Gathering (Final Fantasy XIV)

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Gathering is a gameplay mechanic in Final Fantasy XIV. It allows players to acquire items that can be used in synthesis, and in many cases, items which can only be acquired through gathering or through purchases on the Market Board. Gathering is performed by the Disciples of the Land classes.

Gathering is not required for the main scenario, and is therefore optional. However, it can supplement synthesis which, in turn, can earn the player high amounts of gil. In theory, the player can avoid ever gathering, but this will make leveling Synthesis classes far more costly. While gathering unlocks several unique materials for Synthesis, many others are found by killing enemies.

Process[]

Gathering is performed by interacting with several nodes found throughout the map when a tool used by a Disciple of the Land class is equipped. The player must toggle their class' ability which finds nodes first.

Classes[]

Name	Proficiency
Botanist (BTN)	Harvests the resources of the plants in Eorzea. Gathers raw materials for Carpenters, Culinarians, Leatherworkers, Alchemists and Weavers. The Botanists' Guild is based in Gridania.
Fisher (FSH)	Harvests the fish and other sea creatures from the waters of Eorzea. Gathers raw materials mostly for Alchemists and Culinarians. Is also a more leisure-oriented discipline, with many fish serving no purpose beyond collecting. The Fishers' Guild is based in Limsa Lominsa.
Miner (MIN)	Extracts minerals from the grounds of Eorzea. Gathers raw ores and gemstones mostly for Armorers, Alchemists, Blacksmiths and Goldsmiths. The Miners' Guild is based in Ul'dah.

Botany, mining, and spearfishing[]

When the player interacts with a node within their 5 level range, they can then begin the gathering process. They can then select an item from a list which they want to obtain. This item will have a percent chance to acquire, and a percent chance to reach high quality once gathered; the player can increase both of these chances with abilities. Several items can also be "unknown"; these items have not been discovered yet, and have a lower chance of being gathered, but upon discovery will be easier to gather.

The player can search for items to gather from botany and mining nodes in the Gathering Log, similar to the Hunting Log.

Fishing[]

Fishing is more of a separate minigame in itself, although it involves the same attributes and a similar concept. It relies less on the use of GP and has more random effects. At higher levels, mooching is possible using HQ catches of certain types of fish (such as gobies), allowing the hooking of rare types of fish. Beyond level 50, the Patience and Hookset skills allow fishers to expend GP to improve the chances of catching an HQ fish.

Some fishing holes require a certain Gulleye trait to be able to fish from them. Exotic fishing holes such as sand dunes, the Sea of Clouds, magma wells, and aetherochemical spills require certain traits to be able to fish from them. While most fish can be caught at all times with appropriate bait, some only bite at certain times of day, or during certain weather phenomenon. Some fish only appear under the effect of Fisher's Intuition, a buff obtain from catching a specific fish repeatedly, or after studying ichthyological Folklore tomes.

Players can track their progress in the Fishing Log, with a Fish Guide describing individual species and a Records window tracking in nine categories.

Mechanics[]

GP[]

Each Disciple of the Land class has GP, or Gathering Points. These are required to use certain abilities while gathering. GP does not regenerate over time while gathering, instead recovering after each gathering attempt, in order to prevent players from simply waiting on a favorable node for their GP to recover. When not actively gathering, GP recovers normally over time.

Attributes[]

There are only two attributes which help with Gathering, both of which gear, materia and levels increase like other attributes:

Attribute	Effect
Gathering	Increases the likelihood of receiving an item during gathering.
Perception	Increases the probably of the item received to be high quality while gathering.

Some items require a minimum amount of Gathering or Perception in order to collect them.

Nodes[]

Nodes for botany, mining, and spearfishing are found throughout the world when the ability to reveal them is toggled on. They are unique to the players on their end, and thus, two players cannot take from one another's gathering node. New nodes can be found every five levels, and each node offers different materials to gather. Nodes will respawn as others are used.

At high levels, there are "unspoiled" nodes that only activate at certain times each Eorzea day. These contain rare materials not as easily obtained, and with disappear after using it. "Ephemeral" nodes are also time dependent, but can respawn like regular nodes during that time frame.

Fishing Holes[]

Fishing Holes can be found throughout Eorzea, including certain city zones. Most bodies of water are classified as fishing holes (though larger bodies may be split into several), each with a selection of fish that may be fished up. The fishing log will track fish in every known hole, and displays a checkmark if any are completed.

Fishing holes are divided into six types, requiring appropriate bait:

Saltwater - Coastal water bodies containing "Coastline" and "Deep Sea" fish.
Freshwater - Inland water bodies containing "River" and "Lake" fish.
Dunes - Desert rifts containing "Sand" fish.
Sea of Clouds - Standing mist containing "Skies" and "Floating Island" fish.
Magma - Volcanic rifts containing "Magma" fish.
Aetherochemical Spills - Chemical pools containing "Aetherochemical Spills" fish.

High Quality[]

In addition to a chance to receive an item, the player has the chance to get an item to high quality, or HQ status. This makes the item more valuable for use in synthesis, and earns the player more experience, in addition to being required for several quests.

Collectables[]

High-level gathers can obtain "collectable" materials, which can be traded for EXP, gil, and Gatherers' Scrips. The items requested often changes each day, and each has a minimum rating to be eligible for trading. Collectables cannot be used for synthesis and cannot be stacked in inventory.

Gathering collectables from botany and mining nodes functions as a minigame similar to synthesis, in which players must carefully use abilities to increase an item's quality while ensuring the "wear" does not exceed its threshold, as well as ensure the node doesn't get exhausted in the process. Only certain materials from unspoiled nodes and ephemeral nodes can be gathered as a collectable.

