Such devastation... this was NOT my intention...

[Bright-Flower]

The system they proposed isn't perfect, but it's probably the best that can be done with their ward system and a shortage of plots in general.

As nice as it'd be to be able to just stroll up to Ishgard and transfer my house right away, it's probably the better option all in all to work transfers into the system. Just because I've had a small house for a few years doesn't mean that I'm more entitled to a medium/large or to move wherever I like over players trying to get their first house.

Yes, there will be more competition for plots. It will still be hard to get one. But in this new system, you can go up to a plot, pay your fee, and go on with your day. And if you don't win just go collect your refund. No macros to spam click, no clicking for hours only for someone to come and transfer. It may mean more competition but it also means more respect for your time. Instead of getting a plot being luck based depending on you being the first one to click when the random timer expires and hoping you're online when it happens, you can just fire and forget and actually play the game.

[VictorTheed]

LoL you been doing a lot of praetorium.

I agree with ya, this lottery system sounds like hell, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather go back to the old housing system where we could just vacate and buy it off the player instantly, was way better then anything we've had afterwards.

Not everyone was a dick with prices, lots of peeps were fair, some weren't, but at least u had a realistic shot at getting a house compared to clicking stuff for many hours or dealing with weird systems.

[Stormfur]

Server issues and shortages aside, I will never understand what compels whoever makes these decisions to stubbornly dig their heels in deeper when confronted with a problem, especially after players keep giving them decent, well-thought-out suggestions. I'm sure there's probably a LOT more going on behind the scenes that we're not aware of, things they have to take into consideration, but if you told me that everyone in the game could have a home that they could decorate inside and out, with a garden and a workshop BUT in exchange, they'd have to give up the neighborhood aspect, players would be on that like white on rice.

[Ronduwil]

Your time investment, the time spent to earn the gil and the time spent in the lottery system (counting consecutive lottery's here; as you will lose) will not be compensated in any way, and will only be further trivialized by their other design decisions here.

I think you've misunderstood their intent in respecting our time. The old system had you standing at a sign post for hours repeatedly clicking. This is the time investment that they're eliminating. The time spent earning gill isn't wasted. There are plenty of fun ways to make gil. If you choose to make the process unfun for yourself, then I don't know what to tell you. Clicking at a sign post wasn't fun. Earning gil is fine. Clicking at a sign post was an onerous job that came with an opportunity cost. Entering a random drawing has almost no opportunity cost. By all objective measures, this is a far better system for the vast majority of FFXIV players.

2. The lottery process for individual plots will take DAYS. (WHY???)

It takes days because not everyone can log in every single day. This gives everyone who wants a shot at getting a plot a chance to throw their hat into the ring. I don't understand this notion that it's trivializing player time. Unlike the old system, you don't have to stand in a single spot waiting for the lottery to pop. You get to buy your ticket and move on. It doesn't matter whether it takes three hours, three days, or three weeks because you're not bound to one spot for that entire time. You get to proceed with all the other activities that the game has to offer. In this respect, the new system respects your time far better than the current one does.

3. You're locked in to a plot once you submit your gil. (WHY???) To prevent foul play? What logical foul play does this prevent... I understand the decision to limit a player to one plot lottery per time. But why would they be unable to withdraw their participation at any point before the winner announcement?

You admitted that you know why each player is limited to one plot at a time. I agree that the inability to withdraw participation is frustrating. Maybe it was an oversight, or maybe they wanted you to be really really sure that the plot you were bidding on was the one that you actually wanted before placing your bid and potentially depriving another player of a plot that they really liked. I personally think we should be allowed to withdraw bids. I can definitely sympathize with you on this one.

[TaleraRistain]

I can think of a number of reasons for not letting you withdraw. One is that it shows commitment that you want that property. Two is that someone could get a bunch of friends to join a lottery for a house their friend wanted to intimidate others from joining, then leave at the last minute so their friend wins. Or three, someone that isn't a friend but has a lot of bots could get someone to give them money to do that. Holding the attempt in until the lottery happens eliminates any chance of that.

For the relocation bypass removal, it's about time. I'm saying this as someone who does have a house. It was not remotely fair that I could just go relocate to a choice location that opened up and didn't have to participate in whatever manner those without a house did. That's a loophole they should have fixed a long time ago.

