Auto Demolitions Need to be Reactivated

[chizLemons]

By your logic, then if you take a break for 90 days, remove mounts, levels, gil, etc. You don't need those levels or gil or achievements. No taking breaks in this game! SE should just delete your character after 90 days.

Housing is the only aspect of the game that can be lost to a player. Nothing else goes away when they take a break. Where's the logic in that?

It's different, limited content that's currently meant for active players. I'm sorry but sometimes people should just accept that not ALL content is unlimited and everyone should have it. If you want unlimited housing, get an apartment and an FC room - do you actively decorate yours? Meanwhile lots of wards are ghost towns because there's a lot of houses empty from people that just stopped playing for too long and don't plan on coming back.
The thing is, before your house is auto-demolished, you get warnings via email letting you know, so it really shouldn't be a surprise. Also, 3 months (used to be) the time between major patches, and active players usually wouldn't take breaks longer than that, since most people come back for the new content. If you're taking a longer break than that and is not interested in the new content, why do you need to hoard an empty house?! If you come back, and auto-demolition is on, you can try to get a new one via the lottery, since there will always be empty plots available. If you REALLY care about having a house that much, move to a server with housing available.

I think auto-demolition is a good system and should be reactivated too. Maybe extend the demolition period to 4 months to match the new patch cycle, send a few more warnings via email about auto-demolition, or give an option for the person to extend the timer through lodestone or other means without having to resub once if needed.

[dspguy]

It's different, limited content that's currently meant for active players.

That's the whole point. It is the only thing treated differently... by SE's choice.

I've lost a house. When I took a break, there were still houses available on my server. I didn't think it was a big deal. Came back - still had my gil, mounts, achievements, levels, gear, etc. Just not my house. And I lost it in that first purge. A timeframe when auto-demolition wasn't even a topic mentioned by SE. Even better, my email sorted the auto-demolition notice into promotions/spam. I'm not salty about it. It is what it is. I just disagree that it exists at all.

I've played lots of MMOs where the early players got certain gear, items, etc "easy" because there was less competition. And the newer players just had to deal. Housing is like that. And it is only like that since SE decided it will be so.

[Jojoya]

To be honest. The demolishing system is stealing. As the original owner is not paid back the cost of the house.

Except you don't own anything in the game. You've purchased a license that allows you to play the game. Everything within it is owned by SE.

EXACTLY. Now please tell this to people that never even tried having an apartment but think they're entitled to a house they're most likely going to abandon in 2 weeks. I've seen many people don't even try to decorate their own apartments, get a house, struggle with decorating, decide they're not that into it and just abandoning and never using it again - but since auto-demolition is not on, they're just...there.

It would be no different if demolition was active. We had all those empty houses just sitting there in the past when it was just as much as they currently are.

The problem is it's a limited resource system. That inflates demand.

- Players who may not want a house right now but fear not being able to get one in the future if they want one. They buy now if they can so they won't have to worry about trying to get one then.

- Players who like the presumed prestige of owning something not every player can get.

- Those who see a profit potential by gaining something they can resell to others who want it (regardless of what ToS might say about such activity).

The empty houses won't disappear just because demolition is enabled. You're far more likely to see some nicely decorated houses disappear than the empty ones that were purchased for other reasons.