Isghar Grand Company

[Lexi_Krallphekter]

Greetings

Ever since Isghar joined the Eorzean Alliance at end of Heavensward.
I have always wondered why it was not possible to join them as the Grand Company.

I remember a quest where you "fought" a battle against them while representing Isghar.

[Cleretic]

Ishgard doesn't really need a Grand Company, because unlike the 'core three' city states, it actually has a single mobilized, unified army in the form of the Temple Knights. They don't have need for an extra unifying structure. Especially after Heavensward, where they don't actually have great, pressing threats in their borders like the other city-states do with their primals.

[SannaR]

Ishgard doesn't need one as they've always had a huge army. They've been fairly self efficient for a lengthy amount of time. So much so that only now are they starting to embrace outside help. Leading them to start their own adventurer's guild. Also they wouldn't have allowed just anyone to join their military until late Heavensward most likely as they were still strict on who they let into their borders. Let alone ridged in their military structure.

[Enkidoh]

^This. Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Gridania just have militia forces that were glorified police forces and not full militaries (the closest to a real military the Eorzean Alliance cities had was Limsa's Thallasocratic Navy and even that was made up of privateers and pirates), hence why the citystates relied on the Adventurer system to fill that manpower void. The Grand Companies were thus formed to better coordinate and utilize these adventurer forces in defense of Eorzea in leiu of an actual military against the Garleans in the lead up to the Calamity, and continued in this role afterwards.

Ishgard on the otherhand, has had an actual full army fully mobilized for the past thousand years against the dragons, and with the end of the Dragonsong War, has already leant their strength to the Alliance (you see Ishgardian Temple Knights fighting alongside the Alliance Grand Company forces during SB and ShB), so there is no need for an actual Ishgard Grand Company.

Besides, the last time a new Grand Company was formed, that didn't end up so well, so there would be little stomach in Eorzea for any new GC to be formed.

[Veloran]

^This. Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Gridania just have militia forces that were glorified police forces and not full militaries (the closest to a real military the Eorzean Alliance cities had was Limsa's Thallasocratic Navy and even that was made up of privateers and pirates), hence why the citystates relied on the Adventurer system to fill that manpower void.

This isn't exactly accurate. More specifically, the adventurer's guild was created after the Eorzean city-states disbanded the better part of their militaries and stopped employing sellswords against each other following the fall of Ala Mhigo to the empire. With all of these people suddenly out of a job, the guild was formed to find them employment in service to the realm.

Now, since the war with the dragons ended Ishgard has remained embroiled in war with the Garleans, and now the issue of the Final Days. But once that's all finished, the bulk of Ishgard's military force and knightly orders will find themselves outmoded. At that time an Ishgardian Grand Company and accompanying guild would suddenly make much more sense, especially so given their move away from militant theocracy and rule by the High Houses.

[MikkoAkure]

This isn't exactly accurate. More specifically, the adventurer's guild was created after the Eorzean city-states disbanded the better part of their militaries and stopped employing sellswords against each other following the fall of Ala Mhigo to the empire. With all of these people suddenly out of a job, the guild was formed to find them employment in service to the realm.

Now, since the war with the dragons ended Ishgard has remained embroiled in war with the Garleans, and now the issue of the Final Days. But once that's all finished, the bulk of Ishgard's military force and knightly orders will find themselves outmoded. At that time an Ishgardian Grand Company and accompanying guild would suddenly make much more sense, especially so given their move away from militant theocracy and rule by the High Houses.

The MCH quests later have you help set up an armed militia of the lower classes with guns, so they're pretty well covered and even train with the knights during and after the events of the quests. There still are dragons loyal to Nidhogg roaming around causing a ruckus so it's not like the 9 or so remaining dragoons are out of a job quite yet either.


As for the original question, each of the grand companies are composed of not just adventurers, but since 2.0, the regular armies and navies of each country. The adventurer portions of the grand companies are a smaller part of the whole. They were started by the Circle of Knowing in 1.0, and back then Ishgard was closed so they had no part in it. The point was to have regular people and adventurers fill up the ranks in order to prepare for Garlean invasion.

As for why Ishgard doesn't have one, like it was already said, they already have a standing army and had already mobilized its own population against a greater threat. Machinists with guns from the lower classes now fill in a lot of what adventurers would normally do. On top of that, Ishgard didn't have an Adventurer's Guild until the Firmament quest line and adventurers in Ishgard are only now coming back so I don't believe there's enough of them or enough reason to form a grand company.

[Veloran]

As for why Ishgard doesn't have one, like it was already said, they already have a standing army and had already mobilized its own population against a greater threat. Machinists with guns from the lower classes now fill in a lot of what adventurers would normally do. On top of that, Ishgard didn't have an Adventurer's Guild until the Firmament quest line and adventurers in Ishgard are only now coming back so I don't believe there's enough of them or enough reason to form a grand company.

My point was that, once the greater threats to Ishgard and the realm are dealt with, the overabundance of soldiery employed by Ishgard will no longer be necessary. And so with the same set of circumstances as had previously made way for the creation of the Eorzean adventurer's guild and Grand Companies repeating again in Coerthas, Ishgard would likely do the same thing and create it's own equivalents.