Lost my House

[Payadopa]

You don't need a house if you can't be bothered to enter it once every 45 days.

Can't stress that enough. Friend of mine bought a house and only because he was sharing it with me at that time was I able to see under timers that he was about to get evicted. Might as well not have it at that point.

On Ragnarok getting a house was impossible. Now that I'm on Spriggan I was able to find one and it's awesome. I walk in and out like half a dozen times per play session. lol

With 'real' neighbourhood and limited space that's just the way it -must- be. Also, again, why have a house if you can't be bothered to even enter it?

[Sicno]

Then give up your house and take a break. It's really that easy

No, it's not. Maybe if you don't care about where it was located, the size, if you made a basic, easy to reproduce and otherwise unremarkable decorating, maybe THEN it would be easy to have it lost and get a new one later. Maybe that's why you pulled it successfully twice? But in general it seems to have become harder over time to secure a house because reasons. Especially in more populated servers, especially if there's someone botting the placard. And as Avidria pointed out later, where do you put ALL those items you had in it? The storage will only keep them for so long if it gets auto-demolished.

Houses are for fcs and players who play at least every 45 days and more people get to enjoy the feature this way. I don't know how someone who isn't even subscribed to the game can think they should be allowed to reserve a limited game resource and the content it provides. Apartments are better suited for temporary subscribers.

You keep saying that as if as soon as you come back there's gonna be a shiny house plot waiting for you, ready for the taking. If you fight so hard to take houses away from people because they're such a limited resource, reserved for the "deserving", why should I think it'll be easy for me to get a new one when I'm back?

And I feel like I'm shackled forever to the game. Like it doesn't matter how loyal I've been to the game, how hard I worked on my house, as soon as I need a break that's a bit longer the crows are all over my head demanding it, shouting at me "YOU'RE UNWORTHY, WE DESERVE IT MORE NOW!!!!" This current system instead of of being tailored to the reality of being a MMO it pits player against players.

I've taken long-ish breaks a few times, but I've put in the five minutes once per month to keep my house active. If you're in a situation where you're completely unable to log into the game for 45 days, then you probably have bigger problems than losing your virtual house.

If you aren't really playing, if you only tag in so you don't lose the house then log out, how is that in practice any different from just not playing during that period of time? How does that make someone more "deserving" of keeping it? And there may be situations where you may be out longer not because you're "at risk" of something important, maybe you had planned to come back at a certain date and then something completely different came up, maybe having your credit card blocked, maybe your bank made a chargeback because of those multi-purchases at the Mog Station and your account got banned because of it and support will take a while sorting that out, etc. Just a couple of silly examples.

[EpicOverlord85]

And this right here is why all the limitations for player housing exist. Some people don't have a house at all and you want to keep your two houses without any effort?

I’m glad I’m not the only person who caught that little bit at the end. This behavior is the exact reason why the demolition timer exists in the first place (well one of them at least).

[tdb]

If you aren't really playing, if you only tag in so you don't lose the house then log out, how is that in practice any different from just not playing during that period of time? How does that make someone more "deserving" of keeping it?

It actively shows that you are maybe planning to come back some day. Think of it like a monthly survey sent to inactive players asking "hey, do you intend to keep playing?" They even do actually send an email reminder (though I've heard it doesn't always work - that should be fixed). If the inactivity timer didn't exist, how would they tell apart the players who are taking a break from those who are gone for good? If someone decides to quit I'm pretty sure they won't go to the trouble of demolishing their house before ending their subscription. The wards would be full of houses owned by people who haven't logged on for years.

Edit: I suppose they could tie it to the subscription instead. Like if your sub ends and you don't renew within a month you lose your house. Someone who has quit likely won't keep paying for their sub either. But maybe the current system catches also cases where an otherwise active player has just lost interest in housing, or frees up space sooner if someone decides to quit one month into their six-month subscription cycle.

[Sicno]

It actively shows that you are maybe planning to come back some day. Think of it like a monthly survey sent to inactive players asking "hey, do you intend to keep playing?"

So I still need to pay a full-month subscription to show "I intend to keep playing", even if I'm not playing. Gotcha. Must be nice to live in the 1st world so I can throw money away like it's nothing.

If the inactivity timer didn't exist, how would they tell apart the players who are taking a break from those who are gone for good?

In the current landscape where housing wards are ghost towns, can you tell?

The wards would be full of houses owned by people who haven't logged on for years.

Nice strawman. If we're talking *years* I agree. But I don't think anyone is saying people should go away for THAT long, or completely quit the game and still keep their houses. But maybe make a longer timer. Maybe 3 months. Maybe even 2 *full* months ffs.

Edit: I suppose they could tie it to the subscription instead. Like if your sub ends and you don't renew within a month you lose your house. Someone who has quit likely won't keep paying for their sub either. But maybe the current system catches also cases where an otherwise active player has just lost interest in housing, or frees up space sooner if someone decides to quit one month into their six-month subscription cycle.

