www.disciplesoftheland.com

This site will be your new best friend. Tons of resources (like gathering maps) as well as some solid guides, which might need to be updated due to the patch.

1. It's up to you to decide when it's best to move on to the next grade. See how much SP you get out of a Grade 2 tree, then see how much you get out of a Grade 3. Grade 2 will offer more attempts, but Grade 3 should offer more SP per attempt. When the difference is less than 100 SP or so, it's time to move up to the next grade since you will generally be gathering much more quickly at the next grade (fewer attempts). The other thing to take into consideration is that Arbor Call will make it easier to find trees, so unless you're familiar with the area, you might want to wait until you get the next Arbor Call ability to move up.

2. ALWAYS sell Flax and Elm Logs. Flax is used by both Alchemists and Weavers, and Elm Logs are included in a few new recipes, so both should be selling well. Also, I have to say that it doesn't make very much sense to complain about how hard it is to afford gear while also undercutting your profit logs by 2/3...

3. "+3" items are "high quality" and are usually more desired by crafters since they are easier to craft/hq with. When listing these items in the wards, make sure the price ends in 3 to indicate hq (for example, list your Elm Logs +3 for 15,003 gil each).

4. First of all, complete the quest to get the Fingerprint of the Gods ability ASAP. Catalysts will be your primary income source until everything cools down. Second, your main goal is to get to 31-33 Botanist because at that point you can begin harvesting at Iron Lake, the best Botany location in the game (in my opinion). In a ~35 minute session last night, I ended up with 31 Mahogany Logs, 3 Elm Logs +3, one bucket of All-Purpose Blue Dye, and 20 Decomposed Matter catalysts (plus lots of junk). At my server's current prices, thats 2.24 mil in just over half an hour (not counting what I npced)...of course the prices of everything are inflated at the moment because the patch just came out, but the profit potential for Botanist is pretty solid, especially when they change the recipes so that logs will yield 1 lumber instead of 3...

5. Each item has a notch "sweet spot" (for example, Mahogany Log is +3). Logging at the sweet spot increases your chances of landing that item, so you end up with more valuable logs than Sun Lemons or whatever junk falls out of the trees in your current area.

Anyway, goodluck with Botany. It's painful sometimes but is paying off huge for me now. Another 50 Botanist in my server has made 5.5 mil in the last 48 hours off catalysts alone...again, the prices will drop as more people get into the market, but there will always be a need for catalysts and "mask logs" (Willow, Yew, Walnut, etc).