So, a lottery system and a divide between FC and solo wards, eh?

[StriderShinryu]

Well, in today's live letter they've confirmed two things:
1.) They will institute a lottery system in addition to the current first come first serve option
2.) There will be a divide between FC only wards and solo only wards in the future

Happy about the lottery system for sure, but I'm unsure exactly how the ward divide will work out.

Thoughts?

[MilkieTea]

I don’t really appreciate the lotto system. The problem isn’t procurement, it’s supply. A lotto system doesn’t fix that - they need to somehow up the supply or lower demand by allowing gardening in apartments.

[Vahlnir]

I don’t really appreciate the lotto system. The problem isn’t procurement, it’s supply. A lotto system doesn’t fix that - they need to somehow up the supply or lower demand by allowing gardening in apartments.

Yep, exactly. This solves absolutely nothing.

[PangTong]

I agree. "I've been doing the housing lottery for MONTHS and I never win!" threads incoming, lol.

Lottery system is effectively the same as the current system except you don't need to be physically at the sign, spam clicking it in the hopes that you are the one who can click "Buy" when it finally becomes available. Either way the person who gets the plot is up to chance, but now you don't need to damage yourself by staying up for 24 hours camping the plot, or running a bot to do it for you.

It's true it doesn't fix the lack of supply but it does fix a serious problem with the current purchasing system. Even if there were enough plots for everyone, there would still be competition for the most desirable ones such as larges or plots in attractive locations, so a lottery system is a valid addition either way.

[LunaJoy]

I agree. "I've been doing the housing lottery for MONTHS and I never win!" threads incoming, lol.

This is exactly it. The only way a lottery system would solve the problem with newly added wards would be to keep adding wards every other week, or month. But since there are usually 6-12 months at least in between new wards being added (not including COVID delays) no way is that going to make things easier. Again. It’s about supply; more than procurement.
I CAN however see the lottery system working for when houses are demolished. Instead of the hours of waiting and clicking, only to lose to a bot or a relocation—or worse to the guy who just showed up ten minutes ago—has to be beyond frustrating, as that system is beyond unfair.

[NyannCat]

I don’t really appreciate the lotto system. The problem isn’t procurement, it’s supply. A lotto system doesn’t fix that - they need to somehow up the supply or lower demand by allowing gardening in apartments.

The problem isn't that they don't want to supply, is that they can't. There are data issues.
People keep asking for the same thing, but it's just not doable.

Also, supply isn't an issue, to be honest. The biggest problem is that every ward is filled with empty abandoned houses. Because there is no cost to keep them.
Housing needs a weekly/monthly fee for rent cost or something, so people will have to be active enough to keep their houses. I see so many houses in my ward that haven't been touched in months, and I never see my neighbors. Meanwhile people keep wanting more wards, more plots. Why?
Why do you need more plots and wards if those are also going to be filled by empty abandoned houses?

All the time I see people saying "Oh my god I want a house so much!!!" and then they finally get one just to find out how hard it is to decorate one. And even when they do decorate them, they become bored of it and never touch them ever again.

Seriously. Farming 3-4m gil isn't even that hard. It's absurd that you only have to pay that amount once and now you can keep your empty house forever. Meanwhile SE spends millions in servers to be able to add more wards.

Seriously, if they add a rent cost, you'll see the housing supply and ward activity improve a lot. It won't solve it 100%, but it will improve.

(As for gardening issues, I really wish they fix this by allowing people to plant stuff in island sanctuaries. It is so dumb that you need a house to do gardening.)

[ForteNightshade]

The problem isn't that they don't want to supply, is that they can't. There are data issues.
People keep asking for the same thing, but it's just not doable.

Correction: It isn't doable under the flawed and horribly designed system they're stubbornly cling onto.

Instanced housing literally fixes this entire problem even if they want to keep the wards. At least then people have an option to fall back on, especially when we only see new housing districts every four years or so. Even different apartment sizes would help mitigate things. It's absurd practically every other MMO, many with half the budget and manpower of FFXIV, have implemented a better housing system. They just won't let go of a failed Ward system.

Rental fees accomplish nothing. They will never be high enough to impact rich players because if they were, far more players without deep pockets would be impacted. For reference sake, I have several times more gil than my friend does. So a rent of 48M annually (4M per month) would bankrupt her whereas I could do literally nothing for years before running out of gil. This essentially forces her to partake in things she doesn't like such as crafting (at least for profit) simply to keep her house. It also makes taking breaks harder. What would end up happening is people simply turn to RMT.

[Vidu]

Also, supply isn't an issue, to be honest. The biggest problem is that every ward is filled with empty abandoned houses. Because there is no cost to keep them.
Housing needs a weekly/monthly fee for rent cost or something, so people will have to be active enough to keep their houses. I see so many houses in my ward that haven't been touched in months, and I never see my neighbors. Meanwhile people keep wanting more wards, more plots. Why?
Why do you need more plots and wards if those are also going to be filled by empty abandoned houses?

I dont really see how rent would fix the problem you see with empty/abandoned houses? How would paying rent encourage someone who hasnt decorated their house (yet) to do so? How would paying rent create the time, motivation, idea and/ore ressources in this home owner who isnt using their house "properly"?
It wouldnt - people would just pay the rent aswell if they're thinking something along the lines of "One day I'll have the time to decoarte the house..." or "If I ever have an idea on how to decorate a house, it will be there waiting for me!"

I dont see how paying rent would encourage people to use their houses more than they already do.