Final Fantasy XIV Island Sanctuary Animals Guide

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Emily Medlock

Emily is our resident MMORPG specialist here at Final Fantasy Insider. While she has a soft spot for the FF main titles, it is FFXIV that has truly sank its hooks into her psyche, and as a result, her free time is usually spent grinding away online. Outside of FFXIV, she loves mainstream RPGS and survival games, with Ark Survival Evolved being her main squeeze.

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A Final Fantasy XIV Island Sanctuary animals guide is what I have been looking for since 6.2 was released. I had trouble finding a good guide that helped me collect all of the animals on the island, so I made my own guide.

Rank 10 is the max rank for an Unnamed Island, but you can unlock everything available regarding animals by Rank 7. Because I love my little Pokémon, it’s difficult for me to choose which ones to release when it’s time to upgrade my net.

If you’re like me, a guide that takes you through where to – and how to – find each animal is just what you need, whether you’re Rank 2 or Rank 9. Who’s ready to catch 20 Twinklefleece?

FFXIV Island Sanctuary Animal Roundup

Unlocking Nets

Once you reach the required rank to unlock the net, you will have to open your island crafting log. Then, you can start crafting nets required to catch each animal. You must use the correct net for each animal.

For example, you need a large net (Makeshift Soporific) to catch a Blue Back, but you can’t use it for an animal that requires a medium net (Makeshift Restraint). If the net is too large or too small, then it won’t work.

Every Basic Animal Spawn in FFXIV Island Sanctuary

A basic animal is an animal that is available under any condition. There are no weather or time of day requirements. You can go out and catch one any time as long as you have the right net.

Apkallu

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 15, Y: 12
• Leavings – Sanctuary Egg, Sanctuary Fleece
• Shiny – Apkallu of Paradise

The apkallu is an animal originally found in Eastern La Noscea. It’s an aggressive penguin-like bird with green feathers. You can find it on the north to north-western side of the island, wandering the beach.

Aurochs

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 14, Y: 19
• Leavings – Sanctuary Milk, Sanctuary Claw
• Shiny – Grand Buffalo

The aurochs can be found on the western coast of the island. Outside of the Island Sanctuary, the bull-like aurochs wander Skull Valley in Western la Noscea as part of a FATE.

Blue Back

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 26, Y: 28
• Leavings – Sanctuary Egg, Sanctuary Feather
• Shiny – Gold Back

The blue backs can be found in a couple of locations, but I’ve had the most luck in the bottom right corner of the map. You can farm them for hide in the Brayflox’s Longstop’s dungeon.

Chocobo

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 13, Y: 14
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Feather
• Shiny – Black Chocobo

The chocobo is the most famous animal from the Final Fantasy franchise. There are two spawn points for the Chocobo, but the best spot to catch them is in the northwest corner of the map.

Coblyn

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 25, Y: 20
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fang, Sanctuary Carapace
• Shiny – Yellow Coblyn

Coblyn – the crystal crabs – wander the beachside to the east, but I find better luck with them near the center mountain on the map. Check the southside of the mountain near the cliffs.

Glyptodon Pup

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 29, Y: 21
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Carapace
• Shiny – Glyptodon

The glyptodon pups are similar to a real-life doedicurus or an armadillo. They scoured the plains in the Final Fantasy XIII series and have just made it to FFXIV with the release of Island Sanctuary.

Ground Squirrel

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 15, Y: 19
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fur
• Shiny – Star Marmot

I only remember seeing ground squirrels in the flat area to the south of the peninsula on the island’s west side. Stick to the left side of the river, and you should see them before long.

Island Nanny

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 25, Y: 24
• Leavings – Sanctuary Milk, Sanctuary Horn
• Shiny – Island Billy

The island nannies are the St. Bernards of animals on the Island Sanctuary. You can find them south of the central mountain. Because of their large size, it’s difficult to miss them.

Island Doe

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X:21, Y:19
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fur, Santuracty Milk
• Shiny  – Stag

The island doe was the first medium animal that I caught. If you leave the village and travel north on the right side of the river, there’s a large spawn of these blue deer prancing about.

