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It can be puzzling to figure out how to get Seafarer’s Cowries in the Final Fantasy FFXIV Island Sanctuary. While the guide gives an overview, it doesn’t break it down in a way that’s easy to understand.
A few times after I ranked up, I was at a loss. I didn’t know how to get Seafarer’s Cowries which I needed to upgrade and progress through the island. Thankfully, I learned how and haven’t had a problem since.
While you can use any method you want and spend your cowries as freely as you like, it’s always nice to weigh your options. That’s why I’ve listed them all. Because ultimately, you choose your own path.
Seafarer’s Cowries Overview
- Cowrie Acquisition – challenge log, workshop, selling materials, completing visions
- Cowrie Uses – buy items, upgrade buildings, or hire a gardener/animal keeper (price range 5 to 24,000)
Seafarer’s Cowries are the primary currency on the Island Sanctuary in FFXIV. You need it to buy the island’s exclusive items and upgrade buildings. You must upgrade buildings to rank up, so this comes full circle.
The best way to get Cowries (if you don’t have a vision that you can do) is by doing the challenge log paired with the workshop. This will bring in a steady flow of Seafarer’s Cowries that you can keep up long term.
Interesting Read: FFXIV Island Sanctuary Farming Guide.
The Big Mistake Not to Make with Seafarer’s Cowries
- Rank 4 – 1,500 Seafarer’s Cowries
- Rank 5 – 1,000 Seafarer’s Cowries
- Rank 7 – 3,000 Seafarer’s Cowries
- Rank 9 – 3,000 Seafarer’s Cowries
I’ve seen multiple people make the mistake of buying glam/mounts before they upgrade their island. This is fine if you’re okay with the long-run method of ranking up your island.
But if you really want to upgrade efficiently and later unlock the even better glam at Rank 9-10, then you should conserve your cowries until you don’t have anything that needs to be done. Or if you have excess above the collective amount listed above.
Every Way to Get Seafarer’s Cowries
Seafarer’s Cowries can be obtained in a variety of ways. While I haven’t mastered every method, I haven’t had trouble stacking them up in bulk for a few ranks. Now, I have completed my island upgrades, so everything I have is for shopping.
Weekly Challenge Log
- 2,000 Cowries a week
You can do two weekly challenges, each of which gives you 1,000 cowries. They are to collect 100 materials in your island sanctuary and craft 20 isleworks handicrafts (Workshop).
I believe they will add new challenges for the Island Sanctuary soon. maybe some with bigger cowrie rewards. Two challenges are quite low compared to the many other challenges in the other areas of the game.
Achievements
The achievements work similarly to the challenges; only they are not repeatable. Once you complete them, you reap the reward, and it’s done forever. To check achievements and rewards, go to your achievement log.
Go to your Achievements while on the island, then click “Current Area.” This will show you all of the achievements on the island.
Workshop (Supply and Demand)
- Cowrie Output Varies
Set your crafting schedule for the Mammets to earn cowries with the workshop. But if you want to make the most cowries possible, check the supply and demand log and keep up with it.
The Supply and Demand log will let you know what will give you the biggest rewards at the time. This changes regularly, so don’t schedule so far ahead that you miss the oppurtunity or the biggest payouts.
Granary
- 25 Cowries Per Rare Item Turn-in
If you don’t find a need for the Granary returns after a while, you can sell them for 25 cowries each. This stacks up at a moderate pace since you can have two granaries going, bringing you around three rare materials.
But I suggest keeping the items to use for the workshop. These will have a bigger turnaround. You also need some of the rare items to build structures later, so make sure you keep enough for that.
Selling Crops/Leavings
- Crops – 4 to 5 Cowries each
- Leavings – 12 Cowries each
This isn’t a method I recommend early on because you’ll make the most of these by using them elsewhere. But if you’re super short on cowries but don’t want to put these in the workshop, then sell them.
It’s true that if you let your gardener take care of your crops that you will soon have an overabundance. Use quite a bit to make food for your animals in Island Sanctuary and the rest is free to sell.
Complete Visions
- The Coziest of Cabins (Rank 1) – 500 Seafarer’s Cowries
- Top Crops (Rank 2)– 700 Seafarer’s Cowries
- Adorable Animals (Rank 2)– 1,000 Seafarer’s Cowries
- A Workshop of Wonders (Rank 3)- 1,500Â Seafarer’s Cowries
Visions are easy to understand after you get the hang of them. Basically, always check to see if you can craft weapons, build in any new plots, or upgrade any of your buildings. These are the things that hold you back from completing visions.
