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Final Fantasy 14's Stardew Valley-style Island Sanctuary mode has been revealed in a recent Live Letter stream.
Until now, all we knew about the farming simulator-inspired mode is that it would be the place to raise animals, cultivate the earth, and learn to live off the land, all things fans of games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing have come to love.
While you'll have to wait for Final Fantasy 14's next Live Letter stream for a release date and a peep at gameplay due to the amount of bugs present in the mode's current, pre-release state, producer Naoki Yoshida has revealed some more details to tide fans over until then.
Every player will get an island to retreat to, though you'll be able to invite friends and free company members to visit. As translated by the Final Fantasy 14 fan discord, Yoshida confirms that NPCs won't be able to visit, though the team is open to the idea if fans are up for it. Island visits are a huge part of Animal Crossing, so you can see the reason for the request – and hey, it's not like certain Final Fantasy 14 characters aren't hugely popular with players.
Naoki Yoshida has also shown off a blurry map of what one player's island will look like. It's all blurred, so it doesn't show off much, though Yoshida hopes it'll give you a sense of scale.
Square Enix also confirms that you'll be able to gather materials from nature and that those materials are island-specific, so you won't have to worry about them taking up precious inventory space.
You'll also be able to collect and care for various creatures you come across and let all your minions run free. For the collectors among you – read: Pokemon fans – you'll also notice that some critters come with a unique colouring or are rare in other ways.
Yoshida also shares that you can build a base of operations and customise its appearance while unlocking tools for further development. Naturally, you'll also be able to earn rewards and exchange accumulated island currency for special items.
As picked up by the Final Fantasy 14 Discord, Yoshida also confirms other minor details, such as the lack of aether currents, meaning you'll need to walk around your island. Yoshida also joked with one fan that Island Sanctuary is still Final Fantasy 14, not Minecraft.
While you've got a while to wait for Island Sanctuary, plenty is coming to the popular MMO to keep you busy. Final Fantasy 14 patch 6.2 is called Buried Memory, which launches late August. Alongside more story content and side quests with Tataru, you're also getting the next phase of the second part of the Pandaemonium raid.
Final Fantasy 14 players can now take to the skies atop a huge shiba, as they absolutely should.