Gathering fish as a collectable is much more straightforward process, requiring only the activation of the Collect ability, after which eligible fish will offer a prompt whether to be made into a collectable. The quality rating of fish is determined by its measurement in ilms, multiplied by ten.

Aetherial Reduction[]

Some collectable materials are reducible using the Aetherial Reduction ability, in a manner similar to desynthesis. These particular materials cannot be traded to the House of Splendors, and only a few are otherwise used in crafting. This process is the only way to obtain aethersand, a rare type of crafting material, and provides elemental crystals and clusters. The yield of Aetherial Reduction is determined by the collectability rating, with higher rarity resulting in better aethersand.

Shared abilities[]

The following abilities are shared between the Botanist and Miner classes, and occasionally Fishers as well, though their icons may differ.

Class actions[]

Action	Level	GP Cost	Recast	Class
Sneak	8	—	—	BTN MIN FSH
Sneak	Tread quietly, enabling you to avoid enemies up to four levels above your own.
Preparation	12	—	—	BTN MIN
Preparation	Reveals the conditions for obtaining HQ items while gathering.
The Twelve's Bounty	20	150	—	BTN MIN
The Twelve's Bounty	Increases elemental shard yields by 2. Cannot be executed if the gathering node does not yield shards.
Scour	50	—	—	BTN MIN
Scour	Increases collectability of an item. Increase is determined by your gathering rating. Reduces integrity by 1.
Scrutiny	50	200	—	BTN MIN
Scrutiny	Improves next item collectability increase. Effect is determined by your perception rating.
The Giving Land	74	200	180s	BTN MIN
The Giving Land	Increases elemental shard, crystal, and cluster yields by a random amount. Effect can be stacked with The Twelve's Bounty. Cannot be executed if the gathering node does not yield shards, crystals, or clusters.
Pick Clean	77	250	—	BTN MIN
Pick Clean	Reduces the chance of obtaining HQ items to 0% but increases item yield by up to three. Number determined by your perception rating. Does not increase item yield if all gathering node items start at 0%.

Traits[]

Action	Level	Class	Description
Auto Sneak	27	BTN MIN FSH	Automatically activates Sneak upon changing your class to botanist. Effect is also automatically activated upon changing areas.
Enhanced Twelve's Bounty	41	BTN MIN	The Twelve's Bounty now extends to crystals.
Nymeia's Ward	42	BTN MIN	Occasionally increases yield for items without HQ versions. Conditions for increase can be confirmed by using Preparation.
Enhanced Twelve's Bounty II	50	BTN MIN	The Twelve's Bounty now extends to clusters.
Enhanced GP Regeneration	70	BTN MIN FSH	Raises base GP regeneration rate by one.
Enhanced Twelve's Bounty III	71	BTN MIN	Increases the base yield of The Twelve's Bounty by one.
Enhanced GP Regeneration II	80	BTN MIN FSH	Raises base GP regeneration rate by a total of two. When gathering, raises base regeneration rate by one.(BTN/MIN only)

Removed actions[]

The following abilities have been removed. Removed abilities will still appear on the hotbar, their icon greyed out icon with a red strikethrough. They will have no effect and must be removed by the player. The given statistics represent their last form before their removal.

Action	Level	GP Cost	Recast	Class
Stealth	8	—	—	BTN MIN FSH
Stealth	Conceal yourself and tread quietly, reducing movement speed, but enabling you to avoid enemies level 20 and below. Removed in patch 5.1.
Collector's Glove	50	—	—	BTN MIN
Collector's Glove	Utilize your expansive knowledge of mining/botany to uncover collectables amongst regular items. Removed in patch 5.4.
Methodical Appraisal	50	—	—	BTN MIN
Methodical Appraisal	Appraise a gathering node for collectables. Increases item rarity by perception x1. Increases item wear by 10. Uses one gathering attempt. Removed in patch 5.4.
Discerning Eye	50	200	—	BTN MIN
Discerning Eye	Improves next item rarity increase by 50%. Removed in patch 5.4.
Instinctual Appraisal	51	—	—	BTN MIN
Instinctual Appraisal	Appraise a gathering node for collectables. Increases item rarity by perception x0.8-1.5. Increases item wear by 10. Uses one gathering attempt. Removed in patch 5.4.
Utmost Caution	51	200	—	BTN MIN
Utmost Caution	Reduces next item wear increase by 10. Removed in patch 5.4.
Deep Breath	52	300	—	BTN MIN
Deep Breath	Nullifies item wear increase for one of the next three appraisal attempts. Removed in patch 4.0.
Impulsive Appraisal	53	—	—	BTN MIN
Impulsive Appraisal	Appraise a gathering node for collectables. Increases item rarity by perception x0.9. Increases item wear by 10. Additional Effect: 30% chance Discerning Eye activates Uses one gathering attempt. Removed in patch 5.4.
Single Mind	57	200	—	BTN MIN
Single Mind	Execute an appraisal without using a gathering attempt. Removed in patch 5.4.
Last Ditch	59	50	—	BTN MIN
Last Ditch	Increases the collectability of an item. Can only be executed when item wear is beyond its maximum. Removed in patch 4.0.
Impulsive Appraisal II	61	—	—	BTN MIN
Impulsive Appraisal II	Appraise a gathering node for collectables. Increases item rarity by perception x0.9. Increases item wear by 10. Additional Effect: 30% - 100% chance Discerning Eye activates Percentage determined by your perception rating. Uses one gathering attempt. Removed in patch 5.4.
Stickler	71	—	—	BTN MIN
Stickler	Appraise a gathering node for collectables. Increases item rarity by perception x0.5. Does not affect item wear. Can only be used once on a single gathering node. Uses one gathering attempt. Removed in patch 5.4.