The Making of a Market

[Jojoya]

It is a continuous problem. Have logged of and on many times. Still no Francel. I tried crafters gatherers, and killers to no avail. Are there any prereqs to the Ishgard restoration MSQ that I didn't see??

The only prereqs for the main Firmament quest chain that I know of are being level 60 and completing the 3.3 MSQ. I did it on an alt back in Shadowbringers that was only doing MSQ and hadn't even unlocked any DoH/DoL jobs. I don't remember any of the Firmament side quests being needed to continue but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to do any that are displayed on your map just to be safe.

At this point, I'd suggest checking your quest Journal to see what Firmament quests show as completed. If you go to Completed - Side Quests - Side Story Quests - Ishgard Restoration Main Quests, it will show you what's been completed.

The full list of the main quests in order (with spoiler tags for the ones after The Making of a Market):
Towards the Firmament
A Home in the Firmament
Overseer for a Day
Shadow of an Icy Past
To Thaw a Frozen Heart
The Making of a Market

Dealings in the Desert

A Parley with Pirates

May Featherfall Flourish

Not by Bread Alone

Francel's Fervent Wish

An Unexpected Symphony

Smiles Cross the Sky

I'm trying to remember if Francel is a part of any other quests other than those related to his first appearance in the MSQ. Having another quest pending completion in your journal that involves the needed NPC can also prevent them from appearing sometimes.

If I do an online search, he is involved in the "Greater Heights" quest related to the Skybuilder Tools (don't know if you've been working on those). Everything else seems to be part of either the main Firmament quest chain or his original MSQ appearance. I know there is one other quest where he will appear but that one definitely is not required for the Firmament quests and having it pending in your quest Journal shouldn't have an effect either (the quest name is The Burdens We Bear if you want to be extra careful).

Beyond trying those things, I'm at a loss at what might be the problem.