Buff: REDUCED gathering attempts

I would like to see a buff that reduces the number of gathering attempts at a node. The reason, is because when you are gathering favor materials from red scrips, increased gathering attempts are a hindrance rather than a bonus.

The goal with favor mats is to fully click through as many nodes as possible in 5 minutes, in order to spawn as many concealed nodes as possible, and every second counts when you are doing this. I can't count the number of nodes where my favor buff has expired mid-node, so every second definitely counts, as any serious gatherer of favor mats would agree.

It is true that you can make a little bit of gil from the item being gathered as you deplete a node (birch log and hard silver sand are ok on my server), however, it usually does not justify the extra time needed to use an increased yield action, even on a node giving +2 attempts. Because of this, many gatherers like myself never use any GP while a favor buff is active.

What I would like to see is a STANCE that decreases the number of gathering attempts at all nodes by 1 or 2 attempts while the stance is active. I believe the stance should drain GP in order to give a need for cordials, and ensure that the stance cannot be active 100% of the time. The added benefit to this, is it would make additional GP materia and food valuable beyond just a certain tier like 600 or 650. Most people aim for the GP tier and then don't bother with any additional GP because it is a waste when actions are a multiple of 50, however, with a stance that drains GP, an extra 20 or 35 GP actually could be a very significant benefit.

I do not want to see the reduced gathering attempts be an action--when every second counts, I do not want to spend time on an action. And besides, it would have to be at least -2, because if it was -1, you would just hit the node instead in the same time. It could possibly be woven in between like an off-GCD type of thing, but given the rhythm that gathering has, I don't think this is feasible.

I would also like to see the stance lessen the severity of the speed decrease while using stealth, but that is probably asking too much.

I don't know if it is true for every "gathering attempts+" node, but the trigger is INT. At least on the ones I've seen. I wouldn't mind if they implemented some way to lower your INT such that you wouldn't hit that threshold.

What an incredibly niche request.

It would be better if the favor buff simply disabled the +1/+2 hit nodes and made GP gathering actions OGCD.

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Originally Posted by Jeykama

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If they made them OGCD there is a risk that the effect wouldn't "take" before you actually made your gathering attempt. Thus either applying it to your subsequent swing instead of the current one, or wasting it altogether if it's your last hit on that node.

That said, maybe they could implement a move called something like "All or Nothing" which would cause you to use all your gathering attempts in one swing, with being able to get everything in one fell swoop or not. But give it a long cooldown, and make it unaffected by Gathering%+ or HQ%+ abilities. Just gear.

Could explain it as miners using dynamite to just blow up a whole rock; either you get everything from that node, or you just wrecked it. Same with botanists and taking the whole tree or shrub. Fishers... could use a net. etc.

I would rather just see favor go away period. Have it turned into a new type of ephemeral node unlocked by the folk lore books instead of the way it is now.

I disagree that it is a niche request. Most crafters and gathers have experienced a lull, and the economy of 2-stars has yet to really get going. This is largely because of the time it takes for favor mats. There is no question that some action will be taken by the dev team to improve the current situation, and once they do, crafting and gathering won't feel stalled. The only question is what form the future improvements will take. It is my opinion that a GP-draining stance that will boost the gathering of favor mats--and favor mats only--is a very good way to improve things.

Abilities and traits are earned by character growth, levelling etc.
Asking for an ability that causes you to gather -less- for no gain is "... what?" and it only makes sense in the context of Favors because gathering is just the means to the end. It's very much niche.

Instead of asking for an ability or remaking or removing the Favor system (I've actually been ok with it since the 5min nerf), ask for something within the Favor system itself that could accomplish what you actually want.

That which makes the Favors happen is the Matron/Trader buff - all that needs is an extra parameter that disables the Whisperer trait (and maybe make you walk at normal speed while stealthed -_-). I didn't think too seriously about the OGCD thing and the buff application timing but I hardly ever use skills while favor grinding anyway.

It's just my idea on a way I would like to see the favors improved. Take it or leave it. A stance that drains GP sounds fun and interesting to me, or at least some way that GP would be useful to those gathering favor mats. Mind my asking how many favors you have done? At this point I have gathered around 550 favor materials, and I also do 2-star crafting on all crafts other than culinarian. I do not think that an improvement that will help all top-tier crafters and also gatherers is a niche request, when the economy is completely stalled until favor mats are improved, but if you would like to keep calling it a niche request, that's ok with me. One thing that is certain: the dev team will be easing up on favor mats in some way. I just have a certain way in mind that is more than a simple nerf or added ability.

And to elaborate further, anyone choosing to use an option like a reduced attempts buff is doing the entire gathering community a service. A number of gathers such as birch logs, hardsilver sand, and other similar "easy" gathers, have nearly 100% of all potential profits going solely to the people doing favors. This is because we go through so many nodes for the favor mats, that we naturally accrue gobs of this stuff, including crystals, which is a large factor in the plummeting price of crystals. The stance I am suggesting, has you getting less of these "easy" materials, which means the market won't be so flooded with them, and mid-tier gatherers will have an easier time finding decent materials to profit from in standard ways. It is a win-win situation--favor mat gatherers are happier, and mid-tier gatherers will find more market opportunities.

Also, anyone selling cordials should benefit from a GP-draining stance. We may see a very vibrant hi-cordial market emerge.

The demand for GP materia will also rise, for reasons previously stated.

All-in-all, I can't think of any detriment to a reduced-attempt, GP-draining stance, except that some people don't think they would personally use it, but not all parts of the game need to be used by every player.

Also, could someone chime in if they know if spiritbinding accrues by node depletion or by gathering attempts? Spiritbinding could potentially benefit from more nodes per minute?