If you check all of them and you don’t have any of them awaiting, then you need to wait on your workshop/granary, or you can gather materials for the next rank. However, the latter takes a lot of effort.
Read also: FFXIV Island Sanctuary Visions Guide.
Everything You Can Buy with Seafarer’s Cowries (Excluding Upgrades)
Most of the purchases on the Island Sanctuary are from the vendor (Horrendous Hoarder) in the cabin. A complete list of everything you can buy is a great way to know what you want to do with your cowries.
Style Purchases
| Item | Cost (Seafarer’s Cowries) | Tradeable/Dyeable | Description | My Take |
| Isle Explorer’s Boots | 2,000 | No/Yes | Lara Croft-esque boots | Comes with Socks (can be dyed) |
| Isle Explorer’s Culottes | 3,000 | No/Yes | Simple rolled-up shorts (pink default) | May just make you want the Isle Farmhand shorts |
| Isle Explorer’s Trousers | 3,000 | No/Yes | Cargo pants | A little basic, but at least they’re pink |
| Isle Explorer’s Shirt | 3,000 | No/Yes | Shirt with kerchief and backpack | Has a backpack loaded up with things and knick-knacks too |
| Isle Explorer’s Hat | 2,000 | No/Yes | John Hammond’s hat | Like Straw Hat, only better |
| Bluepowder Pixie Wings | 6,000 | No/No | Pretty blue pixie wings (fashion accessory) | Like a mermaid and a fairy had a baby – that baby is you |
| Modern Aesthetics – Tall Tails | 6,000 | No/Yes (in crystal bell) | High ponytail with semi-straight bangs | Did someone say tendril? |
| Modern Aesthetics – Practical Ponytails | 6,000 | No/Yes (in crystal bell) | Simple mid-height ponytail with killer bangs | Early-2000s swoop bangs are back in style |
Everyone loves the new glam and hairstyles from the Island Sanctuary. Because you can’t trade any of them, everyone will know that you earned it, making it more or less valuable. Either way, they’re all a nice flex.
Minions and Mounts
| Item | Cost (Seafarer’s Cowries) | Tradeable | Description | My Take |
| Felicitous Fuzzball | 4,000 | No | Little Mammet minion | He even has cat ears |
| Island Mandragora | 12,000 | No | Mandragora mount | Panda nightshade Gang |
| Island Onion Prince | 12,000 | No | Island Onion mount | Pumpkinhead Gang |
| Island Eggplant Knight | 12,000 | No | Eggplant mount | Disappear into the night gang |
| Garlond GL-II Ignition Key | 24,000 | No | Motorcycle mount | To show off that you earned 24,000 and reached Rank 10 |
The minion is easy to get. But the mounts are not. It takes a lot of cowries to get any one of the mounts. But the motorcycle requires you to reach rank 10 and have 24,000 cowries in excess.
Dyes
| Item | Cost (Seafarer’s Cowries) | Tradeable | My Take |
| Ruby Red Dye | 500 | Yes | Brightest red |
| Cherry Pink Dye | 500 | Yes | Hot pink |
| Canary Yellow Dye | 500 | Yes | Choboco color |
| Vanilla Yellow Dye | 500 | Yes | Creamy yellow, very pleasant |
| Dragoon Blue Dye | 500 | Yes | Bright blue, similar to Royal, but vibrant |
| Turquoise Blue Dye | 500 | Yes | Turquoise…mermaids and seafoam |
| Gunmetal Black Dye | 2,500 | Yes | Lovely, affordable black with a shimmer (think leather) |
| Pearl White Dye | 2,500 | Yes | Perfect if you can’t afford Pure White, but Snow White isn’t cutting it |
| Metallic Brass Dye | 2,500 | Yes | Good, but not the best metallic |
Dye is a good option if you want to buy and sell something with your cowries. The smaller dyes sell for around 10,000 gil each and the larger around 40,000 gil. However, you need to check the marketboard on your server as these fluctuate in price every day.
Produce Producer
| Item | Cost (Seafarer’s Cowries) | Tradeable | My Take |
| Isleberry Seeds | 2 | No | The only fruit, so do it |
| Island Onion Seeds | 2 | No | Onions are the foundation of FFXIV |
| Island Tomato Seeds | 2 | No | Just say tomatah |
| Island Wheat Seeds | 2 | No | Is it a vegetable, though? |
| Island Corn Seeds | 2 | No | A big lump of knobs, it has the juice |
| Island Radish Seeds | 2 | No | We plant them, but no one eats them |
This is where you get the vegetables that you can’t get in the wild. They are cheap and can be worth it. It doesn’t matter which ones you buy, so get whatever ones you want until you find out if there’s a specific one you need.
