Random Timer is a big problem

[DrWho2010]

you need enough money to be able to buy two houses - buy a crap one and then to transfer.

[Jillian]

you need enough money to be able to buy two houses - buy a crap one and then to transfer.

This is the best advice you are going to get. The RNG timers suck, but I doubt SE is going to change the way it works. Try to buy a small, less desirable plot in Goblet. This seems to be the least popular housing area and it will probably be easier to snag a house here as opposed to the other housing areas. I think some of the plots go for less than 3mil, which is easy enough to get. This way, when a plot opens up that you do want, you will be able to transfer your FC house right away.

[MizArai]

you need enough money to be able to buy two houses - buy a crap one and then to transfer.

This is the best advice you are going to get. The RNG timers suck, but I doubt SE is going to change the way it works. Try to buy a small, less desirable plot in Goblet. This seems to be the least popular housing area and it will probably be easier to snag a house here as opposed to the other housing areas. I think some of the plots go for less than 3mil, which is easy enough to get. This way, when a plot opens up that you do want, you will be able to transfer your FC house right away.

He's on Leviathan, so he's probably trying to buy the crap house now (seems like they're trying to buy anything they find available) and running into this problem.

Telling people to just buy any house that's available on a populated server (where the only available houses are going to be behind the timer) is bad advice. Lots of them (like OP) are already doing that. The timers are ridiculous. I understand why they put them in, though I feel like they weren't needed. It didn't stop flippers like they wanted, it just cut out who can buy flipped houses. All it seems to have done is created plenty of problems for people trying to buy their first house.

[Jillian]

He's on Leviathan, so he's probably trying to buy the crap house now (seems like they're trying to buy anything they find available) and running into this problem.

Telling people to just buy any house that's available on a populated server (where the only available houses are going to be behind the timer) is bad advice. Lots of them (like OP) are already doing that. The timers are ridiculous. I understand why they put them in, though I feel like they weren't needed. It didn't stop flippers like they wanted, it just cut out who can buy flipped houses. All it seems to have done is created plenty of problems for people trying to buy their first house.

The timer system sucks and the entire housing system is unfair. I also never said the advice was good; I just said it was the best he was going to get. Unfortunately, there is not much else the OP can do unless SE finds a way to fix the crappy housing situation. I don't think the OP is being unreasonable nor do I think he is spoiled. I have friends that are unable to purchase housing so I sympathize with him. It is my hope that SE finds a way to fix the housing situation so that everybody who wants a house is able to purchase one. I do not think housing should be a limited commodity.

[MizArai]

The timer system sucks and the entire housing system is unfair. I also never said the advice was good; I just said it was the best he was going to get. Unfortunately, there is not much else the OP can do unless SE finds a way to fix the crappy housing situation. I don't think the OP is being unreasonable nor do I think he is spoiled. I have friends that are unable to purchase housing so I sympathize with him. It is my hope that SE finds a way to fix the housing situation so that everybody who wants a house is able to purchase one. I do not think housing should be a limited commodity.

I was trying to point out that it's not helpful advice, as he was already doing what he was being told to do. The last housing census for Leviathan shows 2 smalls available in the Goblet. I'm sure he and his FC mates were just seeing anything available and camping the placard, especially since he said they tried this at a few houses. He came here hoping to bring attention to how much the current RNG timer system hurts the player population.

I'm honestly very glad that I got my personal house before the timer. When I was trying to get an FC house for my alt's FC (formed with some irl friends who play sporadically), the timer was a huge pain. It took a few days before I was able to actually catch a plot that I didn't end up losing to someone else. I would have given up on having a house if I kept losing the placard clicking mini-game back when I was new. And since housing was one of 2 reasons I started playing the game (eternal bonding was the other), I would have quit. While the timers were nice in theory, it hasn't helped with the intended problem, and has only made it harder for players to get their first house.

And I bolded part of the quote, 'cause I totally agree with it!!!! I would LOVE for SE to figure out a way for every FC & character to be able to purchase a house if they want (new instanced housing, expandable apartments, I don't know what other options might be, but I'm totally open to other ideas). Keep the ward system we currently have as a more glamour type housing for people who prefer it, but please give us another option so everyone can have a house!

