Housing Warfare: WoW Snipes FF14

World of Warcraft's upcoming housing system: A contrast to Final Fantasy XIV

Blizzard has offered a sneak peek at the player housing feature coming to World of Warcraft (WoW) in the World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion, subtly contrasting its approach with that of Final Fantasy XIV. The WoW team highlighted accessibility as a key design goal, aiming to make housing available to all players.

Unlike Final Fantasy XIV's system, WoW's housing will avoid exorbitant costs, lotteries, and harsh penalties for lapsed subscriptions. The stated goal is "A Home for Everyone," ensuring players can acquire and maintain a home without significant hurdles.

The core functionality is straightforward: players purchase and personalize homes, which can be visited by others. While Final Fantasy XIV's housing has fostered impressive player creativity, resulting in player-built theaters, nightclubs, and museums, it's also notorious for its limited plots, high Gil costs, lotteries, and the risk of demolition for inactivity.

WoW aims to address these concerns. Housing is shared among a player's Warband, allowing access for all characters regardless of faction. While a Human character couldn't purchase a house in a Horde zone, a Troll character within the same Warband could, granting access to the Human character.

The game will feature two housing zones divided into "Neighborhoods" of approximately 50 plots each. Importantly, these are instanced, offering both public and private options. Public areas are server-managed and dynamically generated, suggesting a potentially scalable system without a fixed plot limit.

Blizzard's commitment to WoW's housing system extends beyond the initial launch. The team envisions a "long-lasting journey" with ongoing updates and additions planned for future patches and expansions, indicating a substantial investment. While playfully referencing Final Fantasy XIV's challenges, Blizzard clearly acknowledges and seeks to avoid similar pitfalls.

Further details are expected closer to the summer reveal of World of Warcraft: Midnight.