There are many ways to earn Gil in FFXIV. From raiding ultimate bosses to simply doing quests, there are an abundance of activities that players can get rich from doing. One of the many steady sources of Gil is Ventures. Sending retainers on expeditions might look simple for players, but there are a lot of other aspects that players should know about if they are looking to make the most out of this feature.
What are FFXIV Ventures?
This feature is what other games would label as expeditions, wherein gamers can send units or retainers to missions that yield tons of rewards. While these prizes aren't as many as compared to actively grinding loot, they require less effort on the player's part because they are passive income.
How to Get Ventures?
Before adventurers can start sending their retainers to specific requests, they need to unlock the retainers feature allowing gamers to recruit units. This feature can be done by reaching level 17 and completing the "The Scions of the Seventh Dawn" main story quest. Afterward, players should achieve the "An Ill-conceived Venture" mission that can be accepted in the gamers' starting city. This task can be initiated by interacting with the Troubled Adventurer.
Requirements for Ventures
Other than unlocking the expedition feature itself, there are two main things that players should have to start a Venture. Gamers need retainers and Venture tokens to send units to expeditions. The NPC units can be hired from a Retainer Vocate near any Market Board in any major city. Meanwhile, the Venture currency can be bought.
Usually, players can only have two retainers at a time. However, gamers can add 7 NPC units from the Mog Station found on the FFXIV Lodestone. Those with the FFXIV Companion App can push their total number of retainers to 10.
Ventures Tokens / Coins
Players from their Grand Companies can acquire the Venture currency. The tokens can be bought from the shop for 200 Grand Company seals each. Fortunately, players only need to be Private Third Class rank to buy them, which is the starting rank upon joining these large alliances.
Retainer Class
Before units can be sent to expeditions, players must first assign a class. Their job determines what type of missions they can undertake for their ventures, so gamers must be careful in choosing this aspect of their Retainers. They can be enlisted under any non-limited Disciple of War, Disciple of Magic, or Disciple of Land classes.
Note that retainers can only be assigned to classes that the players have already unlocked. In addition, the level of the NPC unit in those particular jobs is also directly tied to the players' current rank in those classes. A Retainers level cannot exceed their employers' rank, and if the players' level is not yet capped, then the unit can only level up to 5 leagues below the current rank of the gamers.
Besides the base classes, Retainers can be assigned additional jobs once they satisfy the necessary conditions. However, these NPC units must already be at level 50. Furthermore, their players need to have an available copy of Modern Vocation, which can be bought with 40 Ventures at the Retainer Vocates. Jobs that do not have a base class require Retainers to be level 60 to be introduced to that vocation.
Depending on how many Retainers players have, the priority is to have at least two NPC units under Disciple of War or Disciple of Magic. Having units under these fields can secure monster drops for gamers since they can go to Hunting ventures. For any Disciple of Land Retainers, the ideal trade skill to involve units is Fishing since it is considered the most tedious life skill in the game.
Retainer Gear
One of the most critical aspects that will influence the efficiency of Ventures is the Retainer Gear. The equipment of the players' units will decide how much and how good the rewards will be received. Retainers' type of gear should have depended on what class they fall under.
Those in the Disciple of War and Disciple of Magic fields should have items that have the highest level since the number of items received depends on the gear level. Those under the Disciple of Land classes should be equipped with things that have high Gathering Stats for the number of materials obtained and Perception stats for the quality of the items. However, Fishing Retainers should focus solely on Perception.
Types of Retainer Ventures
There are a total of 9 expeditions to which Retainers can be sent. These explorations will vary in time duration and the type of item obtained. In addition, the experience points acquired will also go for each task.
Shorter missions are known as Normal Ventures, while longer ones are Exploration Ventures. Aside from crafting materials and rare resources, Explorations also have the chance to drop Allagan pieces and minions. Here are all the current types of Ventures in the game:
Normal Ventures
- Hunting – This task is designated for Disciple of War or Disciple of Magic Retainers. Units are sent to hunt for specific items dropped by monsters. The base duration for this task is one hour.
- Mining – This Venture is designated for Mining Retainers. Units are sent to gather materials that the players have previously acquired. Resources that adventurers have not encountered yet cannot be selected or included in this expedition. The base duration for this task is one hour.
