Unable to get catalyst with fingerprints of goddess equipped!

[Haha]

Hi,
I manage to get the ability to discover catalyst for materia melding.
I equipped the ability fingerprints of goddess on my miner and unequipped the other abiliies to raise the chance to activate it, but it seems i am unable to trigger the ability even once.
I tried over 40 times mining on differerent grades 1-3 nodes, but the ability wont trigger. I also tried the "recommended" location on Lodestone, but nothing happend.
Is my miner to low level (Miner, Level 21) to trigger the ability? How do you raise the chance to trigger the ability? How often did the ability trigger for you guys? Can I get catalyst from low grade nodes?
I would appreciate for your help, because I am quite frustrated with this random game-mechanics in FF14 with so little explanations.

[Urthdigger]

To get catalysts for mining, it MUST be done in Thanalan. The lowest you can get is at Camp Horizon.

[Duuude007]

there are mining catalysts at other zones besides thanalan...

Not every camp has catalysts available , nor will it be available for all 3 gathering classes.

[Raldo]

Level won't matter, but can you tell us which zones you were mining in? Catalysts are only in specified camps, though it sounds like you already have that list...

[Estellios]

Did you actually finish the catalyst quest? They give you the ability when you get the quest but I believe Fingerprints of the Gods won't work outside the quest until you complete it.

[Duuude007]

All you need is a lvl 1 fishing rod, go to the pond just down the ramp from the quest npc. Easy-Peasy

[VydarrTyr]

Sorry to hear about the difficulty mining up catalyst, Haha. That's no fun.

If you're looking for where to mine/log/fish for certain materials, I'd suggest checking out Mooglebox.com. They've got a gathering index that shows the camps, rank, sweet spot, remainder bar, strike location, and yield for ... well, as far as I can tell, every item in the game. It's enormously helpful if you're trying to figure out where to gather specific items.

Different camps offer different types of materia. And you have to use different gathering jobs to get catalysts in different regions. For example, in order to get catalysts from Camp Bloodshore or Camp Cedarwood in the LL region, you have to fish for the catalyst. In order to get catalysts from Camp Iron Lake, you have to use botany to gather the catalysts. You won't be able to get any catalysts by mining near those camps.

If you want to mine for catalysts, you'll have to go to Horizon (near Uldah), Nophica's Wells (near Uldah), Dragonhead (in Coerthas), or Treespeak (near Gridania).

You'll be able to trigger the ability as soon as you learn and equip it. Having raised you mining level that high, I'm sure you already know that you get more attempts on lower level mining nodes, and fewer attempts on higher level mining nodes. You'll also be less likely to successfully mine at higher level nodes. Other than that, your level shouldn't matter when gathering catalysts. For now, if you stick to mining Carbonized Matter at Horizon (Level 8), and Petrified Matter at Nophica (Level 28), you should be fine. You may want to wait a few more levels before mining Fossilized Matter at Dragonhead (Level 38), and Crystallized Matter at Treespeak (Level 43).

Please note that the sweet spot for all fishing catalysts is -5, meaning you move the strike bar all the way down to the bottom of the bar. The sweet spot for all mining and logging catalysts is +5, meaning you have to move the strike bar all the way to the top of the bar. Putting the bar on the sweet spot won't guarantee that you get that item, but it will increase the chances that you'll get it.

Congratulations on raising your mining level high enough that you're starting to look for catalysts. Hope that helps you find what you're looking for, so you can start melding some sweet, sweet gear.

[Duuude007]

Now that Virel replied to the post, we know (s)he doesn't have fingerprint proccing because the initial quest is incomplete. thats what the pond is for.

[Haha]

Thanks very much guys for the fast replies to my post!
I am happy to know how active this forum operate.
Yes I haven't finished the quest, because I don't know how to finish it.
If I open the map from the quest, then I only see a blank map with "???".
I don't know where to find that specific node.
I read on lodestone about the quest and as far as I understand, I just have to equip the ability and use my skills to make out random nodes to harvest random catalyst to fnish the quest.
I had mined approximately 20 times near the location, whereI received the quest, but then I was fed up and looked at Lodestone about the recommended location to find catalyst and traveed to Noscea and Black Shroud.

Do I have to harvest in Thanalan? Is the marked nodes on my quest-map a specific node and not just a random node? As I already wirtten above, I can't make out where the map indicate the "???" is.

[Raldo]

You do not need to gather where the journal tells you to in order to finish the quest. The journal is very misleading and I don't know why they do that. Just ignore where it tells you to go. As a Botanist, I completed the quest by gathering in Tranquil, obtaining Germinated Matter. Once I got one, I could return to the NPC and complete the quest.

You just need to gather in whatever region + grade is appropriate for your particular DoL. Check the websites mentioned from other people further up in order to find an appropriate region for your DoL.

Also worth mentioning... you do not need to have the quest completed in order to proc Fingerprint of the Gods. Once you have the ability it will work anywhere it's supposed to.

I dug up the patch notes for where to get certain catalysts:

Carbonized Matter - Mining - Horizon's Edge
Petrified Matter - Mining - Nophica's Wells
Fossilized Matter - Mining - Dragonhead
Crystallized Matter - Mining - Treespeak
Germinated Matter - Logging - Tranquil Paths
Decayed Matter - Logging - Humblehearth
Decomposed Matter - Logging - Iron Lake
Liquefied Matter - Logging - Halatali
Calcified Matter - Fishing - Bloodshore
Cultured Matter - Fishing - Cedarwood
Ossified Matter - Fishing - Bald Knoll
Cretified Matter - Fishing - Nine Ivies