Misc
| Item | Cost (Seafarer’s Cowries) | Tradeable | Description | My Take |
| Fieldcracker (10) | 20 | Yes | Consumable party item | Like firecrackers, only cheaper |
| Hi-cordial | 60 | No | Restores 400 GP | Gatherer’s gotta gather |
| Coconut Water | 1,000 | Yes | Coconut drink for the countertop (housing) | Put the lime in the coconut |
| Isle Pioneer’s Barding | 4,000 | No | Practical barding | Lots of leather, and backpack is back |
| Chocobo Stable Essentials | 1,000 | Yes | Crates of food (exterior housing) | Pamper your Chocobo |
| Farmer’s Straw Bed | 1,000 | Yes | Bed that looks good in stable | For overnight guests that you don’t really want |
| A Quiet Moment Orchestrion Roll | 4,000 | No | Hideaway music | When you need to chill |
| Island Paradise Orchestrion | 4,000 | No | The Wilds music | When you’re feeling chipper |
The housing items are sellable, so you get them to sell, but they’re not the best investment unless they’re for yourself. I haven’t purchased any of these items, but will probably get the housing ones soon.
Materia
| Item | Cost (Seafarer’s Cowries) | Tradeable | Description |
| Craftsman’s Cunning Materia X | 1,500 | Yes | CP +10 |
| Craftsman’s Command Materia IX | 750Â | Yes | Control +12 |
| Craftsman’s Command Materia X | 1,500 | Yes | Control +18 |
| Gatherer’s Guerdon Materia IX | 750Â | Yes | Gathering +14 |
| Gatherer’s Guerdon Materia X | 1,500 | Yes | Gathering +25 |
| Gatherer’s Guile Materia IX | 750Â | Yes | Perception +14 |
| Gatherer’s Guile Materia X | 1,500 | Yes | Perception +25 |
| Gatherer’s Grasp Materia IX | 750Â | Yes | GP +8 |
| Gatherer’s Grasp Materia X | 1,500 | Yes | GP +10 |
| Craftsman’s Competence Materia IX | 750Â | Yes | Craftsmanship +18 |
| Craftsman’s Competence Materia X | 1,500 | Yes | Craftsmanship +27 |
| Craftsman’s Cunning Materia IX | 750Â | Yes | CP +8 |
Materia is perfect for reselling and for melding your gear. Whether materia or dyes have the best resell value depends on the current market exchange. They both sell fast, so choose the one that is selling for more gil per cowrie investment.
Hiring Help
- Crops – 5 Seafarer’s Cowries per crop a day
- Animals – 10 Seafarer’s Cowries per animal a day
You can eventually hire Mammets to take care of your animals, and collect leavings. Then, you can hire a gardener to water your plants, pick them, and plant new ones. Great investment if you have extra cowries but not extra time.
How to Get Seafarer’s Cowries: FAQs
Question: What are Islander’s Cowries?
Answer: Islander’s Cowries are a different currency that you can get by turning in materials you gather. With these cowries, you can buy materia and a few other things, but the options are limited.
Question: What’s the Best Way to Get Seafarer’s Cowries?
Answer: The best way to get Seafarer’s Cowries is to keep going through the visions, keep the workshop/granary going, and keep an eye on the challenge log. If you only do one of these, complete the visions and make up the rest of the cowries anywhere.
Question: Should I Save My Seafarer’s Cowries?
Answer: Yes, I recommend it. But if you want to splurge early on, it will just take more grinding to get to Rank 10. So you can do either, but I always say to save them until you are Rank 10.
Question: Do Seafarer’s Cowries Work Outside the Island?
Answer:Â No. The Seafarer’s Cowries are a Mammet-specific currency that only works on the island. Anywhere else, they are useless. This is easy to get used to since there are so many currencies on FFXIV.
Seafarer’s Cowries Make the Island Go Round
You can’t progress through the island without Seafarer’s Cowries. You need almost 10,000 to make it to Rank 10 unless you only gather to get experience, which is an insane but possible method.
Otherwise, you need a thousand or two every couple of ranks. You don’t need the cowries for anything else, but they do come in handy for automation purposes as well as the purpose of looking super fly.