Everyday Life in Ishgard (HW Spoilers, sorta)

There's something I've been wondering about: I never played 1.0, but the impression I get of Coerthas was that it was much more arable before the calamity, particularly in Western Coerthas with the abandoned hamlets. Then once the calamity hit, Coerthas quickly becomes a frozen wasteland. Without any farmland left, what exactly do the people of Ishgard eat? We get a few quests showing that those in the Brune are struggling sure, but with the level of devastation presented, one would think that even the High Houses would be hit by the sudden loss of agricultural production.

(edit: there's a 1000 character limit? weird)

Ishard could of course import food, but that would contradict the isolationist narrative presented. "No one is let in Ishgard anymore. Well except the large daily caravans that ensure they don't starve." The only other possibility is that Ishgard has been surviving off its siege larder for the last five years. This of course means that Ishgard would have had siege provisions to last five years. Much longer too, because otherwise it's leaders would have been more eager to reestablish relations with Eorzea a lot sooner out of sheer necessity. Now, given the amount of militancy we see, a ++5 year siege supply doesn't sound completely absurd, but it's still a finite supply, and ultimately this explanation diminishes the Warrior of Light's achievement of bringing Ishgard back into the alliance if it was inevitably going to happen anyway.

This intrigued me a bit. I guess they could live off the meat of the monsters in the central/western highlands. There is also some minor vegetation and fishing areas. It does seem a bit odd. Also, by editing your original post, you can bypass the character limit.

I see about three options.

First is the Sea of Clouds, since it has a farm, but: a) it's pretty recent, much like the colonization of Camp Cloudtop, and b) it's pretty small and isn't quite sure what to grow.

While it's possible that no merchants are allowed IN, no one says Ishgardian merchants aren't allowed OUT, they could certainly go from Coerthas Central to their closest neighbors (either Gridania or Mor Dhona) either trade or buy supplies and head back, the cold weather would stave off spoiling for a while (also in CCH, Eft meat! granted, one of the sidequests has you get said meat because the soldiers are sick of rations). This would also widen the gap between the classes, since the lowborn would barely be able to afford this food.

And lastly, Ishgardians ARE paranoid b-tards, they could probably endure a 10 year siege

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Originally Posted by Alex_W

This intrigued me a bit. I guess they could live off the meat of the monsters in the central/western highlands. There is also some minor vegetation and fishing areas. It does seem a bit odd. Also, by editing your original post, you can bypass the character limit.

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Thanks for the forum tip. While hunting can be an important part of the diet for small populations, you run into issues supporting a city like Ishgard where you have a dimishing return on calories as you go from grazing ->herbivore -> predator. In short, there would need to be huge herds to be able to support those numbers Dangerous monsters have an additional problem: the process of subduing it would leave you at a net loss of calories. And then you have the additional factor that many of these monsters are dragons, and are not just animals but effectively part of an enemy military force. If there were enough of them that the people of Ishgard could live off their meat, then they could just overrun them.

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Originally Posted by WhiteArchmage

While it's possible that no merchants are allowed IN, no one says Ishgardian merchants aren't allowed OUT, they could certainly go from Coerthas Central to their closest neighbors (either Gridania or Mor Dhona) either trade or buy supplies and head back, the cold weather would stave off spoiling for a while (also in CCH, Eft meat! granted, one of the sidequests has you get said meat because the soldiers are sick of rations). This would also widen the gap between the classes, since the lowborn would barely be able to afford this food.

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That's certainly possible, and I hadn't thought about traders from Ishgard. One of the consequences of this would be that the merchant classes become empowered, and would soon be competing with the traditional nobility for status and power. It would not be far-fetched that in the future Ishgard's society becomes more like Ul'dah.

Oh, come on! Who needs farms when you have this?!
BEHOLD!

http://s28.postimg.org/mx7888jel/menu1.png

騎士オルシュファンのとてもイイ・・・！鍋 (Kishi Orushufan no Totemo Ii...! Nabe, lit. Knight Haurchefant's simply FANTASTIC...! Hot Pot)

It's nutritious, warm, patriotic and most important of all... SIMPLY FANTASTIC!! Only for 1,580 gil... Heretics and heresy not included

Come, friends! Taste the might of Ishgard and House Fortemps!

http://s4.postimg.org/m9lk310tp/CEr_Sk_WMAAs_Bv.jpg

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Originally Posted by Heavensword

