World of Warcraft has revealed the first major details about housing. We have all the information for you about the new feature.
When Blizzard announced a few months ago that World of Warcraft would finally get housing, the anticipation was high. But at the same time, there was also a lot of uncertainty, as more than a first trailer was not released. Now Blizzard has published a significantly longer blog entry and has already revealed many design ideas for housing and some details.
They spoke about the wishes but also concerns of the community – such as whether there would be monthly costs for the house, whether one can have neighbors, and whether there will be a cash shop.
Costs, Rent, Living Space
One concern of the players was that one could lose the right to their own house or that the spots – as in some other MMORPGs – would be limited.
The developers have found clear words on this:
- Everyone should be able to have a house; there is no limit.
- Houses are “forever.” You do not have to pay monthly rent, and no one can take your living space away if you are inactive.
- The starting price should be affordable. Everyone should be able to participate in the feature if they want to – therefore, a house is inexpensive to acquire.
There are two areas where you can live
Blizzard knows that the desire for as much freedom as possible in choosing a living space is important, but they had to agree on a compromise here. Because either they focus on a few zones and invest a lot of work to make them really good – or they create many zones, which would compromise quality.
Therefore, the developers decided that there will be one place for each faction where the “neighborhood” is located.
- Alliance characters can choose a house in an environment inspired by Elwynn, Westfall, and Duskwood.
- Horde characters will move into an accommodation whose environment is reminiscent of Durotar, its coast, and Azshara.
Neighborhoods – How big is it all?
Your houses are not individual buildings that are loaded as a separate instance. Instead, each house stands in a neighborhood consisting of around 50 plots. This means that you always have potential neighbors nearby whom you can invite to your house or from whom you can get ideas and inspiration for your own decoration.
Especially for role players, this should become a real celebration and make neighborhoods a new hotspot for many RP events.
If you have a neighborhood next to Xxshadowroxxorxx and other unpronounceable names – no worries. You can move and establish your house in another neighborhood as long as there is an available spot there.
However, you can also plan a neighborhood with your friends, guild members, or members of your communities.
The issue with the cash shop
Since it is a major topic in the community, Blizzard likely wanted to address it quickly to provide clarity:
Yes, there will be decorations for housing in the cash shop.
However, Blizzard emphasizes that the vast majority of decorations will be available in the game and completely without real money. The options in the cash shop will be offered to a similar extent as with mounts, toys, or transmogs. Most will be easily found in the game.
On one hand, this brings some disillusionment, but on the other hand, there is already an idea of what is to come for the player base.
A feature that stays and is never finished
Finally, Blizzard emphasizes that housing is a feature that has come to stay. It is meant to be an “evergreen feature” that will be expanded over several patches and expansions. It should never be considered “finished.” Continuous new systems and expansions for housing are planned.
With this, World of Warcraft has already made it clear that most of the community’s wishes have been heard. At first glance, the feature seems exactly as most would want it. Now Blizzard just has to prove that they can keep these promises.
Let’s just hope that no feature comes to housing that makes it into the list of the 5 worst features of WoW.
