Bid Time and Housing system is infuriating!

[Zaredth]

The housing system has always been a hot pile of garbage. Obtaining a house as always been a thorn in my side, whether it is the availability, effort that doesn't even mattered, and now the gimmicky housing lottery system. I have played since HW, the fact it took so long to make even a change to the housing system baffled me. Here is my post that I want to point out some issues and some are anecdotal as well but I know I cannot be the only one that feels this way.

First things first. I made a ticket and support forum post about my home. I was in the hospital due to a life threatening condition and was out of work for a couple weeks. I was concerned cause I was on somewhat of a hiatus playing other games curing a FFXIV burnout before the incident happened. I account lapsed cause I didnt have the funds due to my situation. I eventually did and got the email about my house may be demolished. Just in time I reactivated my account (which was aggravating cause I had to buy Crysta, SE wouldn't take my money and kept charging my card a fee).

I made the fatal error of apparently not reading a word vomit of an email. I acknowledged my housing was in danger. I always was under assumption for years from other house owners, all you have to do is simply login once a month and your house would be fine. I rearranged my outside, played for a bit. Went to bed. Next day played a different game. The following day, I logged in where in front of my house should be, gone. Why?

Here is the reasons the other posters pointed out to me. I should read the entirety of my email, I should of watched updates and live letters that they have been saying it, and etc.

[Zaredth]

After support ignored all my requests it baffled me. I gave this money to a company that took a content away. I have never been banned or suspended, always been on point. But I lose my home in this way. When there are others who don't even play anymore for months on end (I was neighbor to one when I had a FC company house) and would login once a month just to keep their home and logged out not seen again. Heck it was creepy cause the house look haunted and the neighbor was really strange.

Anways, after hrs of no response, I conceded that SE didn't care. I took my losses and transferred back to Aether.

Next housing bid roles around, found a nice small property. I place a bid, nobody places a bid for over 3 days straight, things are looking good! Then that evening on the fourth day, one person puts a bid on the lot. No one bids at the other available small. Then yesterday, one more person bids on the lot. No on bids on the other house (I kept checking) until that evening. Today I lost to the 3RD person who bidded. Infuriating! Why? Here is why:

1. Why can't simply being active ensures your housing is safe? Whats the difference between logging in and stepping in your home to prove you are active? I see none! Why do I have to devote my time to Live Letters, a high word regurgitation of a email when I get a bazillion emails daily just to find one small crucial detail about keeping my home, or non-stop keeping up with updates. For some people thats fine with them. But this is not the only damn game I play and keep up with. I have streamers and content creators who summarize these things. So why couldn't me being active in the game be enough to keep my house safe??? I also had reports from some friends they was getting the email and lost their home even though they were stepping in their homes!

2. Why is the bidding window to activate takes 3-5 days and the bidding window takes 6????? You punish people and ignore them when your system fails and you make strange requirements to keep your home active giving a sense you must pay attention but SE excuse for the housing bid time for 6 days is "so people who cannot login has a chance to bid for a home". That makes zero sense!!! Pick a lane SE, either housing is for active players or its a commodity to be on casual mode. You have people holding housing hostage when they haven't truly played the game in years bypassing loopholes even before the housing system change. You take homes from active players and then give it to people who simply could not be bothered to login for 5 minutes or less to place a bid and logout? This is a contradiction!!

[Zaredth]

What I propose:

1. Simply logging in should reset the housing at a 60 day timer. You want to be lenient, make it 60 days. Besides making it 60 will make people who hold onto homes but do not play easier to forget the time by complacency, so they rightfully give up the house they hold hostage to a player who actively consumes your content. 60 days should be more than enough, if they don't subscribe for the 2nd month. Chances are they won't be back for quite awhile.

2. I don't know why you even have a interim for housing and delay bidding to begin with. It should take one day after results to get your money and rebid the following day. If the argument is you want players to be able to pickup their gil. If they had the time to drop the money for the home and a date of results showing. They then have the time the day of to pick it up. Or simply make it where it will be made available by the Housing Enthusiast NPC the day after. You did for me when I lost my home, why it cannot be any different?

