Minion (Final Fantasy XIV)

Minions are vanity pets that can be summoned by the player in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. They are usually baby or toy versions of existing characters, monsters or objects from Hydaelyn. While most serve no specific purpose other than vanity, some can be used for other reasons such as providing illumination. Some minions have special interactions with minions from other players, such as dancing or fighting.

Usage
Minions can be summoned or dismissed at any time, without having to wait for any recast timer. The only exceptions being when the player is on duty, at an inn or has a summoned companion. Only one minion can be summoned at a time.

To obtain the summoning action for a minion, the player must use the corresponding item for it, which can be acquired through diverse means such as beast-tribe quests, crafting, FATEs, Grand Companies' seals exchange, market boards, NPC shops, quests, treasure hunting, ventures, etc. Once the player learns the summoning action, it will never be lost and it can be used by all of the player's classes or jobs.

While minions do not generate any enmity, neither will they participate in battle. If the player is KO'd, the minion will simply wander off back to wherever it rests until the player calls upon it again.

The action Minion Roulette, which was introduced on patch 2.16, allows the player to summon a random minion (from the ones the player possess). This action becomes available after the player acquires at least two minions.

Minion Guide
Since the introduction of patch 2.3: Defenders of Eorzea a minion guide was introduced to the game. The guide lists all of the minion summoning actions the player has acquired in a log-like presentation. Its purpose is to further expand the game's lore, in this case mostly about the minions themselves, and to serve as a collector's reference.

For each minion entry the following is included:
 * The minion's name.
 * The minion's icon.
 * The minion's description.
 * The minion's behavior (Independent, Obedient or Stationary).
 * The minion's footprints.
 * The minion's summoning action description (when hovering over the action icon).
 * A quote by an NPC regarding the minion or its kin (when hovering over the minion icon).

The player can also check the total amount of owned minions in the guide.