FFXIV Beginner's Gathering Guide (Level 1-20)

Fuel your crafting and fill your coinpurse by mastering the Disciples of the Land.

Gathering is the backbone of the FFXIV economy. By becoming a Miner, Botanist, or Fisher, you can source your own crafting materials for free and sell surplus on the Market Board for pure profit. At early levels, gathering might feel slow, but as you progress toward level 50, the speed increases significantly [00:01:20].

Essential Gathering Stats

Gathering: Increases your success rate (percentage chance to obtain an item) and the speed at which you gather [00:01:08].
Perception: Increases the rate of obtaining High-Quality (HQ) items [00:01:14]. HQ items grant a massive experience bonus (often double) compared to normal items [00:22:17].
GP (Gathering Points): The resource consumed by special abilities to boost your rates.

Gearing & Materia Recycling

One of the most efficient ways to stay geared is to use the Spiritbonding system [00:01:47].

Spiritbond: As you use gear, its spiritbond increases. Once it reaches 100%, you can Convert it into Materia [00:01:59].
Recycling: Take the Materia from your old gear and meld it into your new set. This creates a sustainable cycle of stat growth without constantly buying new Materia [00:02:30].
Melding Caps: Be aware that low-level gear has "caps" on stats. If the Materia text is red or says "plus zero," you won't get the full benefit because the item level is too low [00:06:39].
Overmelding: Even if an item only shows two slots, you can actually meld up to five Materia, though the success rate drops significantly for the extra slots [00:07:33].

The Gathering Classes

Miner & Botanist

These classes are very similar and can even share certain abilities [00:27:46].

Locating Nodes: Use the Gathering Log (B) to see what items you can gather and their general locations [00:09:44]. Use Lay of the Land (Miner) or Arbor Call (Botanist) to find the nearest node on your mini-map [00:23:23].
Specializations: Miner includes Mining (pickaxe) and Quarrying (sledgehammer) [00:29:34]. Botanist includes Logging (trees) and Harvesting (bushes/plants) [00:29:08].
Stealth: Use the Stealth ability to move past aggressive mobs. You walk slower, but you can safely reach nodes in dangerous areas [00:31:04].
HQ Abilities: At level 15, you unlock Unearth (Miner) and Leaf Turn (Botanist), which increase your HQ chance by 10% [00:25:20].

Fisher

Fishing is unique and focuses on discovery [00:18:44].

Bait Selection: You must match your bait to the water type. For example, use Crayfish Balls for freshwater rivers and different bait for the ocean [00:20:45].
The Fishing Log: Accessible via (Y), it tracks your discoveries. Unlike other gatherers, you often have to experiment with different locations and baits to see what you can catch [00:18:35].

Beginner Tips for Leveling

First-Time Bonus: You receive an experience bonus the first time you gather a new item in your log [00:10:05].
Cross-Class Skills: You can share "Ward" abilities (which increase shard yield) between Miner and Botanist, but these are not compatible with Fisher [00:27:58].
Node Bonuses: Some nodes grant extra gathering attempts if your stats (like Strength) meet a certain threshold [00:26:48].
Socialize: Gathering can be a grind. Mithrie recommends fishing with friends or having someone to talk to so the time passes faster [00:22:06].