I'm currently leveling all of the DOH and DOL at the same time (currently at L35). The system is very well designed, with gathering node levels very well integrated into the levels in which they are used for crafting.

The gathering system is also very nice! In FFXI, gathering nodes were accessible by all characters. Having the node instances tied to your character is terrific - it makes gathering much more enjoyable when you don't have to compete for the nodes.

That is, until it comes to mob drops. Gathering material from mobs forces you back into the old, not fun, compete for mob spawns model. This is also where the RMT live - botting for diremite webs, fleece from Karukul (used in two DoH key recipes), etc.

My suggestion is to add another DoL class - hunter. The mechanics would be similar to mining and botany in which you would hunt beasts that are only visible to your character. Mobs could be killed through fighting or other mechanics (nets, traps, ...).

Items could still be obtained from the regular mobs as well. Competition for those mobs would now be much less, reducing the stress on those farming mobs using fighting classes, kills needed for hunting logs, etc.