Lost Lamb

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 20, Y: 23
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fleece, Sanctuary Milk
• Shiny – Ornery Karakul

The lost lamb is actually a karakul, which are a real breed of sheep and one with valuable fur even outside of the island. I remember farming them for Fleece to turn into felt and yarn for days.

Opo-Opo

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 20, Y: 26
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fur
• Shiny – Lemur

Opo-opo are Final Fantasy original animals. They are lemur-like beasts found in North Shroud. On the island, they are the first animal you’ll see and probably the first one that you will capture.

Wild Dodo

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 27, Y: 23
• Leavings – Sanctuary Feather, Sanctuary Egg
• Shiny – Dodo of Paradise

The wild dodo needs a medium net and can be found on the cliffs in the northwestern corner of the island. There may be a few wandering the beach but stay on the ledges above for best results.

Every Rare Animal Spawn in FFXIV Island Sanctuary

Rare animals only spawn under certain conditions. They either spawn when the weather is just right for them or they spawn whenever it’s a certain time. Some even require specific weather and time.

One note before we begin, all times are in Eorzean Time. You can change your time to ET by clicking the icon at the top right of your screen until it says ET.

Alligator

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 17, Y: 24
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fang
• Conditions – Showers, 6AM-9AM

The alligator is a rare animal that can only be found for a few hours in the morning when there’s light rain. The only place I’ve seen them is in the river’s fork to the left as you leave the island’s village.

Apkallu of Paradise

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 19, Y: 12
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fleece, Sanctuary Egg
• Conditions – 12-3PM

Apkallu of Paradise spawn at the same place that the apkallu spawn. This version of the apkallu is easy to miss due to its size, so look for bright red among the birds because nothing else in the area is that red.

Beachcomb

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 18, Y: 13
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fang
• Conditions – Rain in the Morning Hours (AM)

To date, I’ve never seen one of these Beachcombs. They are hard-shell crabs that wander the northern riverside underneath the waterfalls to the west. To find them, make sure it’s morning and raining rather hard, but not storming.

Black Chocobo

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 13, Y: 11
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fur, Sanctuary Feather
• Conditions – Clear Skies

This is my favorite “shiny” animal because I’m old school at heart when it comes to Final Fantasy. The Black Chocobo is an animal I have seen, used seven nets on (collectively), and lost each time. I’ll get him one day.

Dodo of Paradise

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 17, Y: 12
• Leavings – Sanctuary Feather, Sanctuary Egg
• Conditions – 3-6PM

Glyptodon

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 31, Y: 11
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Carapace
• Conditions – 12-3AM

The glyptodon is an adult version of the pup but looks the same size. The visual difference is that the shiny version is red. This sticks out when compared to the greyish-purple color of the pup.

Gold Back

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 31, Y: 28
• Leavings – Sanctuary Feather, Sanctuary Egg
• Conditions – Rain

The Gold Back spawns at the same places that the blue backs do. They are quite amazing to look at, so take a look at the blue back spawn when it’s raining. Remember, it’s the bottom right corner of the map.

Goobbue

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 33, Y: 16
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fang
• Conditions -Cloudy, 9am to 12PM

I’ve never seen the Goobbue, but I want to. To encounter this legendary creature, you must visit the cliffside to the east when it’s cloudy in the late morning. This original Final Fantasy creature has made an appearance in multiple games.

Grand Buffalo

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 12, Y: 17
• Leavings – Sanctuary Milk, Sanctuary Horn
• Conditions – Cloudy

The Grand Buffalo spawns on the western side of the map. They are easy to spot but differ from the aurochs because they have more elephant-like features. The colors are quite similar.

Island Billy

• Net – Makeshift Soporific
• App. Location – X: 26, Y: 23
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fleece, Sanctuary Horn
• Conditions – 3-6AM

The Island Billy is the male nanny. They are large mountain goats roaming the same area as the island nannies. Their impressive size isn’t easy to miss, but if you do miss them, find them south of the large mountain.

