Starting in Patch 6.1, housing in Final Fantasy 14 is resolved via a lottery pull, instead of the previous first-come, first-serve basis. However, when the first lottery was pulled, several lots erroneously selected entry 0 as the winner, causing many plots to become impossible to claim, even at plots with a single bidder.
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After a lengthy process of identifying and fixing the issue, then restoring the lottery data, Final Fantasy 14’s Lottery System is working as intended. With its final maintenance done, players who experienced the glitches with the Empyeum Housing Lottery can claim their plots of land until the morning of May 26th, at which time the Housing Lottery will begin its normal nine-day cycle once more. The in-game interface currently states the plots must be claimed by May 17th, but this is an error Final Fantasy 14 is aware of, and which players can safely disregard.
Many players who lost their housing lotteries to the nonexistent winning number 0 have already received the full refund of their bid. However, now that the lottery is fixed, some of these players will find they have won a housing plot after all. While these players will have essentially won a free housing plot for their trouble, Final Fantasy 14 is adding an NPC in 6.2, which will allow players to voluntarily return their gil refunds if their conscience demands it.
Many players are relieved to find some of their FF14 housing woes are over for now. The period of uncertainty caused a great deal of stress for players and the Final Fantasy 14 development team alike. Many players also find the impending gil donation NPC an adorable expression of Japanese social etiquette, and even if many players will probably keep their gil, having the option to return it is ultimately a fantastic idea.
Of course, plenty of players are frustrated at the entire mess. Despite the success of the new Crystalline Conflict PvP mode and the new Dragonsong’s Reprise (Ultimate) fight, Patch 6.1 has been contentious between the Housing Lottery Glitch and Final Fantasy 14’s recent crackdowns on third-party tools. Director and producer Naoki Yoshida has apologized to the community no less than a dozen times over the last month about the issues and has promised the development team is hard at work to continue improving the game in the future.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.
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Source: Final Fantasy XIV
