FFXIV BEST Retainer Class: Unlock & Materials

What are Retainers in FFXIV?

If you are a dedicated FFXIV Player, getting some retainers is essential. Retainers are non-playable characters hired by players to store resources and items, manage inventory, and sell items in the market.

With 20 slots for selling items, retainers help players efficiently manage resources and earn Gil. Each retainer provides an additional inventory of 175 slots for storing items, which players can access as needed. Retainer classes like Fisher, Miner, and Botanist can be sent on ventures to automatically gather materials.

Best Retainer Classes In FFXIV

Players can assign their retainers to various classes so they can perform multiple functions. You would be able to farm materials much faster for crafting purposes. Moreover, you can also earn a lot of Gil effortlessly by selling the items brought by the retainers in the market. While you’re at it, consider reading the FFXIV Trust System guide.

Stats for the best retainer class in FFXIV: 

Miner

The Miner is considered the top retainer class for its efficiency in gathering mineral resources.

It excels in obtaining valuable rocks, ores, crystals, and minerals during ventures. This class is crucial for crafting and blacksmithing, enhancing weapons for combat. To unlock the Miner retainer, level up your mining job to 60. Miners can swiftly level up through mining and gather both common and rare materials for crafting or sale.

Mining Materials

The Miner retainer class is about finding materials and resources from the rocks and minerals found throughout Eorzea. They can obtain various rare resources from mining and quarry nodes. You can get basic ores that can be used for smithing early in the game, such as copper, zinc, tin, and iron.

You would also be able to find various valuable elemental shards that are useful during crafting processes. In the later part of the game, when you have leveled up your miner to a great extent, you would be able to farm rare materials such as Annite, Manganese, and Bismuth. You can sell various ores for a reasonable price in the market to farm Gil faster.

Fisher

The Fisher class specializes in gathering marine materials, such as corals and sea creatures, using fishing rods and spears. To unlock and convert a retainer into a Fisher, level up the fishing job to 60 and visit retainer vocates in the market. Leveling up the Fisher class requires patience, with ventures being the fastest method. Successful ventures lead to faster leveling and access to unique items, including valuable fish for Gil farming.

Fisher Materials

Fisher retainer can gather rare materials like blue crabs, which fetch a high price on the market. These materials are exclusive to fishing and can’t be obtained otherwise. Blue crabs, obtained at level 80, are valuable for selling or crafting. Additionally, Fishers can acquire the rare Fat Cat companion, which aids in Gil collection. While valuable, obtaining rare materials may take time and isn’t guaranteed with each venture.

Botanist

Botanist specialize in gathering naturally occurring materials like flowers, logs, and seeds. They use a hatchet to collect resources during ventures. Leveling up a Botanist retainer is relatively quick through ventures but may require time for higher levels.

Materials gathered by Botanists, such as Latex, Chamomile, Lavender, and Carnation, are valuable for crafting and cooking. At higher levels, rare materials like Bomba Rice and Coffee beans become available. Botanists can also obtain the rare companion Bacon Bits, a porxie, which can be sold for a high price.

Additionally, Botanists collect various seeds like Almond, Honey, Lemon, Cosmos, and Dahlia seeds, which can be used for gardening.

Disciples of War And Magic

The Disciples of war and magic, as the name suggests, is the best retainer class in FFXIV when it comes to combat and using magic.

Players deploy them for hunting, yielding valuable materials like animal skins, bird feathers, and monster drops. These materials are used for crafting.

Retainers of this class are leveled up through ventures, with the option to specify material preferences. They gather resources randomly otherwise, saving players time and effort in monster hunting.

Materials obtained include hunting items like Bom Boko and Flag, along with ingredients such as honey and Marmot Meat. Rare resources like Egg of Elpis and Kumbhira Skin can be acquired at higher levels.

On the subject of endgame, check out our FFXIV Best End-Game Gear guide.

Retainer Class: Explorations

In addition to the usual ventures carried out by retainer, you can also send them out for exploration. If you send your retainer classes explorations, they will get much more Exp, and would level up much faster. Moreover, the retainer classes can also bring you valuable and rare materials.

Field Explorations take much longer than usual ventures, but players can expect to obtain a lot of Hp and various materials. Sending your retainer on explorations is the fastest way to level them up in FFXIV. You can sell the materials you gather at the market.

Each Retainer can be dispatched to specific fields which a class is well suited for.

• Disciples of War and Magic excel in Field explorations, gathering materials from animals and monsters.
• Botanists thrive in Woodland explorations, obtaining resources from trees and plants.
• Fishers are best suited for Waterside exploration, collecting valuable materials from the water.
• Miners excel in Highland exploration, gathering ores and rocks.

Also, check out some of the best solo classes that can aid you in combat.

How to Unlock Retainers

To unlock retainers, complete the quest “The Scions of the Seventh Dawn” at player level 17. Afterward, visit vocates in major cities’ Market Wards to hire retainers. Initially, players have two retainer slots, but more can be obtained from Mohg station. Customize retainers’ appearance and name them. Use summoning bells found across the map to access retainers once unlocked.

How To Convert Your Retainer Class

Players can choose and convert various Retainer classes according to their needs and desires. To select and convert a retainer into a particular class, players must first increase their job level to 50 or 60 in that specific job they want the retainers to do. Check out our leveling guide to level up your classes faster. Players must have a mining level of at least 50 to 60 before converting their retainer class into a Miner.

Similarly, they need the required job levels for using all the other retainer classes. For the disciples of war and magic class, you can assign them the role of your main class; this will help them during hunting monsters and animals. You can use a training dummy to level up your main classes faster to unlock various Disciples of War and Magic retainers.

That’s all about our best retainer class in the FFXIV guide that can help you gather valuable materials and make farming easier. It’s essential to have a few retainers in your hand to make the farming process less tedious and exciting. You can also use the Novice Network in FFXIV if you want more tips regarding retainers.

Next: FFXIV Mystery Miners