Legit curious...why are housing wards ghost towns?

[Sarevok_Thordin]

I hang about around my house sometimes when I'm waiting for something and if I see anyone I sometimes say hi.

If people weren't so picky about using say chat to talk, people would use it more. Maybe if housing zones granted resting xp...

[Azurith]

I do wish they would make certain objects intractable for everyone like the Gold Saucer games and the merchants. But I've actually met a few people hanging out in my ward. Just depends

[Blue_Myu]

I think it's because people buy housing just so they can say yeah I got a house rather than do something in it. kinda like those people that run around driving high end sports cars on the weekends.

Yeah it really does feel like more of a status symbol than anything. Houses do have market boards and summon bells, but there's not much else. There's no real big 'reason' to be hanging out near your house because there's not much there. Want to do FATEs? Gather? Quest? You can't stick around your house.

I mean, you can be around there while you're waiting in queues and crafting/selling, but when you consider that there's only going to be less than 30 people per ward, and that they would have to be around your housing unit in particular, it just isn't likely.

[GomJabbar]

when you consider that there's only going to be less than 30 people per ward, and that they would have to be around your housing unit in particular, it just isn't likely.

There should be way more than 30 people per ward... Unless your ward happens to have absolutely no FC houses? Or a bunch of those 1 man FCs... I guess I'm lucky that my ward seems fairly lively.

[Blue_Myu]

There should be way more than 30 people per ward... Unless your ward happens to have absolutely no FC houses? Or a bunch of those 1 man FCs... I guess I'm lucky that my ward seems fairly lively.

Well give or take FCs, but even then you would have to actually be near a lively FC.

My house is actually right near an FC with 25 members, but I never see anyone near it...

[Lutv_Damned]

I missed the good old days when the housing is just new, lots of good neighbors hanging around market board and my fc house, we visit each outher house and joking around often, now its just a memory.

[Besame]

It's really not a big deal that the wards are ghost towns, what is a big deal is when SE uses the "social aspect" of housing such as it is to avoid making improvements, e.g., instanced housing.

[Jojoya]

Self explanatory title. In approximately a year of playing the only time I ever see other people is when a plot is on sale, and even when it's sold it's like the new owner is Thanos'd out of existence.

I don't get it, there are market boards, mailboxes, aetherytes, big houses are essentially designed for like 50 people inside so.....why? what makes going AFK on a main city any more appealing?

Think about how the game world is built.

We've got 28 open world zones. There are 10 "city" zones (I include things like Doman Enclave, Gold Saucer and Wolves' Den in that).

Then there are 144 housing ward zones (4 housing districts with 18 wards split into 2 zones each).

Let's not forget all the instanced content zones that people are running between dungeons, deep dungeons, raids, trials, etc.

Now multiple all this by the 66 worlds that players have to chose from.

Why do you expect people to be hanging out in your single ward zone, which only has 30 houses, when they have about 14,000 other game locations to choose if they even happen to be online at the same time you are (which most of them probably are not)? Wouldn't you really expect them to be congregating in the other zones that have content for them actually to be doing instead of all standing and looking at your house?

All that said, I do see people occasionally in the ward where I have my personal house. I see them even more frequently when I'm in my FC's ward since there's another small but active FC house across from ours and we both have members going in and out.

But honestly I don't expect housing wards to be busy because housing is only a minor, if fun, portion of all the content the game offers. If too many players are spending too much time in the wards, there's something wrong with the rest of the game.

If you want more people showing up in your ward when you're there, try throwing a party and inviting your friends and others.

[Kemiko]

I only visit my house when needed. Train/clean Chocobo stables, tend the garden, poke the airship and maybe redecorate. Sure, there's retainer bells and marketboards outside but I hate teleportation fee's and loading screens and with that being the extent of what's available outside it isn't an attractive location to idle in.

With the lack of a glamour dresser housing item I find that city hubs are better idle locations. Access to shops, marketboards, retainer bells, squadron, gc options, that glamour dresser that just isn't available for housing areas, access to world visitation and even gives rested bonus.

Unless drawn there purposefully housing upkeep there's little incentive to idle there, especially if socializing is what you want.

[Gula]

Well give or take FCs, but even then you would have to actually be near a lively FC.

My house is actually right near an FC with 25 members, but I never see anyone near it...

There's a FC house close to mine. Members always out and about... but they're trolls. All of them. Will spam your guest book with nonsense and are not fun to talk to. If this is the neighborhood experience Yoshi wanted, then can I please have instanced already?