Quick Links

Final Fantasy 14 has many ways for you to spend your time within its world, ranging from things like turning a weekly Journal into the adorable Khloe Aliapoh for significant EXP gains, participating in Hunts, or getting ready to tackle a raid.

RELATED: How To Make Gil In Final Fantasy 14

However, there are also passive ways for you to earn Gil, Minions, and other rare items by engaging with the game's Retainer Services. While entirely optional, Retainers are rather crucial in the grand scheme of things in Final Fantasy 14. Hiring and managing a Retainer might seem like a chore or unnecessary to some, but this is an excellent method to make easy money on the side and earn Grand Company Seals.

Unlocking Retainers

Before using the Retainer Service, you must first meet a few requirements. Additionally, if you are on a Free Trial Account, the ability to hire a Retainer will be unavailable to you until you purchase a subscription. You must also reach a specific point in the main story before accessing Retainers.

Requirements

  • The Scions of the Seventh Dawn (MSQ - Level 17)
  • Must not be on a Free Trial Account

Some Uses For Retainers

  • Entrust, as well as withdraw items from your Retainer.
    • Retainers can hold up to 175 items.
  • Entrust, as well as withdraw Gil from your Retainer.
  • Sell items from your Inventory on the Market Board
  • Sell items from your Retainer's Inventory on the Market Board
  • Assign your Retainer a Class/Job and send them on Explorations

Hiring Retainers

Upon meeting the requirements above, you will finally be able to hire a Retainer. To do this, you will have to speak with the Retainer Vocate in one of the major cities, typically found near the Market Boards. If you have trouble finding them, you can see their exact location below.

  • Parnell - Old Gridania (X:14.6, Y:9.3)
  • Chachabi - Ul'dah, Steps of Thal (X:13.3, Y:9.7)
  • Frydwyb - Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X:8.3, Y:11.5)
  • Prunilla - The Pillars (X:8.1, Y:10.9)
  • Kazashi - Kugane (X:11.6, Y:12.1)
  • Misfrith - The Crystarium (X:10.4, Y:13.1)
  • Tanine - Old Sharlayan (X:12.6, Y:10.8)

After speaking to a Retainer Vocate, you will create your Retainer and assign them a personality. By default, you can hire up to two Retainers as part of your ongoing Final Fantasy 14 subscription. However, you can get up to ten total Retainers, which we will cover in better detail in the next section.

How To Get More Retainers

Plan on sending several Retainers out on Ventures, offloading unneeded items onto them, or need to use them as storage for all your Gathering materials? You may have to cough up some extra money to do so.

You can have a total of ten Retainers but will have to add additional subscriptions to your already existing one as a result. While adding one or two isn't terrible, the cost of having lots of Retainers can really add up to a pretty penny.

To add additional Retainers, you will have to head to the Mog Station, scroll down to where it says "Additional Paid Options," and select either "Retainer Service" or "Companion App." You can find information on both options below.

Retainer Services

The Retainer Services option will allow you to hire up to seven additional Retainers for $2.00 every 30 days of your current ongoing subscription. For example, if your subscription expires in June 2022 and you get one Retainer in January, the total will be around $12. This total will also scale depending on how many retainers you hire, 2 - $24, 3 - $36, and so on. Everyone's total will be different as it is entirely dependent on how many months you have left on your Final Fantasy 14 subscription.

Additionally, if you pay monthly for your Final Fantasy 14 subscription, your initial charge for the Retainer Service will be for the remainder of the current month. It will also auto-renew alongside your Service Account's monthly subscription.

  • If your Service Account owns Final Fantasy 14 via Steam, you can use your Steam Wallet for Retainer Services.
  • Crysta, the Square Enix Account Currency, can also be used for Retainer Services
  • Once the prorated subscription payment has been processed, Retainer Services will follow the same recurring subscription billing method as your Service Account.
  • You can cancel the automatic renewal for the Retainer Service at any time and independently of your Service Account subscription.

Companion App

In addition to the Retainer Services, you can get an extra Retainer by upgrading your Final Fantasy 14 Companion App Plan to a Premium Membership. Like the Retainer Service, subscribing to the Premium Membership is entirely dependent on how many months you currently have left of your ongoing Final Fantasy 14 subscription.

