So. If you’ve been watching the notes for Final Fantasy XIV’s Patch 5.4 as avidly as I have (which a lot of my fellow Yo-kai procrastinators will have been, let’s be real), you know today’s patch has a lot in store for us.
I was actually reading recently that a lot more has gone into this than would normally go into a patch; the example that Yoshi-P used was that the patch has about 600 sounds just for battle gimmicks, where an entire expansion normally has around 1,000.
When I open patch notes and sites, though, that’s not what I’m looking to find.
No, the one thing I consistently check for on anything Square Enix puts out is the restoration of Ishgard, even though I know it usually comes out later than the rest of the patch.
See, though it’s never been confirmed by Square Enix, there have long been whispers that the restoration means something huge for the fan base: A long-awaited housing area for the snow-covered, neo-gothic city.
It’s something players have been asking for basically since the conclusion of Heavensward, and it was considered a bit of a slight by many when FFXIV skipped over Ishgard completely and opened a housing area in Kugane instead.
And though many of us didn’t dare hope, I think the day we get Ishgard housing is closer than we thought.
It all started with an inconspicuous little word.
Final.
It’s easy to miss if you’re skimming paragraphs and notes, but it was arguably the most important word in the notes after the Patch 5.4 trailer hit.
See, though it’s not published anywhere on the patch site currently, “final” has been floating around lately—because this next part of the Ishgardian restoration is supposed to be the last one, with extra special rewards and prizes for the crafters and gatherers who top the leaderboards for the season.
And then, I met this guy—who clearly can’t keep a secret.
Even with the promise that this would be the last chapter for the restoration, I didn’t get my hopes up too much—until I met Philestiaux. He just hangs around in front of the model of a mansion in the Firmament, minding his own business and not really attracting any attention to himself.
But if you talk to him, he says something very interesting.
This is the first concrete indication Square Enix has given us that we could get Ishgard housing. In fact, there have been plenty of indications to the contrary—including a dissertation I saw once on how difficult it would be for them to code every housing item to be covered in snow!
Square Enix has even said a few times through the restoration that it’s just a project, and people shouldn’t get their hopes up.
Now, though, it looks like it’s worth getting our hopes up. It’ll be a few weeks before we know for sure, but mark my words: Ishgard housing is coming soon.
Update: It’s official! In the live showcase on February 5, 2021, we discovered Ishgard housing is slated for Patch 6.1.