Oh, come on! Who needs farms when you have this?!
BEHOLD!

http://s28.postimg.org/mx7888jel/menu1.png

騎士オルシュファンのとてもイイ・・・！鍋 (Kishi Orushufan no Totemo Ii...! Nabe, lit. Knight Haurchefant's simply FANTASTIC...! Hot Pot)

It's nutritious, warm, patriotic and most important of all... SIMPLY FANTASTIC!! Only for 1,580 gil... Heretics and heresy not included

Come, friends! Taste the might of Ishgard and House Fortemps!

http://s4.postimg.org/m9lk310tp/CEr_Sk_WMAAs_Bv.jpg

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That...looks yummy. Do you have a recipe?

We haven't been to the eastern Highlands or any of the lowlands. It's possible they (or at least one area) are relatively snow-free still.

Ishgard, even prior to Heavensward, was trading with the other nations. This can be seen at Benchbranch and the chocobos. All the chocobos are from the Hinterlands, and would be Ishgard's leading export. Tailfeather self sustains, more then likely, on the predator creatures that roam the area so that the Chocobo population doesn't decline to far. The chocobos are then sold to Ishgard, who sells them to the other city states. (The people of tailfeather mention they make gil off of all the chocobos they capture and it's noted that all chocobos hail from Ishgard.)

So with chocobos being their main export, it would make sense that they bought supplies on their way back home. So Ishgardian Caravans would make the most sense. There's also a range of wild life out there to slaughter, so that could be some of their meals as well.

Looking at the HW cooking recipes, you will notice that there's a lot of high calorie content in their diet. Creme Bruleé, ishgardian tea being prepared with a heavier milk, lots of meat dishes, etc. By comparison, the other city-states have a wider variety of lighter dishes due to having access to milder climates. Goes without saying that mutton, Chocobo, dhalmel, etc are staples .

Also, if I recall, Coerthan food is said to be very bland compared to the heavy, sweet, meaty Ishgardian diet. Homely country faire versus city stuff. There's also a quest that says some poor Coerthan commoners can't even drink shitty beer because it's being used in nobleman Chocobo feed

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Originally Posted by SirPhoebos

That...looks yummy. Do you have a recipe?

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It's just Broccoli, Bunch of Sausages and Chicken Leg. (Is that Carrot beside Broccoli?)

EDIT

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Originally Posted by Dalvy

Looking at the HW cooking recipes, you will notice that there's a lot of high calorie content in their diet. Creme Bruleé, ishgardian tea being prepared with a heavier milk, lots of meat dishes, etc. By comparison, the other city-states have a wider variety of lighter dishes due to having access to milder climates. Goes without saying that mutton, Chocobo, dhalmel, etc are staples .

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And I'm surprised Elezen there still thin even they eat so much high calories lol.

There is a carrot in there, yes.

let them eat cake?

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Originally Posted by Eul

And I'm surprised Elezen there still thin even they eat so much high calories lol.

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Well to be fair, FFXIV doesn't have different body types for each race.

Also with it being so cold, the body would consume more calories to stay warm, to say nothing of the "exercise" the Dravanians would happily provide. At least for the Ishgardian army. Btw we know that Coerthas was at least warmer before the Calamity, do they mention anything else about the environment for the areas surrounding Ishgard, and Ishgard itself?

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Originally Posted by Jamafore

Also with it being so cold, the body would consume more calories to stay warm, to say nothing of the "exercise" the Dravanians would happily provide. At least for the Ishgardian army. Btw we know that Coerthas was at least warmer before the Calamity, do they mention anything else about the environment for the areas surrounding Ishgard, and Ishgard itself?

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I don't remember much in terms of dialogue, but since Western Coerthas is now populated with cold-creatures like polar bears, yaks and yetis, it can be inferred that it was colder than the rest of Eorzea even pre-calamity if these creatures were able to migrate to the area in such a short period of time.

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Originally Posted by SirPhoebos

Well to be fair, FFXIV doesn't have different body types for each race.

