Island Sanctuary in Final Fantasy XIV was the star in Patch 6.2 and it has added a new set of activities to occupy all of your free time in Eorzea. Even though the island has some similarities with Disciples of the Hand and Land, it has its own rules and systems with a base to build, materials to gather, tools to craft, and even a workforce to manage.

The Island Sanctuary is a good way to take a break from running dungeons, leveling up characters, and preparing for the weekly Fashion Report, but there is hard work to do on your island, especially if you’re looking for ways to make gil.

The island is a one big ecosystem to explore and it has been expanded in Patch 6.5 that added new places to unlock, such as the Mountain Hollow area. Different types of materials are found on the island which you use to craft buildings and tools, making your little buddy-creatures happy by putting them to work. To assist you who are just starting to design your island, here are listed seven tips that will give you a good idea of what to do as a beginner.

Capture as many creatures as possible in FFXIV’s Island Sanctuary

Capturing creatures you see in The Wilds and nurturing them back at your farm is a key feature in the island. It doesn’t take long to walk around and see the number of different creatures available. However, to capture them you need to first unlock the right tools. Your Sanctuary Rank determines the types of tools you can craft. It’s not until Rank 6 you get the Makeshift Restraint and Rank 8 until you get the Makeshift Soporific, which are the better capturing tools for bigger creatures.

There is a good variety of creatures, some with rare versions that you should try to capture. Having different creatures in your pasture is not only fun but it is also extremely useful. You can only get some materials that you will need to make handicrafts to sell from these creatures. The rare creatures in FFXIV Island Sanctuary spawn in specific moments of the day, so keep your eyes open for the opportunity to grab one of them.

Set Moraby Drydocks as a Favored Destination in FFXIV

As surprising as it may be, you’re not able to teleport from anywhere in FFXIV to your island. The possibility of traveling to several places – for a small price – from cities in Eorzea to the end of the universe by teleporting through a network of Aetherytes makes things efficient. However, this is not a possibility when it comes to going to your island.

To get to your little piece of land in the middle of the ocean, you need to catch a ride with Baldin, an NPC who stays in Lower La Noscea, more specifically Moraby Drydocks (X: 24.9, Y: 34.8). Teleporting to that Aetheryte may not cost much at first, when you’re constantly going back and forth, it’s going to add up. Registering Moraby Drydocks as a Favored Destination will save you a bunch of gil in the long-run.

Using FFXIV's Island Sanctuary for easy money

The Island Sanctuary is supposed to be a place for you to relax and take care of less pressing matters of FFXIV while surrounded by nature. Above all, it’s a place where you shouldn’t be thinking about work. However, Tataru’s entrepreneurial spirit is all over the place and after spending some time building out your island, profit may become your main goal behind making a routine for gathering and crafting. We’re talking about filling your pockets with some sweet gil.

This is only possible if you convert all your earnings into items with the Horrendous Hoarder, an NPC in your Cozy Cabin who sells valuable items that can be flipped on the regular market board. Just think about how much gil you can make selling Gatherer’s and Craftsman’s Materia that players will inevitably look for to pentameld their gear sets. You won’t even have to spend your own money to turn a profit since you’re paying for them using Seafarer’s Cowries. Maybe all of this was part of Tataru’s business plan!

Auto-run and sprint your way in FFXIV’s Island Sanctuary

When Island Sanctuary was announced and the exploring element became quite clear, trekking long distances was an obvious part of the routine. Enjoying your time on your island involves a lot of repetition. Making things even a little bit more efficient for you is totally worth it to make your experience better. That’s the moment when auto-run became the best command to have at the ready. You will find yourself in situations where you need to cross the whole island over for a few materials. Set the course and turn the auto-run while you can focus on other things, like checking what the next material you will be farming, for example. To set this command up, just check the Movement tab in the Keybind menu.

