Square Enix clarifies the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV housing lottery (Update)

‘Lotteries operate on a 9-day cycle ‘

[Update: Just in case there was any doubt, Square Enix once again provided another set of rules for the Final Fantasy XIV housing lottery on today’s producer stream in the form of a tweet that you can view below. It’s kind of important! Housing fiends know what I’m talking about.]

The inherently stressful Final Fantasy XIV housing lottery is coming up with patch 6.1, and new details are out if you’re itching for them.

Here are the big new takeaways from the Final Fantasy XIV housing lottery system blog:

• Lotteries operate on a 9-day cycle (Earth time), and are divided into two periods: five days of entry, and four days of results (where you can confirm said results).
• To qualify, you need to have at least one class at level 50 and “hold the rank of second lieutenant or above in one of the Grand Companies” [an in-game NPC faction].
• If you represent a free company (FC, or player guild), the FC needs to be rank six or above, have four or more members, be a member for 30 days or longer, and be authorized to purchase or relinquish land
• To enter the lottery, you head to a placard in the header image. When the lottery is open, you can select “enter lottery” and deposit the required sum (the example is three million gil): if you lose the lottery, you will get a 100% refund, though you have 90 days to pick it back up.
• “Plots that are emptied during the lottery period will be marked as currently unavailable, and will become available for purchase during the next lottery period.”
• You can’t accept refunds or confirm lottery results from prior worlds, only your current one

Here's a quick review of the new housing lottery system and purchasing schedule. 🏠 pic.twitter.com/noyBDspxm3

— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) April 1, 2022

There’s also a new change in 6.1 that avid land-buyers may want to note: “Previously, land prices followed the price reduction system, and players who relocated received a refund of 30% of the minimum value of their old plot. However, starting in Patch 6.1, the price reduction system will be retired, and housing plots will retain the value at which they are initially listed. Therefore, the notation for the relocation refund has been changed to “approximately 15% of the value of the old plot.” Please be assured that while the notation has changed, the amount received by players remains the same.”

If it sounds confusing to you and you don’t play: it kind of is! But after all these years it’s the best that the team could come up with to make people feel like they have some sort of shot at getting land in Final Fantasy XIV. Other MMO producers have struggled to provide a good system with open land, and often resort to instanced content (which is a fine and realistic way of handling modern game design, but there’s something wacky and special about how Square Enix carries on the traditions of Ultima Online and its brethren). While it’s not perfect, it’s neat that there’s at least one major game out there upholding the tradition of old school player housing.