ArcheAge Profession Guide – Gathering

Gathering works similar to Logging. You can uproot growing plants, but I’ve yet to see a benefit from this in way of getting items. I’ve uprooted plants frequently and have not received anything other than a bit of free experience for my battle class. I happened across two seed spawns in my travels though, so keep your eyes peeled while exploring.

Increasing your gathering allows for gathering higher tier plants and getting higher quality items. As far as exclusivity, I haven’t found any plants that I can’t just buy seeds for from a seed merchant.

A side-to-side comparison of a growing clover node and a mature clover node.

The Best Scanning Technique:

I’ve come to develop my own scouting technique for Gathering. What I usually do is find an area with a good view of my surroundings and move my mouse across the landscape. You want to do this a bit slow so you can be thorough. If there is a plant node, your mouse will have a text box pop up beside it even if just for a second. This will alert you of the node’s general location, but be careful street lamps and other interactable objects can give false reads.

Other Notable Details:

• I’ve come to notice a few tricks while out and about. Gathering nodes tend to stand out when you’re near them. These nodes don’t really ever seem to quite blend in with the scenery. If a splash of color catches your eye, it wouldn’t hurt to scout it out just in case.
• The node is always the same appearance-wise. While its stages each have their own appearance, that appearance never differentiates no matter where you find the node. It’s possible to memorize the exact appearance of nodes to pick them out of the regular environment.
• Gathering nodes have remarkably short growth timers. The longest I’ve seen is about 2-3 hours, which is close to a Yew Tree, the fastest growing tree I’ve seen. Sometimes it’s worth it to wait for the node to mature, depending on your location and the node’s timer.
• Certain plants grown in the Scarecrow Garden increase Gathering. So far only Vanilla and Narcissus have produced Gathering proficiency from what I’ve tested.
• Every time you encounter a wild plant node, you should make a note of its location so you can scout that location regularly.

That about wraps it up for Gathering. For more professions and other tips, check out my ArcheAge guide directory.

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