BDO Gathering Guide (Black Desert Online)

Gathering is a fun and profitable Life Skill in BDO. (Players with high levels of Gathering Mastery report up to 900 million silver per hour.)

Along with Fishing, Gathering is one of the easiest Life Skills for beginners to start making money. Besides a gathering tool, all you need is Energy.

Gathering Benefits:

• Rare crafting materials used in other Life Skills.
• Gathering is most important in Alchemy, which has a greater demand for bottlenecked resources.
• Enhancement materials for stronger Life and Combat gear.
• Gathering mini-games and event fun.

Gathering Level Basics

Gathering Level becomes an important part of the industrious chubby squirrel… I mean gatherer!

• Improves Gathering Mastery to gather more items.
• Use less Energy. (up to 30% chance of not using Energy)
• Meet Gathering level requirements on certain Life Skill quests.
• Artisan 1 is a major milestone to obtain gathering mini-games.

From Beginner to Guru, there are 7 tiers of advancement. Each tier has 10 to 50 levels of progression.

As you increase in Gathering Levels, you will notice the colors of the grade change. As a bonus, if your characters start leveling past Skilled level, your account may start earning a daily payment, depending upon their Life Skill Levels.

Press your P key to view your current Gathering Level.

• Click on the icon that looks like a pointed axe, “Life Info”. This will show all the available Life Skills that you can gain experience in and level up.
• The other tab labeled “Life Skill” that looks like a fish icon is used to view Gathering Mastery levels.

How to Use Gathering Tools

Character inventory (I) → LIFE button.

• This opens up your shared Family Life Equipment for gathering and fishing tools.
• In order to use most gathering tools, you must first equip them from your character inventory into your Family Life Equipment window.
• RMB each gathering tool you want to equip.
• Now every character on your account will be able to use your gathering tools.

View animations on how to equip gathering tools:

• Find the LIFE button in the Character Inventory (I).
• Move gathering tools into the Family Life Equipment window.

1-Time Use Gathering Tools

Gathering Tools come with a Durability that determines how many times you can use it.

However, Empty Bottle and Shabby Shovel can only be used one time, but stack inside your inventory.

These are purchased at a Material Vendor located in towns.

Find a Material Vendor:

• Use the Find NPC button next to the mini-map.
• Click the button, “Material”.
• This will create an auto-navigation path to the nearest Material Vendor NPC. Press T to auto-run there.

Best Beginner Gathering Tools

Demihar is a powerful choice for beginner gathering, but are more tricky to obtain.

The major benefit is they give a whopping +50% Gathering EXP and +80% Gathering Item Drop Rate buff.

The Demihar Hoe is an excellent choice for leveling the Gathering Life Skill, because you can use it on Wild Herbs, which give the best Gathering Exp.

If you are also interested in the Hunting Life Skill, you will need a butcher knife. (Hunting also increases the Gathering Life Skill at a slower rate, but can be more profitable.)

Demihar Tool Stats:

• Gathering Item Drop Rate (with tool) +80%
• Gathering EXP +50%
• Gathering Time -11 sec
• 300 Durability (300 uses and cannot be repaired.)
• Equipping this tool won’t apply the Item Drop Rate increase effect from Gathering Mastery.
• Time Limited: Demihar Gathering Tools last for 14 days, and you won’t be able to use them after they expire. Boxes don’t have a time limit when you obtain them. So don’t open any boxes until you are ready to do some gathering/hunting.

Obtaining a Demihar Tool:

• You can obtain a Demihar Butcher Knife after reaching level 60 on a Season Character and starting the Treant’s Tear quest line.
• Challenge Reward (Y) for reaching Apprentice 1 Gathering. (Choose 1).
• 1000 Loyalties purchase in the Pearl Shop (F3).

Magic Gathering Tools

Having trouble obtaining a Demihar Tool as a new player?

Magic tools are also good for new players. They don’t give Gathering Exp, but still increase the items you gather.

Magic Tools:
Gathering Item Drop Rate +80%
-11 Seconds to Gathering
250 Durability (250 uses, not repairable)

Use Demihar or Magic tools until you surpass 650 Gathering Mastery. After that use a gathering tool with Gathering Mastery on it.

The buff granted from equipping a Magic tool does not stack with the Item Drop Rate granted by Gathering Mastery. (Demihar is the best option for beginners to level the Gathering Life Skill and has the same 80% boost to item drop rate as a Magic Tool.)

Magic gathering tools give the best gathering speed and durability out of all the non-Life Mastery tools.

