WoW Mocks FF14 with New Housing Strategy

Blizzard Entertainment has announced the exciting addition of player housing to World of Warcraft with the upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: Midnight. In a recent developer blog, Blizzard provided an early glimpse into how this much-anticipated feature will be implemented, even playfully referencing the housing system in Final Fantasy XIV.

Player housing is a feature many fans have eagerly awaited, and Blizzard is keen on making it accessible to everyone. Under the guiding principle "A Home for Everyone," the company has outlined that housing will be available without the hurdles seen in other MMOs. "As part of our focus on wide adoption, we wanted to ensure that Housing is available to everyone. If you want a house, you can have a house," Blizzard stated. They emphasized that there will be no exorbitant costs, lotteries, or stringent upkeep requirements. Importantly, if a player's subscription lapses, their house remains safe from repossession.

In essence, player housing allows individuals to own customizable homes within the game, which can be visited by other players. This feature has been a significant draw in Final Fantasy XIV, fostering creativity and leading to unique player-driven ventures like theater productions, nightclubs, cafes, and museums. However, Final Fantasy XIV's housing system has faced criticism due to limited plots, high costs, lotteries, and the risk of demolition if neglected.

World of Warcraft aims to address these concerns directly. Housing will be accessible across the Warband system, allowing characters to share houses regardless of factional lines. For instance, while a Human character can't purchase a house in a Horde zone, a Troll character in the same Warband can, and both can use it. The housing will be organized into two zones, each comprising "Neighborhoods" of approximately 50 plots. These neighborhoods are instanced and can be either Public or Private, with Public neighborhoods dynamically created by the game servers as needed, suggesting no hard cap on available plots.

Blizzard's vision for World of Warcraft's housing extends beyond immediate implementation. The developer's goals include "boundless self-expression," "deeply social" experiences, and a "long-lasting journey" with ongoing updates and expansions. This commitment signals Blizzard's intent to learn from the challenges faced by similar systems in other games while pushing for continuous improvement and innovation.

As the summer unveiling of World of Warcraft: Midnight approaches, more details are expected to be fleshed out, promising a new era of personalization and community in the iconic MMO.