A monitor displaying a house with sale sign, 'Player owned' on bottom. Created by me in Paint
Real estate or 'Player owned' housing in gaming is a popular feature that allows the player to call an area of the game "Home".
The first time I experienced Player housing was in Runescape,
I sunk so much gold into the skill trying to make a great looking house for my character to chill in. After going broke (in-game) several times I finally got my house to a satisfying point and spent the rest of my free time having my character sit in the house while I messaged friends.
The 'throwing all my currency into a house' experience stuck with me and I haven't really tried player housing in another MMORPG afterwards because what was the actual point? Was it a way to keep players interested in that aspect of the game or maybe it was a feature introduced to help combat game currency inflation? I never took the time to do further research.
Recently though I've been playing New World and I've decided to re-examine player housing and figure out if it's worth the time and effort.
New World allows players to buy a house at any of the territories that has a town and a faction controlling it. I checked out the territories with access to water because whenever I am waiting for an Outpost Rush queue (PVP) or forming a group for a dungeon (PVE) I'll often wait by the water and begin fishing, so I figured owning a house by the water would best suit me.
I checked out all the coast territories.
And I was split between Reekwater with a fen right under the raised settlement.
Another option was Mourningdale with a pond just outside the settlement and a quick walk from player housing.
I decided on Mourningdale and after raising my settlement standing I purchased a house. Since this was my first house purchase, I was able to buy it for half its usual price.
ASynckronism - Home Owner!
The above screenshot lists the features of owning a house,
- Decorate the inside
- Fast Travel
- Trophy Buff aka the ability to place trophies which gives a passive character boost to whichever skill the trophy is based on.
I could've crafted a trophy for myself but my level with the furniture skill was... lacking to say the least.
I have nothing to say...
A quick jaunt to the marketplace and I was now an owner of a fishing trophy!
I once bought a fish THIIIIIS big!
Although on second glance now people might think I am a fishing fraud.
What did it take to get to this point?
The thought process of knowing what I wanted with a house and looking at each territory and choosing one took maybe 30 minutes.
Leveling the settlement standing to allow me to buy a house took maybe 2 1/2 hours.
Since it was my first house purchase it was half its usual price so it didn't hit my coffers too deeply.
Furnishing and decorating the house is going to take some time. Especially since I haven't been keeping any furniture I've received as loot drops.
If I want to keep my house bonuses I need to pay a house tax every week. Which if I don't play often, would be an eventual detriment to my game currency.
I think this is everything.
Owning an in-game house is just a part of the game experience. It didn't cost anything in terms of 'Premium currency'. Just time and in-game currency but it was still an investment. One that I think will bear more fruit than I realize the more that I play and invest in the house itself (Storage chests!).
If you've ever had a house in any game please feel free to post a picture and share your experience in the comments!
Thank you for following me on this housing journey and I hope you enjoyed reading it.