The War Within 11.X Patches & World Soul Saga Speculation Thread

[Joshuaj]

I have no interest in human/orc houses in human/orc zones, so it's a dead feature to me. I'd rather they spent time on something else if they aren't going to do housing right.

It's going to expand across multiple patches and expansions. Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, friend?

[Wyrt]

Yeah, I'm sure, just like garrisons were originally going to be allowed in different zones and have customization. Blizzard always does what they promise.

[Zaelsino]

Really hope more neighborhoods get added sooner rather than later.

I can't imagine many blood elf or nightborne players will be happy having to live in an Orcish desert

Or fe me, my mountain loving dwarf stuck living in a human forest

The Azshara and Duskwood influence might tide over blood and night elves, but yeah, a good half of the game's races seem to be pretty out of sorts -- draenei, gnomes, tauren, dwarves, and undead in particular. Especially draenei.

[Throren]

Would you rather they make multiple Neighborhood regions and stress themselves out before Midnight's launch, thus potentially giving us a half-baked system like the Garrisons? Or would you rather they start off with 2 Neighborhoods first, and then expand once the foundations for housing are properly put in place?

Now I can't speak for everyone but I think I can confidently speak for a lot of fans of housing in other MMOs, especially roleplayers, when I say I'd rather there weren't neighborhoods at all. ESO's housing would work a lot better - a number of unique bespoke individual house plots scattered about the world in various racial areas and biomes.

Rather than trying to make housing this forced social thing by making everyone who wants a house, forced to live next to others in Elwynn forest. Which for roleplayers, who this system targets the most, probably won't ever be used as most people who roleplay, wouldn't make sense for their characters to live in Elwynn/Durotar

[Eldryth]

I could see Blood Elves and Draenei being some of the first races they expand it to, at least.

Quel'thalas housing is such an obvious fit for Midnight that I'm a little surprised it's not in from the start, and Draenei had their new city teased in their relatively recent heritage questline.

Maybe in an early Midnight patch (or even launch, if the roadmap indicating that housing should come before Midnight means we can get more areas at Midnight launch) we'll visit that new city alongside Quel'thalas and Draenei neighborhoods?

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

I really think that neighborhoods are a bad configuration for housing. In addition to being limited, it apparently takes a lot of resources to create these zones. All that time could have been devoted to creating racial houses to be placed in the zones that already exist and love, in familiar places. This is what a real home is all about. Blizzard likes to complicate things for nothing, apparently.

If it's additional zones in the old world that's cool and all, but to me it's time wasted when they could have just fleshed out the current world. I'm sorry if I'm coming across as a bit of a killjoy, but I really don't appreciate their philosophy.

Now I can't speak for everyone but I think I can confidently speak for a lot of fans of housing in other MMOs, especially roleplayers, when I say I'd rather there weren't neighborhoods at all. ESO's housing would work a lot better - a number of unique bespoke individual house plots scattered about the world in various racial areas and biomes.

Rather than trying to make housing this forced social thing by making everyone who wants a house, forced to live next to others in Elwynn forest. Which for roleplayers, who this system targets the most, probably won't ever be used as most people who roleplay, wouldn't make sense for their characters to live in Elwynn/Durotar

This. They should have taken inspiration from ESO instead of FF14. This contributes to a complete open world. Their neighborhood idea already kills repopulating old areas. Everything is always isolated, separated from the rest of the world in WoW. What a mess.

[Sondrelk]

Now I can't speak for everyone but I think I can confidently speak for a lot of fans of housing in other MMOs, especially roleplayers, when I say I'd rather there weren't neighborhoods at all. ESO's housing would work a lot better - a number of unique bespoke individual house plots scattered about the world in various racial areas and biomes.

Rather than trying to make housing this forced social thing by making everyone who wants a house, forced to live next to others in Elwynn forest. Which for roleplayers, who this system targets the most, probably won't ever be used as most people who roleplay, wouldn't make sense for their characters to live in Elwynn/Durotar

I think it makes more sense if you assume this is the test bed for further development. And that potential future house locations won't all have 50 plots available, but instead something more intimate like 3-5.

It wouldnt make sense to have say, a Nelf themed house in the middle of Elwynn, no matter how much work you do to blend it into the surroundings. The developers have however said they intend to have different house styles in the future, so I imagine we will see them be added to other locations at some point. Bel'ameth for a Nelf themed neighborhood seems like a done deal given how empty the area is anyways.

