I didn’t think I would be writing guides about stats and optimization in FFXIV as I tend to shy away from the more technical advice. Truthfully that’s why I would never write a guide about Job rotations and instead chose to write my opinions on what playing each Job is like.
At this point I don’t think it’s shocking that I’m writing about maximizing your potential as Crafters and Gatherers it’s clear I’ve gone off the deep end and become a full-time Crafter and Gathering, often joking with my husband that I wouldn’t be surprised if players who didn’t know me thought I was a bot.
Over the past few months, I’ve been trying out different builds and playing around with stats to see what weird stunts I could pull in the game. For example, if I mess around with my Crafting stats enough to be able to Macro all Expert Crafts, or trying to figure out if CP when Crafting an important stat, or see if I can get the maximum amount of GP on my Tools and Gear and see whether I can substantially raise my Gil profits.
Although I look at other guides so I can better understand what others do and why, I enjoy trying things out on my own since I’m not going to play or do the same things that other players do. I regularly revisit old content and try messing around with different tactics to try to push limits. I would much rather do things atypically instead of doing them properly since it’s simply more enjoyable.
Realistically games like FFXIV are what you make of them. They can either be extremely dull and repetitive or you can figure out the things you enjoy and try to make them even more enjoyable. Not only that but figuring out what you can and can’t do in the game based on how much or little time you have to play will get you to come up with out-of-the-box ideas to get tasks done.
For example, I don’t have much time to actively play FFXIV at the moment. While yes, I am typically logged into the game and “get a lot done” the reality is that I’ve come up with tasks that allow me to AFK the majority of the time so I can focus on work.
My primary objective in the game has always been to get as many Mounts as possible and this time around I’ve let go of my past self who pretty much only did Combat tasks and achievements and have essentially maximized the potential of Retainer Ventures and doing passive tasks like Gathering if I can spare a hand. Otherwise, it’s been quick synthesis all the way though I still complete my weekly chores to make sure I don’t fall behind for Combat tasks.
Previous to returning, I can’t say that I had looked into Crafter and Gatherer achievements and though I always had all of my Crafters and Gatherers levelled up by completing Custom Deliveries and Tribal Quests, they tended to be glorified repairmen who fixed my Combat Gear if I had remembered to have Dark Matter on hand.
At this point, my Crafters are getting used extremely frequently and my Gatherer’s Gear is stacked higher than it has ever been. Although in previous expansions I’ve had the highest Scrip Gear for Crafters, this is the first expansion I not only have the highest Gatherer Scrip Gear for me but also for both of my Retainers which I’m honestly surprised I did. So, what have I learned along the way about Gathering? Let’s jump into it.
Note: If you have any questions about FFXIV that you want me to cover feel free to leave them in a comment below, you can also ask me while I am streaming on Twitch, YouTube or in our community discord.
WHAT IS GATHERING IN FFXIV?
Gathering is the stat that governs whether or not a player will be able to guarantee the ability to harvest a resource. While players are in a node they will see two numbers. The one on the top, which is also larger, is the number associated with Gathering.
Each node has a threshold or “breakpoint” which is required to get 100% guarantees on each swing, however, this is not the only breakpoint associated with Gathering which exists.
Each node has a chance to spawn with a location effect. These are at the very bottom of the nodes’ panel. The effect associated with Gathering is Yield, which will provide players with either 1, 2 or 3 bonus resources.
The amount of Gathering a player needs will depend on the level of the node and while the amount of Gathering required for the base node is hidden, players will be able to see whether they can activate the Location effect and how much Gathering they need when it is present.
Players will see the words on or off to see if they have enough of the attribute.
There are a few abilities that can also be affected by a player’s Gathering stat and these are Bountiful Yield and Bountiful Harvest. If a player’s Gathering score is high enough they will be able to get up to 3 extra resources each time it is activated, making it one of the best ways to farm lower-tier resources. This is especially useful for timed nodes and can greatly reduce the time it takes to harvest certain resources.
You will typically find that using Bountiful abilities when harvesting nodes that do not have bonus integrity tends to be more beneficial than using a Yield ability. This does come at the cost of having to manually harvest resources versus using the auto-harvest option and this is why I typically only use Bountiful abilities when I am harvesting a timed node as I have to manually harvest these anyway.
If you need more Gathering on your Tools you can use Gatherer’s Guerdon Materia. Typically players will not need any Materia to reach the 100% gather rate, however, it is likely a player will not be able to reach the breakpoints of location effects, especially for the highest tier resources.
