Quick Links
There are a thousand different things to do in Final Fantasy 14; something you may not have tried is gathering. Whether you're breaking up rocks, chopping down trees, or reeling in fish, gathering can be a fun and rewarding activity.
Gathering is the perfect complement to crafting, as you can probably guess. Gathering your own materials to use in high-level crafts can save you tons of your hard-earned gil. If you want to start gathering, but you have no idea where to begin, let this guide be the answer. Let's take a look at the basics of gathering, tips for getting started, and a few ways to quickly level up.
Updated February 16, 2022: Gathering Jobs underwent a few new changes with Final Fantasy 14's most recent expansion, Endwalker. With the removal of gatherable HQ items, we've updated this guide for clarity and readability to better help you get started with your first gathering Job.
The Basics Of Gathering
There are currently three gathering classes in the game; fisher, botanist, and miner. Botanists tend to trees and plants, miners break rocks and gather ore, and fishers reap the bounty of the sea. You can gather items all over the world, but you'll typically want to stick to areas that are around your level.
Because of the nature of fisher, and how different it is from miner and botanist, we're going to mainly focus on the latter two classes in this guide.
Why Level A Gathering Job?
Gathering is a much easier realm to break into than crafting, and for that reason alone it can be an enticing entry point to the Disciple of Hand or Land classes. Or, maybe you want something to do while you're waiting for DPS queues. Either way, there are many benefits to having even just one gathering class leveled up.
Gathering classes pair extremely well with crafting classes, as they will let you gather up your own materials without having to worry about Market Board stock, or spending any gil. Additionally, you can bring in a sizable amount of profits just from gathering hot items and selling them.
Getting Started With Gathering
Once you've decided which gatherer you want to level up, let's talk about the things you'll need to know when gathering. There are three main stats that you have to worry about.
| Gathering | Increases your chance of receiving an item while gathering |
| Perception | Increases your chance to trigger Gatherer's Boon, increasing the number of items you receive when gathering |
| GP | Resource spent when using most gathering actions |
Now you're ready to chop some trees or break some rocks. The process of gathering is actually very simple. There are three "steps" you have to take during each gathering attempt.
- Raise chance to gather
- Increase chance to trigger Gatherer's Boon
- Click on the item to gather it
You can raise your chance to gather an item through actions like Sharp Vision and Field Mastery. You can raise the chance to trigger Gatherer's Boon with actions like Mountaineer's Gift and Pioneer's Gift. There are tons of other actions you'll gain as you level up, but these will be your basic abilities that will carry you to the higher levels.
How To Level Up Gathering Jobs
There are a few different methods for leveling your gathering classes that we are going to take a look at below.
Levequests
Levequests are a repeatable quest you can undertake in various zones in the game. Each quest will involve you going to a specified location, gathering a set number of items, then turning in the quest.
Levequests are a very efficient form of leveling, but they are time-gated. You will only be granted six Levequest Allowances each day, which puts a constraint on how much you can level up each day. We recommend using these between levels 1-50, at which point you will unlock better ways to level up.
Beast Tribe Daily Quests
Beast Tribe Quests are daily quests you can undertake from a given Beast Tribe. Beast Tribes that have gathering-based quests are as follows:
| Beast Tribe | Relevant Levels | How To Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Namazu | 60-70 | 'One Size Fits All' - Seigetsu the Enlightened in The Azim Steppe (X:6.1, Y:23.2) |
| Qitari | 70-80 | 'The Stewards of Note' - Concerned Mother in The Rak'tika Greatwood (X:21.0, Y:27.6) |
These aren't available until higher levels, so you'll have to level to 60 a different way. Additionally, you'll have to unlock the Beast Tribe before you can start doing their daily quests. However, once you're able to do Beast Tribe Quests, they provide a quick source of experience you can repeat every day.
Grand Company Turn-ins
Grand Company Turn-ins are a time-gated contract you can fulfill each day with your Grand Company. Every day, you will be asked to deliver 20 items (between one to four for fisher) that are around your current level. You will receive experience points and Grand Company Seals.
This form of leveling is meant to supplement other methods, as you can only gain experience once a day. However, you can buy the required items on the Market Board and turn them in, meaning you don't have to spend any time gathering on days you'd rather be doing something else.
The Diadem
The Diadem is essentially an ecosystem designed entirely for gathering. Here, you can gather materials for the Ishgardian Restoration, and use those materials to craft items.
You'll have to already have a level 60 class to do the quest that unlocks the Diadem. But, once you have it unlocked, you can enter it as a gatherer as low as level ten. This is a great place to level up while gathering important materials used for Ishgardian Restoration crafting, but it can get repetitive if you spend a lot of time here.
Collectibles
Collectible gathering is unlocked at level 50. Collectibles are special items that you can gather and deliver for experience and Gatherers' Scrips. The items that are available for submission change each day, but there are always items around your current level available to deliver.
Basically, a collectible is an item that undergoes a special method of gathering in which you raise the item's collectability before gathering it. This is done through special collectible-specific actions like Scour and Brazen Prospector. Collectibles are easy to gather and pair nicely with other methods of leveling.
Custom Deliveries
Custom Deliveries are the next step in Collectible items. These deliveries are a weekly quest that you can undertake to deliver special items to various NPCs for experience and Gatherers' Scrips. There are currently seven Custom Delivery NPCs, listed below:
| Custom Delivery NPC | Quest to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Zhloe Aliapoh | 'Arms Wide Open' - Geimlona in Idyllshire (X:5.8, Y:7.0) |
| M'naago | 'None Forgotten, None Forsaken' - Galiena in Rhalgr's Reach (X:9.8, Y:12.5) |
| Kurenai | 'The Seaweed is Always Greener' - Kojin Hireling in Kugane (X:10.1, Y:9.9) |
| Adkiragh | 'Between a Rock and the Hard Place' - Geimlona in Idyllshire (X:5.8, Y:7.0) |
| Kai-Shirr | 'Oh, Beehive Yourself' - Kai-Shirr in Eulmore (X:11.7, Y:11.7) |
| Ehll Tou | 'Oh Crafter, My Crafter' - Foncrineau in The Firmament (X:14.2, Y:12.7) |
| Count Charlemend de Durendaire | 'You Can Count on It' - Maurilette in The Firmament (X:8.9, Y:8.4) |
Once you've completed the relevant main story quests to unlock each of these NPCs, you'll have access to a large amount of weekly experience and Scrips. For more information on Custom Deliveries, check out this guide.
Grinding
Grinding gathering levels involves simply gathering items at your level repeatedly. This method is slow and repetitive but is very simple to do, and it is not time-gated by any means. When combined with experience boosting items like Commercial Survival Manuals, you'll be gaining experience at a nice and steady rate. We recommend using a combination of this with other methods to minimize repetition and maximize efficiency.
The Diadem is the perfect place for grinding, even if you won't use the materials. Each gathering attempt grants a bit of experience, which will add up quickly over time.
Overall, leveling your gathering classes can be done in so many different ways, that it's entirely up to you which ones you want to pursue, and how much you want to pursue them. If you want to stick to grinding, be sure to sprinkle in some Custom Deliveries and Grand Company Turn-Ins. Or, you can take your time and only do Beast Tribes. It will take a lot longer to get to max level, but the time-investment per day is very low, which is good if you don't have a lot of time to grind out levels.
