The bandaid is not a fix: A warning before you jump into housing

[Lostar]

In September my house was demolished.. this is knowledge I only realized after the fact. Life kept me away from the internet; the game, my email. Regardless, I accept that this is the way things are and I would not want to keep someone from enjoying a plot because of my forced inactivity. Anyways, I was not aware of the 35 day limitation on furnishing retrieval. I did not see anything within the game during my purchase of the house that there was such a limit. Yes; it can be Googled…no, such important information should not have to be dug from a search engine. Even speaking to the NPC; they never state the actual limit of 35 days..only that there is one. Now, I know many of you are comfortable with and frequently check every source be it developer letters; forums; every announcement that details everything about the game.. but not everyone does it. After finding the email, it is written somewhere near the bottom of the email that there is the 35 day limit to retrieve your furnishings. It’s not even in bold. It’s really important info that can get easily get lost for those of us who simply have a lot going on in life.

There should be ‘something’ in place that doesn’t wreck what should be a positive return to the game after being forced away for so long. At the very least, reimbursing our mogstation purchases with Crysta and allowing our seasonal and event purchases to be reobtained through the calamity salvager. This has been a very painful return. As an RPer, a lot of what was in my house was connected to my RP and much of it is unobtainable. It is not unreasonable to expect these considerations. At the very least…the email sent out did not need to bury this very important element towards the bottom and in plain text. Maybe even a second automated email reminding you that the day of reclaiming your items is expiring…but there wasn’t that..it was buried…as though they are embarrassed that there is such limitations built into the system.

[Lostar]

(cont.) I am told that this is a rare occurrence..that most of the time this lapse does not happen or when it does the player never returns; then why, if it does not bog down the system with so many requests, why do they not honor their loyal players by helping them in some form instead of essentially sending out an automated shrug?

And no; I did not have the option to preplan for my unexpected absence .. I had no idea that I needed to preplan for utter destruction of all of my furnishings I have gathered over the years from events… I was not able to login for 5 months and ..that was enough to lose years of things that brought me enjoyment. There needs to be some sort of reimbursement..some sort of effort because…this return has been terribly sad to handle.

I’ve said it before; I love this game and what it does right it does beautifully..but what it does wrong..it does really wrong: the housing and the retainer system. I get it they have limited sources due to storage; but then maybe they should have never introduced housing if this was a possible outcome. I hear LOTR is just as ruthless but I never played that. Just because another game did something terribly wrong doesn’t make it acceptable either. We spend money on our mogstation furnishings…those somehow should be secure ..at this time I now feel completely uncomfortable about making anymore purchases from the mogstation..If I ever do get a house again..I would be too afraid to decorate it…not that I have anything to put into it.. like my bobble head cows…man..I loved those… I don’t get it how a game could allow a feature that can end up providing such a terrible experience.

[Bladehawk]

Truth is the housing system is old outdated and doing things it was never designed or ment to do. It needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom but it has likely been a less important/popular part of the game and the developers haven't spent the time/resources needed to redo the whole system.

As far as the items you lost go they are all possible to get again, even the seasonal ones. Some items will require the help of other players and jumping through hoops. But if you really want them and it means a lot to you it is possible.

[Big_Bap]

lol.......

[Lostar]

Well.. that does give me hope unless it’s another $40-60 I have to spend in the mogstation… less appealing.

[Sotaris]

A warning about what? You unaware of the policy around housing and demolition timers and whatnot? Should've read up I guess.
Sucks you lost your house though.

[Garten]

Lostar dont lose sleep on Trolls and house hoarders that enjoy "housing Pain" of other players. Sorry for your loss, unfortunately housing, as other sides activities of the game, are not fully explained in their functions..

[LittlePandemonium]

What did you think would happen to your furniture in the house that you let demolish? If it's that important, why didn't you think to look it up?

[Lostar]

What did you think would happen to your furniture in the house that you let demolish? If it's that important, why didn't you think to look it up?

It is for the same reason that I never Googled "Will I return to the game after 6 months unsubbed to my character naked and armor destroyed"

The idea that furnishings (especially those purchased from the Mogstation) could become unrecoverable was just as equally unthinkable; no where in the game does it say "35 days, your furniture will be destroyed forever."

[Jojoya]

It is for the same reason that I never Googled "Will I return to the game after 6 months unsubbed to my character naked and armor destroyed"

The idea that furnishings (especially those purchased from the Mogstation) could become unrecoverable was just as equally unthinkable; no where in the game does it say "35 days, your furniture will be destroyed forever."

You're not going to lose your house in most other games, either. The FFXIV housing system seems to be uniquely bad when it comes to player ownership and respecting player time/effort within the content.

There is a spot in the game where it does state that you only have 35 days to reclaim your furnishings and a partial refund of the gil you paid for your house. It's buried in the walls of text the Resident Caretaker has to share that almost no one ever reads. I really wish that the "Where the Heart Is..." quests would either put the basic info about ownership/demolition on the Grand Company NPC that players talk to or would change the quest to refer players to the Resident Caretake to continue to the quest. By the time someone is eligible to buy, they have long forgotten that the original quest tells them to talk to the Resident Caretaker for details.

Better yet, have a second quest that becomes available once the player has met the requirements for private purchase that actually unlocks the ability to purchase and cover demolition in that quest.

As for comments being trollish, both of you have been a little off in this conversation. Better to put aside the assessments of personalities and stick to the problem with the system.