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

[Rolks]

Gatekeeping: The Toxic Defense of a Broken System

Listen, while I agree that SE needs to do something about the scarcity of housing, your arguments, and especially your oversimplification of the counterarguments and ad-hominin attacks on those who make them, do nothing for your case.

Apartments are a substitute for people who want their own personal space to decorate for themselves. For that purpose, it is an okay substitute. No one says it's a perfect substitute. I had an apartment for several months before I succeeded in winning a house. It was my small cozy place. But that's not what you want. You want a place to peacock off to your friends. However, as I said, while you wait to win the lottery, you can still peacock your FC room to your friends. In fact, contrary to my house, my FC mates visit my FC room a LOT. And if you want to decorate the outside, use the workshop, or tend the garden, maybe you need to have a talk with your FC leader.

However, your complaints against the auto-demo timer are just not practical. This is not Stardew Valley that you can stop playing for a long time, then pick up where you left off as if nothing has changed. It's an online MMO. If you are going to take time off from the game, for whatever reason, the player base as a whole is going to demand that your unused plot be recycled so others can use it. And while I have empathy for the mental and physical health issues, but you are not looking at it from the other side. And the other side isn't SE's side, it's the thousands of other players in the game's side. They want a plot, and if it is unused, they should be allowed to bid on it. As a person that waited over a year and a half, losing lottery after lottery, waiting through not one, but multiple auto-demolition freezes due to natural disasters and world events, before I won my medium house, I can tell you right now, if you extended the demolition timer beyond 45 days, I might still be waiting on winning my bid. (As a side note: SE did us a nice by implementing a change whereby you can increase your interior space to medium or large without having to upgrade the exterior. So they do listen.)

[Rolks]

What Square Enix Must Do

I don't think you realize the server capacity required to store instant housing for EVERY player and FC in the game. The whole reason we have limited numbers of wards is because SE does not currently have the server capacity to handle more. It's not about programming 1s and 0s, it's about hardware capacity to handle that much data. Let's do some math. There are 60 plots per ward, 30 wards per area, 5 areas per server. That's 9,000 plots per server. There are roughly 8 servers on a data center (more on JP servers, less on EU and Oceania servers). That's roughly 72k plots per data center. There are 4 NA, 1 Oceania, 2 EU, and 4 JP data centers. That's roughly 792,000 plots. SE is currently straining their server capacity to hold all of the games zones and the housing plots. It was a monumental undertaking that took an upgrade and expansion of their servers to just add the Ishgard housing zones. At the same time, they set up a whole new data center in Oceania and an additional US data center in Dynamis to try and alleviate the issue.

A quick google search tells me there are 70M subscribers to FFXIV, with almost 400k players daily. Which means there is more than enough housing capacity to cover the daily user player base and their FCs as long as there is sufficient turnover of supply. But you want to get rid of the auto-demolition. So that is not sufficient. To address your concerns, we need to allot instant housing for the entire subscription base. The server capacity required to give instant housing to all 70M subscribers is astronomical, and well beyond what even the multi-million dollar company that is SE can handle.

Again, I sympathize and agree that more housing is needed. However, the practicality of the matter is, it is just not possible. But as a person that waited almost six months to get my first house, and over a year and a half to upgrade to a medium, I cannot agree at all with your calls to do away with or extend the auto-demolition timer.

[Khryseis_Astra]

Funny I remember helping to test cloud servers that seem like they would be perfect for this exact problem… lol whether they decide to go the route of more wards or adding an instanced housing system to supplement them, a cloud server could be just what they need. Instanced housing (either a new system, or the insides of what we already have) only load up when they’re in use.

But they have to do something if they want to remain competitive (ie: bring in more money to keep going). When their biggest competitor is building a new housing system that deliberately takes pot shots at the problems and complaints about XIV’s housing, and other games that don’t even require a sub offer instanced permanent, multiple and more variety of housing options. This isn’t reinventing the wheel here… if other (some even older!) games can figure it out, it’s not an unreasonable request to make.

I’d even argue that XIV’s housing system could position itself to be the most superior on the market, we’re it not for 3 things: lack of supply in general, inability to create neighborhoods with friend groups, and the lack of a Z axis for furniture placement (which thank the Twelve they’re finally “looking into”!). And if they really want to be top dog, they’d also add the multiple dye channels to furnishings that WoW will have, and/or the ability to have housing in any part of the game world (or make it look that way). lol

[Aelin_Ashryver]

proving my point already to be true you're just here to derail or troll those of us who want change lol an letting your emotions twist your judgement cause you have that "got mine" attitude an feel so privileged that you didnt have to deal with the burden of getting what you wanted.
we all are paying customers here and its pathetic to simp this hard for a multi-millonaire business that can and should be giving us returns on our monthly payment. not giving us half baked excuses for why they can't give us anything for that investment back
so do us all a favor "solowing" an kindly take your bitterness and trolling somewhere where its appreciated cause no one in this thread cares for your opinion either

They're right, why should other people lose the chance at bidding on a plot forever because someone else is unstable and can't keep their mental health in a good state? It's not other people's problem if you or anyone else can't get online for whatever reason, be it mental health or otherwise. So long as there is scarcity in housing the timer is needed. And expecting to keep something forever when you can't even log in over a 45 day period is ludicrous.