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I think Ishgard elezen and hyur are more 'built' than the Gridanian variety

I get the impression they survive off meats mostly (as most arctic cultures have in history until fairly recently) . Stews, soups, chilies... Their meals are hearty, heavy, creamy, oily, thick... If you're used to light salads you won't like Ishgardian food. We know they aren't completely starving. They've made do since the Calamity. Some livestock has made it like the karakul, in more desperate times they'll eat steinbocks even though they taste like "boot leather". They still have feasting days like the holiday for St. Daniffen (when the lord of Dragonhead eats his own weight in pastry fish). They have, lately, also been fishing off the Sea of Clouds and eating sky fish caught with hoverworms (....this game...). We've also only seen the Highlands of Coerthas, there is a chance the low land areas are still at least hospitable enough to grow potatoes in, though I admit the way NPCs go on about Dalamud's nuclear winter it seems like everything is iced over.


Here are some meals we know Ishgardians eat:


Dzemael Gratin
Passed down through generations by the Dzemael family, this dish consists of thinly sliced popotoes and eft tails baked in a creamy white sauce.

Button Mushroom Saute
Freshly picked button mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and garlic.

Trapper's Quiche
Eggs, cheese, and chopped eft blended together and baked in a flaky crust. A favorite amongst Ishgardian nobles.

Dagger Soup
After a light clear broth is taken from a freshly caught Navigator's dagger, the meat is removed from the bones and ground up into a paste. The paste is then rolled into tiny balls and returned to the broth, creating a hearty soup.

Beef Stew
A sumptuous stew made by slowly cooking buffalo meat in sour red wine for several hours until it falls off the bone.

Eft Steak
A thick slab of gristly eft meat charred to an abyssal black.

The Fishing quests cover a Noble going back to his lands(eventually) its not treated like the lands are some frozen hell hole, so while I'd assume alot of land was lost not all of it?

This is why I puzzle over the demand for a Coerthas residential district.

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Originally Posted by Zohar_Lahar

This is why I puzzle over the demand for a Coerthas residential district.

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It would explain why its the most expensive!B

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Originally Posted by Zohar_Lahar

This is why I puzzle over the demand for a Coerthas residential district.

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Because the housing system in this game makes no sense, and space is badly needed on some servers

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Originally Posted by Dalvy

Because the housing system in this game makes no sense, and space is badly needed on some servers

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I am aware of that. It's just that there are three other available regions in-game that are not covered in glaciers......

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Originally Posted by Zohar_Lahar

I am aware of that. It's just that there are three other available regions in-game that are not covered in glaciers......

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Step 1: End Dragon Song War
Step 2: .......
Step 3: Open Housing Wards in Ishgard and PROFIT!

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Originally Posted by Zohar_Lahar

I am aware of that. It's just that there are three other available regions in-game that are not covered in glaciers......

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I'm assuming the winter climate is what people asking for it want.

some people like living in the snow... Not sure if they enjoy living near religious zealots though

In re housing: Sea of Clouds housing would solve most of those issues. Though I'd like a snowy home.

On topic: We know that people from Ishgard can come and go from the city, so trade routes are available. And with their supply of chocobos they can basically trade for anything they want.

In the event that someone stumbles upon this post in the present like I did lol

The culinarian recipes are a really good resource for figuring out the types of food in each region! It'll allow you to see the kinds of dishes they eat, as well as the individual ingredients that go into them, which may give you a clue as to what grows there. I say may because, as in Ishgard's case, they're doing a lot of trading to get these ingredients. The level 50-60 recipes are for Ishgard.

As other people have said, it's a lot of meaty/heavy food items that are going to aid them in surviving the harsh/cold conditions in Ishgard. They also do have a fair amount of sweets and things that could be labeled delicacies - but these are most certainly only available to nobles, as they wouldn't be cheap. Tea also seems to be fairly popular, which makes sense with the cold weather.

just gonna point this out, Ishgardians keepa rock of rock salt on their table for dinner. To lick. Not to grind or chip or something else, but to LICK. CLEARLY the giraffes are making do by eating the leaves off the trees between turns with the salt lick.

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Originally Posted by Lunair

just gonna point this out, Ishgardians keepa rock of rock salt on their table for dinner. To lick. Not to grind or chip or something else, but to LICK. CLEARLY the giraffes are making do by eating the leaves off the trees between turns with the salt lick.

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Every time I remember they're licking salt rocks, I always sit there pondering just how unkillable their immune system has to be. Because unless each person has a rock of their own that is also stored in some kind of a magically-sanitized box outside of dinner time, it would mean that they're licking a singular rock en-masse that also just stands out there in the open.

ah, but you see, salt is purifying, obviously! (This is a joke, you're absolutely right their immune systems must be absolutely beastly to deal with that as common etiquette.)