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A Compendium on Housing
Schwa83b14_ESO
✭✭✭
Homestead has been out now for 2 months, and I felt compelled to post an assessment on ESO's foray into housing. I'm somewhat of a housing aficionado, in that if an MMO offers housing, I'll play the game because I love MMO's that offer housing. It's what compelled me to come back to ESO.
When the details about housing were released, I was very impressed. On paper, ESO housing looked like they were planning to compete with the big dogs in the MMO housing world (Everquest 2, Rift, Wildstar, LOTRO, SWTOR). However, the execution was flawed and in my opinion, if ZOS wants ESO to have a premier housing feature with a passionate and dedicated housing community, they will need to make some pretty big adjustments.
Let's first talk about housing recipes. Recipes are found at random throughout the world. There are several problems with this.
1. Recipes do not drop often enough. I play with a friend on a daily basis for about 3 hours every evening. Our play sessions consist of dungeons, delves, & questing. We loot and pillage everything. We often have play sessions with no recipes obtained between the two of us.
2. Recipes dropped have no rhyme or reason. For example, you would think if you are in Ebonheart Pact territory, recipes found would be in the racial styles of the faction, or common recipes not specific to a racial style.
3. Some of the FIRST recipes obtained are for outdoors. For many people, and newer players, you won't have a house with an outside right away as you'll have to earn the gold and the achievements to buy a house with a yard.
4. Duplicates were being found only a few weeks into the Homestead Patch. If there are as many housing items as ZOS claims, we should not be finding duplicates so early and so often.
In Summary, the biggest issues here are recipes should drop more often with more variation as well.
Now let's move on to the housing materials. Many have already posted about this, but there are two serious problems in this area.
1. Housing materials are TOO rare. Plain and simple, housing mats should be dropping off harvesting nodes far more often than they currently do.
2. Housing recipes generally require far too many of the materials needed. 7 heartwood to make a stool, along with 3 or 4 other ingredients? No thank you.
The combined problems with recipes and materials result in a "breadcrumb" style of housing progression. This hinders creativity and freedom. If you look at a game like Everquest 2 or Rift, the options for housing are vast and mostly easily accessible, allowing players a ton of open creativity and expression through housing.
The only explanation I can understand as to why they implemented housing this way was to drive players to the store, where a smorgasbord is offered to buy any housing item you could want. I have no problem with putting housing items in a cash shop, but when the discrepancy between in-game method vs. cash shop is so great, I find it appalling.
Housing offers no gameplay advantages to anyone. It doesn't make you a better or stronger player. It's simply an avenue for fun, creative, and expressive gameplay. So why is it put behind such large hindrances? Again, the only reason I can come up with is $$$$.
I truly hope ZOS is willing to make changes with their housing. They have a good foundation here, but it pales in comparison to housing systems found elsewhere. I believe they can do better, and do more to stimulate a dedicated housing community and economy. As it stands now, it's breadcrumbs in game or a smorgasbord in the cash shop.
When the details about housing were released, I was very impressed. On paper, ESO housing looked like they were planning to compete with the big dogs in the MMO housing world (Everquest 2, Rift, Wildstar, LOTRO, SWTOR). However, the execution was flawed and in my opinion, if ZOS wants ESO to have a premier housing feature with a passionate and dedicated housing community, they will need to make some pretty big adjustments.
Let's first talk about housing recipes. Recipes are found at random throughout the world. There are several problems with this.
1. Recipes do not drop often enough. I play with a friend on a daily basis for about 3 hours every evening. Our play sessions consist of dungeons, delves, & questing. We loot and pillage everything. We often have play sessions with no recipes obtained between the two of us.
2. Recipes dropped have no rhyme or reason. For example, you would think if you are in Ebonheart Pact territory, recipes found would be in the racial styles of the faction, or common recipes not specific to a racial style.
3. Some of the FIRST recipes obtained are for outdoors. For many people, and newer players, you won't have a house with an outside right away as you'll have to earn the gold and the achievements to buy a house with a yard.
4. Duplicates were being found only a few weeks into the Homestead Patch. If there are as many housing items as ZOS claims, we should not be finding duplicates so early and so often.
In Summary, the biggest issues here are recipes should drop more often with more variation as well.
Now let's move on to the housing materials. Many have already posted about this, but there are two serious problems in this area.
1. Housing materials are TOO rare. Plain and simple, housing mats should be dropping off harvesting nodes far more often than they currently do.
2. Housing recipes generally require far too many of the materials needed. 7 heartwood to make a stool, along with 3 or 4 other ingredients? No thank you.
The combined problems with recipes and materials result in a "breadcrumb" style of housing progression. This hinders creativity and freedom. If you look at a game like Everquest 2 or Rift, the options for housing are vast and mostly easily accessible, allowing players a ton of open creativity and expression through housing.
The only explanation I can understand as to why they implemented housing this way was to drive players to the store, where a smorgasbord is offered to buy any housing item you could want. I have no problem with putting housing items in a cash shop, but when the discrepancy between in-game method vs. cash shop is so great, I find it appalling.
Housing offers no gameplay advantages to anyone. It doesn't make you a better or stronger player. It's simply an avenue for fun, creative, and expressive gameplay. So why is it put behind such large hindrances? Again, the only reason I can come up with is $$$$.
I truly hope ZOS is willing to make changes with their housing. They have a good foundation here, but it pales in comparison to housing systems found elsewhere. I believe they can do better, and do more to stimulate a dedicated housing community and economy. As it stands now, it's breadcrumbs in game or a smorgasbord in the cash shop.
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