As a seasoned adventurer who has traversed the vast landscapes of Azeroth for years, I can confidently say that the addition of player housing to World of Warcraft is a long-awaited dream come true. Having spent countless nights resting at inns or huddled around campfires, the prospect of having a place to call my own fills me with a sense of excitement and anticipation.
As a researcher, I find myself jotting down notes about a significant revelation that unfolded on November 13, 2024, during Warcraft’s 30th Anniversary Direct. The grand finale of the event saw Blizzard unveiling an exciting new feature: player housing will be introduced in World of Warcraft with the upcoming Midnight expansion.
For those new to the scene: Player housing is a game element that lets players purchase homes, customize them with various pieces of furniture, awards, and other items they’ve earned during their gaming journeys. This feature is well-liked in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), as it can be found in titles such as Final Fantasy 14, Ultima Online, and Elder Scrolls Online among others. Surprisingly, World of Warcraft does not include player housing, even though it is one of the most successful and highest-selling MMORPGs ever made.
As an analyst, I recall that the concept of player housing was envisioned since the inception of World of Warcraft. However, it seems our wait will soon be over upon the release of the Midnight expansion slated for late 2025. In anticipation, here’s a list of features I’m excited to see in WoW player housing – from customizable decorations to acquisition methods.
1. Let us decorate our house with rewards obtained from challenging content
Among all the exciting aspects of player housing, what I’m particularly thrilled about is the ability to customize my dwelling with unique items collected on my journey. These could range from showcasing weapon and armor displays won in dungeons and raids, to proudly displaying trophies earned from defeating the game’s formidable bosses, and even adding fun elements like toys.
As a dedicated fan, I’m excited to share that Blizzard has subtly suggested a significant aspect of World of Warcraft’s player housing will be the inclusion of unique items like trophies. Intriguingly, their teaser trailer showcased a player’s home adorned with the skull of the notorious dragon boss, Onyxia, alongside a miniature Goblin shredder, a Warcraft Rumble toy, and an array of weapons. This hint at personalizing our in-game living spaces has me eagerly anticipating the upcoming updates!
What I’m envisioning with the decorations is an opportunity to earn unique trophies for your home, which can be acquired by successfully completing old raids and dungeons, as well as by mastering current seasonal raids and dungeons at higher difficulty levels such as Heroic-level Raids and Mythic+ tier dungeons.
This system encourages players to take on tough game content, even as a reason to re-experience old World of Warcraft dungeons and raids beyond collecting cosmetic items or mounts. Moreover, it provides an opportunity for players to demonstrate their skills by earning trophies from the toughest in-game foes at their highest difficulties, which they can then show off to their friends.
2. Player housing types – One for players and one for guilds
In certain Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and Lord of the Rings Online, players are offered two distinct types of housing options: personal residences and Guild Halls. A Personal residence is a dwelling that a player can call their own and even lease rooms to their friends or acquaintances. Conversely, a Guild Hall serves as a shared living space for an entire guild of players.
Having both a Personal residence and a Guild Hall can offer distinct advantages based on the player’s preferences. A Personal residence is perfect for solo players seeking some personal space or privacy with friends. It can serve as a cozy retreat when they need solitude, or a private hangout spot for their closest companions. Additionally, renting out rooms in your Personal residence to independent tenants could provide an extra source of income, assuming they behave well and contribute positively to the household.
Simultaneously, a Guild Hall could serve as an ideal venue for your fellow guild members to socialize and organize enjoyable group events like collective decoration projects, small get-togethers, or even fashion contests.
3. A wide variety of interesting locales to set up houses
One aspect of player housing I’d love to see expanded is offering a variety of intriguing locations for us to purchase and customize our homes. It’s understandable that houses would be available in the major cities of Horde and Alliance factions such as Orgrimmar and Stormwind, but it would be fantastic if we could also buy homes in other regions with more diverse landscapes like the Dragon Isles, Northrend, or Pandaria.