[Divinemights]

Entire lottery system is only going to lower everyone's chance to get a new house, laughable at best.
New players actually has better chance to get a new house during a ward release if you planned your route and choose your plot wisely.
Now?
Good luck in 6.1, I am expecting river of tears

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Entire lottery system is only going to lower everyone's chance to get a new house, laughable at best.
New players actually has better chance to get a new house during a ward release if you planned your route and choose your plot wisely.
Now?
Good luck in 6.1, I am expecting river of tears

Considering some wards sold out within minutes, before people could even get through the login queues I'm not sure how this is worse. More people will have a chance, and that's more than what could be said before. RNG is still RNG, this time tho, it's not the login queue screwing you over.

[Jojoya]

LoL you been doing a lot of praetorium.

I agree with ya, this lottery system sounds like hell, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather go back to the old housing system where we could just vacate and buy it off the player instantly, was way better then anything we've had afterwards.

Not everyone was a dick with prices, lots of peeps were fair, some weren't, but at least u had a realistic shot at getting a house compared to clicking stuff for many hours or dealing with weird systems.

Supply back then was a lot closer to the size of the player base. Most players didn't have nearly as much gil as they now have with the easy treasure map and leve gil.

Return to that system now and it would be far worse.

In the end, supply is the problem. SE can keep juggling purchase changes all they want but it won't fix anything. Resellers will always find a way to exploit the system for profit as long as anything comes in a limited quantity. Even if SE was able to expand wards on demand as each world needed more housing, the limited number of more desirable plots would keep the resellers very happy.

[linayar]

Responding to the points as they were originally numbered (I appreciate you actually using the quotes as citations):

2. The current lifecycle of a plot is plenty time for people to sign up, as has been demonstrated by the current system. As for the alleged second reason, I wouldn't believe that to be an issue even at the current lifecycle of a ward, and if so it would be negligible and not outway the manufactured inconvenience of a days long lotto process.

3. Again, a negligible issue that would hardly be prevented by this arbitration if the alleged issue were the reason for it. As a tangential thought, a weighted lotto would naturally ease this issue.

Well, those are my guesses. Maybe they have the data that show otherwise. And considering you are not forced to interact with the placard continuously, I think several days is a fine tradeoff of having more people be able to make their decisions on whether to go for a house, regardless of whether the current timeline is sufficient.

5. It's illogical to compare homeowners as being advantaged or disadvantaged when compared to first time buyers. They're in a completely different category, as the homeowner doesn't affect the housing supply save for vacating a plot. Yes, homeowners should have the ability to relocate without engaging in the first time plot purchasing process, because their decision to do so is inconsequential to the housing supply and the first time buyer's experience. Funny you would mention getting a specific house, because no one is getting a specific house under the current system, or at least the chances of them getting their desired house are obviously all but gone due to the removal of relocation.

The advantage is in being able to purchase a house directly. And with a limited supply, current homeowners are already at an advantage of having a house, so they do not need the extra advantage of being able to get a new house without going through the RNG.

With the lottery system, you are still choosing a specific house. You may not get your first choice, but that's never a guarantee where there is competition over limited resources. Even with relocation, it still depends on availability and timing.

[VictorTheed]

Supply back then was a lot closer to the size of the player base. Most players didn't have nearly as much gil as they now have with the easy treasure map and leve gil.

Return to that system now and it would be far worse.

In the end, supply is the problem. SE can keep juggling purchase changes all they want but it won't fix anything. Resellers will always find a way to exploit the system for profit as long as anything comes in a limited quantity. Even if SE was able to expand wards on demand as each world needed more housing, the limited number of more desirable plots would keep the resellers very happy.

Gil wasn't the issue back then, it was people buying up houses and trying to sell them at ridiculous prices, that was the era when u had peeps buy up whole huge sections and try to sell em, plus everyone back then was gunning for the large or medium houses, but not everyone was like that, I know of several people who sold for a good price, but even then the worst still is way better then what we have today.

One house per account was good but people found ways around it like the stuff with selling FCs, now this all was back when shirogane houses came out.

Your always gonna have problems but would would rather have to negotiate a deal with someone or click placards for insane amount of hours and hope u get lucky, I've seen way more horror stories today then I have with the peeps raising the prices to high.

Plus back then was better cause those people who left the game and when their house came up for sale someone could buy it instantly instead of having to wait like now and then hope I get lucky, I still believe their is people who would rather negotiate then deal with hoping they get to be lucky.

The worst of Yesterday still is better then the best of today, that tells u how bad it is today.