600GP (Collectible Gathering Question)

[Rawrz]

So I've recently figured out how to gather collectibles (yay!), which can be turned in for a very nice chunk of EXP, which is very nice for leveling (as I'm still just 56 on my highest gatherer). But I've noticed that almost every single guide out there suggests having a minimum of 600 GP before trying it (in part because you'll need to burn 300GP just to reach it).

I just spent ~300K to upgrade my (severely) outdated accessories, and it got me up from high 400s up to 580 GP. But I'm still short more than a few GP to get to that cap and it seems like gathering materia in general will break what little is left of my poor little piggy bank.

So what then is the best way to get to 600GP? Do I need to break what's left of poor little Piggy for the materia? I've done the math, and upgrading what few non-HQ accessories I have to HQ would only get me about 5 extra GP.

FOOOD. Antelope Stew from the Tap Keeper in Gold Saucer will give you +21 GP. Its dirt cheap + EXP boost. Don't worry about gearing too much just try to keep your gathering high enough to be 95%+ and your perception high enough to be near or at 115 on an unbuffed Methodical Appraisal. :3