But their fate was sealed against Wolves after just 21 minutes when Colin Cameron, recalled to the starting line-up for the first time in nine games, and Carl Cort scored to seal an impressive win.
Ipswich would have crashed to an even heavier defeat but for a heroic display by goalkeeper Kelvin Davis.
It was only Wolves' fifth win in 20 league games under Glenn Hoddle's control but the result did extend their unbeaten run to 14 games.
However, 14 draws in those 20 games have ensured that Wolves are not going to figure with Ipswich in the promotion race.
Ipswich, who had gone into the game on a high after winning four of their last five matches, were caught cold by a fired-up Wolves side who needed just four minutes to break the deadlock.
Cameron's goal owed everything to full-back Lee Naylor who chased a lost cause down the left wing. His cross caused chaos in the Ipswich penalty area, and when David Unsworth failed to clear, Cameron was on hand to turn home his third goal of the season at the far post.
It was one-way traffic in the opening 20 minutes and Wolves would have raced into an unassailable lead but for Davis. He pulled off stunning saves to deny Cameron, Kenny Miller, Ki-Hyeon Seol and Seyi Olofinjana.
Ipswich, who had threatened briefly when Jim Magilton was denied by goalkeeper Michael Oakes, finally saw their resistance broken again after 21 minutes.
Once again, Naylor was the creator when he made another powerful run forward. This time he fed Cameron who in turn set-up Cort for a simple tap-in to an empty net from four yards to take his tally for the season to 16.
That was finally the signal for Ipswich to make an impact of their own and they were unfortunate not to at least reduce the arrears before half-time - twice hitting the woodwork.
Ian Westlake crashed a header off the bar in the 23rd minute, Jason De Vos lifted his header just over and then Magilton curled a free-kick wide.
Shefki Kuqi then became the second player to be frustrated by the woodwork when he collected a misplaced pass from Cameron only to see his curling shot bounce to safety off the post.
Royle sent on Darren Currie and James Scowcroft at half-time to try and find a way back into the game and the move almost paid dividends.
Currie added another dimension to Ipswich as an attacking force and they were again only inches away from finding a lifeline when Darren Bent lofted a 52nd minute volley on to the roof of the net.
Ipswich were as dominant at the start of the second half as Wolves had been in the first. But unlike Wolves they lacked the cutting edge to make their domination pay and that was the crucial difference between the sides.
While Wolves had cut open the Ipswich defence in the first half, Town had to rely on long-range chances with Oakes easily saving an Unsworth free-kick in the 65th minute.
That effectively signalled the end of Ipswich's bid to salvage something from the game and the margin of their defeat would have been even greater but for more heroics from Davis.
He pulled off another impressive save ten minutes from time to deny Paul Ince before somehow palming a close-range shot from Seol over the bar in the 88th minute.
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