WoW Player Housing: Complete Beginner's Guide

What is WoW Player Housing?

Player housing arrived in World of Warcraft with The Midnight expansion on March 2, 2026. For the first time in WoW's 20+ year history, players can own, customize, and decorate their own instanced homes within Azeroth.

Housing exists in instanced neighborhoods — each neighborhood holds up to 50 player plots and is set in one of six distinct biomes. Your house is yours to decorate however you want, with over 2,659 decor items available at launch.

How to Unlock Housing

To access player housing, you need to:

- Have The Midnight expansion

• Reach level 80 on at least one character
• Complete the introductory housing questline starting in your faction's capital city
• Alliance players begin at Founder's Point
• Horde players begin at Razorwind Shores

  The introductory questline walks you through the basics of placing furniture, rotating items, and navigating your plot. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

  Your First Plot

  After completing the intro quest, you'll receive your first plot — a small house in a randomly assigned neighborhood. Don't worry about the random assignment — you can change neighborhoods later, and each neighborhood's biome is purely cosmetic.

  Your starting house includes:

  - A main room

• A small outdoor area
• Basic furniture to get started
• A mailbox and vendor access point

  Decoration Modes

  WoW housing features two decoration modes:

  Basic Mode

  Basic mode uses a grid-snap system similar to many housing games. Items snap to a grid, making placement quick and easy. This is great for beginners who want to furnish a room without fussing over exact positioning.

  Advanced Mode

  Advanced mode unlocks freeform 3D movement. You can:

  - Position items with pixel-perfect precision

• Rotate objects on all three axes
• Scale items up or down
• Disable collision detection for creative overlaps
• Stack and layer items for complex designs

  Most of the incredible builds you'll see in the WoWPlots gallery use Advanced mode. It has a steeper learning curve, but the creative freedom is worth it. For a deep dive into freeform building, check out our Advanced Mode Tutorial.

  Housing Progression

  Your housing level determines what you can access:

  - Level 1-5: Small houses, basic rooms, limited decor budget

• Level 6-10: Medium houses unlocked, more room types available
• Level 11-15: Large houses unlocked, maximum decor budgets
• Level 16+: Cosmetic rewards, special furniture, and achievement items

  You gain housing experience by decorating, visiting other players' houses, and completing housing-related activities. See our Housing Progression Guide for detailed leveling strategies.

  Getting Decor Items

  Decor items come from many sources across the game:

  - Vendors: Basic furniture and decorations available for gold

• Crafting: Existing professions craft expansion-themed decor — see our Crafting Guide for details
• Achievements: Unlock unique items by completing in-game goals
• Events: Seasonal and holiday-themed decorations
• Drops: Rare decor items from dungeons, raids, and world content

  Layout Import & Export

  One of the most powerful features is the ability to import and export housing layouts. You can:

  - Export your entire house layout as a code

• Export individual rooms
• Share layout codes with other players
• Import layouts to instantly replicate a design

  This is where WoWPlots comes in — browse our gallery, find a build you love, copy the layout code, and import it directly into your game. Read our full Layout Import & Export Guide for step-by-step instructions.

  Tips for New Builders

  - Start with Basic mode to learn the interface, then switch to Advanced for more control

• Visit other houses for inspiration — use the neighborhood tour feature to browse nearby plots
• Don't rush to large houses — some of the most impressive builds are in small spaces
• Experiment with scaling — making items slightly bigger or smaller can completely change a room's feel
• Use the WoWPlots gallery to find specific styles and ideas before you start decorating

  What's Coming Next

  Blizzard has announced several upcoming housing features:

  - Co-decorating: Invite friends to help decorate your house

• Co-ownership: Share a house with another player
• Guild halls: Guild-level housing with shared spaces
• Copy/paste tools: Duplicate arrangements within your house
• Pet and mount wandering: Your companions roam your plot
• Showcases system: Official in-game build showcasing

  Player housing is just getting started. The foundation is solid, and the community is already creating incredible builds. Jump in and start decorating!