Originally Posted by
Thundyrz
I do think housing needs to have a tangible benefit to characters and not just be entirely vanity. Unless there is something real to gain, many players won't bother trying to get a house and the market for housing items will remain weak. Housing needs to be tied to the rest of the game in some way.
What happens when the novelty of having an in game house wears off? Sure, it'll be really cool and, at first, some players will go gangbusters. But, all vanity eventually feels dated.
In real life, we don't have homes just because they would be fun to have and they look nice. They have a function and add something to our daily lives. It doesn't flow with human psychology to have a vanity home unless you're immensely wealthy and have nothing better to do with your wealth or time.
I think it is wise to be concerned about exploits, which is one reason I think the benefits should be small and/or incremental. But, there should be benefits!