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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizzard comments on the status of guild housing
by Matt Low 
Feb 17th 2010 at 7:00PM
The topic of player housing continues to crop up as a question on the official forums. Blizzard has stated that guild halls or guild housing will not to be included in the game (at least, not any time soon).
The last game I participated in which had guild housing was Guild Wars. Inside, it stored various mementos and trinkets from different epic quests or sigils that my guild had won in the Hall of Heroes (and this was a long time ago, mind you). But that was it! There wasn't much to do from a PvE standpoint. I think we had our own vendor and a "Guild Lord" (someone like Drek or Vanndar Stormpike in Alterac Valley). Later versions of the game had guilds attacking other guilds on their turf. The guild hall in this respect played a huge PvP component the game because the hall you selected would also be your home base complete with various terrain advantages and defenses if you were "attacked" by other guilds.According to Bornakk:
While this originally came up before I was around, I think this has been answered at some BlizzCons since then. While we think this could be a fun idea, we also like the idea of seeing a lot of people in cities and don't want to make main cities feel like ghost towns - if you need an example of this head to Silvermoon (yeah, that's a cheap shot, I know). So for now this idea remains an interesting idea but we'd have to make sure it fits into the game well and meets our expectations which are pretty high for something like this.
Now that would be cool.
Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be a purpose to having a guild hall in the game. However, I'm not going to completely discount the idea. Just because the developers have said they're ruling it out now doesn't mean it won't be included later in the future. Players continued to ask about flying around in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, right? All it takes is a new expansion, but at least we're getting it.
I'm shotgunning the Beer Garden.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)
windstalker668 Feb 17th 2010 9:17PM
I just don't see the point of player housing, both guild and individual. I played Asheron's Call and all that it added was another thing to waste time on. I mean don't get em wrong I love to play games to have fun and waste time, but I want to feel like I was being productive. Running instances, doing dailies, and PvP are all productive and fun and I can chat with my guild when I do them. Housing would add nothing, sit in a house with your guildmates.......and do nothing? I mean you are chatting on vent or guild chat already, if you need to meet, a city is only a hearthstone away.
As far as decorations and stuff go, if I want to play virtual Barbie/LEGO I will play the Sims, they do it very very well.
Raze Feb 17th 2010 9:19PM
You need help if you really think kiling a fictional lich king is any more productive than building a fictional house.
Or doing anything fictional for that matter. It's a video game. If you're concerned about productivity, there's real life for that.
Jay Feb 17th 2010 9:56PM
My first real MMO was EQ2, and my guild hall and personal house were wonderful. Second MMO, LoTRO had guild and personal housing that was meh at best, but coming to WoW, despite so much more to do seems empty.
Housing is fun, housing creates a tie to the game and for me and I bet some other people too housing is more important than the latest 24 man raid (Something I will never have the ability to do).
Oh well.
ben Feb 17th 2010 9:44PM
Couple silly ideas from me:
A stable that holds the mounts that the guild members use most often
A library for lore nerds
A kitchen
A workshop
A main hall with a trophy case, maybe tapestrys of screenshots
A dining hall, filled with waiters, a large table ( or small tables), a fire place, and a place to chill out and talk to guildies
icepyro Feb 17th 2010 11:05PM
I'm kind of torn, but the more I think about it, the more doable it is.
Honestly, this is not that hard of an issue. Seriously how many guilds would use a guildhouse? Especially if we are not talking anything spectacular. Want to make sure the towns are not ghosttowns? Don't put everything in the house. How about the standard guild vendor who doubles as an innkeeper making it hearth-able. Instance the place so you don't get trade chat or lfg, etc. People who do those things will not hang around. No bank access, but maybe a closet or trophy case... say like a gimped bank but only accessible inside guild hall. With the auction houses being outside and closer to actual banks, people would be more likely to put mementos and not useful items in there. There is a portal in every city that takes you there. The standard door out takes you to some default city (there has to be a way out, but you may not like it). You can also purchase portals to other cities (like Dalaran). The whole deal also costs some amount of gold. So if a guild doesn't care about this kind of thing, they can simply not have it. Those that have mad excess gold or do care can have a full array of portals, npc's and decoration. With cataclysm, Blizzard could opt to make access a guild talent (hmm, do I want this RP-style perk or this professions perk?) What do you think the top raiders who don't care about RP will choose?
Sure it's resources, but really, with it being so gimped unless the guild is really willing and wanting, it's not like many will hang out there and keep the instance open.
As for me, I would settle for the guild-related npcs to occupy an inn that has a couple extra features than a barmaid instead of being in whatever corner they happen to be in the city of your choice. That way, guild business can still happen in a place that feels like a place of community without even all the stuff I just discussed. And really, that's all I want from Blizzard on this: To feel like they want guilds to have a sense of community and a home.
Newbie McNewb Feb 18th 2010 12:19AM
Anyone played Ultima Online? My first ever MMORPG (and I still have an active account and one that gets activated often enough to keep my second house)
The housing in that is so much fun, adds another whole aspect to playing the game - though dunno if it would work in WoW, WoW tends to be all focused on one thing and one thing only (combat/killing things taking their stuff) whereas in UO you can if you want to get along quite well without ever going out to kill things =)
Not saying one is better than the other, they're both different.
But, being able to design your house, make a stable, a work area for your blacksmith, a room for your tailor, a garden where you grow your plants, and just a general trophy room to show off rares you've collected, or the "useless" items that you collect just because you like them, really does add a LOT to the game experience =)
As I said though, not sure it would work in WoW, there's a different mindset in this game =)
Ringo Flinthammer Feb 18th 2010 12:41AM
Not to mention that UO had to create additional landmasses since people turned the original world into a giant suburb. Non-instanced housing has to be planned for since the very beginning.
