Originally Posted by
Shurrikhan
Having access to 7 alts per server only costs as much as 1.5 retainers, and is likely supposed to have an entirely different function (e.g. roleplaying, character story-craft).
Of course, in an ideal world even after no longer needing to hand off an item to a friend to hand it off in turn to an alt, perhaps those 7 extra characters would still mostly avoid the fate of becoming bank alts. But that would be a world after retainer revenue, and with that the desire to avoid their fees.