Quote Originally Posted by Arazehl View Post
I'm not saying it's not bs, but you know your options as well as I do. We all know our options, but for me I don't think quitting is one of them. It's a pay to craft world in Eorzea no denying that.
Yep pay to craft is a nice way of saying that paying for more retainers gives you a definite advantage in crafting (easier to get mats, more inventory space, more MB slots.)

Canadane is right that leves are the way to go for leveling - the charity/triple turn ins are usually my favorite to save on leve allowances. Then it also doesn’t matter as much if you can’t easily HQ the items.

If you turn in a single thing at a time then you either only use the mats for that one item.

Alternately if you have the gil you can just buy the items (often cheaply from NPC shops or market board) and avoid materials entirely.

The advice to get rid of everything you can buy cheaply is also good. Just buy it - you will save inventory management time which will allow you to craft more and make more much more gil than you spent.