Final Fantasy XIV’s housing system is changing things up again. During the latest Letter from the Producer Live, director and producer Naoki Yoshida detailed how Endwalker’s release will implement a new lottery system, change up a few rules, and add homes in Ishgard. If you’ve ever logged into Final Fantasy XIV at 3 a.m. to the crushing disappointment of the MMO’s housing race, the new update may offer relief.

It was only a small section of a nearly seven-hour livestream, but Endwalker’s housing changes are a big deal for those still on the hunt for a place of their own. The biggest takeaway from the presentation is that the development team is looking to level the playing field—they’re removing advantages landowners currently have in the race to buy new homes and adding in a lottery. So, if you already own a house, there’s no more skipping the hidden timer or even the new system by using the relocation option. Instead, relocating means you’ll have to participate in those processes, too.

The changes also apply to the new district, Empyreum, opening up in Ishgard with 24 Wards and 24 subdivisions—1,440 plots per server. Unfortunately, you can’t buy any of those when Endwalker launches, but you can still tour them in version 6.0. It’ll be patch 6.1 when the market heats up with its changes, but the lottery details aren’t all set in crystal yet as Yoshida says they aren’t sure if every ward will use the new system or if there will be an allotment of plots available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Regardless of which they decide upon, the tools exist in the backend to accommodate expanding or cutting back on lottery-based wards as needed.

FFXIV Endwalker housing slide from the recent, final Live Letter.

Since its early days, housing in the realm has been a nightmare, and the system has long-faced issues with house flippers, trolls, and players that own entire neighborhoods. No more immediate relocating eliminates folks looking to cause Chaos through resetting the hidden timers non-homeowners suffer waiting through. However, folks selling Free Companies with houses attached look like they will continue to be a thing in Endwalker, just with some caveats.

Yoshida noted that you can no longer give a new member of a Free Company the leader rank, but didn’t specify what counted as “new” in Endwalker. Before, Free Companies could immediately purchase free plots of land, and someone looking to flip it could transfer ownership of the company and leave. That (sort of) ends the easy, quick exchange of sending someone 300 million Gil to sell you a plot that typically goes for less than one-fourth of that cost, but if you’re willing to wait a while, the transaction may still work out after losing the new status.

For those of us desperate to become Ser Aymeric’s neighbor in 6.1, it’s worth studying up on the new system just to make sure you’re prepared. So far, rules and updates also include changes like:

Removal of the land devaluation timer.
You must complete Litany of Peace in the main scenario to access Empyreum.
Free companies must have a minimum of four members and be rank six to enter the lottery.
Characters must be level 50 on one class/job, and Second Lieutenant or higher in their Grand Company to enter the lottery.
Entering the lottery requires depositing the full price of the plot.
- Clicking the placard reveals how many people have entered the lottery.
- You cannot withdraw once you’ve made the deposit, and you are only allowed one entry at a time.
- Losing the lottery will relinquish your funds; visit the housing placard to retrieve them within a limited time.
- Winning the lottery will give you a limited time to go to the placard and claim the plot.
- There is a 50% penalty for not claiming your plot.
All Worlds share a lottery schedule, with the lottery period and land acquisition period lasting several days each.

Historically, housing has opened up as soon as maintenance was over to a flood of players looking to beat everyone in a race to plots without timers. It’s a mess of disconnects, inconvenient timing, and only rewards those of us who spent hours practicing runs between Aetherytes. Yoshida explained he also wants all of the Wards to have an equal amount of plots available and that more infrastructure is on the way to offer further expansions. After the rundown on new rules, he even shared a peek at a new cafe-themed exterior to placate those of us a little ill over Housing Savage.

FFXIV Endwalker Expansion housing exterior, cafe during daylight.

Regardless of how the new rules may have you celebrating or kicking and screaming, Yoshida noted the team still wants feedback. They’re debating the pros and cons of how to implement the new system, so perhaps any pain points you’ve got still have a shot at a remedy before Endwalker launches in December.

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