Over the years, World of Warcraft has started to feel like a big plate of comfort food to me, with big servings of quests piled up high, a generous scoop of lore on the side, with a nice, refreshing new expansion every so often to wash it down. It’s familiar. It’s cozy. It’s home.

Having been a casual WoW player for about 20 years now, which is a bonkers thing to type out, I’ve always enjoyed going at my own pace while exploring Azeroth. That’s to say I still don’t consider myself good at the game — sometimes all I want to do is collect a couple of boar pelts and call it a night, y’know? Now with the release of World of Warcraft: Midnight, the stakes continue to mount for the future of our heroes, and Azeroth itself, as we’re all being asked to take up arms… to move furniture.

Housing is one of the biggest features included in the newest expansion — maybe even one of the biggest new features in years — making World of Warcraft truly feel like a home. After a hard day of adventure, what’s better than taking a nice stroll through the neighborhood, hitting up a fishing spot, repairing a neighbor’s fence, and becoming envious of some of those larger houses down the street, to help round out your day in Azeroth?

For the last few weeks, I’ve been dabbling with the new Housing feature as part of the early access period of Midnight. While I may not be the most creative designer, I’ve found that the more time I’ve spent with the tools, the more adventurous I’ve felt in coming up with new layout ideas to stake my little corner of this fantastical world that I can call my own.

Selecting My Plot

Things started off briskly when I first arrived in Razorwind Shores, the Housing island zone for Horde players (my main is a forsaken warrior) – Alliance players have Founder’s Point. The initial tutorial of finding a spot to live was a lot of fun, as Toncho Cloudhide — think of him as a Tauren realter — guided me through the various biomes that I could choose to live in.

From the lush forests of the Cragthorn Highlands, the impressive rocks along The Bluffs, and the seaside retreat along Saltfang Shoals, there’s sure to be a spot for anyone to call home. Selecting an available plot is as easy as clicking on the signpost and paying a small fee. But if there’s a particular patch you really have your heart set on, you can cycle through various servers to see if that spot has been claimed.

I didn’t have trouble finding an area that suited what I was looking for. In fact, I’ve already moved my house once! I initially set up shop in the more densely wooded area near the Highlands (one of the more popular biomes based on availability). Now I’m more central in Runetotem’s Bounty, which is a tropical mix of elegant flora and palm trees, complimented by fishing streams, beautiful waterfalls, and friendly creatures. It’s also a much closer walk to The Common, which works as a central hub full of vendors and neighborhood quest givers.

Going Shopping

Having amassed quite a treasury over the years during my adventures, my gold stockpile is pretty healthy. As such, buying up a variety of furnishings in town from Decor Vendors isn’t hurting my bank account at all – and I don’t imagine it will hurt yours either. Most items like frames, chairs, desks, and light fixtures are priced at just a few gold coins, with the larger structures like tents and water fountains costing a bit more.

You can find most of the vendors located in The Common, with some others hiding just outside of town, down by the shore. What I would suggest, however, is finding a particular style that suits you before you start buying up everything on offer from these vendors. It is all about finding one who appeals to your design sense, like the wooden Bel’ameth style or the lavish Silvermoon interior to name a couple sold by Jehzar Stafall. For me, my go-to vendors are Shon’ja and Gronthul – I love that rugged Orgrimmar style for my home.

The large number of customizable home goods is another area I am incredibly impressed by – the sheer number of unique items you can purchase is a little mind-boggling. It’s clearly understood by the crafters of this world that not all sizes fit all, especially in a massive game like World of Warcraft, as these designs are intended to serve every type of player in Azeroth.

A Token of Adventure

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve never considered myself a very creative person when it comes to designing a virtual living space in video games. Even in time with life sims like The Sims and Animal Crossing, I’ve usually erred on the basic placements of living room furniture: a bed, a table, a desk, and some chairs. Maybe a fun wallpaper. But something about the Housing feature for World of Warcraft has hit different.

I think a big part of it is that it finally feels like I can give my hero, whom I’ve spent years with, a place to live. I’ve gone on hundreds of quests over the years but, really, all I’ve been able to show for it has been a nice set of armor, a fancy mount, and a cool-looking sword. Which are all great — who doesn’t love a new piece of loot? But now these contributions in the world can be more noticeable and memorable. Housing gives me something more tangible to connect to within this world I’ve enjoyed participating in. There’s now a mark on the ground that I was here. And that really resonates with me.

Another nice feature is how my legacy has found a way to be included amongst the variety of decor I can add to my home. Alongside the variety of chairs and rugs, my collection includes mementos from adventures long ago (and some pre-order tie-in bonuses). It’s modest, but it’s my collection.

As such, I have the Head of the Broodmother sitting above my fireplace, the Nesingwary Elk Head adorned on a wall in my living room, and the Prime Evil chest from Diablo sitting in the corner. I also found a great place to put a miniature replica of The Dark Portal that I’ll share in a minute, which is a limited-time log-in bonus that players can grab right now.

Making a Home

When I started out, placement of my furniture was basic. A chair by the fireplace. A writing desk in the corner. A rug in the middle of the room. Then I started to play with the scaling and height of these objects. I put a few pictures up, windows, and then some candle lighting. Soon I found myself becoming more critical of where I’m positioning tables and bookshelves, leaning coffin lids up against walls, and creating a staircase to the second floor. Where a few weeks ago I wasn’t sure how to properly place a chair, now I’m meticulously placing cobwebs in my hallways… and building secret bookcases that lead to Dark Portals…

That’s to say the more time I’ve put into the creative tools, the more ideas have started to flow on how else to decorate my home. It’s a very cool and different approach to playing within World of Warcraft – I’m not trying to min/max anything. Instead, I’m fretting over what to do about that dark corner underneath my staircase. I’m no longer worried that I’m not carrying weight during a raid; now I need to find things to put on my bookshelf. I like it. It gives Azeroth a more “lived in” feel than anything that has been here before.

The Next Adventure

Over the years, the grand adventure of World of Warcraft has felt centered around fighting alongside iconic heroes, saving the world from numerous cataclysmic events, and charging into battle alongside names like Sylvannas and Thrall. But that was always in knowing that everyone gets to experience these same adventures too. Sometimes together, other times alone. Warcraft has always wanted you to feel like you’re contributing to this massive world. Now with the addition of Housing, that feeling is coming through stronger than anything Blizzard has done before.

A lot of care and attention has been spent to make sure every player has what they need to make their own home within Azeroth, be it in Razorwind Shores or Founder’s Point. It has really started to feel like I am here in Azeroth. This is my little slice of comfort. Now as I continue the next grand adventure with the launch of World of Warcraft: Midnight, I can’t wait to bring home some new tokens of adventure to adorn my little corner of this magnificent world.