When it was introduced in Patch 6.1,Final Fantasy 14’snew Empyreum housing zone had its wards classified as Free Company or Private Housing wards. Recently,Final Fantasy 14announced it would be shifting the balance between the two ward classifications to address housing demands.In addition to the new Ishgardian housing area, Patch 6.1 also added the newHousing Lottery system for the purchasing of housing plots inFinal Fantasy 14. To ensure Free Companies and private buyers would both have equal chances to get a house, different wards were marked as Free Company housing plots, while others were restricted to private buyers.RELATED:Final Fantasy Creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s New Free Company in FF14 Just Got a HouseStarting with theFinal Fantasy 14Housing Lottery entry periodon July 10 at 8 AM PT, half of the Free Company-only wards will become Private Housing wards instead. From then on, Free Companies will have to purchase plots located on Wards 1 through 9, rather than 1 through 18, while private buyers can buy plots on any Ward from 10 through 24. Any Free Company who already purchased plots on the newly-restructured wards will still be able to keep their housing plots.
The previous 50/50 distribution of Free Company and PrivateHousing plots inFinal Fantasy 14’sEmpyreum district was a nightmare. There are a lot more private buyers than Free Company buyers, so multiple Private Housing plots could have dozens of entries in their lotteries, while entire Free Company wards went unclaimed for multiple periods. This shift towards more Private plots will hopefully alleviate the imbalance.
Players are relievedFinal Fantasy 14is taking steps to help fix the problems with the housing system. Getting a house has always been challenging, insofar as it has often been dubbed “Housing (Extreme)” in honor of the Extreme trials in game. With luck, the influx of plots for private buyers will let these players finally conquer this challenge.
However, this change alone doesnot fix all ofFinal Fantasy 14’shousing woes. Though the neighborhood aspects of the current housing system does allow for a great sense of community, the lack of private instanced housing means it is intrinsically exclusive to those lucky enough to win a housing plot through the lottery. Hopefully, the upcoming Island Sanctuary system will be able to fill this large gap inFinal Fantasy 14’shousing system. Island Sanctuaries should be coming in Patch 6.2, so players may hear more about it duringFinal Fantasy 14’snext Live Letter from the Producer on July 1.
Final Fantasy 14is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