At the same time, you should take advantage of the Isle Sprint command and the fact it doesn’t share the cooldown time of your regular Sprint action. This allows you to always run full speed from one objective to another, like when you’re farming material nodes that are close to each other. In situations like this one, it’s better to just sprint your way to the next node instead of using a mount and wasting a few seconds casting it.

Rank 10 is the best initial goal for you to have in FFXIV’s Island Sanctuary

Visiting your island might be a good time to relax and not worry about progression. However, if you’re interested in taking advantage of the variety of functions Island Sanctuary offers, then reaching Rank 10 as soon as possible is crucial. From making gil by exchanging Seafarer’s Cowries and Islander’s Cowries, to just buying furniture or minions to populate the island, all these activities involve gathering materials which inevitably force you to visit every corner of the island.

At Rank 10, you finally unlock flight, which makes your life easier when running your farm routine or simply looking for new materials or animals. In the early ranks, you will need to work with the auto-run and the two Sprint skills you have at your disposal. These work fine but by flying to your objectives you will save a lot of time since the base speed movement is higher and you can reach areas only accessible by flying.

To attain Rank 10, you need to work on the quests that you can find, gather materials, and construct buildings. Be sure to check our guide on how to rank up fast in case you’re looking for ways to speed things up. But, if you want to take a slower approach, the best tip to help you get Rank 10 is to focus on creating and using the workshops on the island.

Invest Cowries in FFXIV’s Island Sanctuary

As you spend more time on the island and rank it up, there are more things to do. Eventually, you will have all the facilities built, crops and animals to take care of, and a business to run. It might seem contradictory considering the idea behind the Island Sanctuary, but you may eventually feel overwhelmed by the number of things you need to do. That’s the moment when you should take advantage of the Seafarer’s Cowries you earned and invest them to make your life easier. You can do so by using the services of three specific NPCs.

Once you have got a level three Cropland, you can talk to the Produce Producer NPC (X: 12.8, Y: 26.9) to review the status of your crops. In the Cropland Management menu, you can select specific plots for the mammets to take care of for a fee of five Seafarer’s Cowries per plot, costing a total of 100 Seafarer’s Cowries daily to take care of a fully upgraded Cropland. By paying them, they will sow seeds, water the crops, and collect the materials once they are ready.

The Creature Comforter NPC (X: 12.6, Y: 26.9) works in the same way but for the animals you have captured. Just level your Pasture to level three so this option becomes available. To assist you in collecting general materials found on the island, you need to talk to the Excitable Explorer NPC (X: 12.7, Y: 28.9). This NPC becomes available once you build the Granary and they give you access to the Foraging Expeditions menu where you pick an area and send mammets to collect the materials found in this specific location. You can set them to run these expeditions for up to seven days, costing 50 Seafarer’s Curries per day.

At the early ranks, it’s difficult to spend money on automation. However, once you start crafting and selling handicrafts with your workshops, using the services of these three NPCs will save you time that you can use running other activities. If you want to fill your pockets with money fast, take a look at our guide on how to farm Seafarer’s Cowries.

Study the FFXIV's Island Sanctuary handicrafts market

ffxiv island sanctuary guide patch 6.2 111 — Screengrab by Fanbyte via Square Enix

Once your Island Sanctuary is set and you’re just grinding to rank it up, you’ll probably be focused on scheduling the handicrafts production. However, to become a big shot in island exports, you must master the market of handicrafts.

When you talk to the Tactful Taskmaster (X: 12.5, Y: 28.9) and ask to review the workshop’s agenda, you will have access to the Isleworks Agenda. At the upper right corner of the menu, you’ll find some icons and on them says Review Supply & Demand. By using this option, the game informs you about the popularity, supply, and demand trends of each item that can be crafted on the island. Because these stats change constantly, you need to check them before scheduling the handicrafts your workshops will produce. If you want to make things easier, check the Overseas Casuals Discord server, where they recommend the best handicrafts for each cycle.

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