Crafting Magic Gathering Tools

Magic Gathering Tools can be crafted with a worker after purchasing a Level 3 Tool Workshop.

Cheapest Tool Workshops:

• Arehaza 2-2 – 4 Total CP (1 CP for Prerequisite housing)
  • Arehaza is the cheapest location to purchase a Tool workshop that is level 3. Unfortunately, traveling there to hire a worker could be inconvenient.
• Glish 1, Rm. 3 – 5 Total CP (3 CP for Prerequisite housing)
• Duvencrune 9-1 – 5 Total CP  (0 CP for Prerequisite housing)

Each city gives 1 free lodging, which gives 1 worker, without spending Contribution.

Gathering Requires Energy

Besides a Gathering Tool, you will need Energy. Increase Max Energy by completing Knowledge topics (H).

You can reduce Energy consumption by increasing Gathering Levels.

Energy Recovery Methods:

• Beds:
  • Amity/Quest/Crafted Beds: +1
  • Pearl Shop Beds: +2
• Artifact Lightstone Combo:
  • Yawning Hedgehog +1
  • Refreshing Dream +2
• Kamasylve’s Blessing: +2
• Villa Buff – Turning Gates: +1
• GMs Blessing: +1
• Red Battlefield Daily Quest: 200 Energy
• Daily Gathering Quest x4: 80 Energy
• Energy Potions: 10/20/30/50 Energy every 10 minutes
• Duvencrune Hotsprings: +1
• Sea Palace Hotsprings: +1
• Event Items: +1
• Online: +1 every 3 minutes
• Offline: +1 every 1 hour
• Miraculous Herbal Medicine: +500 Energy Restored Immediately and +30 Energy Recovery for 60 minutes

Artifact Combos for Energy

Gathering Mastery

Gathering Mastery really boosts the items you can obtain at later Gathering levels.

Gathering Mastery Highlights:

Increased Aquisition Quantity:

• +Common items up to +400%
• +Special items up to +100%
• +Rare items up to +85%
• +Very rare items up to +44.42%
• +Starlight Vein chance
• +Buried Trace chance
• +Fairy’s Breath Chance

Press P key → Fish icon (Life Skill tab) to view your Gathering Mastery.

To view how the Gathering Life Skill level increases Gathering Mastery, please view our Life Mastery Levels Chart.

Gathering Mastery Tools

Gathering Mastery Tools are tools that have a Gathering Mastery item effect on them.

They should only be used if you can obtain sufficient Gathering Mastery.

How to Obtain Gathering Mastery:

• Gathering Levels give Gathering Mastery levels.
• Gathering Mastery Tools and Clothes.
• Life Mastery Accessories.
• Consumable Life Mastery Items.
• Artifacts and Lightstones.
• Life Mastery Crystals.

When Should I Equip a Gathering Mastery Tool?

• If your total mastery (which includes mastery from tools, clothes, accessories, and items) is below 650, use Magic or Demihar tools.
• If your total mastery is over 650, use Mastery tools like Loggia, Dostter, or Manos.

Is the Leight Tool Worth It?

This is a good question! At a glance, this tool sounds like a dream tool! Who doesn’t want +30% drops and 200 Mastery? But you have to trade off 50 Contribution! Why do they do this to us?!? Ha. 🙂

This tool has the same Gathering Mastery as a TET Loggia Gathering Tool. It is not quite as strong as a DUO Manos. It’s in the middle between a PRI and DUO Manos Tool. See comparison below.

I think this tool is great for people that can obtain greater than 650 Mastery and don’t have allot of Contribution invested in worker nodes already. It would make a good entry into obtaining a good mastery tool, then you could upgrade later.

Gathering Tool Durability

Each time you gather, you will loose Durability on your tool.

Only Gathering Mastery tools can be repaired. Other tools have to be sold after they are used up.

You can decrease the chances that your gathering tool will loose Durability.

• Pearl Shop:
  • Main Weapon Outfit → 10%
  • Awakening Weapon Outfit → 10%
  • Outfit 8 Piece Set Effect → 10%
  • Some Pets → 1% per tier up to 20% → Ex. Turtle, Young Griffon, Stoneback Crab
  • Item Brand Spell Stone → 50%

You can repair at any Stable Keeper, Blacksmith, or Tent.

Beginner Gathering Questline

I recommend doing the beginner gathering questlines found in the quest UI.

Quests (O key) → Suggested:

[Life] Gathering, the Basics of Life

• [Gathering Basics] Introduction to Production

Make sure All quests are turned on in the quest UI.

