Gathering Standardization

TL;DR -- The following table is the result of several weeks of work, adding information and polishing it as time allowed in order to create a standardized set of prices for crafting materials.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

This table standardizes gathering prices for every item in the miner and botanist gathering logs, including those for the Ishgardian restoration and those locked by lorebooks. The standard was developed with a strict set of rules so that it could be maintained at every level from 1 to cap. Those rules were as follows:
-The character gathers items of equivalent level
-The character wears the highest available iLvl equipment for its level
-Only equipment purchased from NPCs using gil can be worn by the character.
-No skills are used to improve the success rate or quality of a gathered item.

These rules are unrealistic in terms of what a player will actually do when leveling. People buy HQ stuff, obtain gear from quests, or level using collectibles and leves. They don't always immediately rush to the vendor to buy the next tier of equipment, but they definitely use their GP skills to improve their ability to gather. However, these rules do set a measurable baseline achievable by every gatherer, no matter what their progress is in quests/leves, their ability to craft, or the status of the marketboard that day.

By standardizing the method by with items are gathered, a standard of how much effort is needed to gather can be formed. And with a known level of effort, a level of monetary value can be assigned to the items requiring that level of effort.

This table is a WIP, and the math used to create it is in a separate tab. At the moment, the table only contains tradable items that are found on the miner and botanist gathering logs. However, I do have plans to extend a similar level of scrutiny to fishing and hunting and, once a reasonable method of valuing those items has been achieved, to scrutinize crafting.

If you have any thoughts on the process, I would love to hear them.