Retainers, too much interaction?

[Maxcrafter]

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

[spf1200]

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

[Avidria]

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 :/

[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.

[Macleod]

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

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.

[Bsrking5]

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

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

[RareItems]

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.

[Makeda]

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'...

[Tlamila]

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.

[TheForce]

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

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