Retainers, too much interaction?

Retainer missions; it can take a lot of pushbutton fuss to get your retainers out there with the next mission - how many? this many... see illustration below:

Click summoning bell.
Retainer select window = Click, select a retainer. Note 1.
"How may i be of service sir?" (or your retainer's variation) = Click text bubble.
Retainer GUI, "Select an Option" = Assign Venture = Click.
Retainer Sub-GUI, "Select a category" = Hunting = Click.
Retainer Sub-GUI, "Select a level range" = Lv. 76-80 = Click.
Retainer Sub- GUI, pick a hunt item. "Sea Swallow Skin" = Click.
Retainer Sea Swallow Skin GUI = Assign" = Click. Note 2.
"Excellent Decision, sir." (or your retainer's variation) = Click text bubble.
Retainer GUI, "Select an Option" = Quit = Click.
"Thy will be done." (or your retainer's variation) = Click text bubble.
Retainer select window = Click exit icon, no retainer selected.

K so, the above is one typical retainer interaction to send one dude on one mission to get one kind of mat. The step count is moderately bleh for one ret, but for many rets it is cumbersome. Some ideas for speedups are listed below for grins; yeah they're unlikely to ever show up in the game, ikr:

First possible speed-up, at Note 1 point, a button that says initiate a repeat of this retainer's previous action, and then return to this window.

Second speed-up, at the Note 2 point, a button that says, "finished with all retainer services, exit the summoning bell now."

Or, alternative speed-up, at the Note 2 point, a button that says "return to retainer select window" would be cool.

Why S.E. has, or hasn't chosen to put something like this into game eludes me, aside from musing which touches on motive; probably best avoided. Let's just say it'd be a lot nicer for multiple-retainer setups not to have so much bleh pushbutton overhead.

Shooter

It takes 5 secs with the current system if that is too long you are in too big of a hurry

It's less the amount of time I find annoying, but more the sheer number of clicks. Getting in and out of the retainer menus is clunky and not being able to even accept group invites while one is open is annoying. And trying to organize multiple retainers at once? An irritating hassle. I have three and it's driving me up the wall while I'm trying to clean out and organize my stuff right now. Would save a ton of time and frustration just being able to call them all at once and view their bags at the same time :/

Too much? Not really, there are already shortcut (as repeat the mission after receiving the items from the previous one).

Why do people always ask to delete everything that initiate some kind of RP and interaction with the environment? That's a MMO...RPG.

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Originally Posted by spf1200

It takes 5 secs with the current system if that is too long you are in too big of a hurry

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It's about the number of steps in the interaction, not the amount of time it takes. It was already bad, then they went and added an extra step with the expansion launch to make it even more tedious. It could definitely use some major streamlining. I, for one, don't need to see the same damn chat bubbles every time I call my retainer, I could care less about their "personality"...they're just this game's silly way of adding "vault storage" or whatever other MMOs call them. I'd say them also being the game's method of selling our stuff on the MB makes them even worse. We should be able to directly post things for sale with our characters...you know, like how every single other MMO in existance does it. :D

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Originally Posted by spf1200

It takes 5 secs with the current system if that is too long you are in too big of a hurry

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Not if you're in the firmament, then it takes like 50 seconds.

10 retainers can be extremely annoying, not only because you have to adjust 200 item sale prices, but that 30min-1hour venture get's really annoying if you do it multiple times a day. They should streamline it so having 10 Retainers doesn't feel like such a mundane task.

Anytime you will always need to click the same things in order to do the same task again... is a UI opportunity to make it all 1 click.

Not doing so... is called UI-fail.

There are way too many confirms, and 'quit only to be in another window that also needs quiting'...

The thing that irks me the most is that during all those million useless clicks the retainer is not selling. If I didn't have to stop selling whenever I call my retainer, the clicks would be less annoying.

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Originally Posted by spf1200

It takes 5 secs with the current system if that is too long you are in too big of a hurry

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100% agreed. Personally I like interacting with my retainer, adds to the overall immersion :)

And the issue Is...?

I definitely think there is some streamlining they can do in the retainer window. The current window is a good step, where you can view all retainers in one UI window. Now they can move to the next step where you can interact with them with less clicks or even en masse.

This sort of QoL isn't unreasonable. Look what they did with materia transmutation. That was a huge improvement.

It definitely needs some streamling. If you've got 10 retainers (and I do...) it's an insane amount of clicking just to tell them all just to go back out on the same venture they just did.

Ideally there would a "Collect all" and "Send out all again" or a half decent interface for managing them.

They need to automate some of the retainers functions like they did with the quick gathering. It would be nice to be able to send my retainers out on more than 1 hour gathering time frames.