Requirements:

• Character Level 31+
• Gateway to Heidel quest (all of the Balenos Main questline)

Loggia Life Mastery Jewelry

Mastery Jewelry like Loggia Jewelry are nice because they boost all Life Mastery and help all Life Skills. (Unlike mastery clothing or tools that target one specific Life Skill.)

Loggia Jewelry contains individual Life Skill Experience buffs, except the belt, which has LT.

Set Effect: For every 2 Loggia Accessories equipped, you gain Life EXP +2%

How to Obtain Life Mastery Gear

Loggia Life Mastery Gear:

• Camellia Loggia <Seed Vendor> at Loggia Farm west of Veila for 1m silver
• Zaaira <Material Vendor> in Veila for 1.5m silver.

Blue-grade Life Mastery Gear:

• Geranoa <Material Vendor> in Calpheon City for 10m silver
• Zaaira <Material Vendor> in Veila for 15m silver.

Life Mastery Jewelry Enhancement

• Green grade Life Mastery jewelry (Loggia) is enhanced using Black Gems.
• Blue grade and higher require Concentrated Magical Black Gems.
• When an accessory fails enhancement, it is destroyed.

Caphras Stone from Gathering

Caphras Stone provides safe enhancement to obtain TRI+ combat gear.

Best Items to Gather for Caphras Stones:

# 1. Gathering trees for timber via Lumbering Axe.

# 2. Gathering trees for sap via Fluid Collector.

# 3. Gathering ore and herbs.

# 4. Gathering animals.

Best Gathering Spots for Caphras:

1. Ash Forest – timber – 86
2. North Kaia Mountaintop – sap – 67
3. Garmoth Dead Tree Essence – timber – 65
4. Orc Camp – sap – 62

Black Gem Fragment from Gathering

Black Gem Fragment is used in all levels of Life Mastery gear enhancement.

Best Items to Gather for Black Gem Fragment:

# 1. Gathering animals for meat with a Butcher Knife.

# 2. Gathering animals for blood via Fluid Collector.

# 3. Gathering animals for hides via Tanning Knife.

# 4. Gathering herbs and plants with a hoe.

Best Gathering Spots for Black Gem Fragment:

1. Behr Elk – meat – 143
2. Forest of Seclusion Fox– meat – 140
3. Imp Cave Wolf – meat – 139
4. Sheep Mountain – meat – 124

Fairy’s Breath

Fairy’s Breath is a rare drop acquired through Lumbering, Skinning, Extracting sap or blood, Hoe, Mining, Water Scooping, or Butchering. Exchange Fairy’s Breath to Dalishain who can be found in major cities.

You can exchange 10 Fairy’s Breath for:

• Sharp Black Crystal Shard x2 OR…
• 900 Contribution EXP + 30 Gathering EXP

Gathering Rare Event

Rarely, after gathering, the ground will change around you to alert you that a gathering event occurred and you need to take further action. Gathering Mastery applies to the chance of finding Buried Trace and Starlight Veins.

Animations are courtesy of Pearl Abyss.

Starlight Veins

Starlight Veins have a rare chance to proc with your mining loot. After gathering the loot, 3-5 Starlight Veins will appear nearby. Use 1 energy to mine each vein and gather Rough Lustrous Gems.

Take the Rough Lustrous Gems to a Jeweler in any town. After raising Amity with the Jeweler to 200+, they will appraise your gems, randomly giving you various items in exchange for each gem.

Items include gems, rough stone, black stone powder, and sturdy snow white stone which is used to craft manor furniture. 

Buried Trace

There is a very rare chance to proc 1-2 Buried Trace in your loot table when Lumbering, Tanning, Extracting, Hoeing, Mining or Butchering.

An announcement will appear alerting you to a buried trace after you’ve gathered from a node. Use 1 energy to interact with the buried trace (dirt cloud) to spawn a mystery chest.

* Use a Gold Key to open chests!

Buried Trace and Mystery Chest will disappear if not interacted with!

Afuaru from Gathering

Afuaru can spawn while gathering trees and while hunting mobs to butcher or skin.

• Afuaru is not affected by your Life Skill Mastery. (source)
• Afuaru will not spawn during the Green Artisan minigame.
• You will need to defeat Afuaru within 3 minutes or he will run away.
• Only one type of Afuaru can spawn at any given point in an area.

Gathering for Silver Money

Like all Life Skills, Gathering is profitable with careful planning. Take time to look at supply and demand on the Marketplace.

Players probably keep their most prized gathering strategies secret. When everyone knows of a certain profitable item to make or location, it soon tanks in profitability as it floods the Market.

