Welcome, islekeeper.

Getting Started: Unlocking Your Island

There's no level requirement to start the quest, but you'll need to have completed the Endwalker main scenario (level 90 MSQ). Head to Old Sharlayan (X:11.9, Y:11.0) and pick up the quest Seeking Sanctuary from the Clueless Crier.

Once you've finished the quest chain, you can travel to your island any time by speaking with Baldin in Lower La Noscea (X:24.9, Y:34.8) — the nearest aetheryte is Moraby Drydocks. Your island is a personal instance, and you'll be kicked after 30 minutes of inactivity. Leave via the boat at (X:9.2, Y:28.3) or use Return/Teleport.

Your first hours: gather Island Branches, Stones, and Palm Leaves to build your Cozy Cottage with Felicitous Furball. From there, it's all crops, critters, and workshop cycles at your own pace.

Ranks & Currency

Your Sanctuary Rank caps at 20 and is earned through Island EXP from daily activities — gathering, catching animals, harvesting crops, and completing Visions. Ranks unlock new areas, tools, and features.

The island has three currencies:

• Seafarer's Cowries — the premium currency. Earned primarily from Workshop handicrafts and the weekly Challenge Log. Spend them with Pathfinders on expansions, premium seeds, cosmetics, and unlocks.
• Islander's Cowries — earned by selling gathered materials to the Enterprising Exporter. Spend them at the Horrendous Hoarder, often on materia.
• Felicitous Tokens — added in patch 6.5. Earned from weekly Felicitous Favors (unlocked at rank 19). Redeem for Sanctuary Materiel Containers or save up for the Island Adenium mount.

Gathering Materials

You don't need a gatherer job — any class, any level can gather on the island. Most gathering nodes yield one common material plus a second material that's gated behind a crafted tool. Nodes don't respawn on a timer; instead, they respawn after you gather 10 other nodes (an 11-node loop keeps things fresh).

Tool tiers unlock better materials as you rank up: you start with the Stone Hatchet and Stone Hammer, then unlock the Shovel at rank 5, Iron Hatchet at rank 9, and Steel and Mythril tools later. Two cave zones open as you progress: Mountain Hollow (rank 12) and the Mother Lode (rank 15).

Check the Gathering Map for exact node locations and what each node drops.

Animals & Pasture

Wildlife comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large. Capture them with the appropriate net — Makeshift Net (small), Makeshift Restraint (rank 3, medium), or Makeshift Soporific (rank 8, large). Flawless versions of each become available at rank 20.

Rare animals spawn only during specific times and weather conditions. Some — like the Paissa, Griffin, Funguar, Alkonost, and Pteranodon — also require flight (unlocked at rank 10). Your pasture holds 5 animals initially, expanding to 10 at rank 4 and 20 at rank 7.

Animals give leavings once per day — a common leaving always drops, plus a rare leaving whose chance scales with the animal's mood. Keep your critters fed with quality feed to maximize rare drops.

Use the Animal Tracker to see upcoming spawn windows for every rare critter, updated in real-time with Eorzean weather and time.

Crops & Cropland

Your cropland holds 5 plots initially, expanding to 10 at rank 4 and 20 at rank 7. Sow seeds, then water daily (rain counts!) — crops mature in 48 hours, and soil dries out after 36 hours without water. Each plot yields 5 produce when harvested.

Four seeds are gatherable from nodes: Cabbage, Pumpkin, Parsnip, and Popoto Set. Premium seeds (like Isleberries and Squid) are purchased with Seafarer's Cowries from the Pathfinder. Automation unlocks around rank 7–8 with Cropworker's tools, letting mammets handle the watering for you.

Workshop & Handicrafts

The workshop is your primary income engine. Mammets craft Isleworks Handicrafts — items that take 4, 6, or 8 hours each — which you export for Seafarer's Cowries. You can build up to 4 workshops as you rank up.

Plan your Agenda: one Cycle is 24 hours, and a Season is 7 cycles (starting each Tuesday with 2 rest cycles built in). Chain crafts of the same category to build an Efficiency Bonus, which builds Groove — a multiplier that raises item value. Groove's cap is raised by Landmarks.

Watch the Supply & Demand board carefully: Popularity (changes weekly on reset) and Supply (shifts daily based on what you sold the previous cycle) drive value multipliers. Matching your crafts to high-demand, low-supply items maximizes your cowrie yield.

Tip: chains of the same category build Efficiency faster. Plan your agenda around categories that are both popular and undersupplied.

Granary & Expeditions

The Granary unlocks at rank 5 and lets you send mammets on foraging expeditions — voyages lasting up to 7 days at a cost of 50 Seafarer's Cowries per day. Expeditions bring back rare materials that are otherwise unobtainable, making them essential for high-tier handicrafts.

Upgrading your Granary increases the yield from each expedition, so it's worth investing in early. Plan expeditions around your play schedule — longer trips are more efficient if you won't be visiting the island daily.

Extras: Landmarks, Minions, Visions & Favors

Landmarks are decorative structures that raise your max Groove, letting you squeeze more value from workshop chains. Build them as soon as you can afford the investment.

You can release up to 40 minions (50 at rank 15) to roam your island freely — pure cosmetic fun, but it adds life to your sanctuary.

Visions are quasi-quests that grant Seafarer's Cowries and Island EXP. They appear as you rank up and explore, often tied to specific activities or milestones.

Felicitous Favors (added in patch 6.5, unlocked at rank 19) are weekly handicraft requests. Complete them to earn Felicitous Tokens, which can be redeemed for a Sanctuary Materiel Container or saved up over time for the Island Adenium mount.