FFXIV Online Housing Update – Server maintenance, lottery, more

Final Fantasy XIV Online players would have noticed that they could not connect to the servers throughout the day. This is due to the servers being offline for developer Square Enix to implement an update that sees the Housing feature's return in-game.

Since the release of the Patch 6.1 update, Newfound Adventure, many have experienced some in-game and technical issues regarding the Housing feature since its launch with the Endwalker expansion. This guide will summarise the server maintenance period date and times and all the changes implemented in Final Fantasy XIV Online.

Final Fantasy XIV Online Housing Update – Server downtime

Square Enix has taken down all Final Fantasy XIV servers to address multiple issues regarding the game’s Housing system for a maintenance period.

We have a new update from #FFXIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida regarding the ongoing issue with the housing lottery system and information on the next lottery cycle.

🌐 https://t.co/Jixq8CkElmpic.twitter.com/jdPvLjd0wE

— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) May 13, 2022

Players were alerted that the developers had temporarily suspended the Home World Transfer Service the half-hour before the maintenance period commenced.

How long will server maintenance last?

The server maintenance period will last approximately seven hours, after which the Housing update will go online. Square Enix has outlined the times at which the maintenance period will start and end globally:

• 16th May 2022 from 2:00 to 9:15 AM GMT
• 16th May 2022 from 3:00 - 10:15 AM BST
• 16th May 2022 from 12:00 to 7:15 PM EST

Final Fantasy XIV Online Housing Update – Lottery numbers issues

Game director Naoki Yoshida discussed this in a Follow-up blog post uploaded to the Lodestone, where he thanked players for their patience following Patch 6.1. He noted players had experienced several issues affecting lottery results data, for which this update will first restore the data before resuming the service after that.

All winning lottery numbers should now display the correct information for purchases to be processed. Subsequently, this update will lift all temporary suspensions on affected plots and relocations across all servers.

Players who hold winning lottery numbers should have their purchases processed by 26th May 2022 at 2:59 PM GMT | 3:59 PM BST and 27th May 2022 at 12:59 AM EST. The developer also announced when the next lottery cycle would begin, which should give players another opportunity to acquire land and plots.

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It’s advised to claim your land or plot before starting the next lottery cycle before losing it. The developer will continue to provide reminders for players to finalize their purchases before the deadline runs out.

The next lottery cycle will go live across all servers on 26th May 2022 at 3 PM GMT | 4 PM BST and 27th May 2022 at 1 AM EST. This cycle will have a “five-day entry period.” The results period will then run for four days following the entry period.

Final Fantasy XIV Online Housing Update – “Winning Lottery Number of 0” system error

Players who have been refunded with Gil after receiving a “Winning Lottery Number of 0” system error were informed that they had won the lottery. Despite having been refunded the Gil due to this error, it won’t affect their eligibility to claim the plot of land.

Square Enix will be releasing an NPC in the next patch update, where you can “voluntarily return the deposit” that was previously refunded. They will be announcing when the rollback for Gil refunds once the NPC is available for release.

Yoshida once again thanked players and issued his “deepest apologies for the trouble and inconvenience these issues have caused.” He has reiterated that the development team intends to “do everything in our power to safely restore your data, fix any remaining issues, and bring you all a fair and functional housing lottery system.”

For more fantastic game content, check out our section dedicated to Final Fantasy XIV Online news, updates, guides, features, and more.

Featured image courtesy of Square Enix.