It solely took twenty years, however Blizzard is lastly including participant housing to World of Warcraft, which’ll be coming with the Midnight growth. That is nonetheless a methods away, however that hasn’t stopped Blizzard from doing a giant ol’ weblog publish diving into the developer’s core ideas for the method, with sufficient phrase depend to throw shade at considered one of its greatest MMO rivals.
The publish goes over a great deal of stuff, which I will get to, however as a major Closing Fantasy 14 gamer I could not assist however have a chuckle on the section titled A Residence for Everybody. “As a part of our concentrate on broad adoption, we wished to make sure that Housing is offered to everybody,” the publish learn. “If you would like a home, you’ll be able to have a home. No exorbitant necessities or excessive buy prices, no lotteries, and no onerous repairs (and in case your subscription lapses, don’t fret, your home will not get repossessed!)”
In case you ask me, that is a transparent stab at Sq. Enix’s, fairly frankly, atrocious housing system. It is taken many types through the years, however its one consistency is that it is largely horrible. Years in the past, homes can be priced based mostly on server financial system, which was modified to a flat fee per plot as soon as cross-server journey occurred. They’re fairly costly, too, starting from 3 million gil for a fifth-class small plot, all the best way to an eye-watering 50 million gil for a big home in a chief location.
The extra egregious features of Closing Fantasy 14’s programs comes from really acquiring (and sustaining) land, nevertheless. Homes aren’t instanced, which already creates a provide far outweighed by its demand. It was hours of clicking on a placard whereas battling an invisible timer, ready for it to finish whereas hoping you would be the primary one to click on ‘purchase’ as soon as it was lastly up. It is since been swapped to a lottery system, the place you merely chuck your cash at an empty plot and pray that your quantity is the one drawn. A greater system, however nonetheless not a great one. Oh, and it’s a must to enter your home as soon as each 45 days in any other case it will get taken away from you. Nothing like paying real-life cash for digital hire.
I battle to consider one other MMO that maintains this technique—I imply, why would they, it is horrible for everybody—and with Closing Fantasy 14 arguably being WoW’s greatest competitors within the MMO house, it is smart that Blizzard would need to make a cheeky assertion at Sq. Enix’s expense.
Truthfully, studying the weblog publish and I actually just like the sound of what Blizzard is doing with its participant housing, and I want Sq. Enix would take a leaf out of its guide. There will be two housing zones at launch—one for Alliance, impressed by Elwynn Forest, Westfall, and Duskwood, and one for Horde with touches of Durotar and Azshara—with the developer admitting that “zones are lots of work” and that specializing in two high-quality ones was extra necessary than fragmenting into numerous mediocre ones.
The separation does not imply which you can’t hang around with your pals (or alts) on the opposite aspect, although. “Your homes are additionally shared amongst your Warband along with your completely different characters having the ability to come and go as you see match (so your Orc character can hand around in your Alliance home with no drawback),” the weblog publish reads, including that housing rewards are additionally shared.
“Moreover, it’s not simply Warbands that cross factional strains however friendships as effectively, so that you’ll be capable to stay in or go to your pals’ or guildmates’ homes and their neighborhoods with minimal restrictions concerning faction. For instance, whereas it’s not attainable to your Human character to purchase a home within the Horde zone, your Troll character in the identical Warband can, after which your Human can use it as if it have been their very own.”
Cheeky jabs apart, one thing that actually caught my eye is neighbourhoods, one thing Blizzard teases on the finish of its weblog publish. “Homes are organised into roughly fifty plot Neighborhoods, letting gamers stay subsequent to one another, work collectively, and share within the rewards of being a part of the Neighborhood. Neighborhoods are instanced however crucially additionally persistent so your neighbors could be your neighbors for years to return (or till considered one of you strikes).”
There will be public neighbourhoods, which’ll allow you to stay amongst strangers, however you will even have the power to create non-public ones too for mates or guilds to share. I completely love the sound of that, particularly as somebody who at all times fancied the concept of attempting to snag housing plots subsequent to my friends in Closing Fantasy 14.
Having the ability to customise and progress along with your finest buds by your aspect actually performs into Blizzard’s emphasis on housing being a player-first mechanic and I gotta say, it is probably the most tempted I have been to present WoW one other strive in years. Possibly Midnights would be the growth to lastly draw me again in.