Lemur

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 21, Y: 27
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fur
• Conditions – 6-9AM

The lemur is the “shiny” version of the Opo-opo. It wanders the starter area directly outside of the village. If you’re lucky, you’ve already seen one while you were out gathering morning pumpkins.

Ornery Karakul

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 22, Y: 23
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fleece, Sanctuary Milk
• Conditions – Fair Skies

The Ornery Karakul was my first shiny. The black sheep sitting among the herd of white sheep was difficult to miss and I wanted it so bad. So I made three nets and caught it on my first try.

Paissa

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 24, Y: 28
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fleece
• Conditions – Fair Skies, 12PM-9PM

Due to the terrifying face of the Paissa, it’s made meme history in Final Fantasy. You can catch it if you’re in the right spot at the right time. I can’t confirm where it is, but I have heard it can be found south of the southern river.

Stag

• Net – Makeshift Restraint
• App. Location – X: 20, Y: 20.
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fur, Sanctuary Horn
• Conditions – 6-9PM

The stag is one that I didn’t notice when I walked by without a net. After I picked up my net, then I could see the name pasted above it. Otherwise, it roamed unnoticed with the island doe.

Star Marmot

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 15, Y: 19
• Leavings – Sanctuary Claw, Sanctuary Fur
• Conditions – 9-12PM

This is one tiny creature, but its adorability makes up for how hard it is to find. Finding the ground squirrels is hard enough, and this guy crawls among them in the open area to the west of the vertical river.

Twinklefleece

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 22, Y: 20
• Leavings – Sanctuary Fleece, Santucary Fur
• Conditions – Fog, 6PM-9PM

The Twinklefleece is a fuzzy munchkin that is on my catch list. This floppy guy is hard to find, but if you can make it to the center of the island under the mountain when it’s foggy in the evening, you may see it.

Yellow Coblyn

• Net – Makeshift Net
• App. Location – X: 26, Y: 19
• Leavings – Sanctuary Carapace, Sanctuary Fang
• Conditions – Fog

The yellow coblyn is just a yellow version of the blue coblyn. But I love shinies, so of course, it excites me. Check out the coblyn spawns when it’s foggy, and it will probably show up.

What to Do with Animals on Your Island

After you catch animals, you may wonder what you can do with them. There’s surprisingly a lot to do this early on and I’m sure there will be more you can do with the animals in future patches.

Name Them

It took me a while to realize that I could name my animals. Now, my entire world on the island has changed. It’s a proven fact that naming things strengthens your connection. To name your animals, talk to the animal keeper and right-click to give a nickname.

Keep Them Nourished

So far, none of my animals have died, even when I forgot to feed them for a day. But, if you don’t feed them, they may not bring you gifts, and they will definitely be unhappy. The only way to increase their happiness is to feed them.

Give Them Love

While petting the animals doesn’t make them happier, they jump up and down, which is always fun to see. Perhaps we will see that petting them does something in future patches, but for now, it’s just for fun.

Collect Their Gifts

From my experience, animals bring you a gift (Leaving) once a day. To collect the gift, you have to have gathering mode on, and then they will sparkle like a node. The gifts can be useful later on.

Hire Help

If you get tired of feeding your animals and collecting gifts, you can hire your caretaker to do it for you. I believe you can do this at Rank 7 after you make the necessary tools. It costs 10 Seafarer’s Cowries per animal per day.

Unlocking More Pastureland

Final Fantasy XIV Island Sanctuary Animals Guide: FAQs

How Important are Animals in FFXIV

Animals are important to progress efficiently through the Island Sanctuary ranks. You don’t need to capture the animals to progress aside from possibly one for the tutorial. 

But you’re missing out if you don’t. Catching animals is a huge part of the Island Sanctuary. If you can unlock all three pasture sections and hire someone to take care of them or you, then you have easy money coming in every day.

Not to mention, naming each animal and petting them daily does absolutely nothing. But it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to Final Fantasy XIV.