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I really think that neighborhoods are a bad configuration for housing. In addition to being limited, it apparently takes a lot of resources to create these zones. All that time could have been devoted to creating racial houses to be placed in the zones that already exist. Blizzard likes to complicate things for nothing, apparently.

I mean, if it's additional zones in the old world that's cool and all, but to me it's time wasted when they could have just fleshed out the current world. I'm sorry if I'm coming across as a bit of a killjoy, but I really don't appreciate their philosophy.

While I don't think Neighborhoods are necessarily the best idea either. Or at least not 50 different ones. I will hold back judgment until I see how it looks in practice. Especially with Private neighborhoods, which I imagine will be de facto guild halls.

[Wyrt]

Now I can't speak for everyone but I think I can confidently speak for a lot of fans of housing in other MMOs, especially roleplayers, when I say I'd rather there weren't neighborhoods at all. ESO's housing would work a lot better - a number of unique bespoke individual house plots scattered about the world in various racial areas and biomes.

Rather than trying to make housing this forced social thing by making everyone who wants a house, forced to live next to others in Elwynn forest. Which for roleplayers, who this system targets the most, probably won't ever be used as most people who roleplay, wouldn't make sense for their characters to live in Elwynn/Durotar

The forced social thing is also going to make it hard for Blizzard to introduce new housing areas later on. Guilds are going to set up in what we have available from the start and it'd be hard to get everyone to agree to moving to a new zone unless it was a race themed guild.

I want my draenei characters to live in draenei houses in draenei zones, but if those are introduced 2-3 expansions down the line, it's going to just be dead neighborhoods with a couple people I don't know because my guild/friends would all be established in the Elwynn zone.

Trying to force personal housing to be social is a mistake.

[Joshuaj]

Now I can't speak for everyone but I think I can confidently speak for a lot of fans of housing in other MMOs, especially roleplayers, when I say I'd rather there weren't neighborhoods at all. ESO's housing would work a lot better - a number of unique bespoke individual house plots scattered about the world in various racial areas and biomes.

Rather than trying to make housing this forced social thing by making everyone who wants a house, forced to live next to others in Elwynn forest. Which for roleplayers, who this system targets the most, probably won't ever be used as most people who roleplay, wouldn't make sense for their characters to live in Elwynn/Durotar

They do talk about this in the article, and they explained it would not only take a fuck ton of time to do, but it would also make housing feel not as engaging. I'm sure Blizzard will find a workaround for this tho.

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I think it makes more sense if you assume this is the test bed for further development. And that potential future house locations won't all have 50 plots available, but instead something more intimate like 3-5.

It wouldnt make sense to have say, a Nelf themed house in the middle of Elwynn, no matter how much work you do to blend it into the surroundings. The developers have however said they intend to have different house styles in the future, so I imagine we will see them be added to other locations at some point. Bel'ameth for a Nelf themed neighborhood seems like a done deal given how empty the area is anyways.

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While I don't think Neighborhoods are necessarily the best idea either. Or at least not 50 different ones. I will hold back judgment until I see how it looks in practice. Especially with Private neighborhoods, which I imagine will be de facto guild halls.

There are only 2 Neighborhood zones. 50 is the plot limit.

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Yeah, I'm sure, just like garrisons were originally going to be allowed in different zones and have customization. Blizzard always does what they promise.

And Garrisons sucked due to Blizzard overpromising a 1 expansion feature, and not delivering on it by the expansion's launch. You don't understand, Wyrt. The Garrisons fucked me up more than you know.

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Also, I wouldn't call housing "forced socializing". Private Neighborhoods exist, and you can very much limit it to just you and your friends and/or guildmates.

[Sondrelk]

There are only 2 Neighborhood zones. 50 is the plot limit.

Yeah, made a mistake there. Meant to say that I feel 50 housing plots in a neighborhood might be too many to "police" so to say. If you want to live with other people who also want to have great looking houses. Or more likely, a guild of people who all want to have great houses. 50 is probably untenable long term, as people will stop playing, or stop caring about the house, or whatever. Something smaller like 10 house plots would make more sense in that regard.

But again. Hard to say until we know for sure what the system will look like in practice.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

The forced social thing is also going to make it hard for Blizzard to introduce new housing areas later on. Guilds are going to set up in what we have available from the start and it'd be hard to get everyone to agree to moving to a new zone unless it was a race themed guild.

I want my draenei characters to live in draenei houses in draenei zones, but if those are introduced 2-3 expansions down the line, it's going to just be dead neighborhoods with a couple people I don't know because my guild/friends would all be established in the Elwynn zone.

Trying to force personal housing to be social is a mistake.

