Retainers are a passive way to make gil in Final Fantasy XIV. Beyond just being the access point to the market board, giving you the ability to sell your items to other players, Retainers are also gatherers of items. They are explorers in their own right, and can earn you some good gil in the process.
But how exactly should you use your Retainers? Is it best to have them on long Exploration Ventures or gathering specific items. Here’s a guide to making gil with your Retainers.
What jobs should my Retainers have in FFXIV?
In general the first job your first Retainer should have is your highest level Disciple of War or Magic job. This is because the maximum level a Retainer can be your own max level on a particular job. Later, it might be better to switch this Retainer’s job to a gatherer.
Your second Retainer in almost all instances should be a gatherer, and not another Disciple of War/Magic. It doesn’t explicitly matter which one, but there are some some things to think about:
- A Miner/Botanist is a better Retainer if you want to benefit from the materials they bring back for your own Crafters/Disciples of Hand. If you’re big on crafting, make sure to pick a Miner or Botanist.
- A Fisher is a more valuable class for earning money. This is because fewer people have Fisher Retainers.
- You should always choose the gathering class that you have the highest level in.
How to make Gil from your Retainers in FFXIV
.jpg)
The main way you make gil directly from Retainers is by sending them on Ventures and having them return with items which can then be sold. There’s two main Venturer types, Targeted and Exploration. Below, we’ll go into how to earn money from these Ventures below.
Exploration Ventures
Exploration Ventures have the potential to earn large amounts of gil from single items that are returned. Exploration Ventures last 18 hours, cost two Ventures, and return with Allagan Pieces that can be sold for gil, a random Standard Crafting Material, and the chance for a rare item such as a Furnishing item or Minion.
These Minions are really what you want to target here. A minion like Crabe de la Crabe will sell for around 50,000 gil. Chewy can sell for as much as 100,000. This is on top of any gil earned for the Allagan pieces and materials brought back. While 18 hours is a long time, it can be a great way to earn money with very little attention needed. Just send your Retainer off one day, and come back the next and they’ll have potentially secured you something with a lot of value.
In general, the Quick Explorations aren’t as valuable despite being quicker. The gear they deliver is often very low value, and you’ll also find yourself receiving the almost worthless Stuffed Bom Boko. Venture Coffers are often your best reward, and then you’re rolling the dice again on getting a valuable dye like Jet Black or Pure White, rather than Retainer Fantasia or a more common dye. We’ve found that even with a full day of quick ventures, you’re lucky to earn 10,000 gil on average.
Targeted Ventures
An alternative and perhaps much more consistent method is to have your retainers gathering large quantities of high-throughput items through Targeted Ventures. This means gathering items that sell in large quantities on the market board every day. Examples at the time of writing would be something like Chondrite for Miners, Integral Logs for Botanists, and Berkanan Sap for Disciples of War/Magic. These are all items that are bought in good quantities at good prices very regularly, due their ubiquity in max-level crafting.
Depending on server and population, these items will sell for between 100-300 gil each on a 20 stack item. Retainers with higher ilvl gear will bring back up to a 15-20 stack of level 81-90 items per venture. You can increase the amount of items brought back each venture by increasing their item level towards the maximum. That means every hour on each retainer you’re earning 2,000-6,000 gil. If you play for a few hours with two retainers, that’s tens of thousands of gil. A “full day” playing (having your FFXIV minimized while you tab in every hour to renew the ventures and sell the spoils), this method can net around 50,000 per retainer, per day. The overall amounts are sometimes lower, but the levels are consistent.
Of course, these rates also change depending on your World and Data Center. High population servers drive down the prices, because there are more people selling items. You can take advantage of this on low population servers, but might lose out in worlds with higher populations and more active players. Similarly, you’ll find that prices will go up during busier times - Patch days, events, resets, etc. As more people are playing the game.
If you’re stuck for what item to sell, it’s recommended you either search your own World’s market board for items in high demand with a good price, or use an outside app like Universalis to find a good product to gather and sell.
Is an extra Retainer Worth it in FFXIV?
.jpg)
As mentioned, with your two base Retainers, the best combination is a Disciple of War/Magic and a Gatherer. Alternatively, two gatherers can also be optimal, but harder to maintain. But you also have the option of paying $2 a month for a third, fourth, and up to 10 total Retainers (nine through Mogstation, and a 10th with the Companion app plus Mogstation).
In general a third and fourth Retainer are good investments if you’re willing to pay the money for it. A third retainer should probably be another gatherer, either Botanist or Miner, whichever you don’t already have. This gives you access to a whole new realm of gathered materials and items for sale, as well as for your own use. A fourth Retainer is also good value, and it’s recommended this be a Fisher, as you will then have access to all possible Retainer ventures and gatherable items.
Beyond four Retainers, in general, the return on investment is lower, as while you increase the number of items you can obtain, you’re not increasing the amount of throughput of your gathered items. Or to put it more simply, you’re not going to sell any more items than before, because you’re not expanding the market. As a result, anything beyond four Retainers is probably only useful for the hyper collector who really needs that many extra inventories, or extremely top-level crafters who are selling large quantities of crafted gear and food.
Consistency is key and other tips
- The biggest thing with Retainers isn’t just finding something worth selling, it’s making sure you keep doing it day after day. Whether you commit to the 18-hour Exploration Ventures, or the shorter Targeted Ventures, you need to be consistent to earn your gil.
- All of this advice assumes you have a max-level Retainer, and have at least one max-level job and gathering job. If you don't have this, then your should prioritize levelling those jobs over earning gil.
- Similarly, you need to make sure your Retainers are geared with maximum item level (ilvl) gear, which for retains in Endwalker is ilvl 573. The higher a retainers item level, the more items they'll bring back and the more Ventures they'll have access to.
- You can earn a few thousand gil for sending your Retainer on 10 Ventures or completing 15 Exploration Ventures through the Challenge Log. However, it’s incredibly difficult to complete 15 Exploration Venturers in a single week with two Retainers, so don’t attempt unless you have at least three.
- When you sell items, don’t be afraid to undercut people. This isn’t a real economy, and undercutting really doesn’t hurt anyone. The biggest thing is to have consistent amounts of gil coming in, rather than waiting around for the “best price.”
- Keep those Retainers active! If you’re playing the game try and always have your Retainers on a Venture. If they’re not on a Venture or selling items in the markets, they’re not making you gil.
Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you become a gillionaire in no time, thanks to your Retainers.
