Getting a New House Feels Impossible

[Alyanna_Elingval]

It's not that SE doesn't care, it's that they have bigger priorities. To make the Housing system what people are asking for, they would have to entirely overhaul it. But if you're SE, and you have finite resources to put into the game, is the return on that investment going to be there.

If you're SE, you're putting your resources into two things.

1) Things that will bring in new players.
2) Things that will retain current players

People aren't playing this game for the housing system, and people aren't leaving in droves because they can't get a house. You see new threads on this every day, but all these people are still playing the game.

If they don't add new story content, new dungeons, new raids, new gear, people will start leaving for other games. So that's where they put their resources. Which means they can only band aid it and kick the can down the road until they add new wards every so often, and a new location with an expansion.

Another issue is that I don't think housing was ever meant to be for everyone. If houses cost what they did in the beginning, we wouldn't have this issue. They increased demand by lowering prices, but didn't increase supply. This was bound to happen.

[AnimaAnimus]

Another issue is that I don't think housing was ever meant to be for everyone. If houses cost what they did in the beginning, we wouldn't have this issue. They increased demand by lowering prices, but didn't increase supply. This was bound to happen.

The original plan was for housing wards to spawn as they were needed so everyone could get a house if they wanted one. That came straight from Yoshida leading up to housings release. So it was originally meant for everyone who wanted to put in the effort to get one. But they initially released a handful of wards with barely an explanation, which has been par for the course with a lot of things.

The prices were set high originally because they were meant for FCs, personal housing was also supposed to be cheaper and separate. But that was another thing they scrapped with no explanation.

[WorstOne]

the plot i found was taken, the person AFK in front of the plot for more than 16H,,
i slept and wake up and he was still standing there, it was still not purchasable and i still didn't get the plot,,
also how do we report people who are selling plots for higher margin?? people are asking for insane amounts (e.g. i found someone in discord selling Small plot for 15mill) and if i am not wrong this is more than what the game rate is,, so how do we report them ??

[Gula]

the plot i found was taken, the person AFK in front of the plot for more than 16H,,
i slept and wake up and he was still standing there, it was still not purchasable and i still didn't get the plot,,
also how do we report people who are selling plots for higher margin?? people are asking for insane amounts (e.g. i found someone in discord selling Small plot for 15mill) and if i am not wrong this is more than what the game rate is,, so how do we report them ??

Unless they literally say so in game, you can't. It's like admitting to using mods in a chatroom separate from XIV. That is not viable proof nor will GMs accept discord evidence because it's like trying to report someone for a local crime in another country.

[Numenor1379]

the plot i found was taken, the person AFK in front of the plot for more than 16H,,
i slept and wake up and he was still standing there, it was still not purchasable and i still didn't get the plot,,
also how do we report people who are selling plots for higher margin?? people are asking for insane amounts (e.g. i found someone in discord selling Small plot for 15mill) and if i am not wrong this is more than what the game rate is,, so how do we report them ??

What's wrong with selling an asset you have in-game for in-game currency? If someone wishes to pay what the seller is asking, good for them.

[hakurou46]

The issue is that the current system was put in place *specifically* to combat people scalping plots to re-sell for higher prices.

[Numenor1379]

The issue is that the current system was put in place *specifically* to combat people scalping plots to re-sell for higher prices.

No. It was put in place to prevent ultra-rich players from buying 20-30 houses each, to then flip at an inflated price.

It was never to prevent the individual homeowner from selling their singular plot if they wished.

[Losara]

On a random note, I have been playing Fallout 76 after the Wastelanders update has been released. The CAMP (Housing) system where the player can place a camp site down anywhere that hasn't been claimed is really appealing. The house itself is created on the spot at the time you log into the server and if someone has claimed the same spot before you logged on it will alert you that your house can't be placed down and you can move it to another location free if you choose.

It might be good for FFXIV to move away from the idea of housing wards and start making more instanced housing available in different locations that don't get much use apart from maybe hunts e.g. imagine allowing people to set up housing in zones like Azim Steppes and if someone has claimed the spot before you've logged on you can just move your instanced house to another location instantly. This would be amazing.

I think its time Eorzea thinks about 'hot desking' cause there will never be enough houses for everyone.

[hakurou46]

I've got a friend who spent her entire day tapping away at a placard hoping to buy a house for their FC, and just had to log out because she just couldn't stand it anymore (and it's getting late).
Like, stories like these aren't rare, either. I can only assume sqex either can't come up with a functional system (which sounds absolutely impossible, if it isn't the case that all their systems designers have been fired), or think this is actually good enough: that players either should literally be sacrificing their health in order to get a house, or have to just try every plot available, every time they swing by a housing ward, and maybe they'll luck out sometime within, maybe, a year?

Like, even I can think of a better system in half a minute if you told me to. Small houses are around three million gil, right? Go up to a plot, pay the gil as a deposit, start a timer. Other players also interested in said plot? They can throw in three million of their own gil. 72 hours later, house gets sold to a random person who put money down, everyone else gets the money back through moogle mail.

[PennyStormfire]

I've got a friend who spent her entire day tapping away at a placard hoping to buy a house for their FC, and just had to log out because she just couldn't stand it anymore (and it's getting late).
Like, stories like these aren't rare, either. I can only assume sqex either can't come up with a functional system (which sounds absolutely impossible, if it isn't the case that all their systems designers have been fired), or think this is actually good enough: that players either should literally be sacrificing their health in order to get a house, or have to just try every plot available, every time they swing by a housing ward, and maybe they'll luck out sometime within, maybe, a year?

Like, even I can think of a better system in half a minute if you told me to. Small houses are around three million gil, right? Go up to a plot, pay the gil as a deposit, start a timer. Other players also interested in said plot? They can throw in three million of their own gil. 72 hours later, house gets sold to a random person who put money down, everyone else gets the money back through moogle mail.

I would say this is another solution that merits examination by SE. As I said originally, there are a great many solutions that require very little time or resources to implement. making adjustments to the insidious hidden timer could be done in a matter of minutes. There are already service account restrictions for owning multiple plots, there are already ToS stipulations regarding scalping, the penalties are already in place for RMT. If you look at the link I posted in my original response you can see that subs are up, online participation is up, and the player base has increased across the board.

In my view it would serve the active players seeking housing if SE restarted the demo timer. For a limited time refund the purchase price to any property that is demo'ed and give the player an un-tradeable item that allows them to relocate to an available plot upon return to the game. It may also be effective to put a sub waiver program into effect that allows players to log in and tend to their daily routines while this pandemic is still raging. This would give everyone a better sense of who is committed to coming back to the game and also allow folks to maintain their current property under the circumstances.

With the influx of players this situation is going to continue to get worse unless something is done. No matter how many apologists keep trying to defend this insane system, we have to speak up for the dozens of people right now who have been clicking over and over again for hours only to have to move on to the next opportunity and start all over again until they collapse at their keyboards.