Or how about a better idea: Make tennants be counted towards stopping the timer. The way housing currently works we have 2 extremes for ownership: FC and personal.

For FC housing, if NOBODY logs in during the current 45 period time within a FC then I can agree that's a dead place and it could be used by an active FC. People can take breaks, but if you can't coordinate it in such a way that someone keeps it alive then it could go to another group that would make better use of it.

But for personal housing it's harder for a single individual to shackle themselves to the game permanently to keep it alive. But if the whole point of the housing reclamation is so that SOMEONE is making use of that house... Does it matter that it's the person who purchased it? I say the 2 scopes of ownership are too extreme, either be loyal to this FC, probably never touch the decorations and kiss it goodbye when you part ways for whatever reason, or have your own the way you like it but not everybody can have one, so there's a circle of vultures waiting to cash-in on someone else's problems. We need something in-between. Give a bigger incentive for owners to share their house with their friends. I think that could be a nicer meassure to get more people to enjoy housing than flatout stripping people of their own because someone else wants it.

[ApolloGenX]

Honestly, because for all the wonderful things this game does right- housing isn't one of them.

[Reinha]

No, it's not. Maybe if you don't care about where it was located, the size, if you made a basic, easy to reproduce and otherwise unremarkable decorating, maybe THEN it would be easy to have it lost and get a new one later. Maybe that's why you pulled it successfully twice?

I'm not so convinced that every person complaining about this has a large house in a prime location. If you do, then I understand why you would never want to give it up. Unremarkable decorating, really? It's not hard to take some screenshots and replicate something you liked, or gods forbid, change your furniture sometime.

And as Avidria pointed out later, where do you put ALL those items you had in it? The storage will only keep them for so long if it gets auto-demolished.

Extra retainers cost less than a box of matches when you buy them close to the end of your sub. With a little bit of forethought you can safely store your furniture for later use.

You keep saying that as if as soon as you come back there's gonna be a shiny house plot waiting for you, ready for the taking.

No, I don't believe I said that. You'll find a plot eventually if you are actually staying in the game after your return. Wards get added, plots get demolished and Ishgard housing is coming too. If you are going to take another break, then another break and so on, it's going to be more challenging.

And I feel like I'm shackled forever to the game. Like it doesn't matter how loyal I've been to the game, how hard I worked on my house, as soon as I need a break that's a bit longer the crows are all over my head demanding it, shouting at me "YOU'RE UNWORTHY, WE DESERVE IT MORE NOW!!!!"

If it's sapping your enjoyment or giving you stress (key word if) to own a house, you don't have to keep it. It's totally fine to not be a houseowner all the time. Not trying to be sassy. It made me feel more relaxed to give it up when I wasn't so into the game. It's not about who is the most deserving, but about passing something you're no longer using to someone who will. Since players did not do that out of politeness the devs had to make it mandatory.

[Mirassou]

Then give up your house and take a break. It's really that easy, I've done it twice in 5 years. You can get a new house when your interest in the game peaks again because someone else's house will get demolished.

Houses are for fcs and players who play at least every 45 days and more people get to enjoy the feature this way. I don't know how someone who isn't even subscribed to the game can think they should be allowed to reserve a limited game resource and the content it provides. Apartments are better suited for temporary subscribers.

I've done the very same thing!

[Edax]

And I feel like I'm shackled forever to the game. Like it doesn't matter how loyal I've been to the game, how hard I worked on my house.

It doesn’t matter how loyal you are. If you don’t pay, if you don’t play, then nobody cares about you.

[Melichoir]

After playing for 5-6 years nonstop GOD FORBID I want to take a break for a couple of months or have something come up in real life. I'm completely ABSOLUTELY underserving of that house I maintained for such a long time!!!!

Well thats what you have to decide. I know 15 a month is super harsh for most of hte player base. I mean, thats like two lunches, Maybe 3, per month. It's to much of a cost! But realistically, when I take down time from the game, I dont unsub. Typically I just stop logging in as frequently or long. Maybe Ill log in every few days to tinker about for an hour or talk to people then go do other stuff.

Is it cost efficient? No.

Is it killing my bank account? No.

Is this an issue for 95% of the player base? Certainly hope not.

If you can barely afford a 15/month sub, I strongly suggest you focus on your financial situation rather than worry about keeping your house in FFXIV. Might be cold to suggest that, but I would think that you should have enough disposable income to afford a sub of 15 a month without worrying about being broke. So if you want to take a break from the game, just leave your sub on and log in less frequently so atleast you get to keep the house that you want to keep. This isnt a matter of "I shouldn't have to to this." and more a matter is youre not being forced to, so if you want to participate and keep something and that requires you to have a sub, then tough it out and pay up or dont participate. Cause frankly 45 days is pretty generous considering all things.