As a general user and not a “power user” as some are, I like these restrictions. Too freeform, and it falls flat for anyone that isn’t an absolute artistic savant.
I disagree. You don’t need to be an “artistic savant” to place items in more freeform housing systems. Far from it. You can make use of such controls as little or as much as you want, as opposed to restricting everyone to very little customization.
That’s a fair stance. But history shows how little engagement you get with those systems that have the potential to overwhelm and scare away general users. This is also a big reason why there’s such a negative perception of MMO housing in certain communities.
To put it in WoW terms… it’s like the loot treadmill. It’s designed such that everyone is pushed toward the highest echelons of difficulty. Some people feel that influence, know they don’t have the time or skill required, and just give up on the game entirely. No one is going to be completely content with an LFR clear when they know the “real” game is still waiting for them. And knowing that you can’t access the “real” game is discouraging.
I find the same to be true of housing systems. Having some flexibility is great, sure, but if you have too much control, people feel the onus to utilize the full breadth of the tools available to them. And if they don’t have the time or skill or inherent ability, it turns them off of the system completely. This is why a lot of WoW players call housing a “waste.” Because it absolutely would be, for them.
Honestly, in WoW, I’d go for even less flexibility than FFXIV. A nodular system would probably be most appropriate for this playerbase. It won’t appease the housing aficionados, sure, but they wouldn’t be here if housing was make-or-break anyway.
I think that a guild neighborhood would be a better Idea with the only one controlling the guild hall being the GM but the houses in the neighborhood being controlled by members/officers. That way, even if the hall isn’t what players want, they could still express themselves in their homes vs the hall which hopefully would reflect the guild more than the GM.
True, I’m trying to stay hopefull personally for 10.0, but yea, if its not a smash hit I’m out. Player housing does not have to come out for next xpac for me to stay, Just discussing the possible leak.
That’s kind of my point that I’m saying to the people claiming they don’t want resources wasted. Aside from raiding, none of the other content has really been meaningful to the player base for the past 2 expansions.
I like this, a person who doesn’t care much whether it’s a thing or not, but who will engage with it if it is fun and inviting, well put my friend.
Blizzard’s history in copying from other games is to polish the system, I think Blizzard would have the capability to have unlimited neighborhoods vs FFXIV.
Same, even if the xpac is bad, at least I can work on my house/community.
Sadly, some of the council members were not picked for their expertise, they seemingly are yes men that pat Blizzard on the back and do not have our best interests at heart. Some are really good however, like the first one that I quoted. There really should be a report council member’s post that would flag it by the community (not auto ban) so that Blizzard could reevaluate if they are actually qualified.
Ah theres the hook system I was looking for. Yes, Lotro does this as well, I honestly think the Lotro system is the best housing we could possibly get with the limited engine that wow has.
I actually wonder, why we can’t have both? Why couldn’t we pick between guild neighborhoods and public neighborhoods? Why couldn’t there be an optional hook button that switches it to a basic system vs an expansive one. I agree that it could be summed up as a loot treadmill, but I would sum it up more as transmog, where some people like nice simple ones (already established sets), while others will go to extensive lengths to get the purple gloves that match the buckle on their boots.
I think one of the “leaks” over on MMO-C stated the exact same thing. Perhaps we’ve found the true identity of that poster? 
Give me garrisons but can use in open world. Done, also customized building styles.
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lmao na im too busy to be creating leaks. or ammm iiiiii 
hehe
This is kind of silly… Tons of people just do the bare minimum interaction with housing in Rift, ESO, and even WildStar. There is absolutely nothing stopping people from just dropping some furniture down and calling it good. There is nothing “forcing” people to make wildly complex, 100% custom builds.
This would pretty much guarantee I don’t even bother interacting with it. How boring.
I don’t think it would be entirely boring as long as there are a ton of hooks and options to place items. I’m more excited to display my achievement rewards than true customization tbh.
Wizard101 has my absolute favorite player housing system.
- Housing is optional and has no impact on player power.
- A basic instanced house is available to everyone. Look & feel mirrors the capitol city where the house is “located”.
- Houses can be expanded and upgraded with gold. (Wizard101 allows players to have multiple houses and link them with teleports.)
- Decorations drop from instance bosses, rares, and treasures, on a new loot table.
- Housing has convenience features like the garrisons, only they’re not expansion-specific.
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Don’t forget RIFT. “Housing” in RIFT is extremely customizable. You buy a “key” that unlocks a “dimension” that is an instanced copy of a specific area in the game world. In that instance, you have an item limit, but you can put anything in it–anything you can build with in game dimension items. Dimension items are items that are sometimes duplicates of in-game assets, and sometimes specifically made “building block” type items that allow you to build amazing things.
