That's great... but can we have an INSTANCED Housing area

[Jojoya]

If anything the fact that they are alotting more resources to more wards proves anything we are never getting instances. At this point the server probably has alotted more resources to wards then actual open world zones. I feel sorry for the people who will never get a house and sorry for the players that see resources wasted to run more wards instead of more open world zones.

I disagree. I think they are working on a new form of instanced housing (possibly related to the Ishgard reconstruction but it's not ready yet.

There was a question about why balcony doors in mansions don't lead back outside at the EU FanFest. YoshiP went into considerable detail about a new technology they're working on that would reflect what's going on in a non-instanced area within an instanced housing area.

It would make no sense for SE to go to that much effort just so the tiny number of mansion owners can have a working balcony door. It makes a lot of sense if it's for a new instanced housing system that would make use of the technology.

The new wards are likely a stopgap to try to meet some of the overwhelming demand for houses has while they finish development on the instanced housing.

Your followup query isn't pointless. It's very relevant to the problems with the current ward system in general. Trying to favor one ward with special activities wouldn't sit well with players who live in the other wards that didn't have that activity. It would also be a loading nightmare because of the way the game has to render outdoor furnishings placed by players on top of all the additional players running around in that ward. Many players with older computers and basic PS4s already struggle with loading in the wards. Such an event would likely cause their game to crash if they tried to attend.

Seasonal events are better off in the city states that are already designed to handle the increased load. The wards aren't.

They can't force players to only enter a single ward because then house owners in other wards wouldn't have access to their houses. The only way it could work would be if all housing plots were instanced in the first place instead of just the house interiors.

Instanced housing wouldn't keep people tired to their account subscription. With the current system it forces people to keep and active sub and login once in a while else you lose your house.

Which is a fallacy that people need to let go of. If the wards were their attempt to keep people subbed, they'd make it easier for players to get a house and remove the temporary Caretaker storage for houses that are demolished to tie them to the game even tighter.

They also wouldn't be suspending demolition following natural disasters if they were using houses to keep people subbed. The vast majority of players who take advantage of the suspension aren't affected by those disasters.