Cathra Feb 18th 2010 12:23AM
So someone tell me what the gated/instances area In stormwind is? Please? I'm dyin to know for 5 years now.
Avan Feb 18th 2010 12:28AM
It's a gated community filled with the most marvelous wonders, including a bricks, a wall, and cobbled stone street.
Ringo Flinthammer Feb 18th 2010 12:37AM
In alpha, they told us it was where they were planning on putting in player housing. Obviously, they changed their mind on that, but that was its stated purpose.
weltallica Feb 18th 2010 1:32AM
I just want a TROPHY ROOM.
Onyxia's head on the wall, to show I've done the instance. A chest of stars, to show you've done Algalon.
And a wardrobe to show all the TIER PIECES you've successfully acquired (and can click on them to see yourself wearing them), rather than having them sitting in pieces in a bag somewhere. People would start farming old world instances just to get every piece of every tier.
Bizzy Feb 18th 2010 1:44AM
Alright Guild Housing!!! Blizz, I NEED this so I can chill at my house, log on to WoW, and.... chill at my toon's house?
I'm not getting the fascination with guild housing, I'm sorry
aboveheaven Feb 18th 2010 2:44AM
well that is kinda crappy really knocks down my excitement for guild advancement. Does this mean that guild advancement will just be another token shot like achievements which does not actually breath any new life into this game :P
PirateHunter Feb 18th 2010 2:56AM
Guild housing? Didn't we just get a new one of those? As I recall, its large, with several wings, and at the south of Icecrown....
RetPallyJil Feb 18th 2010 3:59AM
Don't think of it as a guild HOUSE. Think of it as a guild trophy room.
A small two-story thing where visible tokens of guild achievements can be see. Ony's head over the fireplace, etc. Anyone could go in and marvel at the tabard banner hanging over the big table. Wow! Look there's Frostmourne in the umbrella rack! I want to join THIS GUILD!
Mr. Smite Feb 18th 2010 4:38AM
I'm sorry, but anyone who has been in a guild with a Tier 3 Guild Hall in Everquest 2 (as just one example) cannot look me straight in the eye and say they have 'no purpose'. They are absolutely epic and really make you feel a part of something monumental (no pun intended). What is a guild in WoW? A few letters below your name and nothing else. There is no way you'll be remembered in the game at all, no mark you can leave. No way to affect an ever-evolving world. A Guild Hall not only gives context, a tangible presence for the guild you've put so much effort in to, but a place to remember you by in game that will forever be 'yours'. When you log out of the game as it is now, you may as well have never existed. Sad but true. My entire guild in EQ2 are proud of and put so much effort into their guild hall, I get tingles every time I walk up the path past the giant fountain to those enormous gates.
There are so many potential uses for a guild house (or player house for that matter) it's not even funny.
- New holiday rewards like furniture and house critter pets (rather than lame temporary costumes and one use items)
- Trophies from raids/achievements
- Wintergrasp/Battlemasters in the guild hall
- Badge vendors
- Other vendors and npcs (food/drink, tabards etc etc)
- Actually fleshing out the game instead of it just being about grinding heroic/daily after heroic/daily after heroic/daily
- New quests/epic questlines to unlock perks for the hall (buffs etc)
- Guild Bank
- Crafting stations, Auction Houses...debatable. This is the one thing where I agree with Blizzard I think, it's probably best to leave them in the cities although frankly the cities are fairly deserted as it is (apart from Lagoran of course).
I guarantee most, if not all, of the people pointlessly rallying against the inclusion of housing would love it as soon as it was added, if not for the immersion then for something else to do other than grind.
TLDR version: lolol go bak to Simz k? lol
Dude Feb 18th 2010 5:13AM
LoTRO has guild (kinship) housing and they are great. The RP potential in meetings and get togethers is great, and the combined items and decor that players contribute brings about a great feeling of community, which is a bit lacking in WoW due to arguments over loot and excuses for not attending raids.
archer75 Feb 18th 2010 9:17AM
You simply make the housing instances in the major cities. So people still have to go to the cities and they won't be ghost towns.
Blizzard played around with player housing before the game ever launched. You can still see the housing instance in stormwind today. And if you ever saw screenshots of developer island you would see the various models they have for player housing. It will happen at some point.
Orisi Feb 18th 2010 9:30AM
Guild Housing adds somewhere for guildies to meet up and have discussions amongst themselves without flooding either general, /say, or their own guild chat. some people like to just sit and natter in their guild from time to time without doing anything.
If you removed bank access, trade chat and AH access from Guild Housing and kept it as City specific, then people would still spend most of their time in the cities. Guild housing allows somewhere safe for people to just do nothing without being flooded by the chats they don't want to see.
Come Cataclysm guild housing would also make the new guild progression system much easier; for example, having access to these guild-earned recipies we've been fearing about. why not have the vendor for ALL guild recipies within a guild's Hall, and they are then unlocked through the progression? Or linking a guild-heavy dungeon run, for progession, by forcing the raid to register the run within the Hall?
c_tedeschi Feb 18th 2010 9:33AM
I don't think it'd turn cities into a ghost town anymore than the cities already are (or are not). I think you have a guild house that enters and exits directly into the cities, that would be sufficient in encouraging the flow of traffic in and out of each town. Maybe have a portal in each guild house allowing choice of which city to exit out into...that would be awesome. I think it'd encourage people to go into the cities.
Besides, I'm not a huge fan of hanging around the cities anyway, but plenty of people are...so I don't think that creating a guild house would necessarily discourage people from hanging in the city with their non-same guild friends.
Hope that makes sense.