Expanding our exploration beyond Azeroth is an exciting prospect. This could mean purchasing homes in alternate realms like Shadowlands or Outland. While these locations might not offer picturesque vistas, they would certainly enhance the roleplaying experience for specific player classes by providing a deeper level of immersion.
A Death Knight character might reside in a home within Northrend while fighting against the Scourge. Conversely, a Druid character could dwell in the Emerald Dream where they nurture the growth of the latest World Tree.
4. Avoid server issues from Final Fantasy 14’s neighborhood system
One feature I hope World of Warcraft’s player housing doesn’t have is a neighborhood system like the one seen in Final Fantasy 14. Why, you may ask? Well, during my time playing Final Fantasy 14, the leader of the Free Company I’m a part of spent TWO YEARS trying to obtain a Medium house for our group. We’d been stuck in a smaller, cheap-looking house with barely any room due to a lack of available houses to purchase.
In Final Fantasy 14, the neighborhood system restricted house plots to small and limited sizes because housing in these neighborhoods consumed a significant amount of server resources. Regrettably, demand for houses consistently surpassed the supply, causing many players to endure lengthy waits of years before they could purchase a house, an expense that could amount to millions of Gil.
In addition, because there is a scarcity of land plots within Final Fantasy 14, players may be kicked out of their houses by the game and lose them if they do not log in for 40 consecutive days. It’s disheartening that this feature encourages players to keep their subscriptions active, even when they no longer wish to play or need a break from the game.
It’s worth noting that World of Warcraft has access to significantly more server resources compared to Final Fantasy 14. Consequently, if it adopts a Neighborhood system, it might be able to circumvent the server constraints that FF14 encountered in the past. By employing smart and flexible server phasing, issues similar to those faced by FF14 can be dodged, while simultaneously fostering a strong sense of community.
5. Don’t lock player housing behind a massive grind
In simpler terms, I’m wishing that purchasing a home isn’t too complicated. In most online role-playing games (MMORPGs), buying a house often involves accumulating a huge amount of money, and in certain games like Lords of the Rings Online, there are additional weekly costs to cover maintenance.
It’s unfortunate that many casual gamers don’t have guild members who can help them with extra funds or spare time to earn the large amounts of gold (hundreds of thousands) needed to buy a house in-game. I hope the cost isn’t excessively high for players with fewer resources. Ideally, players could acquire a house by completing a unique set of quests instead of relying on money.
In simpler terms, a house earned through a series of quests doesn’t necessarily need to be grand or lavish. It might be a modest, basic house that functions as an introduction to player housing for beginners. This starter house can help them learn how to place decorations, create rental rooms, and eventually afford larger, more expensive homes once they accumulate enough funds to live in their desired dream residence.
6. Have a player’s house be account-wide available with the rest of their Warband.
Among the most exciting aspects introduced by World of Warcraft: The War Within expansion is the introduction of Warbands. With this feature, items such as currency, equipment, toys, visual enhancements, and other belongings can now be shared across all characters on a single account. I found Warbands particularly appealing because it significantly sped up and simplified level advancement and gear collection for both my main character and secondary alternative characters.
I’m eagerly anticipating that when player housing becomes available, it will be integrated with the Warbands feature. This means that a player could share their house with all the characters on their account, eliminating the need to purchase a separate house for each character. At the very least, this setup would save players a significant amount of money by sharing one home.
At last, our Champions of Azeroth will finally have a place to call home
And there you have our list of the features we hope to see in World of Warcraft’s upcoming player housing. Even though I’m still a rookie to the game, I’m really looking forward to this feature.
It’d be enjoyable to unwind and take it easy in a home of your own, rather than always lodging at inns, in World of Warcraft. This shift would add a layer of realism and make the game feel even more engaging and immersive from Blizzard Entertainment.
I’m eagerly anticipating the day when I can call a house my own, adorning it with all the rewards I’ve earned from vanquishing Raid and Mythic+ dungeon bosses, once player housing is introduced alongside World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion in 2025.
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2024-12-10 17:48