You might also consider gathering resources to use in trade crates like the Calpheon Timber Crate.

• Timber is known to have the highest drop rate for the very rare Caphras Stones. Logs, usually a bottlenecked resource, are in high demand.

Choosing the Best Gathering Location

The best gathering location is usually the secret one you stumble upon and tell no one about! 🙂

However, there are gathering areas recommended just because there is a huge number of resources all packed into a small area. The advantage is you don’t waste time running around looking for resources. So less time gathering means better profits per hour.

The disadvantage is that these locations are well known and the resources could be camped or low in price. Crowding isn’t usually too much of a concern. For me, switching channels usually does the trick, if someone is gathering at my desired location.

Pets with “Finds Resources” special ability will highlight and sometimes jump on top of items you can gather in the wilderness.

Gathering Meat & Blood at Sheep Hill

Sheep Hill is a famous gathering location for meat and blood because of its easy location and mob density.

Remember to check market prices, if you’re gathering to sell and not use! At the time of this writing, sheep products had flooded the market and were drastically low in price.

Shai Gathering Advantage

Shai no longer start the game with Professional 1 Alchemy and Gathering. However, she still has useful skills for gathering.

Shai Gathering Bonuses:

• 10 Skills that give up to +5% Gathering/Alchemy XP.
• Skill that gives 300% Combat XP buff from Gathering/Alchemy
• Light Bag: Passive skill that increases the amount of Weight Limit you gain when you level up.

Gathering Requirements for Quests

Gathering Life Skill is a requirement for other Life Skills and many quests. For example, in order to obtain the questline for Processing, you need at least Beginner 7 Gathering.

Obtain Beginner 7 Gathering with AFK Gathering using Empty Bottles at the fountain in Heidel.

Purchase 34 Empty Bottles at the Material Vendor near the fountain. Or you can use any river/lake for gathering water. I like Heidel because the Material Vendor is only a couple steps away from the water source.

Gathering Gear & Items

Gathering has many options to improve it.

There are 4 main gear categories:

• Gathering Speed
• Gathering EXP
• Gathering Mastery
• Gathering Item Drop Rate

Often, Gathering Mastery comes at a cost to Gathering EXP.

Gathering Speed

Gathering Ability Stat is important for gathering speed.

Joining a guild can give you a passive +3 to the Gathering Ability level.

Max 5 Gathering Levels:

Higher levels reduce Gathering time.

– Lv. 1: By 25%
– Lv. 2: By 45%
– Lv. 3: By 60%
– Lv. 4: By 70%
– Lv. 5: By 75%

Gathering Item Drop Rate

The amount of items that are gathered are increased by only a few buffs.

• Gathering Mastery.
• Select items with effect “Gathering Item Drop Rate”
• Hedgehog and Llama Special Ability (must be fed.)
• Agris Fever

Is “Item Drop Rate” used for Gathering?

Unless the buff specifically states “Gathering Item Drop Rate” then it’s not used for gathering.

• “Item Drop Rate” is different from “Gathering Item Drop Rate”.
• For example, Luck ability stat, Item Collection Increase Scrolls, Arsha server buff, Node levels, and Ecology do NOT increase amounts gathered.

Gathering Exp and Leveling

• Gathering Exp is earned each time you gather.
• Gathering Exp is earned per slot, so items that take up more slots give better exp.
• Underwater gathering gives the best exp, followed by Wild Herbs.
• Increase Gathering Exp by using any Life Skill Exp item or buff. For example, Life EXP Scroll from Challenges (Y)
• Gathering Level is seen in your Character Profile window (P)
• Gathering Rank is also viewable in the Rankings window.
• Detailed Gathering Exp List: Gathering Exp Spreadsheet.

Leveling Gathering Life Skill

Since Gathering is considered a Life Skill, we can use all the many Life Skill Exp items available to us.

For more details, please view my Life Exp Items guide.

Life Skill Crystal

More powerful Life Skill Crystals were introduced with the Land of the Morning Light patch.

• Life Crystal → Life EXP +5%
• Vital Crystal → Life Mastery +10

NOTE: Life Crystal and Vital Crystal do NOT have a crystal group and have no limit!

Forest Crystal

1 Forest Crystal is used to craft 1 Life Skill crystal that buffs +5% Life EXP or +10 Life Mastery.

Obtain Forest Crystal:

• Sniper hunting in Land of the Morning Light – about 1 every 1.5 hours.
• Send worker to Dokkebi Forest node – 1 every 2 to 3 weeks.
• AFK Fishing in Land of the Morning Light – 1 every week.
• Special Barter – is this real? Not in my experience, but I have proof it exists.
• Exchange 1000 Sangpyeong Coin to Hyunyong in Moodle Village.