I still want instanced housing, wow's housing system is looking great. If I actually enjoyed that game more I would be very excited, but I don't enjoy that games aesthetic at all so pass from me. FFXIV houses need a far greater item limit, but with the current population there isn't much of a housing crisis going on. Plenty free plots on many servers.

But for as long as we don't have an infinite supply of housing, the limits are there for good reason and shouldn't change.

[Rawazh]

I don't think you realize the server capacity required to store instant housing for EVERY player and FC in the game. The whole reason we have limited numbers of wards is because SE does not currently have the server capacity to handle more.

Saying that on september 2025 when the island sanctuary came out 3 years ago?

[Solowing]

Saying that on september 2025 when the island sanctuary came out 3 years ago?

Is the want for instance housing reflected in the current housing wards?

Are the wards constantly bustling? Are all the housing units (plots/apt) filled and in use?

No. The aggregate player base rather spend their time in the main city hubs.

Some players are saying one thing but the general player activity is saying another. Most find value in the housing by virtue of its scarcity. Once they get it, they'll play with it and their interest will eventually wane. It becomes a sunken cost at that point.

[Rawazh]

Yes everyone talks about it in the housing community and anywhere else on the forums, on discords, sometimes even on reddit, it is a constant discussion.

You yourself is saying that the wards are empty because people would rather spend their time in limsa:
Just because people like to hang out in main city hubs doesn't mean they don't like housing, nor own a house, the amount of friends who owns houses but hang out in main cities is big - They even go there to actually see people.

If no one hangs out in wards, what is the issue of having instanced housing to begin with then??

[Solowing]

Yes everyone talks about it in the housing community and anywhere else on the forums, on discords, sometimes even on reddit, it is a constant discussion.

You yourself is saying that the wards are empty because people would rather spend their time in limsa:
Just because people like to hang out in main city hubs doesn't mean they don't like housing, nor own a house, the amount of friends who owns houses but hang out in main cities is big - They even go there to actually see people.

If no one hangs out in wards, what is the issue of having instanced housing to begin with then??

Again, the issue is apartments are available for everybody in this game.And by extension , housing is available for everybody in game.

This discussion isn't about housing. It's merely about a plot. Because if I mention apartments some don't want anything to do with that and won't even want to acknowledge it as housing. They'll call a plot "true housing" like 18 outdoor items completely changes the dynamic of housing. But then with noone engages with islancd sanctuary systems outdoor system. Players don't want either system stand alone. They will not engage with the parts of its sum but only if its the sum of its parts. Players don't want interior housing and they don't want exterior housing , but they want both together. The common trade I noticed for both of those things are the both of them are easily accessible standalone yet unwanted. But the demand for it SKYROCKETS when you put them both together. An make them limited supply. If the players have access to some level of housing , why are they not utilizing that? If they want the exterior so bad , why are they not engaging with the island sanctuary housing system for the exterior? Yet people are demanding both? When they wont engage with parts of housing by themselves? And I don't mean you personally , I mean , the aggregate.

Most players are in the city because they want to be around other players.

If players are wanting housing so bad why are the wards empty? Because they don't want to be there. But you have to be there if you want to partake in housing. And as you see , the demigraph value socializing with people in a general hub , rather than spending time in a housing unit that they built

The truth be told , most players don't really care that much about housing , they care more about its scarcity , that's what they're interested in.

[Solowing]

I think the best way to improve the system would be from a top down approach. I think the apartments can be upgraded but they cannot be 1:1 with plots. However if the plots get upgraded then there is no reason the apartments couldn't get an upgrade to keep pace.

They want you to get a house because they want you to subscribe for pretty much the foreseeable future until you get tired of keeping that house. And people aren't exactly gonna feel sympathetic.That you lost your house because you didn't use it. They're gonna be like tough luck. You shouldve used it and probably bit on it. Because of its limited supply, they dont care. If they dont have a plot that just another opportunity to get a plot that just opened up, if its on your server

But if you are not willing to jump on that hook the apartments are fine they don't get demolished so you can leave for as long as you want. They aren't as big but it doesnt require the commitment of a plot

[Llamalass]

My word... y'all just never stop, huh?


"nobody cares about housing, honestly"

While you're in here 24/7, like the rest of the people floating the threads constantly to the top of the [housing] forum.

Now imagine the majority of the ones who don't waste their time here like the rest of y'all.



I never tire of your MMO forum shenanigans. /yawn