Leveling Retainers and Other Retainer QoL

Okay, all, so I figured we have enough gripy threads that a nice positive one could help balance some of that out.

I think one good QoL point in the game is in leveling retainers. I'd like more options. I'm not sure what those options could be, so let's toss out ideas.

The only one coming to my mind so far is some sort of experience sharing, so when you're on your matching Job you could share with the retainer that matches that Job. Probably have to limit it to just one retainer at a time.

I don't think we need skips or anything. But I could really have fun with a new system that was more interactive and a tad bit faster.

If they can't streamline leveling, then maybe an item/quest we can do so we can swap Jobs without starting over. I have to keep some things leveled that I don't play anymore because my retainers are those Jobs.

So what are your ideas?

My biggest wish for retainers is that they would retain their job level even if you switch them to something else for awhile.

As is it now, they revert back to level 1, even if you had them at max previously.

I think the main problem with sharing experience would be that technically the retainers dont exist until summoned.

however, if once we have capped, might be nice to be able to bank exp for them to apply to them when we do call them out.

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Originally Posted by Kes13a

I think the main problem with sharing experience would be that technically the retainers dont exist until summoned.

however, if once we have capped, might be nice to be able to bank exp for them to apply to them when we do call them out.

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Or maybe when you go out, they can tag along with you. Banking exp also isn't a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by TaleraRistain

Or maybe when you go out, they can tag along with you. Banking exp also isn't a bad idea.

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I think as a companion of sorts might be logistically a lot more complex in terms of coding and such, but I am no coder so cant say for sure. but, the nightmares of just pet pathing spring instantly to mind. which is why we do not have a true pet job

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Originally Posted by Kes13a

I think as a companion of sorts might be logistically a lot more complex in terms of coding and such, but I am no coder so cant say for sure. but, the nightmares of just pet pathing spring instantly to mind. which is why we do not have a true pet job

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Haha, yeah I am a coder and that makes me wince. I was thinking something more akin to the fairies and such so it's there but not acting independently. Or like Esteem where it mimics your actions.

But we do have chocobos. And while I adore my chocobo, he's clearly not the brightest bulb in the bulb box. Maybe a retainer would behave smarter. Or maybe the retainer would behave just like a chocobo. I'm betting on the latter.

I would like them to revisit the amount of materials Max Level Retainers can get from older content.

If my Retainers can lug back entire Mansion Walls, then they should also be able to bring back more than 7 Adamantite Ore or 10 animal materials.

Here is my idea: remove retainer leveling.
We already pay for the retainers and I think that the idea of having the option to pay to level them up on top of it is ridiculous.

Or...instead of having a retainer level, give us a "Retainer Owner" level, so that we just have to level up once and then the level cap applies to all our retainers.
(Now I know people will come and say "SE is a business, they are here to take money". To that I say : whatever.)

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Originally Posted by Garnix

Here is my idea: remove retainer leveling.
We already pay for the retainers and I think that the idea of having the option to pay to level them up on top of it is ridiculous.

Or...instead of having a retainer level, give us a "Retainer Owner" level, so that we just have to level up once and then the level cap applies to all our retainers.
(Now I know people will come and say "SE is a business, they are here to take money". To that I say : whatever.)

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That's not a bad idea. Could encourage people to get more retainers, too, if they know they won't have to go through leveling it.

I would definitely like to see some improvements to their leveling. Right now, it'll take at least a month if not longer to fully level from 1 to 90. Which is ridiculous. And our only option is to buy a skip. Even if resetting them only cut their EXP in half would at least make the process less tedious.

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Originally Posted by ForteNightshade

I would definitely like to see some improvements to their leveling. Right now, it'll take at least a month if not longer to fully level from 1 to 90. Which is ridiculous. And our only option is to buy a skip. Even if resetting them only cut their EXP in half would at least make the process less tedious.

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Oh there are skips? I didn't even realize they existed.

And yeah a month to fully level your new retainer is just silly. Especially when you're DoH and by the time they can get you materials, it's not even useful for you anymore.

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Originally Posted by TaleraRistain

Oh there are skips? I didn't even realize they existed.

And yeah a month to fully level your new retainer is just silly. Especially when you're DoH and by the time they can get you materials, it's not even useful for you anymore.

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Yep. They added Retainer jump potions a while back. They're $9, $20.50 and $40.50 each in the same split as Fantasia. While I'm okay with them existing, I do find a little... scummy these potions are the only option to speed up retainer leveling.

And exactly. I wanted to reset one of my retainers a while back but it'd take so long, it wouldn't even matter anymore.

I'd appreciate it if they created a feature where the retainer would automatically gain the same amount of experience the player has on that class when summoning him/her. If, for example, I get 3 levels in Bozja between visits to the summoning bell, any retainers with that job will automatically have their XP total raised to be equal to mine when I interact with them.

1. It hurts my heart that my retainers lose out on toooons of experience by sending them out on ventures when I haven't reached 80 on that job yet.

2. If they can't level any higher than our max level for that job it seems to me that retainer XP gain is irrelevant. If they were allowed to level independently of the PC, then I could see it being of benefit. As it is, just let them stay at level parity with the level the PC has for that specific job.

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Originally Posted by KitKatnip

But we do have chocobos. And while I adore my chocobo, he's clearly not the brightest bulb in the bulb box. Maybe a retainer would behave smarter. Or maybe the retainer would behave just like a chocobo. I'm betting on the latter.

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If they were a DoW or DoM job I would think they'd behave like the squadron NPCs of the same job.

What needs to happen is it removes the link to your jobs in some way. Either it looks at your highest level and makes that the cap for retainers no matter what class they're on, or better yet SE removes all the checks period. Get rid of that user-unfriendly jank we have now.

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Originally Posted by Limecat

What needs to happen is it removes the link to your jobs in some way. Either it looks at your highest level and makes that the cap for retainers no matter what class they're on, or better yet SE removes all the checks period. Get rid of that user-unfriendly jank we have now.

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I think a lot of the "user unfriendly jank" is there to slow down the bots and RMT crowd.

if that is the case, I would certainly want more "jank" put in place and I dont care how unfriendly it is if it means I can compete on the MB with real humans and not bots.

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Originally Posted by Kes13a

I think a lot of the "user unfriendly jank" is there to slow down the bots and RMT crowd.

if that is the case, I would certainly want more "jank" put in place and I dont care how unfriendly it is if it means I can compete on the MB with real humans and not bots.

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In this particular case, the "jank" means nothing to the bots because they have no need to assign retainers combat classes/jobs. They get the retainers for the marketboard listings and storage, which don't require a class unlock.

Even in general, it means nothing to bots that are simply following their programming. Things supposedly intended to hinder bots don't while players are negatively affected.

The online gaming industry needs to rethink how they're approaching the bot issue.