All About Favors (patch 3.07)

[BonzaiFerroni]

Changes in 3.07
With the new patch, the duration of a favor is reduced to 5 minutes, and the chance of spawning a node is now 3 times greater than it was. On paper, this might sound like the same yield, but some people have reported it being slightly less. Because it takes time to deplete concealed nodes, you might find yourself having fewer chances over all to spawn new nodes. Those 5 minutes do seem to go by pretty fast! However, there are a couple things you can do to maximize your chances of getting favor items \o/

Do this:

• Pre-deplete nodes: Before you even begin your favor, visit four nodes and take a few swings so that they only have a single attempt left. When you begin your favor, you will only have to do a single swing to finish.
• Don't bother finishing concealed nodes: If you are already pretty well stocked on clusters, don't bother finishing those concealed nodes! Just grab the favor items and run =D Having an unfinished concealed node up won't keep you from spawning another one. In fact, you can spawn another one even in the same spot. The new spawn will just "overwrite" the old one. A few swings may not seem like much, but it adds up, particularly if you are lucky and you manage to spawn several nodes.
• Don't give up too soon: Although you still need to be under the effect of the favor to spawn a concealed node, once it shows up you have all the time in the world to get to it. The favor can end and the concealed node will stick around \o/ Enjoy a healthy snack while you leisurely make your way over to it. Use a ward to make up for some of the clusters you didn't gather on earlier nodes.
• Use Crawler repellent: Ok, this isn't actually a thing.

Results so far:
Using these 3 simple tricks discovered by a single mom (gilsellers HATE her!) you can attain results on par with what you were seeing before, spending a lot less time doing it. Here's what we've gotten so far (Thanks for helping Ray!)

Botonist Hinterlands
Regular nodes    Concealed    Rare items
-------------    ---------    ----------
13               1            0
11               4            0
13               2            0

Miner Churning Mists
Regular nodes    Concealed    Rare items
-------------    ---------    ----------
11               7            1
12               4            1
12               3            0

Miner Hinterlands
Regular nodes    Concealed    Rare items
-------------    ---------    ----------
11               7            1
13               2            0
12               7            0
14               2            0
13               5            0

Miner Churning Mists
Regular nodes    Concealed    Rare items
-------------    ---------    ----------
11               7            1
12               4            1
12               3            0

Final stats
-----------
Average spawns per favor: 3.9
Average items  per favor: 4.2
Chance of spawn per node: 32.8%

Final Thoughts
It will no longer be possible to have those super lucky runs (9 concealed nodes) but lets face it, those didn't happen very often anyway. With the new changes, there are fairly equivalent yields with a lot less time \o/

[Roth_Trailfinder]

Actually, its four times the old spawn probability.

You had 100% of the old spawn probability, and added 300% to it, per the patch notes (which say it "increased by 300%"). Last I checked, 100% increased by 300% is 400%, not 300%. Since 400% is four times 100%, that means you are four times as likely now to get a node to pop.

[Lyrinn]

Actually, its four times the old spawn probability.

You had 100% of the old spawn probability, and added 300% to it, per the patch notes (which say it "increased by 300%"). Last I checked, 100% increased by 300% is 400%, not 300%. Since 400% is four times 100%, that means you are four times as likely now to get a node to pop.

The Japanese patch notes say 3x, and I've heard the French notes say the same.

「隠れた採集場所」の発見率が、従来の3倍に引き上げられます。

This is why many people are reporting similar numbers to those before the change.

[Aeyis]

So a translation error then. The japanese wording does make it clear it's 3x.

[Shadowsun]

English Majors can't math is all there is to it.
Its a 200% increase.

[Duuude007]

You can also pre-deplete four nodes, not just three, as long as they are node pairs (very close to one another)

[BonzaiFerroni]

You can also pre-deplete four nodes, not just three, as long as they are node pairs (very close to one another)

Thanks for this heads-up, i'll fix the post!

[MeridaQ]

Thanks for the tips!!!

[BonzaiFerroni]

Here is another little tip, when you are gathering at a new location that you might not be very familiar with, use wayrmarks to mark the three different node pairs. Waymarks are visible from quite a long way off, so it can help you maintain your bearings in unfamiliar territory.