Housing in Final Fantasy XIV has always been a tense subject, with many dismayed by the previous system and still more struggling with the even more random nature of the new housing lottery. However, the most recent housing lottery, concluding on January 21, got especially messy, as would-be homeowners turned the pettiness up to 11.
From word-of-mouth stories of people mass-reporting people who bid on houses to full-on examples of post-win gloating, FFXIV’s usually fantastic community was decidedly toxic over the testy topic of this lottery. The most infamous post from this cycle? A new homeowner bought a large house just to spite a Free Company that threatened them. Twitter user DozerCat shared the placard of the new homeowner.
There was a huge rise in petty revenge in this housing lottery, with a half dozen stories of people doing things like mass reporting people who bid on houses, buying houses just to spite people, writing passive-aggressive things in housing descriptions, and just generally crazy stuff going on.
The Final Fantasy XIV Reddit was filled with tales of petty revenge, stories of gangs of FC members harassing potential bidders, and other drama surrounding houses. However, in a purge over the last few days, moderators removed many offending posts, with just tweets left to prove they existed. Posts such as screenshots of alleged mass reports were removed to keep the housing discussion civil. Although there are still a few salty posts about it.
Much of the frustration comes from the fact that the random lottery has solved the initial hurdle of making people able to get a house, but not the underlying issues. For instance, Free Companies (Guilds in FFXIV) take over entire housing wards. While a Free Company could only own a single home, in the past, they could own multiple. And they’re able to relocate at will to secure more.
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Additionally, there’s nothing to stop players from creating multiple Free Companies with similar names and taking over multiple residencies. The only way to prevent this kind of exploitation would be direct moderation, something Square Enix is clearly not looking to enforce.
Overall, the Final Fantasy XIV housing crisis has only partially been eased by the recent addition of new wards and a new system. Greedy players will always exploit the system, and even a brand-new Island Sanctuary and many alternative options for content mean that some players are permanently locked out of one of FFXIV’s most divisive features.
For more Final Fantasy XIV news, guides, and info, check out All loot drops from Mount Ordeals (Extreme) in Final Fantasy XIV on Pro Game Guides
Michael lives in the UK, but wishes he lived in Eorzea. A life-long gamer, Four years ago, he ditched a "real" job to write about video games for a living, and hasn't looked back. When not guiding players how to get the latest mounts, crafting recipes, and in-game goodies, he spends his time nurturing an unhealthy addiction to MMOs and gacha games.