- Botany – This task is given to Botany Retainers. Like Mining Ventures, these units can only gather Botany resources that have been previously collected or compiled by the players. Gamers cannot choose target-specific items they have not yet encountered for gathering. The base duration for this expedition is also one hour.
- Fishing – This Venture is assigned to Fishing Retainers. Similar to Mining and Botany, the same rule applies regarding available resources. The base duration for this task is also one hour.
Exploration Ventures
- Field – This exploration is the more extended version of the Hunting Venture for Disciple of War or Disciple of Magic Retainers. Instead of targeting specific items, this task rewards players with random materials that have the chance to be unique and rare. This mission also rewards significantly more exp, and it would take 18 hours to finish at the minimum.
- Highland – This mission is the Exploration version of the Mining Venture. The target material for this task is also random, but it can be a unique and rare item. This also provides more exp than Normal Ventures and will take at least 18 hours to finish.
- Woodland – This task is the Botany Venture's Exploration version. The same rule applies here, similar to Highland and Field explorations.
- Waterside – This exploration is for Fishing Retainers. It applies the same rules as other explorations. The difference between this one and the other longer expeditions is that the loot quality here relies purely on Perception.
- Quick Exploration – While this task is labeled as an Exploration, it is the shortest one in this category since Retainers only need an hour to complete it. Any unit can be sent to do this expedition since the class does not matter for this type of mission. While this Venture can also yield unique and rare items, there is also a chance that players will be rewarded with a Water Crystal. There is also a probability of this task producing furniture, endgame gear, and other types of rewards.
Minion Rewards
Minions are scarce rewards from doing Explorations. They are in high demand and will usually fetch a high price on the Market Board. Here are all the Pets that can be acquired via Ventures:
- Allagan Melon (obtained from Gardening and Quick Exploration)
- Axolotl Eft (obtained from Water Exploration XXII)
- Bacon Bits (obtained from Woodland Exploration XXV)
- Bom Bok (obtained from Field Exploration XX-XXII)
- Crabe De La Crabe (obtained from Waterside Exploration XXV-XXVII)
- Domakin (obtained from Waterside Exploration XXV)
- Fat Cat (obtained from Waterside Exploration XIV-XXV)
- Flag (obtained from Field Exploration XXVI-XXVII)
- Gestahl (obtained from Waterside Exploration XVIII and XIX)
- Greener Gleaner (obtained from Woodland Exploration XXVI-XXVII)
- Koala Joey (obtained from Woodland Exploration XXII)
- Littlefoot (obtained from Woodland Exploration XIV-XVIII)
- Mameshiba (obtained from Highland Exploration XXII)
- Miniature Minecart (obtained from Highland Exploration XIV)
- Minute Mindflayer (obtained from Field Exploration XIII, Highland Exploration XIII, and Waterside Exploration XIII)
- Mystic Weapon (obtained from Field Exploration XXV)
- Odder Otter (obtained from Highland Exploration XIX-XXII, Woodland Exploration XIX-XXII, and Waterside Exploration XIX-XXII)
- Tengue Doll (obtained from Field Exploration XXII)
- Tiny Tapir (obtained from Field Exploration XIV, XV, and XIX)
- Wind-up Grebuloff (obtained from Highland Exploration XXV)
- Wind-up Hobgoblin (obtained from Highland Exploration XXV)
Additional Tips
- The best way to level up Retainers is to keep sending them on Quick Explorations since this is the fastest authentic way of ranking up units. However, if players tend to play for shorter periods, they should send Retainers to any Exploration Ventures.
- It is recommended for gamers to store their old and unused gear if they plan to have Disciple of War or Disciple of Magic Retainers. These items can be given to these Battle-type units, so players won't have a hard time looking for new equipment.
- To earn a profit from Ventures, always check the Market Board to see which materials are in demand and if the listed items are at a reasonable price.
- Always check the sales tax in every Retainer Vocate. Ideally, it is best to sell items in cities without tax.
- Never leave the Venture system idle. To make the most out of it, always ensure that Retainers consistently do expeditions.
As one of the most consistent ways of gaining Gil, players should make sure that they are knowledgeable about every aspect of Venture. This strategy ensures that they can optimize their profits and capitalize on every opportunity. This passive activity is one method players should not miss if they want to get rich.
