Gathering, Perception or Ilvl for retainers

[Coronal]

to bring back more HQ 80 gear? My understanding was gathering but my gathering is higher then my friends retainers and I do not get any HQ (above lvl 70 stuff). He gets no NQ 80 gear, all HQ only

His retainers are in Landsaint's gear. The Ilvl and perception are higher than mine so I'm guessing my information was wrong and it is one of those values?

[Jojoya]

I don't know if anyone has tested DoL retainers for returns on quick venture gear. Generally the focus is on gathering venture yields (which is impacted by Gathering skill) since the point of a DoL retainer is to save you some time by gathering materials for you.

If all quick ventures work the same way whether DoW/DoM/DoL, then ilvl would definitely be the key.

[Angelhearth]

to bring back more HQ 80 gear? My understanding was gathering but my gathering is higher then my friends retainers and I do not get any HQ (above lvl 70 stuff). He gets no NQ 80 gear, all HQ only

His retainers are in Landsaint's gear. The Ilvl and perception are higher than mine so I'm guessing my information was wrong and it is one of those values?

The first thing I have done with my 54 retainers is to dress them in ilvl 480 gear. I make roughly, very roughly, 10-15M per week on the QE's alone, so you will earn it back relatively quickly. I get HQ green almost 100% of the time. From 9 retainers I will get 5 returning green/blue that isn't tradeable, so I get GC seals for them. Average GC seals is 1150 per green/blue, but I always use Seal Sweetener III when delivering, which I normally do every 4 days, giving me an extra 15%. With this you can buy stuff you can sell on the MB. In addition I get a few items that sell for 100k+ per day (depending on how many times I check my retainers). If you have 1 character with 9 retainers and check them 10 times a day, you will easily make 1-2M per day, probably more, I seldom check them more than 4-5 times a day since this game is starting to get on my nerves (re the destruction SE has done to gathering and crafting). What I really earn gil on is dyes. I check the data server now and again, and buy out low priced dyes and re-sell them. It's kind of dangerous, since you can end up with large stocks, but if you take the time, and have some ice in your stomach, you'll always make gil in the end. This is probably not the best way of making gil since I hear some players brag about making 100M and more per week. How they do it I have no idea.

[Coronal]

Thank you for the replies. I'm sure its Ilvl or perception but leaning towards Ilvl as that is the way it works for DoW/DoM. Gathering definitely is the way to go for mats, of course.