Free Company Instanced Housing: Airships

[Soul_Mythrim]

Instead of airships just being glorified retainers why not let FCs have the opportunity to get their own private airships. Just make it like the Prima Vista from the recent 24 man raid.

Give us a completely empty cabin in which we furnish and decorate ourselves, and put in a market board and summoning bell. FC members will be able to get their own private room/cabin on the airship. We could also put in a mini aetheryte in which we could tp to

From the piloting deck we can pilot the airship to hover over certain major cities and areas which changes the background for anyone on the top deck. The top deck will also be able to have outdoor furnishings such as stables and gardens.

Also from the airship you could deploy shuttles for members to get to areas on Eorzea. The idea of the airship would be to provide a base of operations for its members and even act like a home for the many FCs that were unable to get houses during Shirogane (savage).

Thanks to ideas from commenters below suggesting upgrade tiers for the airship I've also thought of a way to get those upgrades. FC raids/missions that aren't Diadem

The idea is that you and a group of FC members, or others you invited, go on a 4/8/24 man raid in a style similar to the first part of Dun Scaith. Basically as you're traveling to an island with the materials/upgrades needed to upgrade your airship you need to fight off monsters that beset your group on the airship. Then once the airship has landed dungeon/raid your way to the reward.

Also just to clear, due to some confusion below. Yes this is a proposed solution for the current housing problem. And yes the airship would act as some form of instanced housing for the FC. And no the focus of this isn't Diadem like missions, but rather missions similar in theme to Dun Scaith.

[Draxxion]

Pros and Cons I have with this idea and some in put I have for it as I do like the idea.

Pros
- Can be moved around city to city. The only factor is time to move. Which just means no access to the house as it moves. Use local aetherite to teleport to.
- Can be upgradable to fulfill multiple size airships. Not limited to just one size, but recommend if you upgrade you can't downgrade. Give the FC something to work on and achieve. Can also have it be no access to airship while it is being upgraded.
- Outdoor items can be handled by having outdoor deck space.
- With new storage system and company workshop, upgrading can easily be achieved.

Cons
- Strain on servers for all the instances. Not sure by how much though.
- Lack of community between your FC and Neighbors. More difficult to have open to public, etc for events and such.

[Remina_Garamonde]

I'd love this.

[dracklor]

Sounds awesome.

[Soul_Mythrim]

Pros and Cons I have with this idea and some in put I have for it as I do like the idea.

Pros
- Can be moved around city to city. The only factor is time to move. Which just means no access to the house as it moves. Use local aetherite to teleport to.
- Can be upgradable to fulfill multiple size airships. Not limited to just one size, but recommend if you upgrade you can't downgrade. Give the FC something to work on and achieve. Can also have it be no access to airship while it is being upgraded.
- Outdoor items can be handled by having outdoor deck space.
- With new storage system and company workshop, upgrading can easily be achieved.

Cons
- Strain on servers for all the instances. Not sure by how much though.
- Lack of community between your FC and Neighbors. More difficult to have open to public, etc for events and such.

Two valid concerns, but I imagine the strain would be minor at least compared to opening new wards, only for most the houses to be taken by private owners.
They're small prices considering how many FCs sincerely need some form of housing for workshops, stables, and gardens.

[Enla]

Cons
- Strain on servers for all the instances. Not sure by how much though.
- Lack of community between your FC and Neighbors. More difficult to have open to public, etc for events and such.

Honestly speaking I don't understand why people keep on mentioning the sense of community between neighbors when I've never actually seen anything like that in all my years of playing this game. I've been in several houses due to switching FCs, and am one of the 'shared' tenants of a friend's house as well, and all the wards without exception are almost entirely dead. Sure you'll sometimes find /one/ FC that has people milling about at the marketboard, but they're rarely if ever near where your house is.
Still I don't see why having this option in ADDITION to the existing wards would be a bad thing. Some FC's just want a place to call their own.

[MisterSpamtastic]

i'm assuming this would accessible from all the major cities airship landings? i mean that's what they're there for right? i could totally support this idea

[WhiteArchmage]

I could totally get behind this, maybe have different "base" designs for the airship (like one close to the Prima Vista with the stage being a huge open area on the top deck; another one more imperial Garlean-styled, or maybe Limsan with lots of cannons everywhere...) for extra customization. The FC missions would also be an interesting thing to do, especially for large FCs (also, hi Soul! ).

[Soul_Mythrim]

I could totally get behind this, maybe have different "base" designs for the airship (like one close to the Prima Vista with the stage being a huge open area on the top deck; another one more imperial Garlean-styled, or maybe Limsan with lots of cannons everywhere...) for extra customization. The FC missions would also be an interesting thing to do, especially for large FCs (also, hi Soul! ).

Hell let us even upgrade and use those cannons to help deal with a giant boss monster or something. (also, yo Samn)

[uvuvwevwevweonyetenyevweugwemu]

Expedition-only airships aren't new. It's been available since Diadem. It is entirely different from the current airship missions we have that requires designing from workshop. They could improve that or from scratch, but I don't see it replacing workshop airships. It's too valuable for FC to make some gils.

The current workshop deploys unmanned gathering airships collecting rare stuff. The unmanned part is why it requires designing,expedition doesn't really need anything more than dropping off people (the rest is for story purposes). More than one can be deployed (different sector different-type airship), that's why the workshop is in FC house, not inside single airship.