Housing Transfers Should Be On Timers

[Mikki]

It is on those servers where there are enough houses for the players who want a house. It's not on the worlds where player population is far greater than the number of houses available.

If SE was able to expand wards dynamically on a per server basis, the problem would partially disappear since they could just add another ward to a specific server when the number of houses available reaches some minimum amount. It still wouldn't address the demand for more medium and large houses, though.

I'm genuinely hoping that they'll be introducing a better instanced housing system next expansion and not just a new district that will operate the way wards currently do. We'll have to wait and see what they have planned.

Sorry, I meant to combat the issue of resellers, not the issue of housing as a whole.
But to clarify: There would still be resellers but I don't think that the timers have a sizable impact on it. I think that the restriction of 1 house per server was what had the huge impact. Housing on a timer helps no one. And, if you ever do check out housing markets, these days prices are quite reasonable - unlike before the change where smalls were going for as much as 100mil. I've seen several people selling at cost just to recoup their losses.

In terms of the issue of housing as a whole? Yeah, the system is garbage. I wish they'd make instanced housing (Apartments) better - allow for bigger spaces (as big as mansions) and a small backyard space like is seen at the Kugane Inn room (but allow it to be accessible) and allow FCs to use them. They could even keep the current system in addition to this and everything would be pretty fantastic. They have all the pieces, they're just refusing to put them together for who knows what reason. Or, maybe make apartments personal housing + FC housing and the current ward system FC only - but that would make everyone mad, I'm sure. So probably not the best idea. Certainly cleaner, though.

[SerLuke]

What likely happened is they didn’t actually own a house they were just trying to make you think they did so you would leave and they managed win get first click after the timer ended, I would still report it for harassment though

[Hunky]

Fixed. People keep complaining about timers when it is not gonna solve the problem of housing shortage, especially when tons of new players or returners will want a plot as well at Shadowbringers release.

And then old players who waited more than one year for an house upgrade will complain of new players snatching better plots than them XD

Ideally, I don't think anyone should have to wait or camp to purchase a plot.

But if we had to keep the system we have right now, then the question we have to ask ourselves is who should be given the advantage. Because someone will have an advantage over another; unless we decide to make everyone, transfers and first-time buyers, wait for the timer.

Currently, the ones who have an advantage are the ones who already own a house. They don't have to worry about the timer because they can bypass it. You can have a group of 7 to 9 people would-be first-time buyers camping at a plot, only to have someone swoop down and transfer to the house just like that, making those hours of waiting and camping meaningless and a waste of time.

We have to ask ourselves what would be most fair. Should people who already have a house be given this advantage? Or should it be people who don't own a house at all? Who should be made to camp and wait for a timer to be done?

I personally wouldn't mind first-time buyers being allowed to bypass the timer. Give them a chance to buy a house. Then, when they want to transfer, they can camp and wait with the rest of the house-owners.

I don't see why there shouldn't be a preference for relocation as it leaves a plot open. At this point it seems pretty clear SE intends to just add more houses rather than go instanced and if they're going to do that then but a random small somewhere, save up your gil and upgrade when you can like the rest of us.

The trolling/bullying/whatever is clearly uncalled for but it doesn't change the argument fundamentally.

Yes, house-owners do open up a spot when they transfer, but the timer resets. People who have been waiting for hours now have to go to another plot, hoping that the timer ends soon. It's incredibly frustrating and grueling.

I'm only thinking about what would be most fair considering the current system we have.

[Bright-Flower]

I'm all for new wards if the servers can handle them of course.

That said, I have no problem with people being able to transfer into plots. The idea as I understand it is it allows people who have housing to 'move up' so to speak, moving to more desired or larger plots, while still leaving an empty plot in their wake for a player or FC without housing.

[Rangar]

What SE needs to do is end personal housing in wards and make personal instanced housing for everyone

[Bright-Flower]

What SE needs to do is end personal housing in wards and make personal instanced housing for everyone

I'm kind of hoping they do that with Ishgard.

[Shougun]

What SE needs to do is end personal housing in wards and make personal instanced housing for everyone

I would /love/ a personal zone and I think once people tried a Wildstar like system many would like it more too (where you can customize more than you can with our current system, and there are less limitations because you don't share visual space) but..... there are people who would NOT like losing their neighborhood. I think therefore it would be important to keep the wards, but allow people to transfer their house into the instanced zone if they wish (relinquishing their lot in the ward). If enough people transfer over to collapse down the system into fewer wards then that can be done, but I'd like to see the housing system leave the salt era not trade types of salt XD.

Unless by end you mean end adding wards or at least take a break from that and add/expand another system (add airships, personal zone, greatly expanded apartment system, something), in which case full agree with every ounce of desire I can muster. I am not impressed with the ward system, am impressed with the decoration items though (which is why I want to see a system that has more power to the player).

[Vassitri]

id have to wonder how the data centers/servers would handle it now with the shift into multiple- on EU and on NA. granted we now have world visit which will add burden on the server, but is the world transfer going to take up the same burden the loss of 33% of a data center would free up?

[Bright-Flower]

One system a poster suggested in another thread once was a lottery system. When a plot is empty, there's a timer, however long doesn't matter much. Everyone interested in the plot puts in the money for it. At the end of the timer, winner is selected at random. Everyone else is refunded their gil via mail. You cannot bid on the same plot more than once on a service account. This way people can't directly sell plots but you also don't have people using auto clickers that can afk and get an advantage etc. Give it say a 24 hour window, or shorter. You can bid on multiple plots, but not the same plot more than once until it's sold, and if you win a plot your bids on any other open plots are refunded.

I suppose to completely get rid of resellers you would have to get rid of transfers having an advantage here, but I would be willing to forgoe that I guess.

[Dustytome]

We have to ask ourselves what would be most fair.

If a timer has to be in place, everyone (new or current home owners) that wanted a particular plot should have to wait out the timer. It shouldn't matter if someone lucked out and acquired a plot already, especially when certain size/locations are so rare.