which is a very good thing
Player housing in the sense I believe you imagine is something more at home in an inwardly directed single player mobile game, or minecraft, or animal crossing. It’s cancer in an outwardly directed MMO that has limited development resources and runs counter to anti-monetization efforts of both players, internal elements at blizzard, and the streamer types.
The garrison was functional (is functional, I use them daily) and 100% finish-able, has a terminal point and isn’t monetized. Sadly, I think they would have been more popular and something that wold have been iterated forward in productive ways … but they were really caught up in WoD problems. War-on-flying had casualties and WoD was a little too much loot piñata, as one point I’m told that the garrison mission table actually handed out elevated loot. Somewhat similar to the vault and m+. But it was a very nifty bit of design, with lots of well constructed tie-ins to both the main story and game world … as well as raids.
Housing could have made them lots of money by now if they implemented it a long time ago.
People would sub just for their own slice of housing.
I would also be ok with a few bundles of themed furniture and decor in the shop. “A few” as in 3-5.
Too bad @Activision missed out on all that potential money.
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The revenue stream from the fallout shelter mobile game creatively destroyed the company, they literally took that new income and said “why should we work so hard to develop a game if we can get free money doing this?”. That thinking brought the fallout MMO to life and destroyed what … 10? 20? years of IP development.
Quick free money like this is commonly very very bad for these types of companies. Unless strong leadership can moderate the influences, then quality goes right in the crapper.
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There’s been nothing “cancerous” about it in any other game it’s in, but nice dramatics. It’s easy to avoid if you don’t want it. Everyone had to have the garrison.
This MMO doesn’t have limited resources. They employ hundreds of people just for this game alone and it has the largest budget of any MMORPG on the market. If other MMOs can afford it, Blizz can too. Small indie company is a meme.
Housing isn’t monetized in quite a few games, and even in eso, you can earn crowns or get free housing.
The Garrison forced everyone to stay in it most of the time. Which kills the open world. Housing should always be optional and cosmetic. They can put the content to earn progression elsewhere.
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Not all of it. Though, the herb and mine were likely poor choices. But, as they say, all art is risk.
Part of that though, was taking a stab at resource management ingame. Depopulate the non-player farmers. There were times when nodes were just open world an they were locked down almost all the time. I think the WoD scheme was maybe designed to knock that down a bit, or at least take a whack at it.
As for development resources. Yes, it’s abundantly clear from many many years and including SL that there is a finite limit of good editorship on the development side. Making decisions on what stays and what goes. Making a well designed game and not some spagetti-mess. Yeah, it’s limited.
I hope so, but until then, my Garrisons are my player housing.
It’s not limited in budget or personnel. It’s limited in what they add to the game by choice. In which case you wouldn’t have to worry about housing. It’s all hypothetical.
Unfortunately, I don’t think player housing is coming any time soon.
I would far far FAR rather spend time collecting mounts, pets, transmogs, and other cosmetics and achievements instead of beating my head against the wall doing the same old M+ instance for the millionth time.
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I don’t know why they wouldn’t, it is such a good opportunity for Blizzard to sell more stuff in the store.
I seriously doubt player housing will be implemented in 10.0. And if it is, I can almost assure you that it will be done in such a way as to alienate practically everyone.
If the Microsoft acquisition was further along than it is, or if there was a new team in charge of WoW right now, then I might feel differently. Once the MS acquisition is done and we have a better idea of how Microsoft is going to handle WoW going forward, I may feel differently also. But I don’t think the acquisition is going to happen soon enough to affect 10.0, or the next expansion, in any substantial manner.
Unless they haven’t started on 10.0 at all yet, of course, but I kinda doubt that’s the case.
I used to be pessimistic about the chances of 10.0 happening at all but the MS acquisition has put those fears on my part more or less to rest.
Maybe in 11.0, but it’s waaaaay too early to tell.
All that having been said, if we do end up getting good player housing, done right, in 10.0, I will happily eat my words.
Hearted for this for player boats! I was hoping to see this with the South Seas xpac that never came to fruition. I would love to see player housing some day, but give me player boats first!
I could care less about player housing.
Ever leveled up a Garrison? They are still a thing. Everything in one place and never having to go to a city. No one came come in without a invite, just like a house. By the way, how would house be any different, basically.
Working on a new one right now.
They could even do something like giving us boats we can live on. Still boats are always nice, kinda funny guild wars 2 beat them to it giving players boats their friends can join them on and everyone can fish from
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