[Andromedy]

This is my point in it's entirety. Leviathan is very busy. There is not a lot of housing, and each placard I've been sitting at has at least 5-10 people clicking it until the late hours of the night.

We are trying to get an FC house. The past 4 days, there have been 6 plots available.

The first was relocated to. The plot that left behind was then relocated to as well. The plot THAT let behind didnt pop till 6am. The next was in the goblet, and didnt pop till 2am in which we lost again. The census you are speaking of there were 2 smalls available last night. One was won by a guy with a macro who didn't even know he won the house until 2 hours later. The second plot went from 2pm to 10:30 AM the next day, and was won by a person who showed up 5 minutes prior.

Another plot opened up today in the mist only to be relocated by, get this, the man who was botting the house last night.

These houses are pretty integral to an FC. Not only do you get a personalized space for the whole of your FC to hang out and relax, but you also get the access to personalized rooms, and the company workshop. So much so that we chose to merge our two FC's the other night just to have a better chance at getting a house. Fight together not against.

I don't find one single reason a player should have a personal *House* in this game. They server no functional purpose other than to be a spot for an RP experience or to be a hermit(or like a garden... lmao) Especially a single player owning a mansion. Like what are you doing with all that space lol.

Houses could very easily be made for FC only, as they are again, and integral part of the growth of an FC. They could spruce up apartments ten fold to let players who want a personal experience have this.

Even if that isn't an option, I would very much like to see something done here. It's an increasingly frustrating project to sit and click 15+ hours on a house just to lose to an RNG timer. D:<

[Mikki]

The timers are ridiculous. I understand why they put them in, though I feel like they weren't needed. It didn't stop flippers like they wanted, it just cut out who can buy flipped houses. All it seems to have done is created plenty of problems for people trying to buy their first house.

THIS.
If you go to ...certain sites, you'll find that flipping houses is very much still alive and the only thing that has changed is the fact that now you have to either have a home already to relocate OR you have to be willing to buy it as an FC home. It doesn't stop the flippers at all, just makes it a lot more difficult for people who are trying to get their first house in a legit manner.

And honestly, most flippers I see aren't even that bad anymore. I remember when I saw people trying to sell smalls for 100 million. Now it's more like 10 million. Yeah, that's still a huge markup but it's calmed down a lot and I feel like it will drop even further if they actually release that Ishgard housing they seemed to be teasing. I do wonder if SE is hesitant to add more wards because they want to add more housing areas in general.... hm. In any case, if they add another housing area that will add a lot more supply and the prices should drop once again. THAT BEING SAID, I think that allowing only one house per server per service account has really helped cut down on the people who are buying houses only to flip them, which leaves mostly people who are just trying to get their money back on housing they won't use anymore.

I think the timers are more harmful than helpful. If anything, I think they should retain the timer in the sense that you can't drop ownership and immediately a new buyer can swoop in. However, the time in which it becomes available again should be random but clear. For example, I think when you drop the house ownership it can go on a timer of 12 hours, 24 hours or 36 hours. The fact that you can't just instantly transfer into the new house makes it more risky for people buying from flippers. Secondly, the fact that it's random to some degree means that you can't plan - for example, you can't ditch the house at a certain time and say "Okay well I dropped the house at 3am so it will be up in 24 hours. 3am is a dead time so no one will be on." The huge variance in possible times means that if you drop at 3am, it could be available at 9am, 3pm or 3am. ADDITIONALLY, the placard should tell you exactly when it will be available. This means that there is at minimum 12 hours in which someone else can notice that the house is free and check to see when it's up again. This gives other people a chance, without them having to wait ridiculous hours checking every few seconds.


They could possibly add some randomness to it, as in "the house will be available for purchase some time between 3pm - 5pm" with it being possible to be unlocked in increments of 10 minutes.


I think there's a middle ground here somewhere that could make it more fair and friendly to people trying to get a new house while also discouraging flipping.