For players who want to go deeper with their love of these elfin sidekicks, a Gold Saucer minigame (Lord of Verminion) was introduced in Patch 3.1 as a real-time strategy game that pits teams of minions against one another for various prizes. They come in all shapes, they’re roughly the same size, and while some undoubtedly capitalize on their already endearing proportions with an even more lovable look, some are just… green blobs (sorry Slime Puddle). But if you just want adorableness then here are my picks for minions that’ll make your collection as cute as can be.
20. Baby Opo-opo
Baby Opo-opo is a great example of a minion with a special animation whenever your character uses an emote. Targeting it using the /beckon emote invites this lil’ lemur to hang out on your shoulders. Hopefully Baby Opo-opo never has to grow up. The big eyes and ears are perfectly proportioned to its little body, unlike the adult Opo-opos in the game who like to throw stones at you with their lanky limbs. How to get: Baby Opo-opo drops randomly at the end of the Brayflox’s Longstop (Hard) dungeon.
19. The Behatted Serpent of Ronka
Truth be told, there were a few Serpents of Ronka that were candidates for this list. But in the end I had to choose the Behatted version to carry the flag as the cutest minion of Ronka. There’s just something about this chunky little snaggletoothed mustard-yellow snake, all decked out in an Indiana Jones-style hat and red and white checkered neckerchief… it just has something that makes me want to snatch it up and aggressively cuddle it. Using the /pet emote also makes it do a series of adorable backflips. How to get: You can purchase the Behatted Serpent of Ronka for 8 Qitari Compliments after reaching Rank 8 (Bloodsworn) with the beast tribe.
18. The Major-General
I am the very model of a modern… tiny great white shark. The Major-General has the teensiest lil’ legs your Lalafell friends wish they had, and a very self-important way of standing upright. It likes to meet with other Major-Generals in a sort of face-off, and using the /pet emote causes it to swim around, in shark-like fashion, in a wide circle. How to get: You’ll have to score 5,000 points or more in a single ocean fishing (introduced in Patch 5.2) trip, completing the No More Fish in the Sea I Achievement, in order to snag this toothy admiral.
17. Attendee #777
As if the Mikoshi mount didn’t put enough Namazu helpers at your disposal, the Attendee #777 minion grants you one more extra tiny little upright catfish to do your bidding. Attendee #777 eats from your hand with the /handover emote, and using /pet has it flopping on the ground sideways like the fish out of water it already is. It somehow achieves a perfect balance of cute, loyal, and helpless all at once. How to get: You’ll first have to reach Rank 4 (Trusted) with the Namazu Beast Tribe, then Attendee #777 can be purchased with 7 Namazu Koban.
16. Ghido
The ancient turtle Ghido has its origins in Final Fantasy V. But in XIV, he makes an appearance as a tiny loveable minion. And who doesn’t love baby turtles? When you /wave at Ghido, he’ll turn to face you. And when you /pet Ghido, he’ll swim lazily in a small circle before you. There’s also a surprise interaction between the Ghido minion and the Wind-up Exdeath minion if you ever get a chance to see these two cross paths! How to get: Ghido has a chance to drop after completing Stormblood’s The Sirensong Sea dungeon.
15. Lesser Panda
Red Pandas, in my opinion, are cuter than their black-and-white counterparts – they’re smaller, stauncher, they have a long body, cute ringed tails and scrunched little faces. Lucky for me the Lesser Panda minion is here to follow me everywhere I go. Like Baby Opo-opo, /beckon will invite Lesser Panda onto your shoulder, and there’s nothing cuter than seeing that fuzzy copper tail draped over your back. The /handover emote also causes it to eat from your hand. How to get: Lesser Panda has a chance to drop after completing Heavensward’s The Aery dungeon.
14. Fox Kit
Fox Kit has an adorably long tail that’s as fluffy as a cloud. According to its description, this minion is somewhat of a spirit-in-training, and the tail and unique chest mane definitely give it a subtle otherworldly essence. When you /pet Fox Kit, it’ll curl up into an adorable little ball on the ground and take a nap. I always feel bad for moving, which triggers it to start following me again. How to get: Fox Kit can be purchased with 3 Sassho-seki Fragments (rewards for completing the Foxy Lady and Outfoxed FATEs in Yanxia).
13. Mameshiba
“Mame” means “bean” in Japanese. So I like to call this minion “little bean.” She’s an incredibly cute and loyal Shiba-Inu pup, her tail is in a constant state of wagging, and she always seems to be looking to you for guidance. She’s so fluffy, fresh, and perfectly groomed, and has the most adorable green bandana tied around her neck. Plus she’ll eat from your hand with /handover, and shake her coat out when you /pet her. How to get: You’ll need a high level Miner retainer to avoid paying dearly on the Market Board for Mameshiba (Highland Exploration XXII or Quick Exploration).
12. Abroader Otter
Abroader Otter is all decked out in a Hawaiian-esque open shirt, wide-brimmed straw hat with blue sunglasses on top, a chum bucket in one paw, and a fishing pole slung over his shoulder. Using the /handover emote will cause him to eat a snack from your hand, and the /pet emote has him casting a fishing line out and pulling it back in. Abroader Otter makes for such an adorable fishing companion. How to get: Abroader Otter has a chance to be brought back from Deep Sea Site 7 using your Free Company’s Submersible Voyage system.
11. Wind-up Alpha
Wind-Up Alpha is modeled after the chibi chocobo Alpha, from the Omega raid series in Stormblood. Its big blue eyes and can-do spirit inspire joy. And I love the custom Ironworks gear and goggles it wears. When you set the ‘Mammeteer’ title, using the /handover emote will have it eat from your hand, and using /pet will have it doing Alpha’s signature one winged, one leg raised cheer seen in the storyline. How to get: Wind-up Alpha is a reward for completing the 3rd and final tier (Alphascape) of the 8-man Omega raid questline.
