Player housing will be one of the most anticipated additions to World of Warcraft since its conception, so there’s a lot riding on its success. In fact, the game’s developers have avoided this feature in the past, despite most other MMORPGs having long since given players a place to call home. Houses need to be practical, customizable, accessible and fun, and developers have promised they will uphold all those aspects when this feature releases, likely at the end of this year.
It's a bold move to integrate player housing now, 20 years later, and amid the most ambitious and extensive expansion layout in the game's history no less. Getting it wrong could corrupt the entire experience of the Worldsoul Saga, souring delicate player relations and marring The War Within's winning streak. It's a gamble, to be sure, but World of Warcraft can pull it off with the right priorities.
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WoW's Draenor Garrisons Show What Not to Do
The closest World of Warcraft ever came to player housing in the past was Warlords of Draenor’s Garrison feature. However, this promising yet poorly integrated concept eroded the goodwill players had for custom spaces in the game. Players tended to isolate themselves within their garrisons due to it having all the amenities they could want. On top of this, the customization for Garrisons was dismal, leaving no real room for creativity or ownership.
Player housing needs to learn from those shortcomings and provide players with a varied, tailored experience, but one that doesn’t encroach on their gameplay. If there’s one thing WoW players will always jump at, it’s an opportunity to express oneself through unique combinations of cosmetics while also flexing their bravado and prowess. Using these existing player sentiments as a springboard is the safest option, so the already-beloved systems of mounts and transmogs are a good baseline for player housing content.
Paying Homage to Azeroth’s Unique Cultures
Whether it’s for role-playing or just simple immersion, every player needs to feel at home, and that means integrating varied decor and themes from all playable races and classes. Filling a house with bones, vials, and torn banners will suit a Forsaken, while a Tauren needs tribal motifs, totems, and skins. Every race should be catered to in terms of surroundings and decorations, if not at release, then certainly in the future.
The Elder Scrolls Online provides a great example of this, since, depending on their location, homes and their craftable decor are set to specific racial themes. Purchasing a property within the Nords’ snowy homeland pairs wonderfully with matching Viking-like decor, for example. It shouldn’t be a requirement, though. If a night elf player really wants to use Darkspear troll decor in an Ironforge-themed house, the sky should be the limit. Class-related items are also welcome, like Legion motifs for demon hunters or plenty of poisons, treasure, and daggers for rogues.
WoW’s Housing Should Have Tons of Collectibles
Regardless of whether a player intends to show off their homes to others in a public neighborhood, a house should reflect one’s truest self. It doesn’t have to be unique right down to every brick or floorboard, since WoW is an MMORPG, not a sandbox game, but details do matter. Players will already be able to choose between decor themes, such as ‘folk’ or ‘rugged,’ and this is a wonderful start. Moreover, the more eye-catching decor items should be collectible through crafting, raiding, achievements, or PvP as a way to show off determination and which parts of the game players excel at.
Integrating Pets and Mounts
Collecting trophies from powerful bosses or showing off the representative skulls of enemy players is just one way of displaying skill, but it can go much further than that. Going back to Elder Scrolls Online as inspiration, players can place a few of their mounts and pets in or just outside their houses, even giving them set actions and patrol paths. Pets and mounts are a huge part of WoW, so placing one’s favorites lounging around their homes would be a fantastic feature.
The Possibilities Are Endless
Houses could also have little arcade zones for mini-games like JewelCraft, pet battles, or other toys and quirky items to interact with. Having a library where one collects lore books or other souvenirs from around the world would be a welcome feature, encouraging exploration and discovery. Memorabilia from past expansions would also be appreciated, such as having artifact weapons mounted on walls or the Heart of Azeroth as a centerpiece.
What Player Housing Needs to Avoid
Rampant monetization is one aspect that would be a death sentence for this feature, but Blizzard seems well aware of this. Just like with pets and mounts, only a scant few decorations will be available through the Trading Post or the in-game shop, and hopefully that sentiment will remain intact. The quickest way to turn players against a new feature would be by making them pay real money, regardless of its supposed worth.
The first impression, also known as anchoring bias, is everything, so premium currency items should only be introduced later on to avoid the entire concept of player housing in WoW being associated with microtransactions.
One reason player housing has taken its sweet time arriving is likely due to hesitation based on the multiplayer aspect of the game. Putting too much solo content in an MMO can be a bad idea, as showcased in Warlords of Draenor. Since player housing is intended to be a permanent feature in World of Warcraft, it should avoid having vendors, banks, auction houses, or mission tables. Players are supposed to be wanderers and adventurers, so incentivizing isolation within one’s house could cause a considerable dissonance.
There Can Be Some Tangible Upsides to Visiting Home
Benefits to being home that don’t go overboard could involve receiving a buff for questing and open-world content or having one or two crafting tables. Death knights could have a Runeforge in their houses, and a barbershop-like wardrobe feature for transmogs and appearances could have a place. The creative potential for housing is truly limitless, and this is an opportunity World of Warcraft cannot afford to waste.
- Released
- August 26, 2024
- Base Game
- World of Warcraft
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard
