Inventory space in this game is UNNACEPTABLE for a subscription based game.

[Temjiu]

I agree that having to purchase the extra retainers is a greed move on the company side. What they should do is make the "rent" an actual "wage" you pay to the retainers. Cost is in Gil. That keeps up the concept, makes it a thing that you can do in game, and most players who are serious about keeping materials (a.k.a. crafters) should be able to support it via the crafts, since they are a great money maker. It also aligns with the lore and logic...your hiring people to do things for you, why not pay them?

Having the retainers in game is more then just storage btw. you probably already know that, but the advantage the give you in resource generation is huge, and would be a great loss if we just went to a "matierals bank". I'd prefer alternatives in game to keep retainers going rather then just getting rid of them. Not to mention selling things on the market (though I'd like to see this merged on the market boards, another personal gripe I have).

ADVICE: anything under the level of 20 or so can be made with materials from vendors. HQ items aren't necessary anymore for the most part (I keep them if I'm crafting with them right away, otherwise I junk them). lower tier animal parts are cheap on the market. Sell a stack of the highest materials you can farm from MIN or BOT and you'll be able to pay for most of what you need. And keep you 2 free retainers on hunts ALL THE TIME. plan in advance what mats you'll need them to gather (usually unspoiled mats or materials you need to bulk up on for you next tier of crafting. It can feel like a pain to go back every hour to re-send them, but they level faster that way then with expeditions, and my mats skyrocket.

Also, if your into custom looks, make extensive use of the glamour system. if you like the look of an item, don't drop it in storage. keep a stack of prisms on you, and drop it into your glamour chest right away. And, make sure your farmers are kept up with your main class. It's far easier to just farm 10 or 20 of x item for crafting collectibles then storing 100's of everything that you may or may not use. keep the mats you need at the moment, sell the rest so you'll have the money to buy the mats you don't have.

I pay for 6 retainers at the moment. I'm a hoarder, but I'm working stuff out of my inventory right now, and making decent money from it, and It looks like I'll be able to cancel 2 of them in the near future, unless I just want to keep them for mat gathering. Unfortunately, my crafters are spread out a bit...I have two in their 50's, two in their 60's and 3 in their 70's. I think cook is still in it's 30's, really need to work on that! so my mats are spread out. But I'm still finding plenty I can drop