FFXIV housing guide: Lottery system and tips for buying a house

Getting a house in Final Fantasy XIV is probably one of the hardest things players do in the game. The system was recently revamped to make getting a plot less time-consuming, but it is still near impossible for players to get a house from the lottery system.

In the Jan. 10 update, the developers added new wards to the housing districts, creating 1,800 new plots in each world. They also decided to unpause the automatic demolition of houses, which means that players are required to enter their personal housing to avoid losing it. While these things will do some damage control on the state of housing in Final Fantasy XIV, it is unlikely to fix it.

The lottery system in Final Fantasy XIV explained

The addition of the lottery system allows players to put in a bid for a house, and if they’re lucky, their number will get pulled. The housing lottery has two phases: an entry period and a results period. The entry period is five days long and players can find the house they want and put a bid on it. The results period is four days long and allows players to claim their plot if they won or retrieve their money if they lost.

Players may only enter a bid for one plot per entry period, and they can place their bids by going up to the plot and interacting with the placard in front of it. Then, players will need to wait until the results period, at which point they can go back to the plot and see if they’ve won. If you forget where you’ve bid, go to your Timers menu (Ctrl+U) and click on “Estate.” Then, click on Housing Lottery Status, and it will show you which house you bid on.

Tips for buying a house in Final Fantasy XIV

Buying a house in Final Fantasy XIV may be harder than any other content in the game. There are some tips that players can use to increase their chances of getting one, but it will take a lot of effort to figure out which plot will give you the best chances.

The plot size matters

In each ward, including the subdivision of that ward, there are 40 small plots, 14 medium plots, and six large plots. There are 30 wards, some of which are Free Company only wards and others are only for personal buyers. The placard in each ward will tell players whether Free Companies can bid for the plot, personal buyers can bid for the plot, or both.

The best chance of getting a house is bidding for a small one. There are a wide variety of small plots in the game, far more than the medium or large plots, so smalls have less competition for them. Before the automatic demolition of housing, players would see anywhere from 30 to 100 players bidding on a small plot and far larger numbers for mediums or larges.

The location matters, too

Not only is the size of the actual plot a part of the equation when it comes to which houses are going to have fewer bidders on it, but the location of the housing district also matters. Lavender Beds and Shirogane are often the two housing districts that have the most competition because of how beautiful the scenery is. Mist is right behind them since there are some nice-looking plots and a beach. Goblet and Emperyum are a little less chaotic when it comes to the number of bidders because the location is quite harsh and doesn’t have the beauty that the other housing districts have.

If you’re not picky about where you’re going to live, Goblet is your best bet. It’s not the best-looking ward around and many players aren’t enamored with it being tied to Ul’dah either. But it is the best for getting a plot since there are fewer bidders in that district.

Once you’ve narrowed down the housing district, then it’s time to narrow down the plot. There are plenty of plots that are just average in both beauty and location. But some plots will have a lot of competition if they’re near a Market Board and Retainer Bell or are in a beautiful area.

Picking a plot that is far away from these things and in an average-looking location, or even an undesirable location, will increase your chances of getting the house if there are fewer bidders on it.

Waiting until the last minute to bid

Because the entry period is five days long, players have that amount of time to put in their bids, and many of them will bid on a plot during the course of those five days. But for people who really want to secure a plot, they’ll wait until the last minute and use strategy.

Waiting until the very last minute will help players determine which plot to bid on. A spreadsheet or notebook is helpful to note down which plots have the smallest number of bids on them. Head to different wards and look at the housing plots, and it will show you how many bidders are on that plot.

If you’re not picky about a spot, you can put in a bid on the plot with the smallest number of players on it, giving you the best odds that your number will be pulled. If you are picky about a spot, try ward-jumping to see if that plot is available in more than one ward and put in a bid on the one with the smallest number of players.

Players can easily find what plots are available for purchase by opening up the ward menu in any of the major cities, or at the NPC in the housing district. The menu will show a list of houses and who owns them, or a price if the housing plot is up for bid. Players can then write these down and visit each one to see if the number of bidders is high or low.

Other than waiting for the last minute to put in a bid to increase your odds of getting a house, picking a location that might not be ideal, and settling for a smaller plot with less competition on it, there’s not much else players can do to maximize their chance of getting a house. It really just comes down to a willingness to settle and determination in finding plots with the least amount of bidders. They’ll also have to have lady luck on their side to pull the winning number and claim a rare plot of land.