Ask any Final Fantasy XIV player what the most difficult stuff in the game is, and the majority will tell you that it is the extremely terrifying process of getting a house in one of Eorzea’s numerous neighborhoods. Square Enix has tried to make the procedure more accessible throughout the years, but they have yet to find a perfect solution other than adding more wards. Patch 6.3 does precisely that, and the firm has published a new list of which wards are now Free Company or private buyer exclusive. Wards are categorized depending on housing demand, but the process is becoming increasingly complicated and daunting.

The issue with adding wards and altering access to them is that they are frequently reclassified, there is little consistency, and there is no way to check what they are currently configured as in-game without physically walking to the ward and clicking on an empty plot sign. Just as someone starts to remember which properties they may buy, the wards swap and the process begins again.

Square Enix’s recent update also included several wards that are accessible to both Free Companies and individual purchasers. However, due to the inclusion of additional wards, the list has grown quite long. For example, the first six wards are Free Company only, followed by a collection of ones set to both, a couple set to private, and then the 25th one is Free Company only at random, and so on. Furthermore, wards in contemporary data centers are classified differently than older servers.

Owning a house in Final Fantasy XIV is exciting, but the journey to get there may be exhausting. The game now employs a lottery method to acquire one, so once you’ve gotten through the “which wards are which” boss, you’ll have to hope that luck is on your side. Let’s hope Square Enix develops a more enjoyable house shopping experience in the future.