How it could be implemented in WoW: you could buy a “key” for a house in Elwynn Forest. The instance would have a house in it already, and some surrounding area. Other than that, you build what you want. Or, you buy a key for an area in Nagrand that doesn’t have a house or structure in it already, perhaps just an area with trees and water and beautiful landscape, and build your own structure.
It’s infinitely customizable. Players have built some amazing dims in that game. There are also “keys” in RIFT for PvP dimensions, and items that facilitate PvP matches in dimensions. There are “live” items as well, like sheep or cows or cats that you can add, for a bit of “life” in your space, and things like profession centers–think anvils and such in WoW.
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Long time Lotro player here…
The way that Turbine has implemented player housing is my favorite method so far that I’ve seen. It’s a combination of both personal taste plus rewarding of personal accomplishment.
So they utilize a hook system, which I think is pretty normal. But what they do differently, is that have implemented cosmetic housing decorations as rewards for other end game content such as long, epic quest lines and the killing of major bosses at the end of dungeons and raids. So you are able to decorate your house, proudly, with items that represent your trials and tribulations throughout the rest of your gaming experience. Think, being able to display Neltharian’s head in your house or a trophy on a table that shows you were able to achieve Rival, Duelist, Gladiator in a specific season.
My house in Lotro may “just” have a bear rug laying one the floor within the map room. But it’s not just a bear rug. It’s a skin I collected from the completion of a major, grueling, quest line where I tracked and hunted a demon possessed bear that had been terrorizing the local inhabitants of Forochel for years. And when I was done with that “content” the villagers of the frozen tundra presented me with the pelt as a way too say thank you for my services and good deeds.
It was 8 years ago that I had this gaming experience, but it still sticks with me to this day. That’s why I plays RPGs. This is the kind of thing that makes this type of content engaging. Make the players actions actually matter within how they interact with the world.
I would rather have hunting trophy decorations as a choice in my personal house than go around and have all the NPCS call me Champion and/or Maw Walker.
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i can tell you where they should stick player housing lol
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It’s funny.
I notice since playing classic/TBCC that over 2/3 of my play time consist of playing the AH/crafting and 1/3 is raid logging.
Sometimes playing a game isn’t doing endless chores to unlock gated content.
Sometimes it’s living in a free democratic soci… I mean having player agency so you can play an MMORPG the way it was intended to be played.
Player housing and a boots on the ground expansion that’s focus is ADVENTURE might get me back.
But if professions stay dead and the only way to make gold is by selling pets… Probs just gonna finish up with work classic and move on with life 
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I liked a lot of stuuf with the WoD garrison. I didn’t like how it was so tied to professions. So I would do that this time around. Except if there was a new profession that was just for stuff in your house.
Also I thought what garrisons were missing was having a bazaar outside of them that would phase you into seeing other players in it.
I like how the farm was in MoP. I liked how leaving your farm put you in the cooking area with other players in the little village. That felt very alive and organic.
One of the things I don’t like about phasing and LFG is I know I’ll most likely never see the same person again. If we had housing in 10.0 I’d like to see small neighborhoods with players from my server.
This is my biggest fear with anything in 10.0. Blizzard seems like such big control freaks that they’ve ruined anything that feels like I’m playing in an open fantasy world. With all of their systems and time gating it feels like they look at us puppets, all dancing and marching to their beat for every minute we’re logged in! It has sucked all of the life out of WoW!
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wow, why does it seem every mmorpg has housing except wow lmao
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Sadly, it is because of miscommunication in WOD, the player base wanted and had been asking for housing, Blizzard decided to give the player base, “what they wanted.” But somewhere along the line they lost the message that players didn’t want a system completely and utterly integrated with the expansion. We just wanted simple well-designed truly customizable housing. What we got was a daily hub disguised as a housing system. It was literally the Valley of the Eternal Blossoms daily hub that everyone hated at the time of MOP that rewarded you with more dailies as you gained rep/resources.
Then, after the garrison failed, Blizzard took that as, “players don’t want housing.” And that is why you will get a few people today being toxic about it, because they think it’s entirely a waste of resources or stupid or like the garrison, because they forgot that at one point we all wanted it and at that Blizzcon for WOD we were all mega HYPED for housing.
I would like to see a housing build option OUTSIDE of just capitals or cities in different zones, similar to Skyrim. For instance, maybe you are a hunter who prefers a more solitary home out in the wilds or maybe you are a mage who wants to build a tower at some arcane nexus out there. I have no idea on how this would be implemented, but I’d like the town and country option.