How many shards can you gather in 1 hour?

[NoF2P]

That's about right, depending on the location. Can depend on how far you have to run from one node to the next, and whether there are any hostile mobs nearby. Sometimes it's quicker to do a circuit of 3 close nodes because they respawn when there's only one left. I gather up to 300 in one Eorzea day before I get too bored, then I go and craft something.

It's easier to do this while AFK most of the time doing something else, and just return when King's Yield has cooled down and use that to double the yield.

[TheCurls]

Sometimes it's quicker to do a circuit of 3 close nodes

The double yield nodes (2 per hit) make cycling through 3 nodes better than grabbing all 4. Without the ward skill, you're getting 64 shards for every 12 nodes skipping one basic yield node every circuit. You get 60 shards in that same span doing all 4 nodes. Might not seem like a lot, but that's 640 and 600 shards for every 120 nodes. That's enough for roughly 4 artisan spectacles recipes. Pretty significant.