I FOUND IT! 3420 is the Perception you want for your MIN/BTN retainers!

[Caimie_Tsukino]

I have done some work on testing retainer stats requirement for extra yield. Here are my results:

Gathering Retainers (MIN or BTN)
(Gathering/Perception)
3010/2935 = lvl 83 30 pieces, but lvl 84 20 pieces
3018/3016 = lvl 84 30 pieces, but lvl 85 20 pieces
3018/3076 = lvl 85 30 pieces, but lvl 86 20 pieces
2995/3175 = lvl 86 30 pieces, but lvl 87 20 pieces
2995/3195 = lvl 86 30 pieces, but lvl 87 20 pieces
2995/3201 = lvl 86 30 pieces, but lvl 87 20 pieces
2995/3215 = lvl 87 30 pieces, but lvl 88 20 pieces
2995/3261 = lvl 87 30 pieces, but lvl 88 20 pieces
2935/3306 = lvl 88 30 pieces, but lvl 89 20 pieces
2935/3377 = lvl 89 30 pieces, but lvl 90 20 pieces
2935/3411 = lvl 89 30 pieces, but lvl 90 20 pieces
2935/3417 = lvl 89 30 pieces, but lvl 90 20 pieces
2935/3419 = lvl 89 30 pieces, but lvl 90 20 pieces
2935/3420 = lvl 90 30 pieces!!!
2935/3435 = lvl 90 30 pieces!!!

So the MAGIC NUMBER is 3420 Perception!!!
Gathering has no impact to that extra yield once you got pass the Gathering requirement stated on the item list when you do your ventures. So ZERO melds of gathering on your lvl 90 gear!

In terms of the melds required to achieve 3420 Perception, you don't need any Grade 9 / 10 materia at all. I used PURELY Grade 8 or lower to achieve that amount. Some light overmelds were needed. But most gear just need 1 overmeld (with the exception of the hat and offhand).

Below are my melds on my retainer:

MH & OH required 1 overmeld using Grade 8. OH needed a 2nd overmeld using Grade 7.


Hat is not maxed. One could have added even more perception there if need.
Chest, gloves and pants are all maxed on Perception with the above melds.
Shoes could have added 1 more perception. But actually, we don't need that much here... I could have used a Grade 5 instead of a Grade 6 for that overmeld. There will be 5 perception less, but you can see from below that I have 3425 from these melds. So -5 is still fine.


I used Grade 7 for all my overmelds here, but one could have used Grade 6, which is even stronger. I just didn't have enough Grade 6 for overmelds. If you have a lot of Grade 6, you could use that instead, and that will give you a boost of 2 more perception per accessory. That extra 10 perception you gain using Grade 6 would allow you to subtract 10 perception from somewhere else.


Here's my final retainer stats from the melds above. Note that I could reduce 5 perception from somewhere, and it would have been fine.


This is just to show that I could have used this meld instead to reduce 5 perception.


This is just to show that I could have used Grade 6 instead on all my accessories' overmelds, and I would have 2 more perception per accessory.


Finally, if you run out of Grade 7 / 8 materia, you can always get more from Qitari Beast Tribe vendor using those tokens. It's a good way to utilize those old tokens!

As for Battle Retainers, I do not know that much. All I know is ilvl 555 will give 12 pieces of lvl 86 mats, 10 pieces of lvl 88 mats and 7 pieces of lvl 89 mat. Good luck testing these!

-------------------------------
EDIT on 2023-01-26:
Patch 6.3 Retainer Stats Threshold Test Results on Post #19:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...=1#post6173552

Copied post below:
It's Patch 6.31 now. Today, I have experimentally tested and confirmed the following retainer stats in the game:


Honestly, unless you regularly use a lot of Alien Onions, it's NOT worthwhile to go as high as 4107 perception (probably just need 4104 as Silverbane has suggested above from prediction) on your retainers. It takes almost a full set of i620 Indagator's gear with very strong overmelds. It burned out a lot of my materia stashes just to confirm this.

4020 perception is worthwhile if you wanna gather 50 pieces of Chondrite/Integral Log per run. It takes at least 2 pieces of i620 Indagator's gear as well as both Indagator's mainhand and offhand tools with Grade 10 materia overmelds to achieve this much perception.

Meanwhile, 3687 perception is very achievable with a mixed combination of i560s, i590 Pactmaker's and i620 Indagator's gear, with reasonable melds.

Personally, I have 1 retainer currently >4020, and all other retainers >3687.

[Illmaeran]

We love you Caimie! Thank you for all you've done for the gathering and crafting communities.

[Caimie_Tsukino]

Data on Fisher Retainers:

2320 perception:
15 lvl 83 Spiny King Crab
12 lvl 84 Dream Pickle
7 lvl 86 Protomyke #987
12 lvl 87 Grey Mullet
9 lvl 88 Shallows Cod
9 lvl 88 Rummy-nosed Tetra

2342 perception:
15 lvl 83 Spiny King Crab
15 lvl 84 Dream Pickle
7 lvl 86 Protomyke #987
12 lvl 87 Grey Mullet
9 lvl 88 Shallows Cod
9 lvl 88 Rummy-nosed Tetra

2362 perception:
15 lvl 83 Spiny King Crab
15 lvl 84 Dream Pickle
7 lvl 86 Protomyke #987
12 lvl 87 Grey Mullet
12 lvl 88 Shallows Cod
12 lvl 88 Rummy-nosed Tetra

... So the optimal perception appears to be somewhere between 2343 and 2362. Once again, just need Grade 8 or lower materia. No Grade 9 / 10 materia needed.

[Jojoya]

Thanks for all your hard work!

[Jojoya]

Update for battle retainers:
570 is giving 15 items on level 88 (Ophiotaurus Hide/Berkanan Sap) and 12 on level 89 (Dynamis Crystal). I'm going to guess that 580 will be the goal to get 15 on the Dynamis Crystal.

[Illmaeran]

Thanks Jojoya

[Caimie_Tsukino]

Update for battle retainers:
570 is giving 15 items on level 88 (Ophiotaurus Hide/Berkanan Sap) and 12 on level 89 (Dynamis Crystal). I'm going to guess that 580 will be the goal to get 15 on the Dynamis Crystal.

Awesome! Thanks, Jojoya!
Now that means there's a reason to craft a few i580 if I wanna boost my retainers a bit!

[Roth_Trailfinder]

2342 perception:
15 lvl 83 Spiny King Crab
15 lvl 84 Dream Pickle
7 lvl 86 Protomyke #987
12 lvl 87 Grey Mullet
9 lvl 88 Shallows Cod
9 lvl 88 Rummy-nosed Tetra

2362 perception:
15 lvl 83 Spiny King Crab
15 lvl 84 Dream Pickle
7 lvl 86 Protomyke #987
12 lvl 87 Grey Mullet
12 lvl 88 Shallows Cod
12 lvl 88 Rummy-nosed Tetra

.

Does this not imply that you need More than 2362 Perception? I’d expect 15 fish for the last two, not a cap at 12.

[Caimie_Tsukino]

Does this not imply that you need More than 2362 Perception? I’d expect 15 fish for the last two, not a cap at 12.

Oh, you're right. I wasn't thinking straight. But i have no intention of adding any more Perception, as I have pretty much hit the ceiling with Grade 7/8 materia. If I want anymore perception, I would need to remeld the mainhand, and overmeld with Grade 10/9. Not worth my materia to do this test.

[MellowMink]

Thanks for all the hard work put into this!