Developer Blizzard Entertainment is back with a new article dedicated to WoW Housing, and one of its pillars: the neighborhoods.
Homes in World of Warcraft are separated into two Neighborhood zones, Founder’s Point (for the Alliance) and Razorwind Shores (for the Horde). Each Neighborhood is made up of roughly 50 plots of the same size, all of which contain a house. Some plots are placed far away from everything for the hermits among us, while others are grouped together in small cul-de-sacs of two to three houses perfect for a small group of friends. Other houses are in larger groupings for folks looking for more hustle and bustle.
There’s a variety of biomes in each zone, ranging from Founder’s Point’s spooky forests and autumnal farmland to the lush oases and windswept bluffs in Razorwind Shores. In both Neighborhoods, you’ll find a dynamic central hub area full of both NPC activity and Endeavors (keep reading). Neighborhoods are persistent, so anyone you live near will be your neighbor forevermore (unless you decide to move).
There are two types of Neighborhoods:
- Public Neighborhoods – These are created as needed by the game servers and anyone can buy a house in them. As they fill up, new instances are created, so players looking for a house shouldn’t see a message about all the neighborhoods being full. Public Neighborhoods are run by the game as well, including naming it (with a semi-procedurally generated name), organizing Endeavors (again, see below), and keeping the neighborhood running however is needed.
- Private Neighborhoods – These are created and owned by players, either by Guilds as Guild Neighborhoods, or by arbitrary groups of players as Charter Neighborhoods. To create (and maintain) a Private Neighborhood, there’s a minimum number of players (not characters) who must be in the Guild or Charter as well as (eventually) a minimum number of players who must live in the Neighborhood.
Endeavors are a Neighborhood-wide activity open to anyone who lives in the Neighborhood. Endeavors occur approximately once a month and when a new Endeavor becomes available the Neighborhood is provided with the opportunity to learn from various cultures and factions of Azeroth by completing different tasks.
Players in Private Neighborhoods can choose from a selection of Endeavors, though occasionally a set Endeavor appears to highlight things happening in the world. In Public Neighborhoods, the game servers are responsible for choosing which Endeavors are active.
Successfully completing tasks grants a new type of Endeavor currency, which is shared across all Endeavors, as well as Neighborhood Favor. You can use it to level up your house and earn rewards, while the Endeavor currency is used to buy decorations from the visiting NPCs.
