The real root of a lot of these problems is that they have pay to win (to some degree) in a subscription based game. Extra retainers should not be a thing for extra cash, and because it is we have systems tied to it as the most efficient method for profit. It is free to play game issues bleeding into mmo's with full subscriptions to mess things up. All retainers should be given as part of the $15 a month, with fewer given for $12 a month (as that is sub standard rate for a AAA MMO). Get rid of the idea of extra retainers for a price and suddenly we would have a leather/monster item gathering class and the game would be better, but profits would likely go down. Whales, and those willing to pay to win are ruining a lot of games, and this is just a small tip of that iceberg.

I hope ffxiv leans into their culture and idea of people being on a level playing field regardless of wealth instead of what we currently have. I really can't come up with any reason but profit margins for the current weirdness of drop rates and difficulty of gathering these crafting items.