FFXIVCore.com - Final Fantasy XIV Fansite: Retainers and the Market - FFXIVCore.com - Final Fantasy XIV Fansite

Before I begin, my usual reminders - I played Final Fantasy XI for about a month. I played Star Wars Galaxies for a year and a half before they changed the game to a bizarre World of Warcraft clone. I have played World of Warcraft since its EU launch and continue to do so, even now - and will do so come the launch of Final Fantasy XIV. I am not a 'SE Fanboy', I don't particularly care what company makes a game - I just like the look of this particular product.

Also, this is more along the lines of 'vision' than 'current functionality' - if it is slow to use and what not in terms of accessing menus and moving stuff between yourself and your retainer, that is a no-no, however, how the system actually could work is what I cover.

<IMPORTANT -- I AM NOT IN THE BETA, THIS IS JUST THEORY>

Meanwhile, at Lake Doom

Retainers. No Auction House. The screams of anguish can be heard even from my Fortress near Lake Doom, and I can't help but hold my head in anguish and misery. However shall we cope without our Auction House? Whatever shall we do?

I'll tell you the first thing we'll do - that is forget in anyway how an Auction House works. It isn't going to be a part of Final Fantasy XIV (at least for now) and it is time to deal with it. I think the biggest problem from the reports of various people I'm hearing from the Beta is that they (the players involved in the Beta) are treating the Retainer system exactly the same as you would an Auction House. That isn't going to work - with all the people trying to sell their wares you end up with the frustration that people have expressed all too well on these forums.

Instead, you have to learn how to work with the new system. This is not quite as difficult as it sounds, and after you have read this I hope you understand why none of these 'issues' phase me, and why it in fact excites me about buying and selling my equipment and bits and pieces even more.

Tell 'em Johnny Sent Ya

First off, if you just leave a Retainer sitting there selling stuff in the middle of a big room filled with so many others, how in the world is anyone supposed to know what it is selling? You could have a plethora of world class weaponry just waiting to be snatched up by The Next Big Thing, or you could be selling rat tails - no one is going to know except by checking through them all one by one, and who is to say they would find yours before someone elses, if they find anything at all?

As such, advertising your wares will be a big thing - if you come across people on your travels who could do with a new axe, and you know that your retainer back in Limsa Lominsa has one on them, then point your fellow adventurer towards them, giving them the Market Ward in which they are housed. That is you just almost guaranteed a sale - only way you could have made that easier would be carrying a weapon with you to sell to them right there and then.

Don't Rely Purely on the Retainer

If you really need to offload some materials as they are weighing you down, or need a quick injection of Gil in exchange for materials you have no need for, check out the various guilds where people might be synthesising various goods and in need of many materials to save themselves a trip back to that hell hole of a Market Ward.

Why let someone else get a sale when you can be there with the stuff, making a quick bit of Gil and making a name for yourself as someone who will be around with the necessary goods - if you make a sale and still have your Retainer holding some similiar stuff, again give those interested the information of who your Retainer is and where exactly to find them.

Craft a Community in the Crafting and Gathering Community

Taking a leaf from real life business and industry - work together with others to produce a finished product. Being a crafter and making money doesn't mean you need to sell the finished product, there will no doubt be plenty of demand for the various bits and pieces that make a complete product.

Many of you have built computers in preparation for this game, and you put them together - but how many others made the component parts of the whole machine? I'm sure you didn't craft it from nothing by yourself - why should you have to do that in a game? If you can find someone who makes the stuff you need then they also benefit, and the cycle of life can continue without a hitch. Of course, the end price for the consumer will be inflated due to the various steps, but that is just how things work with business.

Gatherers as well are an incredibly important part of the system, and I'm sure you'd be able to find more than one party interested in obtaining you the various goods you need in exchange for hard currency, which they can then use to fund other things.

A long time ago, in Star Wars Galaxies (Sorry, it had to be done) I came across another player within the game, who needed large quantities of animal bones and meat.

Since I was a Scout, I could gather these items for him, and therefore agreed that I would gather these materials, in exchange for a flat sum of money per item, that wouldn't change even if the market value of the goods changed - I lost and gained money on this over time, but the solid, definitive price per unit was more than worth the slight losses or gains I would otherwise have made.

I did this for about six months and by the end of it both of us were stinking rich. He had been able to save time and money finding the goods and I was able to make money from something I would have done otherwise, and neither of us had to deal with an implemented market system. Further proof of this is that the player sold his goods through face to face transactions with those he thought could do with the goods (Generally back packs for extra inventory, which were a great sale to new players, or in fact anyone who wanted to clear clutter from their home).

Keep on Advertising, Keep on Schmoozing

The most important thing is to realise, that much like a Combatant trying to join a party to defeat foes, you have to sell yourself to those interested. If you just sit back and complain then nothing is going to happen, except causing yourself frustration - and who knows, someone may be looking for many of the items you have in stock, but without some kind of indication that they are available they also have to deal with the system being used incorrectly.

It will no doubt be important as the game matures to keep up with market prices and the current *It* items that will maximise your profit with as little hassle as possible. Working together with other crafters in a structured way could reap large profits for all involved, as well as provide you with access to higher grade materials that help beat other competition to the punch.

I can forsee large groups of players coming together and forming basically Supermarkets as people suggest - selling this seasons fashions and the latest in killing technology for the sophisticated and wealthy consumer, as well as cut-price murder-sticks for those on a more...modest budget, as well as independant players, happy to have crafted a few weapons and sell them for a minor profit - but a well earned one all the same.

Advertising may seem an awful thing, but in real life we are surrounded by it at all times - people trying to get their message across, and sell their wares to those interested. Why should a player run market be any different than this?

But...the Retainers?!

As you can see, the Retainer is actually a very, very small part of the overall workings of a market system. As much as people may detest it, it does seem like you may have to actually communicate with other players to properly shift your items and find what you yourself are looking for.

It is very, very different to what we are currently used to - but it has the potential to be so, so much more. Currently in World of Warcraft I stick an item up on the Auction House, and it gets bought, and I receive money. It may as well be an NPC that bought it - there is no feeling of player interaction there at all.

Closing Comments

So there you have it, my thoughts on the Retainer system, and the possibilities that it may contain. I am *NOT* in the Beta, so this is all of course based on "What if?" type theory, but I'm fairly certain that what I have discussed will fit in with the possible vision that Square Enix have for the game.