Ffxiv Are Housing Exploits Against Terms Of Service Or Nah?

"You're 960th in queue": Final Fantasy 14's Shirogane housing is a disaster

The gilt child of Final Fantasy is busted.

Or at to the lowest degree function of it is. Final Fantasy XIV tends to be the focus of praise when we talk about the current status of the series. Only the game's housing system is a disaster, inappreciably doing the standard other parts of the game have set for information technology any justice.

Last week Patch 4.1 included the residential housing surface area, Shirogane, letting players buy or relocate a housing plot. In a brand new housing ward, there are 720 housing plots available divided into 12 wards, each with a subdivision. When you're on a high population server like Balmung or Leviathan it means you probably aren't going to have a place for the cute Moogle wallpaper or Paissa dolls. To add to the urgency, housing comes in unlike sizes and plot grades. The biggest houses but take 3 per ward, so if that's your end goal, exist prepared for disappointment.

Concluding Fantasy XIV'due south queues and server issues have also been notoriously bad since the launch of Stormblood. Some of that is outside of Square Enix'southward control, but for situations like a housing launch no excuse really seems to calm the anger. As I set out to catch my own plot in the new Shirogane district, those queues made for one of the reasons I was unable to meet the mad blitz into the server. When y'all know there's only 720 plots available and your game launches with "you lot're 960th in queue," it's over.

Before the server went down for maintenance, I practiced my routine. I bound my sprint key to a more primary button on my keyboard, turned off player names so I wouldn't misclick them, ran various paths over and over then I could time the fastest. Myself and the dozens of people around me doing the same affair looked absolutely ridiculous, considering nosotros were. Instead of spending our time enjoying content we pay for every month, we were running circles to compete with each other over plots of land. It was nightmarish.

FF_14_shirogane

My research went on for hours before the servers went down, and I fabricated sure to logout in the most platonic position with hundreds of other players surrounding me. My panic was fueled by linkshells, forums, discord servers, and Twitter. Everyone on Leviathan wanted a business firm. As a friend described how his free company had ane person going to every ward, each with over 45 million gil for a big house, I knew my own Gratuitous Company was doomed. For near groups of players, that's an impossible feat and ridiculous standard to set.

They got the mansion they set up out for, while I wasn't so lucky myself. I knew at that place was no adventure I was getting a personal business firm when my costless company was priority, and so every bit I frantically made my way into Shirogane I resigned myself to just looking for a new Free Company domicile. The upside is that I got a small estate simply minutes later on the servers opened. Nosotros wanted a mansion only they were all gone. And in less than x minutes after Leviathan opened back upwards, I couldn't find a single Shirogane business firm.

The disappointment overshadowed the enthusiasm of new homeowners. Most of my friends asunder in the thespian lobby and never actually made information technology into the game. Other players were further back in the queue, and by the fourth dimension they fabricated information technology on everything was gone. Between my launcher crashing and queue time, I'thou surprised I shell them to a modest house.

The absurd stories coming out of Final Fantasy Fourteen's newest housing district since that morning don't stop. The players that saved for months working towards their dream habitation were non only let down, but now must bargain with others who've bought upward plots just to resell. The Concluding Fantasy XIV housing market on Reddit is full of outrageous examples.

On high population servers like mine, some players are charging upwards of 500 million gil just to relinquish the land for a big Shirogane home. Afterwards that, there'southward still a 45 1000000 gil accuse owed to the game. That means you're spending well over the amount e'er intended by Square Enix for housing, but it's a system then hands exploited I'one thousand not sure what else they were expecting.

There'south a multitude of ways people have managed to take reward of the system, too. While players are simply allowed one personal house per character, it's however possible to purchase a house for a costless visitor and a personal dwelling. This has led many to create 1-human being gratis companies and then they tin grab 2 plots instead of i. Those that are lucky enough tin relog into the game and practise it again on a second character. For the more cruel folks, some players would target characters interacting with free housing plots and initiate a merchandise. This cancels any the buyer is doing and ruins their chances at nabbing a habitation, leaving information technology gratuitous for the player that opened the trade.

Players were quick to point out that this isn't new either. Information technology's what makes the state of affairs and so frustrating. Every addition to housing nosotros've seen has been abused past players looking to speedily buy and resell, while those with slower connections and a little less luck don't arrive to the neighborhood in time to grab something they'll actually use. Many accept taken their complaints outside the game, blasting Square Enix over an obviously flawed organisation.

The #FFXIV playerbase is min-maxing their housing routes more they min-max raid content.

— zerkless IR ? (@klopsgg) October 10, 2017

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The gross failure and mounting frustration finally garnered a response from manager Naoki Yoshida on the official forums. While he acknowledges the game's housing crunch, it'due south difficult to imagine how we're dorsum in this position. The squad prepared, however poorly, for the server load and tried to take preventative action against players that would abuse the relocation feature. Yet that organization backfired, ultimately causing more more than harm than good. Square Enix even mentioned that the servers would not open early, equally they typically practise afterwards maintenance, in anticipation of the demand.

It's nice to encounter Yoshida and his team tackling the event, but there'due south little comfort in addressing this in a style that feels similar likewise piffling too late. More than wards will be added in all of Terminal Fantasy XIV's housing districts for patch 4.two, only how they will preclude players from abusing such a broken system remains to be seen. It's something that needs to exist reevaluated from the ground upward.

Housing isn't high-end raid content. Information technology'south non gated by skill and as long equally players can afford it, homes for free companies and personal plots should be attainable. Information technology's content we've all paid for, but in the end, not something we can all savor.