Many times it is the collectables this applies to as Gathering will help players get more of a benefit when they use abilities like Scour and can increase the chance that your Meticulous abilities do not reduce the integrity of of the node.
As for Fishing, Gathering will make it so you can catch certain fish and players will gain the chance to increase the amount of Fish you catch when using Double and Triple Hook. In all cases, having more Gathering than required for breakpoints is not very useful. It’s a nice thing to have, but it is nowhere near necessary.
WHAT IS PERCEPTION IN FFXIV?
Perception is the stat that governs the likelihood of triggering a Boon. When players are gathering a node they will see a small number that states a percentage, this is the likelihood that a player will get a second resource when harvesting.
At most, a player will have a 60% chance to get 2 resources, though this can be raised to 100% by using Boon enhancing abilities or when there is a location effect in play.
As you may have guessed, to activate a Location effect that correlates to a Boon a player will need enough Perception. The goal is to have all nodes at a 60% Boon chance so that when the location effect is at 100% you can use an ability that provides you with an extra resource each time the Boon is triggered. This means that each swing will provide you with 3 resources instead of 2.
When it comes to collectables players can use Scrutiny to raise the Collectability when a player uses Scour. This is typically recommended as if a player “crits” on a resource, they can save some integrity allowing them to collect more resources per node. Players can also use Scrutiny to empower a Meticulus ability to also get a chance to not deplete 1 integrity, however, for this to be worth it a player will need high enough Perception and Gathering as one alone is not enough.
As for Fishing, Perception simply raises the chance of catching larger fish. Realistically this is very worth it as the larger the fish the more resources it drops when desynthesized.
WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT GATHERING OR PERCEPTION IN FFXIV?
In most cases having more Perception tends to be better than having more Gathering as once a player has enough Gathering to get a resource 100% of the time everything else is just a bonus. Now, though I say that, there are several odd breakpoints in each expansion and sometimes it’s really difficult to hit them all with Scrip Gear.
I found the odd breakpoints quite frustrating when I was working on my Splenderous Tools as my Gear was melded for the majority of breakpoints in the game and these Collectables in particular required amounts of the attributes. Though I made due, it did mean things took a bit longer as I refused to remove my Materia since it was quite pricy at the time.
This is what initially had me farming piles of Gatherers’ Scrips as while I was fine with spending Scrips on Hi-Cordial I came up with the brilliant idea to have multiple sets of Gear based on the breakpoints I was meant to meet in the different forms of content I complete. It also made it possible to have a Gearset that only had GP on it so I could stack the most abilities at once and reach breakpoints in the Diadem.
My advice when it comes to the attributes Gathering and Perception. While you are levelling your Gatherers always prioritize the attribute Gathering. Not only will this ensure that you get a resource because you only get resources when a harvest is successful it will also ensure that you are actually levelling versus smacking nodes for the sake of smacking nodes.
I strongly recommend you keep on top of getting the Vendor Gear that is closest to your level and if you are planning on gathering consistently, think about getting Scrip Gear, especially when you get closer to the maximum level. Most Scrip Gear will cover basic breakpoints, even if it is the lower iLvl of that expansion, but if you are trying to get resources from timed nodes or special nodes you will definitely need the latest Scrip Gear if not Crafted Gatherer’s gear as unfortunately sometimes these have weird breakpoints as well.
No matter what never gear will always hit the breakpoints of a previous expansion. The only time I have seen this not be true is for the Diadem as you need to Materia your Gear with GP. As this is extremely niche content it is unnecessary for most players and even then a player can get through the Diadem without reaching this breakpoint. Not to forget, you can always buy stacks of the Diadem resources for relatively inexpensive on the Market Board.
When it comes to standard node farming in the end-game, sometimes Vendor Gear doesn’t cut it when it comes to Perception. Hell, sometimes lower-tier Scrip Gear doesn’t even cut it. Genuinely it sucks that this is the case as even the base 60% Boon boost is extremely worth having as it significantly cuts a player’s time when harvesting.
My concrete opinion is that players should get enough Gathering to guarantee nodes can be farmed 100% of the time and then stack as much Perception as they can. As I write this I am farming higher-level resources with lower-tier Scrip Gear that is not melded with any Materia and while my Gathering is high enough to guarantee 100% resources, my base Boon chance is 36% and I’m sighing with how long it is taking to get all my resources. Not to mention, anytime I trigger a location effect the Boon Chance is only 96%, but this is the cost I’m currently paying so both of my Retainers can go on Ventures for the other resources I need. Am I a masochist? Just maybe.
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