10. Gaelikitten
The Gaelikitten minion is a little gray tabby wearing a forest green cape with a golden bell on the front, and flapping bat-like wings on the back. According to the item description, the wing mechanism is a mystery. But it’s so cute you don’t really care how it works. After standing AFK long enough, Gaelikitten will land on your shoulder and stand on its hind legs, vacantly surveying the scene with you. It’ll also do a heartwarming circle fly-around glide after a while. How to get: The Gaelikitten minion has a chance to drop after completing Heavensward’s Sohm Al dungeon.
9. Nutkin
Nutkin is an adorable teensy plump gray squirrel baby with an acorn obsession. It’s constantly munching on an acorn, and has the cutest eyes and bushy tail. Nutkin will eat from your hand with /handover, rest on your shoulder (hope you don’t mind it chowing down up there) with /beckon, and has one of my favorite /pet emotes – it does an adorable forward tumble over its acorn, briefly becoming frazzled afterward before remembering to rush back to its comfort ‘corn. How to get: Nutkin can be obtained as a reward for deciphering Unhidden Leather Maps and defeating the enemies that spawn from them.
8. Axolotl Eft
Axolotl Eft is a small floating pink salamander with a perfectly plump rotund head and beady little eyes that seem to be constantly begging for your attention. Its squanch face isn’t entirely in likeness to the real life creature that inspires it… But that is (of course) what makes it all the more cute. Using the /handover emote will cause it to eat from your hand, and the /pet emote will have this adorable amphibian happily swim upward. How to get: Axolotl Eft is a chance reward from sending your high level Fisher retainer out on the Waterside Exploration XXII venture.
7. Sand Fox
Unlike the Fox Kit earlier on the list, Sand Fox trades a long bushy tail for a shorter one.
But it gains the cutest fluffy round face and a judgmental “over-it” stare.
Cute comes in many forms, and there’s no better minion than Sand Fox and his piercing gaze to represent a different side of adorability.
The /handover emote will have it eat from your hand, and /pet will have Sand Fox survey the landscape.
How to get: Sand Fox costs 400 Faux Leaves (rewards for playing the Faux Hollows minigame in Idyllshire once per week after completing the current Unreal trial).
6. Salt & Pepper Seal
Upon closer examination, Salt & Pepper Seal does, in fact, have a body that’s separate from its head. It’s just so pudgy and squishy it’s so hard to notice. It’s got the cutest little tail and fins, and almond eyes that get sleepy every so often. In addition to eating from your hand with /handover (these minions sure are hungry…), it has one of my favorite /pet animations – it flops over to the side and exposes its big belly. How to get: Salt & Pepper Seal has a chance to drop after completing Stormblood’s Drowned City of Skalla dungeon.
5. Bom Boko
Bom Boko is a spiritual nod to Nintendo’s Animal Crossing franchise – it’s a spritely raccoon (tanuki) pup with a familiar-looking green leaf on its forehead. Let’s hope it follows you around because it wants to and not because it needs your next mortgage payment. Its /pet animation is quite unique – Bom Boko does a backflip in the air, lands in a steel pot that’s been conjured from nowhere, and as the green leaf slowly makes its descent, it pops its head out just in time for the leaf to land back on its head. How to get: Bom Boko is a chance reward from high-level retainer missions (Field Exploration XX/XXII).
4. Drippy
Drippy is a sentient floating amalgam of rainwater. He’s bear-shaped, holds a little scepter in one limb (I’m not sure if the word ‘paw’ is appropriate here), and has adorable ears and eyes. Think Marill/Azumarill from Pokemon except without a mouth. That’s Drippy. Besides eating from your hand with /handover, Drippy does a bouncy dance ending with a spinning flourish when you use /pet. How to get: Drippy has a chance to drop after completing the Shadowbringers Patch 5.4 dungeon, Matoya’s Relict.
3. Yukinko Snowflake
The Yukinko Snowflake minion looks like it has the exact same body and face as another popular (and very cute) creature in FFXIV, the Korpokkur. Except this little guy is a white puffball rather than a green one – and he has a thatched straw roof/hat combo to protect it from the elements. Yukinko Snowflake eats from your hand with /handover, and /pet will cause it to float up in the air and back down. How to get: There’s a chance this minion will drop from opening up lockboxes inside The Forbidden Land, Eureka Hydatos.
2. Fat Cat
Fat Cat is the original cute minion in FFXIV. Highly sought after among high-level players in A Realm Reborn times (2014-15), it’s now fairly common to see. And it has become so popular that there’s a mount version running around now too. Its cuteness lies in its simplicity – it’s nothing more than a very fat cat. I love the way it runs, and of course it eats from your hand with /handover. But instead of having a /pet interaction, Fat Cat has an adorable idle animation (it lazily flops over to one side). How to get: You can get your own Fat Cat from various high-level Fisher ventures (level 50-80).
1. Tora-jiro
It’s cats all the way down for cutest FFXIV minions ever made.
And the winner is the adorable little tiger cub, Tora-jiro.
Tora-jiro wins simply because of its eyes. The designers really hit the nail on the head with this one – you’ll almost feel bad summoning a different minion and shelving this little guy.
With the ‘Mammeteer’ title on, you can trigger Tora-jiro’s precious idle animation, trying to pounce on shadows it sees on the ground.
How to get: Tora-jiro can be purchased for 800 Centurio Seals in Rhalgr’s Reach.
