Simple Housing Fix: Island Sanctuary

[maxxvoltage4]

wouldn't it be easier to just make it so you can build a house on your island? Just saying the space is there so why not utilize it?

[Hyperia]

This is certainly an option, the big question for the community is if they would want houses such as this that are only able to be visited while the owner is online and at the house.

The current housing system allows for offline visits and for neighborhoods.

[ShadowyZero]

This is certainly an option, the big question for the community is if they would want houses such as this that are only able to be visited while the owner is online and at the house.

The current housing system allows for offline visits and for neighborhoods.

they want a house period it doesn't matter what form it comes from they just want one and they want it to be any size they choose it to be the current system has been way too restrictive in that regard.
so in order to accomplish this they either need to completely overhaul the housing system to make it more fair and equal an make it retroactively replace plots when all spot are filled.
or they need to add a separate housing area with which is fully instanced to a single player who can then add tenants to share the space with
either one of those options would quell this issue once and for all.

[Nyastra]

This is certainly an option, the big question for the community is if they would want houses such as this that are only able to be visited while the owner is online and at the house.

The current housing system allows for offline visits and for neighborhoods.

It would definitely be an option, but it comes with trade-offs.

Island Sanctuary housing would mean a fixed tropical setting, which isn’t for everyone. It would also likely lose things people value in the current system, such as offline visitation and neighborhood spaces.

If someone simply wants a house of any size regardless of location or social interaction, then yes, this could work for them. But I don’t think it would satisfy the majority on its own.

There are also unanswered questions that tend to get overlooked in these discussions: would the house be free or have a cost? Would there be a demolition timer? Would item limits and sizes be consistent with wards? How would fairness be handled compared to existing housing?

It’s a potential addition, but like every housing suggestion so far, it solves some problems while creating others.

On a personal level, if instanced housing were added, I’d at least want some choice in environment. I wouldn’t want my main locked into a tropical setting, but an alt having a beach house could make sense.

That’s another reason I don’t think Island Sanctuary housing alone would be a complete solution. Location, atmosphere, and theme matter to people just as much as having a house at all.

It would help some players, but not everyone which is the recurring issue with every housing proposal.

[Andanie]

This is certainly an option, the big question for the community is if they would want houses such as this that are only able to be visited while the owner is online and at the house.

The current housing system allows for offline visits and for neighborhoods.

I'll give up my plot for an instanced one tbh. I like people being able to walk in and see my creations. I'd give it up even if neighborhoods remained and instanced housing was the trade off here.

[AyahM]

I would not give up my plot for an instanced one. Current system is unique from other gaming experiences. Once another housing district is added, we should theoretically have enough houses for everyone. The issue imo becomes auto-demo disablement w/ sub.

[Nyastra]

I would not give up my plot for an instanced one. Current system is unique from other gaming experiences. Once another housing district is added, we should theoretically have enough houses for everyone. The issue imo becomes auto-demo disablement w/ sub.

The issue with simply adding another housing district is that people don’t just “want a house” they want a specific plot.

On many worlds, Empyreum is largely deserted because it’s not as sought after. For example, on Spriggan there are currently 233 open Shirogane smalls and 336 open plots in Empyreum, yet only 3 of those are medium plots. In Tonberry, a congested JP server there are 541 open plots. 12 are mediums and 3 are large. What’s actually in demand are mediums and specific plots due to view and location.

This means we’ll inevitably end up in the same situation again: people complaining that they “can’t get a house” while choosing not to go for what is available. That doesn’t make them wrong, preference is valid, but it does show that the problem isn’t simply a lack of housing.

I fully acknowledge that this is a different situation on servers like Balmung where there are only 18 plots available. However, on many others, houses do exist, just not the ones people want.

To put this into perspective, on Zodiark, currently the only EU world closed to new characters, there are 655 plots available.

So yes, a new housing district would alleviate some pressure, but it doesn’t address the core problem and would inevitably recreate the same issues over time.

[NegativeS]

Once another housing district is added, we should theoretically have enough houses for everyone.

Theoretically, until every gold farmer and venue FC floods in to take every decent plot like they did with Empyreum, then we'll be back to square one.

The issue with simply adding another housing district is that people don’t just “want a house” they want a specific plot.

On many worlds, Empyreum is largely deserted because it’s not as sought after. For example, on Spriggan there are currently 233 open Shirogane smalls and 336 open plots in Empyreum, yet only 3 of those are medium plots. In Tonberry, a congested JP server there are 541 open plots. 12 are mediums and 3 are large. What’s actually in demand are mediums and specific plots due to view and location.

This means we’ll inevitably end up in the same situation again: people complaining that they “can’t get a house” while choosing not to go for what is available. That doesn’t make them wrong, preference is valid, but it does show that the problem isn’t simply a lack of housing.

I fully acknowledge that this is a different situation on servers like Balmung where there are only 18 plots available. However, on many others, houses do exist, just not the ones people want.

To put this into perspective, on Zodiark, currently the only EU world closed to new characters, there are 655 plots available.

So yes, a new housing district would alleviate some pressure, but it doesn’t address the core problem and would inevitably recreate the same issues over time.

Somehow this is impossible for people to actually understand; housing mains will be quick to come in here and say how you don't actually want a house because you won't settle for plot 27 in the Goblet, when in reality it's just not fun to decorate something in some forgotten corner of a low poly map from over a decade ago where it's guaranteed nobody will actually visit (because plot 30 nine times out of ten is a shell FC).

Games should be fun.

[Nyastra]

Theoretically, until every gold farmer and venue FC floods in to take every decent plot like they did with Empyreum, then we'll be back to square one.

Somehow this is impossible for people to actually understand; housing mains will be quick to come in here and say how you don't actually want a house because you won't settle for plot 27 in the Goblet, when in reality it's just not fun to decorate something in some forgotten corner of a low poly map from over a decade ago where it's guaranteed nobody will actually visit (because plot 30 nine times out of ten is a shell FC).

Games should be fun.

I agree that games should be fun, and that decorating a plot with no visibility isn’t enjoyable for many people. That’s exactly why this issue is more complicated than “people just want a house.” Location, foot traffic, and desirability clearly matter, which is also why simply adding more plots or districts won’t prevent the same situation from repeating over time.

The reality is that many players don’t just want housing, they want specific housing. That’s completely valid. However, no solution proposed so far meaningfully addresses that distinction. Adding districts or plots may temporarily relieve pressure (as mentioned above), but it does not prevent the same issue from re-emerging around the most desirable locations.

Discussing system limitations or trade-offs isn’t a bad thing, it’s acknowledging that different solutions affect different players in different ways. Everyone really needs to stop with the us vs them mindset because in reality it's us vs Housing/Square

[JenSha]

This is certainly an option, the big question for the community is if they would want houses such as this that are only able to be visited while the owner is online and at the house.

The current housing system allows for offline visits and for neighborhoods.

I don't care if no one visits my house, I decorate for myself, not for others. I've had my XIV house for years, never had a visitor, but I still love my house. I would sell my soul to have my own instanced house because I hate living next to neighbors who have ugly or empty plots. That and neighborhoods being ghost towns are my main issues with housing in FFXIV and WoW.

ESO's instanced housing is the best. We can collect dozens of different houses in many zones, there are no neighbors to ruin our view with their ugly plots/houses, and anyone can visit through guild/friend list and Home Tours, even if we're offline!