3. Housing Bid time is way too long. It should take roughly 2-3 days. Early bird gets the worm. Not only you are ensuring people who actively play your game, but it may have a chance to reduce the insane amount of bids on one home and prioritizes these players if they lose, they wait the following day and try again (if the bidding time was reduced).These players are the ones who pays your bill when there is downtime. Some of us even buy from the mogstation to support the development of our favorite game. Some are fantasiaholics. If someone really wants a house, they will make the effort to try since its a highly valued asset in this game. All it takes is a couple minutes to log in when you get home from whatever you are doing, go to the housing ward, and click bid. This shouldn't be some sort of complex thing.

[Zaredth]

Counter arguments to common replies:

Just get an apartment: Very few care about an apartment. You are cut out of outside furnishing content. Chances are no one is gonna visit your apartment, apartments as a function is highly inconvenient as a base for using a marketboard and crafting when you have have to go outside back and forth depending on your desires. Apartments is nice for those who care less about houses, but its function is not desirable and is bad.

Its your fault you lost your house quit crying: Sure its my fault, that doesn't negate the strange steps you have to do just to reset a basic timer. It should be simpler than that. It is poor design.

No one cares: Yet you are here.


Conclusion: Im not expecting anyone to agree with this or flame me to oblivion on here. This post may be ignored or end up have the same FFXIV Copers who just refuse to admit that this system that is already broken is made even worse and their practices makes no sense and conflict with one another. Maybe there can be constructive feedback. Maybe the majority of the posts will not be a bunch of Grandstanding Forum Dwellers that just enjoy sounding smart over the internet to belittle people. Surprise me community.

TL;DR: 1. Simply logging in should reset housing timer and timer is to 60 days. 2. Bidding result period should be reduced to one day, if gil not picked up or housing claimed. Housing Enthusiast will have your money for a given time. 3. Housing Bidding period should be reduced from 6 days to 2-3 days max.

Thanks for reading.

[Shialan]

I made the fatal error of apparently not reading a word vomit of an email.
I should read the entirety of my email

I mean, yeah? If they clearly stated in that mail what would happen and explained the steps you need to take to not lose your house, it's purely on you and has nothing to do with the system. You even gave proof on how that system works with your paragraph about how other players only log in once a month and still keep their house.

[4clubbedace]

You take homes from active players and then give it to people who simply could not be bothered to login for 5 minutes or less to place a bid and logout? This is a contradiction!!
(0)

Sorry bout your health mate, but its not a contradiction at all, the emails clearly state that all you have to do is login and enter your house, same amount of time to Bid on a house either, and you just need a month and a half. Those steps arnt strange. I can see why youre red and upset, but the directions were clear.

[Zaredth]

I mean, yeah? If they clearly stated in that mail what would happen and explained the steps you need to take to not lose your house, it's purely on you and has nothing to do with the system. You even gave proof on how that system works with your paragraph about how other players only log in once a month and still keep their house.

And what is your point? Is there something wrong with switching to activity online versus entering a house? What would be the issue for this switch and why would it be a worse design? Please do explain why an active player should lose their house if they don't step inside it for 30 days and one who is obviously not active logins one day and does not? Are you implying despite my anecdotal experience, that completely voids the arguement that the housing system and the way its conducted is not a mess and its just fine? Please do explain and if you are just going to say cause SE says so, please refrain from replying. That would be a poor argument.

[Zaredth]

Sorry bout your health mate, but its not a contradiction at all, the emails clearly state that all you have to do is login and enter your house, same amount of time to Bid on a house either, and you just need a month and a half. Those steps arnt strange. I can see why youre red and upset, but the directions were clear.

You didn't read my statement of friends losing their homes when they have stepped into the house.

Also to add mate. Making a system to demolish houses based on an idea of housing activity rate but has a long bidding period "so players can have a chance to login to bid" is very contradictory. If we can lose housing based on a activity metric, why are we concerned that people who don't get online often gets a chance to bid?

[Knot_D]

I don't get how everybody have strange mechanism when it's about resetting the timer. All you have to do is just enter your house and boom

[Khryseis_Astra]

Sorry you lost your house. I don’t think upping the demo timer to 60 days would be such a bad idea, and I say that as someone who has been trying to relocate with no success. If we could actually do something about the artificial scarcity problem (cough… instanced housing!) there wouldn’t be a need for auto-demo at all.

But I definitely agree with shortening the lotto cycle as a whole. Yes I understand they want it to stagger, so it’s different days every week. But as long as it’s not a 7-day cycle, they could still do that with, say, a 3-day bid, 2-day result period. And really, collecting your money from the housing NPC is way better than having to go back to the placard and see someone enjoying (or gloating over) what you lost out on.