← All guides
FFXIV patch day gil: prepare for the gold rush
Quick answer: Every patch, new recipes and gatherables spike hard because demand explodes while supply starts at zero. The gil is made by players who prepared before patch day — stockpiling likely material bottlenecks, capping scrips and currencies, and being ready to craft or gather the instant servers come up. The steepest prices last hours to a few days, so sell into the early window.
Updated September 2026
A new FFXIV patch is the most reliable, repeatable gil event in the game — a predictable goldrush that
happens every few months. The catch: nearly all the profit goes to players who set up before
the patch drops. Here's how the curve works and how to be on the right side of it.
Why the patch curve exists
A patch adds new recipes, gear, gatherables, and often a new raid tier. On day one, everyone wants the
new stuff at once, but the supply of it is essentially zero. Demand massively outruns supply, so:
- New gatherables and raw materials spike first, because crafters need them
immediately and few people are farming them yet.
- New crafted gear, food, and potions command premium prices in week one as raiders
rush to clear.
- Over the following days and weeks, gatherers and crafters flood in, supply catches up, and prices
settle toward their long-run level.
The whole game is being early — supplying the rush before everyone else does.
Before patch day: the prep checklist
- Read the notes and trailers. Square Enix publishes patch notes and previews in
advance. Skim them for new recipes and the materials they'll likely need — that's your speculation
list.
- Stockpile likely bottleneck materials. Current gatherables that will carry into new
recipes, common reagents, and anything cheap now that could be in a new recipe. Buy while it's cheap
and quiet.
- Cap your currencies and scrips. Gathering/crafting scrips and capped tomestones let
you buy or make the new bottleneck items immediately instead of grinding on day one.
- Pre-position gil. Keep a cash buffer free so you can buy underpriced pre-patch
stock and materials the moment an opportunity appears.
- Level a relevant crafter/gatherer ahead of time if you plan to supply the new
recipes yourself.
Speculation is a bet, not a guarantee. Don't sink your whole wallet into one material
guess. Spread across a few likely bottlenecks, and keep enough gil free that a wrong guess doesn't
strand you.
On patch day: ride the curve, don't chase it
- Sell into the spike, early. The steepest prices are the first hours to a few days.
Resist holding for "even higher" — raw material spikes normalize fast.
- Supply the crafters, not just the raiders. Everyone rushes to sell finished raid
food; far fewer supply the materials those crafters need. That side of the market is often
less crowded and just as profitable.
- Gather fresh nodes immediately. New gatherables are at their most valuable before
the map is common knowledge — the gathering tool shows what's spiking
on your world.
- Re-price often. Prices move by the hour on patch day; check live numbers and
relist rather than setting one price and forgetting it.
After the rush: what stays hot
When raw materials normalize, the durable earners remain: current-tier raid food, potions, and
materia sell all tier long, spiking every Tuesday reset. That's when you shift from the
patch-day gold rush back to the steady
sweet-spot grind. Use the
crafting profit calculator to see which of the new
recipes still clear a margin once supply settles.
The Weekly Market Pulse is handy through this whole arc — refreshed every
week, it tracks how the new-patch prices settle and which items stay hot after the rush, so you can see
the curve flatten week to week instead of guessing.
FAQ
How far ahead should I start prepping?
Start once patch notes and trailers are out — usually a week or two before. That's enough time to
stockpile quietly while prices are still low, before other speculators pile in.
What if I guess the wrong materials?
Most materials hold some value, so a wrong guess rarely means a total loss — but that's why you
spread bets and keep gil free. Check live prices before buying big.
Is patch flipping only for crafters?
No. Gatherers supplying raw materials, and pure flippers buying underpriced pre-patch stock, both profit
from the same curve without crafting anything.
Related tools
See what's spiking on your world →
Crafting for profit →
More: the market board sweet spot ·
what sells best ·
flipping & arbitrage
XIV Profitability is a free, fan-made tool. Not affiliated with Square Enix. Prices via Universalis.
FINAL FANTASY XIV © SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.