However, a Premium Membership is $5 every month. So, if your Service Account's subscription expires in June 2022 and you upgrade to a Premium Membership in January, your total will be around $30. And, like the Retainer Services, everyone's total will be different as it is entirely dependent on how many months you have left on your Final Fantasy 14 subscription.

  • Crysta, the Square Enix Account Currency, can also be used for Retainer Services
  • Once the prorated subscription payment has been processed, your Companion App Premium Membership will follow the same recurring subscription billing method as your Service Account.
  • You can cancel the automatic renewal for the Retainer Service at any time and independently of your Service Account subscription.

Unlocking Retainer Ventures

After hiring a Retainer, you can assign them to Ventures but must first complete a quest that can be found within one of the three starting cities. You can find the starting location for each city below.

  • An Ill-conceived Venture (Level 17) - Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (X:9.0, Y:11.2)
  • An Ill-conceived Venture (Level 17) - New Gridania (X:11.9, Y:11.8)
  • An Ill-conceived Venture (Level 17) - Ul'dah, Steps of Nald (X:9.3, Y:8.7)

Retainer Classes And Jobs

After completing the quest "An Ill-conceived Venture," you can finally start sending your Retainer out on Ventures... After you do a few more things. First things first, you must assign a Class to your Retainer via the Retainer Menu after you call upon their services.

You can assign a Retainer to any Disciples of War, Disciples of Magic, or Gathering Classes found in Final Fantasy 14. After that, you must then equip them with a weapon before setting them out on a Venture.

  • A Retainer cannot be assigned to a Class you have not started.
  • A Retainer's max level cannot surpass your own level in the assigned Class.
  • You can change a Retainer's Class at any time, but you must first reset their Class and level beforehand.
  • You will have to support your Retainer with better equipment to send them on higher-leveled Ventures.
    • Equipment cannot be changed if your Retainer is currently on a Venture.

Retainer Jobs

After your Retainer reaches a certain level, you can upgrade them from a Class to a Job requiring a Soul Crystal. This method is also how you will upgrade your Retainer from Rogue to Ninja, Lancer to Dragon, and access classes with no introductory classes such as Samurai and Reaper. However, you must meet a few requirements beforehand.

For starters, you and your Retainer must be at least the level the Job starts at before you can upgrade them to said Job. As an example, Reaper begins at Level 70, meaning you must be at least that level and have already obtained the Job before assigning it to your Retainer. Once that's done, you will have to purchase a Modern Vocation from a Retainer Vocate for 40 Ventures, which will then allow you to upgrade your Retainer to the Job of your choice.

Retainer Explorations

After assigning a Class or Job to your Retainer, you can send them out on Explorations at the cost of Ventures. Ventures are a currency you can earn by trading in Grand Company Seals or by completing Beast Tribe Quests and Guildleves.

There are three groups of Explorations you can send your Retainer on, all with distinct benefits for specific Classes and Jobs. You can find out more about them below.

Quick Exploration

Quick Explorations unlock whenever your Retainer reaches level 10. This Exploration lasts for an hour and will have your Retainer bring back one item of random value. The EXP your Retainer gains from a Quick Exploration depends entirely on the item's rarity, which can range from utterly useless to absurdly valuable.

Open Exploration

Every Open Exploration, no matter its level, costs 2 Venture and will last for 18 hours, and guaranteed an enormous chunk of EXP for your Retainer once completed. Additionally, your Retainer will have a chance to bring back rare Minions, items, materials, etc.

  • Disciples of War/Magic - Field Exploration
  • Miner - Highland Exploration
  • Botanist - Woodland Exploration
  • Fisher - Waterside Exploration

Specified Exploration

This Exploration method allows you to send your Retainer out for a specific item, which can range anywhere from an hour down to 40 minutes. The higher level your Retainer is than the sought-out item, the faster the Exploration will be. Disciples of War/Magic will share the same pool of available items, while Classes within the Disciple of Land will have access to different items depending on the Retainer's Class.

  • Disciples of War/Magic - Hunting Exploration
  • Miner - Mining Exploration
  • Botanist - Botany Exploration
  • Fisher - Fishing Exploration

NEXT: Final Fantasy 14: FATEs With Amazing Rewards And How To Get Them