natural catastrophes, there is a long groan among the player base because it essentially halts all turnover of house.
5. Most importantly, you DO NOT lose any irreplaceable items. That statement by you is just flat out wrong. If your house gets auto-demolished, you are able to retrieve all of your furnishings from an NPC in the housing sector. The only thing you lose is the plot. And you can always get a new plot.