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Originally Posted by spf1200

It takes 5 secs with the current system if that is too long you are in too big of a hurry

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It has to be longer then 5 seconds. I can't quick venture all retainers if I am on the first and a duty pops at the 6th one I always fail to reventure. I have everything set up to make it as fast as possible for reventure.

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Originally Posted by spf1200

It takes 5 secs with the current system if that is too long you are in too big of a hurry

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Methinks you need to borrow someone's stopwatch. Just getting to one retainers menu alone takes five seconds due to waiting on animations and menus to become active to interact with them.

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Originally Posted by lolicon09

And the issue Is...?

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Unnecessary tedium. Some things are understandably tedious. Others, there's no reason, nor excuse, for them to be.

I think it could still use a little refinement but overall I don't have much of a problem with the retainer window as it is currently. Real tedium was the old glamour prism system with multiple grades and types based on the level of the item and which profession could repair the item. This retainer window? That's nothing. lol

I want to say it's weird seeing people defending the tedious retainer interactions but then I remember in beta there were people defending having to pointlessly click on items to turn them in for normal quests.

The mind boggles.

If they just got rid of all the dialogs (hide if seen already), then it would reduce the number of clicks by half.
Another thing that helps is to move the NPC dialog window on top of the others you need to click, to minimize the amount of mouse movement. It will usually pop up right under your cursor, making it faster to clear than if it was off in some corner of your screen.

Also, someone posted a mockup of a more efficient retainer UI: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...up-pictures%29
You just select the retainer you want to deal with in the upper left, and the contents of the window change to match that one. No need to keep walking through multiple menu levels.

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Originally Posted by Eldevern

Too much? Not really, there are already shortcut (as repeat the mission after receiving the items from the previous one).

Why do people always ask to delete everything that initiate some kind of RP and interaction with the environment? That's a MMO...RPG.

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XIV is notorious for clunky menu systems. They could definitely work on fixing retainers, and plenty of others out in the world.

When it comes to the "RP" element of retainers, would be sweet if they could make it a system option. Do you want your retainers to be brief or verbose? Sure, it takes only a quick second to click away the chat, but to me it's a completely unnecessary click in the first place. How many times a day do i really need to see my retainer giving me attitude? I only have 2 retainers, but what of those people that have 10? That's a lot of unnecessary clicking just to clear the RP element.

I dunno, I'd like more interactions with the retainers with random/different dialogue. Add to RP experience, not take it away.

I just wish they would let us apply glamour plates to retainers rather than having to unequip all gear, find it in bags, equip on character, cast glamour, put normal gear back on, dig through bags to re-equip on retainer. The amount of clicks it takes to check prices/collect ventures is fairly trivial.

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Originally Posted by ElianaGoldstein

I just wish they would let us apply glamour plates to retainers rather than having to unequip all gear, find it in bags, equip on character, cast glamour, put normal gear back on, dig through bags to re-equip on retainer. The amount of clicks it takes to check prices/collect ventures is fairly trivial.

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This, but also...

Yes i am sure its too much clicks, yes i really am, no i dont need another choice i am sure, yes im still sure. xD


Id wish for more interactions, smal lore, story, anything, maybe even a way to use em lieke the GC squat. but less complicated menus.

Would be a nice QOL addition but not something I’m particularly pining for either.

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Originally Posted by ElianaGoldstein

I just wish they would let us apply glamour plates to retainers rather than having to unequip all gear, find it in bags, equip on character, cast glamour, put normal gear back on, dig through bags to re-equip on retainer. The amount of clicks it takes to check prices/collect ventures is fairly trivial.

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The only equipping I've done with my retainers is to give them enough item level to run the ventures successfully. Glamours? No,. I don't even see them when I'm using them to store / retrieve stuff. To me, they're just a rather clumsy & slow interface for accessing a couple databases.

There is simultaneously too much and too little.

Personalities mean nothing, which is why I like Miqo male independent. Ellipses to speed through while I update my MB listings.

Can't use them as Squadron units or alternatives to Chocobo, and yet all that "personality" and interactions are made to make click click clicking just to send out on a venture then forget about is enough for a dating sim.

Heck, the Chocobo is just a 1 button click.

I agree with you OP. I wish there was some sort of “auto give me the loot and off you go again as soon as I hit the bell button.”

I'd just like to be able to yell at my retainers who come back with useless seashells and rocks.

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Originally Posted by SamSmoot

Also, someone posted a mockup of a more efficient retainer UI: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...up-pictures%29
You just select the retainer you want to deal with in the upper left, and the contents of the window change to match that one. No need to keep walking through multiple menu levels.

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This is amazing. :O