Ashes of Creation Gathering Guide
Many players approach gathering in Ashes of Creation as a simple activity-hit a node, collect a resource, move on. That mindset is one of the fastest ways to waste time and lose Ashes of Creation gold. Gathering in Verra is a deep, interconnected system that rewards planning, specialization, and efficiency. When done correctly, it can fuel both your character progression and your personal micro- or macro-economy.
In Ashes of Creation, there are five core gathering professions: mining, logging, herbalism, fishing, and hunting. Each profession has its own tools, consumables, equipment, and optimization strategies. The first principle to understand is that tool quality matters. A higher-tier tool does not merely unlock new resources but directly affects experience gain, yield, rarity, and efficiency.
Profession Ranks and Certification Caps
Every gathering profession progresses through five ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, and Grand Master. However, you cannot simply grind endlessly. Each rank has a level cap, and once you hit it, you must obtain the appropriate certificate from the correct NPC before you can continue leveling.
For example, reaching level 10 in mining requires visiting a Stonework NPC to obtain the Apprentice certificate. These NPCs are located in starting areas such as Riverslands, Hammer Rest, and Bonfire. If you reach the cap and forget to certify, your experience will effectively be wasted.
As nodes grow and cities develop, workbenches and professional vendors begin appearing within those cities. This is a major quality-of-life upgrade. Instead of returning to starting zones, you can obtain Journeyman and higher certifications directly in developed nodes, provided the relevant profession infrastructure exists.
Tools Are Just as Important as Certificates
Having a certificate alone is not enough. Each resource tier requires a matching tool tier. If a node says it requires an Apprentice tool and you are still using a Novice pickaxe, you will not be able to gather it-even if you have the certificate.
Weaponsmiths and carpenters craft gathering tools. To know exactly what materials are required, open your profession menu and check the relevant crafting recipes. Planning tool upgrades ahead of time prevents progression bottlenecks and keeps your leveling smooth.
Stats That Matter for Efficient Gathering
Gathering efficiency is driven by four core stats found on tools, gear, and bags:
1. Stack Size - Increases how many materials fit into a single inventory stack, reducing downtime.
2. Gathering Quality - Improves the chance of higher-rarity materials.
3. Spoils (Quantity) - Grants additional materials per node.
4. Experience Bonus - Accelerates profession leveling.
In most cases, quality and spoils provide the best long-term value, especially once markets mature. Experience bonuses are excellent early, but diminish in importance once you approach higher tiers.
Bags, Gear, and Professional Clothing
Gathering bags are profession-defining. Leatherworking bags offer spoils and storage, carpentry bags emphasize storage and speed, and high-end quality-focused bags are often the strongest option overall due to their impact on rarity.
Each gathering profession also has dedicated shirts, pants, and belts. These pieces provide both visible and hidden stats, such as spoils or quality, that scale with rarity. While mining is often used as the reference example, every gathering profession has its own optimized gear set with different stat distributions.
Consumables and Temporary Buffs
Gathering consumables is a major power multiplier. Scrolls provide experience, food grants quality bonuses, elixirs boost speed and spoils, and pylons create area-based buffs that significantly enhance output for a limited time. Used correctly, these buffs can double or triple your efficiency during optimized routes.
City, Guild, and Economic Optimization
Guild bonuses and citizenship perks further enhance gathering. Crafting-focused guilds and developed nodes provide passive bonuses that apply both within cities and surrounding areas. Always check buy orders at individual nodes-selling materials where demand is highest, often yields far more gold than global markets.
Common gray materials should be processed rather than vendor-sold, while green and blue materials are best sold in bulk through trade chat or used for trade packs. High-rarity materials excel in trade pack crafting, which ties gathering directly into large-scale economic gameplay.
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