Opinion: WoW’s Upcoming Player Housing
World of Warcraft has been long overdue for a player housing system. Competing MMORPGs such as Final Fantasy have found great success with their own player housing systems, adding a customizable flair to the world players roam. Massively multiplayer games are renowned for becoming a second life for dedicated players. Many games in this genre require massive time investments, after all. So, then, why has World of Warcraft delayed player housing for over 20 years after its launch in 2004? Is it worth visiting the idea so far into the game’s life? In this opinionated piece, I will be sharing what information World of Warcraft fans have so far—and my thoughts on it.
Table of Contents
What do we know so far?
World of Warcraft player housing will be coming as an evergreen feature in Midnight, the second installation of The Worldsoul Saga. It is currently assumed to be arriving in the game around winter of 2025, so in less than a year, although this timeline is not certain yet. This estimate comes from the revised official timeline, in which the autumn/winter juncture has been updated from a cryptic symbol to a recognizable housing one.
So far, it appears that housing will be warband compatible with cross-faction features available. As stated by developers, your Troll character can hang out with your Human character, even though their houses belong to opposite factions. Officially, it has been said that housing will be accessible to all players. You want a house? You get a house. Quite different from the current American economy, but I’ll take it. Decorations will also be compatible with cross-faction warbands. Your guildmates, friends, and random strangers you add for whatever reason will be able to visit your home.
While we currently don’t know how housing will be unlocked, it’s unlikely to involve investing and taking out loans and a second job to scrape by. No, housing will most likely be unlocked with quests. At launch, developers plan to have two zones for housing. One zone will be for the Horde players among us, and the other will be for the Alliance. The Horde housing neighborhood will be themed around Durotar and Azshara, along with some of the nearby coastal regions of Kalimdor. So, we can expect the environment to be harsh and wild yet beautiful in its own right, similar to the perception of the Horde. For the Alliance, the zone will be themed around Elwynn Forest, Duskwood, and Westfall, three iconic zones for Alliance players–especially Human mains.
Previously, I mentioned neighborhoods. Don’t worry, the HOA won’t demand that you repaint your entire house (hopefully). There will be two kinds of neighborhoods. Private and public neighborhoods will both be able to hold 50 houses, with public neighborhoods being randomly assigned and private neighborhoods more intended for guilds and large groups of friends. No bad landlords, no destructive tenants, just community. At least, that’s what’s intended.
Decorating is currently up in the air, but we know some are likely to include details from trailers and teasers. We may be able to mount the heads of our enemies on the wall, because who doesn’t want a decapitated Onyxia staring at them? Right? Personally, I would prefer the head of Wrathion. He’s an annoying brat of a dragon. Anyways. We may also have training dummies, armor displays, and other means of showing our feats and collections. Some decorations may be revenue-oriented, but most will be earned by playing (which technically is revenue-oriented…thanks, subscription fees!) so even broke players working in fast food can have a wonderful house. In game, that is. In real life, pfft, good luck!
We’ve seen two potential options for decor themes, folk and rugged. The folk theme appears homely and tavern-ish, with billowing drapes and hanging plants decorating the area and making it feel like home. The rugged theme feels more like a hunting lodge, with animal skins and spikes adorning your prowess.
What thoughts do I have?
Personally, as an avid World of Warcraft player, I am excited for housing to come to the game. When I occasionally play Final Fantasy, I always marvel at how World of Warcraft has struggled behind in some areas despite being more playable or enjoyable in others. Player housing will certainly make this second life of mine feel more lively.
I do have some concerns regarding the unlock process. Truly, accessible housing can only be accessible to so many players. Some players quest only to get to the max level before abandoning their entire quest log and running mythic+ dungeons. Other players spam dungeons to level up. If gold is a requirement, good luck getting those with a 9-5 job and kids to find the time to farm enough currency. However, if a player truly wants to take part in the player housing system, they will likely deviate from their typical playstyle to accomplish whatever goals or requirements there may be. Unless player housing requires PvP, I know that I personally will reach for it. The moment I have to fight another player, I’m quitting the game. And then resubscribing. Because I have a problem.
Some players also play not to collect, but to get the strongest character possible. For these players, housing may barely be useful. However, these players already ignore many systems of the game, ranging from the massive amount of toys to collect to the rare transmogs on the auction house. So, they may not be bothered at all. I wouldn’t know. Not with my several hours per week dedicated to rare mount farming.
Overall, though, it looks like player housing will be beneficial to much of the player base. While World of Warcraft’s developers have a sour history of not taking player feedback, we’ve seen a shift in this around the time of Dragonflight’s release. I am hopeful that this system will truly be evergreen and not quickly scrapped or backpedaled. I’m specifically staring down Warlords of Draenor with disdain as I type this. Ideally, the development team will schedule a lengthy testing period, and then continue to consider feedback as housing is released and as it progresses.
My suggestions, as a player
I would like to see player housing be more expansive than a single, humble building per player. A stable for mounts, some kind of structure specific for Hunters and their pets, perhaps a basement for Warlocks to keep their demons, or a cathedral extension for Priests to practice their holy (or shadow) arts would add dimension and personalization to housing.
Specific rooms for professions would also be a good addition. A garden for herbalists, a lab for alchemists, a quarry for miners…all of these would be excellent. These would serve as more than decor, in my idea. Herbalists could farm herbs in their garden. Alchemists could craft their potions in the dedicated space. Minerals would spawn in the quarry. This would be similar to the garrison structures from Warlords of Draenor, but they would have to keep up with updates. I still go to my garrison and harvest the reagents sometimes, even though they’re less than one gold a piece these days…
Depending on how one travels to their house, a rest system may be cool to have. If there’s a specific toy that quickly takes you to your house, similar to the Dalaran or Garrison Hearthstones, then having the option to rest your character to restore resources may be workable. If housing is available to leveling characters, maybe resting would cause old-world regenerating resources, such as the Garrison Cache (goodness, I’m referencing Warlords of Draenor a lot) to regenerate faster. This is less relevant for max-level toons, but it could be nice for newer players catching up. Also, resting could cause instance resets to reset their limit, but I can see this causing some problems. Perhaps if it had a limit, or only reset the limit for older instances, it might work.
Finally, portals. An upgrade that brings a portal room to our plot would be worthwhile, even if the requirements involved quite a bit of time or gold investment. Speeding up travel and freeing your Hearthstone location by going from Dalaran (via Hearthstone) to Orgrimmar/Stormwind and then taking another portal from the capital’s portal room has been a common tactic, deemed portal hopping. What if our house could host a few portals of our own choosing?
I think the development team has a good start, overall, but a few of these additions could add to the housing experience.
Conclusion and summary
Player housing is coming to World of Warcraft in Midnight, the middle point of The Worldsoul Saga. It is intended to be an evergreen feature, one that is accessible to all players and has the potential to evolve as the game continues. The requirements to own a house will be sparse and easily finished. Currently, developers have teased at decorative styles and other features that will make housing personable. In this article, I raised concerns (and solutions) regarding housing, but overall I do feel good about this. And devs, if you see my suggestions and implement them, I want a cut of the profits, please!
