Massively OP’s Best of 2017 Awards: Best MMO Housing of 2017

By
Bree Royce
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Massively Overpowered’s end-of-the-year 2017 awards continue today with our award for Best MMO Housing, which was awarded to WildStar last year. MMORPGs eligible for this award can have launched in any year as long as they are still alive and still offer player housing; nominees should be judged based on the quality and depth of that feature and that feature alone. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end!

The Massively OP staff pick for Best MMO Housing of 2017 is…

WILDSTAR

​Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): Elder Scrolls Online. It’s not just the options it grants but the tech tying it into the world in ways that seem non-instanced but, well, kinda is. I’m someone who enjoys non-instanced housing for guild vs. guild wars, but if more companies followed ZeniMax’s example, I might be able to get behind instanced housing for PvP games as well as PvE. Runner up: ArcheAge. It’s let me down in tons of ways, but it’s still given birth to farming and animal husbandry in persistent worlds. I just wish it were monetized better so it didn’t feel like such much whale-bait.

​Brendan Drain (@nyphur): EQ2 still. Best housing designer ever!

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): I am good with WildStar getting the nod again this year. I think games like RIFT and EverQuest II have phenomenal housing systems, and I had a lot of fun with Elder Scrolls Online’s housing this year too, but the business model for its housing is extremely frustrating (and am I the only one who remembers when ZeniMax executives declared MMORPG housing too hard to implement?). WildStar focused an entire patch on buffing the system, and it’s just a shame that it didn’t play to its clear strengths much earlier on in its career.

Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre): Look, WildStar almost certainly has one foot in the grave and the other one is teasing close to the end. But the whole community feature is neat and really cool. I’m very impressed by this.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): WildStar. WildStar would have won it this year even if it didn’t release its long-awaited communities feature that allowed players to collaborate on connected plots of land, because this game simply trumps all the rest with its amazing housing system. I just wish I could take it with me wherever it went. But props for ESO too, I’m glad that game got a really nice housing system this year.

Larry Everett (@Shaddoe): How can I not say Elder Scrolls Online? It’s instanced housing, which is generally a turn off for those who like housing, but the way ESO did it is pretty innovative. The instances are available within a city or some other place actually in the larger world. So the houses are instanced, but they feel like they are actually in the open world. On top of that, the editor is good for those not that familiar with decorating, but at the same time, those who really like decorating have a wide breadth of tools to make some of the most interesting housing designs. Oh, not to mention, you can purchase a fully decorated house if you want to.

MJ Guthrie (@MJ_Guthrie): Nothing has come close to toppling EverQuest II from its perch on top. There is just way too much variety, both in houses and decorations, and new decorations and houses are always being added. However, ESO adding housing this year gets a hearty cheer and second place.

Tina Lauro Pollock (@purpletinabeans): WildStar pips it for me, though housing isn’t one of my coveted MMO features. The entire system just oozes fun, which is precisely what housing should add to MMOs in my book. There is so much well-presented, meaningful choice in the system as well, which is sure to appeal to housing fans.

WildStar won our award for Best MMO Housing of 2017. What’s your pick?

Reader poll: Which MMORPG has the best housing in 2017?

  • WildStar (26%, 166 Votes)
  • EverQuest II (12%, 77 Votes)
  • Elder Scrolls Online (20%, 130 Votes)
  • ArcheAge (4%, 23 Votes)
  • RIFT (6%, 39 Votes)
  • Black Desert (6%, 37 Votes)
  • SWTOR (2%, 14 Votes)
  • Wurm Online (1%, 7 Votes)
  • Final Fantasy XIV (5%, 33 Votes)
  • Ultima Online (4%, 24 Votes)
  • LOTRO (4%, 28 Votes)
  • Aion (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Trove (1%, 7 Votes)
  • Nothing (5%, 35 Votes)
  • Something else (let us know in the comments!) (3%, 16 Votes)

Total Voters: 637

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Poll options include all games nominated plus other games we thought would be worthy.

MOP’S 2017 AWARDS (SO FAR)
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