The golden baby of Final Fantasy is busted.
Or at the least a part of it’s. Final Fantasy XIV tends to be the main target of reward after we speak concerning the present standing of the collection. But the sport’s housing system is a catastrophe, hardly doing the usual different components of the sport have set for it any justice.
Last week Patch four.1 included the residential housing space, Shirogane, letting gamers purchase or relocate a housing plot. In a model new housing ward, there are 720 housing plots accessible divided into 12 wards, every with a subdivision. When you’re on a excessive inhabitants server like Balmung or Leviathan it means you in all probability aren’t going to have a spot for the lovable Moogle wallpaper or Paissa dolls. To add to the urgency, housing is available in totally different sizes and plot grades. The largest homes solely have three per ward, so if that’s your finish objective, be ready for disappointment.
Final Fantasy XIV’s queues and server points have additionally been notoriously unhealthy for the reason that launch of Stormblood. Some of that’s exterior of Square Enix’s management, however for conditions like a housing launch no excuse actually appears to calm the anger. As I got down to seize my very own plot within the new Shirogane district, these queues made for one of many causes I used to be unable to satisfy the mad rush into the server. When you already know there’s solely 720 plots accessible and your recreation launches with “you’re 960th in queue,” it’s over.
Before the server went down for upkeep, I practiced my routine. I certain my dash key to a extra major button on my keyboard, turned off participant names so I wouldn’t misclick them, ran numerous paths again and again so I may time the quickest. Myself and the handfuls of individuals round me doing the identical factor regarded completely ridiculous, as a result of we had been. Instead of spending our time having fun with content material we pay for each month, we had been working circles to compete with one another over plots of land. It was nightmarish.
My analysis went on for hours earlier than the servers went down, and I made positive to logout in probably the most excellent place with lots of of different gamers surrounding me. My panic was fueled by linkshells, boards, discord servers, and Twitter. Everyone on Leviathan wished a home. As a pal described how his free firm had one particular person going to each ward, every with over 45 million gil for a big home, I knew my very own Free Company was doomed. For most teams of gamers, that’s an not possible feat and ridiculous normal to set.
They acquired the mansion they set out for, whereas I wasn’t so fortunate myself. I knew there was no probability I used to be getting a private home when my free firm was precedence, in order I frantically made my method into Shirogane I resigned myself to solely on the lookout for a brand new Free Company residence. The upside is that I acquired a small property simply minutes after the servers opened. We wished a mansion however they had been all gone. And in lower than 10 minutes after Leviathan opened again up, I couldn’t discover a single Shirogane home.
The disappointment overshadowed the passion of latest householders. Most of my buddies disconnected within the participant foyer and by no means really made it into the sport. Other gamers had been additional again within the queue, and by the point they made it on every thing was gone. Between my launcher crashing and queue time, I’m shocked I beat them to a small home.
The absurd tales popping out of Final Fantasy XIV’s latest housing district since that morning don’t cease. The gamers that saved for months working in the direction of their dream residence weren’t solely let down, however now should take care of others who’ve purchased up plots simply to resell. The Final Fantasy XIV housing market on Reddit is full of outrageous examples.
On excessive inhabitants servers like mine, some gamers are charging upwards of 500 million gil simply to relinquish the land for a big Shirogane residence. After that, there’s nonetheless a 45 million gil cost owed to the sport. That means you’re spending effectively over the quantity ever supposed by Square Enix for housing, nevertheless it’s a system so simply exploited I’m unsure what else they had been anticipating.
There’s a large number of how folks have managed to benefit from the system, too. While gamers are solely allowed one private home per character, it’s nonetheless potential to purchase a home for a free firm and a private residence. This has led many to create one-man free corporations to allow them to seize two plots as a substitute of 1. Those which might be fortunate sufficient can relog into the sport and do it once more on a second character. For the extra merciless people, some gamers would goal characters interacting with free housing plots and provoke a commerce. This cancels regardless of the purchaser is doing and ruins their possibilities at nabbing a house, leaving it free for the participant that opened the commerce.
Players had been fast to level out that this isn’t new both. It’s what makes the scenario so irritating. Every addition to housing we’ve seen has been abused by gamers seeking to rapidly purchase and resell, whereas these with slower connections and rather less luck don’t make it to the neighborhood in time to seize one thing they’ll really use. Many have taken their complaints exterior the sport, blasting Square Enix over an clearly flawed system.
The #FFXIV playerbase is min-maxing their housing routes greater than they min-max raid content material.
— zerkless IR
(@klopsgg) October 10, 2017
The gross failure and mounting frustration finally garnered a response from director Naoki Yoshida on the official boards. While he acknowledges the sport’s housing disaster, it’s exhausting to think about how we’re again on this place. The staff ready, nonetheless poorly, for the server load and tried to take preventative motion towards gamers that might abuse the relocation characteristic. Yet that system backfired, in the end inflicting extra extra hurt than good. Square Enix even mentioned that the servers would not open early, as they usually do after upkeep, in anticipation of the demand.
It’s good to see Yoshida and his staff tackling the problem, however there’s little consolation in addressing this in a way that seems like too little too late. More wards shall be added in all of Final Fantasy XIV’s housing districts for patch four.2, however how they may stop gamers from abusing such a damaged system stays to be seen. It’s one thing that must be reevaluated from the bottom up.
Housing isn’t high-end raid content material. It’s not gated by ability and so long as gamers can afford it, properties totally free corporations and private plots must be accessible. It’s content material we’ve all paid for, however ultimately, not one thing we will all get pleasure from.
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