Totally. I don't even see how they could keep the neighborhoods alive, even though I think there are a lot of us who want housing, I think we're still a minority on the huge competitive player base. I can't see a world where I'm not surrounded by empty houses in dead neighborhoods.

[Sondrelk]

The forced social thing is also going to make it hard for Blizzard to introduce new housing areas later on. Guilds are going to set up in what we have available from the start and it'd be hard to get everyone to agree to moving to a new zone unless it was a race themed guild.

I want my draenei characters to live in draenei houses in draenei zones, but if those are introduced 2-3 expansions down the line, it's going to just be dead neighborhoods with a couple people I don't know because my guild/friends would all be established in the Elwynn zone.

Trying to force personal housing to be social is a mistake.

If they add more areas, I very much doubt they will be as large. The 50 house plots reek to me of the developers making it seem more ambitious than it probably is. I would be shocked if potential future housing areas have more than 20 plots.

[Cheezits]

They will definitely also add solo plots/apartments if the demand is high enough. There will just be new instanced zones for them.

[Eldryth]

Personally, I'm glad they're going with neighborhoods, especially since they acknowledged and are avoiding the major flaws in FFXIV's implementation.

Being surrounded by other players' homes that you can visit is a huge part of a housing system's appeal, to me. Standalone instances like ESO feel completely isolated and pointless. And the fact that new neighborhoods are created on demand (meaning no housing scarcity and presumably no upkeep) and you can live in a guild neighborhood addresses all my major issues with the idea.

The only other approach I would like- letting you place houses wherever you like, like Star Wars Galaxies- is completely incompatible with WoW's design, so personally, I think they chose the best option they have.

[JohnnyCasual]

probably won't ever be used as most people who roleplay, wouldn't make sense for their characters to live in Elwynn

I mean. Elwynn is home to the Lions Pride Inn. And a horde character can live in your single poor alliance characters alliance house. >.>

[Sondrelk]

Totally. I don't even see how they could keep the neighborhoods alive, even though I think there are a lot of us who want housing, I think we're still a minority on the huge competitive player base. I can't see a world where I'm not surrounded by empty houses in dead neighborhoods.

That is definitely the likely outcome assuming players keep the house in perpetuity, regardless of how long they have been logged off.
I get not wanting players to return only to lose interest as their house has been "demolished" due to inactivity. But if the only solution to having a thriving neighborhood are dedicated private neighborhoods then I wouldnt be surprised if people stop engaging with it as the surrounding areas look horrible.

Much is going to depend on the limitations of Private Neighborhoods. Though I imagine the default for most people will be a neighborhood with a guild, and hoping everyone there is as interested as they are.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

They will definitely also add solo plots/apartments if the demand is high enough. There will just be new instanced zones for them.

Yeah, but how long? I'm tired of waiting, we're all getting old. I'll be near death before I can settle down in an area I love.

[Wyrt]

Also, I wouldn't call housing "force socializing". Private Neighborhoods exist, and you can very much limit it to just you and your friends and/or guildmates.

Yeah, my guild's going to make a neighborhood in Elwynn and they are unlikely to leave it if new housing zones were made available. I'm not in a race themed guild that's going to just be waiting to pounce when the appropriate racial zone opens for housing.

And I end up with the choice of continuing to live in the guild's neighborhood in Elwynn or moving out to another zone where it'd just be random people. That's not fun or enjoyable.

[Enteroctopus Magnificus]

That is definitely the likely outcome assuming players keep the house in perpetuity, regardless of how long they have been logged off.
I get not wanting players to return only to lose interest as their house has been "demolished" due to inactivity. But if the only solution to having a thriving neighborhood are dedicated private neighborhoods then I wouldnt be surprised if people stop engaging with it as the surrounding areas look horrible.

Much is going to depend on the limitations of Private Neighborhoods. Though I imagine the default for most people will be a neighborhood with a guild, and hoping everyone there is as interested as they are.

Yeah, I see a lot of problems. I'm so confused.

[Xilurm]

That is definitely the likely outcome assuming players keep the house in perpetuity, regardless of how long they have been logged off.
I get not wanting players to return only to lose interest as their house has been "demolished" due to inactivity. But if the only solution to having a thriving neighborhood are dedicated private neighborhoods then I wouldnt be surprised if people stop engaging with it as the surrounding areas look horrible.

Much is going to depend on the limitations of Private Neighborhoods. Though I imagine the default for most people will be a neighborhood with a guild, and hoping everyone there is as interested as they are.

What if they phase out houses that haven't been visited by their owners and phase in active ones instead?