Optimize your gathering. Make it as fast, and as profitable as possible with this quick guide.
Introduction
Gathering resources is quite an important task here. Not just for the crafting ingredients but also for various currencies needed throughout the entire game. The annoying part is that it takes time. So in this guide, I will give you some tips that make gathering as fast and profitable as possible. There is plenty to cover, so let's get started.
Locations and Markers
You save the most time by knowing where those nodes are and not spending ages running around in circles, trying to find some.
- First, I would expand minimap to the limit and zoom it out by one level.
- In the General Options, enable "Show all Usable Objects" so you don't have to hold the Alt key.
I've spent a lot of time making efficient gathering routes for all the zone resources. Just follow them, and you will save a lot of time.
- Remember that those nodes spawn randomly, so if you see a marker but not a node, it simply means it appeared somewhere else down the road.
- Also, most of the newer maps have some type of daily gathering limit. Some per account, some per character, it's different for each one.
- In most cases, one map spawns fewer ores than is the limit. So after you finish the run, change the instance and run again.
Gathering with Mounts
When it comes to speed, you have to count the time you spend traveling between nodes as well. And there is no better way than using mounts. Which one is the best often depends on the terrain.
- In the Core zones, it's a no-brainer. They are mostly flat, so it's definitely Raptor, but newer ones, are covered with obstacles and different elevations. I would highly recommend using Skyscale. It might look like a weird choice considering it's slower on the ground than the other mounts, but hear me out. The key is its dash ability. A quick spin forward is almost as potent as Raptor's leap, but you can aim it up or down, so it's easy to handle most obstacles and elevations without slowing down.
- With the Bond of Vigor mastery, you can even dash four times in a row every 60 seconds.
On top of that, with the End of Dragons Expansion, you can push it further and pick the 30% Mount Energy Regen upgrade for your Jade Bot to Dash even more often.
Get Loads of Quickness
Gathering speed can be accelerated as well. We could begin with Quickness, which reduces mining time just as it does for skill casting, but not every class has good access to it.
- You should try my Barrier Scrapper since it can stack an unlimited amount of Quickness.
- Not to mention Superspeed and a good amount of Stealth, which will help get away in combat and mount back up quicker.
- Or you can use a Cup of Light-Roasted Coffee and get 5s of Quickness on dismount, but there is a 20s cooldown.
Unlimited Gathering Tools
Another thing that affects gathering speed is the gathering tool, and by that, I mean the Unlimited ones from the Gem Store. There are plenty to choose from, but don't look for their effects since you can modify them with different glyphs, but for their animations.
- Some of them mine a little bit faster than the others. One has quicker animation, or the other register the harvest in the middle of their cast and can be interrupted by walking away. There is a slight variation in every single piece.
- To my knowledge, the fastest ones right now are the Consortium Harvesting Sickle, Unbound Magic Logging Pulse, and Unbound Magic Mining Beam
I know they can be expensive but definitely worth it in the long run.
Everyone does the math on how many nodes you have to gather to pay them back, but no one considers the time you save.
You can also use your Shared Inventory Slots and quickly swap those tools between multiple characters.
Just make sure they have some tools already equipped, so you can simply double click like this.
Extra Strike
The gathering is not just about speed. You can also squeeze some bonus items out of each node.
- The extra strike is pretty straightforward. It's a hidden buff increasing the chance for one extra hit each time you mine something, which doubles your yield. For example, if it's a 3-strikes Mithril node, you can mine it up to 6 times if you are lucky enough.
- The buff can stack from multiple sources, but only two of them are realistically usable. 33% comes from the Item Booster, which you can get from Item or Heroic Booster.
- They are way too expensive in the Gemstore, but you can get the same buff for the unlimited duration from the Candy Corn Gobbler.
It's always available during the Halloween festival and sometimes during the year. - Another 33% will provide Glyph of Bounty. It costs a lot, and you will need one for each tool.
Extra Rare Materials
Another bonus yield you can get is rare material provided by Guilds Tavern and Banner buffs. The description is quite deceiving, and its functionality is still a bit of a mystery.
- Some nodes have a tiny chance to drop additional rare items, like foxfire clusters from saplings.
The thing is, the buff only increases its current chance, not adding to it. - So, for example, if the rare item has a 5% drop chance, and you add a 15% drop buff, you won't end up with 20%, but with 5.75%.
Still, since those buffs are free, take them as well.
Glyphs
And finally, we have Glyphs. They work just like Runes or Sigils but go into the Gathering tools.
- You can use any Glyph in any tool, and you can get them either as a part of some Unlimited Gathering Tools or as a rare drop from Black Lion Chests.
- They are tradeable, but once you bound them for your account, you won't be able to sell them afterward.
- There is a long list of different effects, and it's safe to say, their price clearly shows usefulness and profit impact. But instead of going thru each of them, I will make it easy for you.
- Take Glyphs of Volatility. Each strike grants Volatile Magic, which you can trade for various material shipments.
- The second best option is the Glyph of Bounty mentioned before.