Magical Lightstone Crystal

100 Magical Lightstone Crystal is also required to craft a Life Exp or Mastery Crystal.

Obtain Magical Lightstone Crystal:

• Exchange Imperfect Lightstones or Lightstones you no longer need to Dalishain the Wandering Alchemist.

All Gathering Lightstone Combos

Please Note: Lightstone Effects are added to the Combo effect in the list below.

Gathering Item Quantity Pets

Hedgehog and Llama pets give a chance to obtain an extra gather. They also give Life Skill EXP +1-5%, depending on Tier.

Both pets have a higher than normal chance to learn Gathering Exp +5% at tier 1, 3, and 4.

Gathering Proc Chances:

• T1 and T2: 30% proc chance
• T3: 40% proc chance
• T4: 50% proc chance

Pets with Life Exp Talent + High Gathering Skill Chances

Besides Hedgehog or Llama, there are some pets that could also make great gathering pets.

Best Gathering Pet Qualities:

• Higher than normal chance to learn Gathering Exp +5%
  • Gathering Exp stacks for each pet, giving a total of +25% possible.
• Talent: Life Exp +1% per tier
  • Life Exp stacks for each pet, giving a total of +21% possible.

A few examples are shown below.

Gathering Limitations

Gathering is limited by gathering tool availability and Energy.

Each time you gather there is a chance that you will not consume Energy. It increases with your Gathering levels. This can go as high as 30% chance to not consume Energy, according to Patch Notes.

Gathering burns through the Energy quickly, even with higher Mastery. You use 500-600 Energy per hour. Energy can be purchased with Marketplace Energy Potions, or with Loyalties/Pearls.

Artisan Gathering Minigame

“Green Thumb” is knowledge that allows you to obtain special mini games while gathering. After obtaining this knowledge via a quest line, you can turn on your “Green Artisan” skill which gives a chance to proc a mini game while gathering.

Once you obtain the Green Thumb knowledge, all alts can enjoy Green Artisan gathering mini-games, since it’s a knowledge reward that is shared with family.

Gathering Mini-game Requirements:

• 1 or 10 Energy:
  • Mini-game Success: 10 Energy gives 10x the normal gathering rewards.
  • Mini-game Fails: 1 Energy gives the normal amount of gathering rewards.
• Gathering Mini-game Questline: “[Green Thumb] Gatherer Across the Sea”, given by Hyunyong <Chorong Merchant Guild> in Nampo’s Moodle Village.
  • Gathering Level: Artisan 1+
  • Land of the Morning Light Access:
    • Abyssal Veins portal via the Magnus questline (level 56+)
    • Sail with a ship across the great ocean. (tier 4+ ship recommended)
    • Create a new level 1 character to start in LoML.

Gathering Progression Pass

The Gathering section of Progression Pass is good to do in order to obtain some goodies for Gathering.

Progression Pass becomes available after Season Graduation.

Gathering with Agris Fever

Agris Fever can be used during Gathering to increase the basic items obtained.

Basic items are single processed such as tree and ore types and not rare resources like Sharp Black Crystal Shards or special resources like Truffle Mushrooms.

Liana’s Daily Gathering Quests

Liana’s daily quests reset after midnight (server time) every day.

You can complete one of the following gathering quests each day:

Trade Items Removed from Gathering

Trade items like Intact Insect Amber were removed from gathering loot tables and replaced with Traces in patch November 1, 2023.

Gathering EXP previously obtained from acquiring Gathering trade goods will now be awarded when acquiring a Trace item from Gathering.

Trace item drop rates from Gathering activities are affected by pets with the Special Skill Gathering Amount Increase (i.e. Hedgehog).

Liana’s Tool Bag Removed:

Liana’s Tool Bag was removed in a patch.

Liana’s Tool Bag was an item that stored all your gathering tools in one slot. It also instantly equipped whichever gathering tool you needed. For the first time there was no more swapping tools in order to gather different items in BDO! However, with the updated Family Life Tool Inventory, it is no longer needed.

Liana’s Tool Bag:

• Liana’s Tool Bag fills the Life Skill Tool slot.
• Stores 1 of each of the 6 different tool types.
• Automatically equips the correct tool for the item you are gathering.
• “Tool Bag” button in your Inventory (I) allows you to insert the tools you would like to use.
• RMB to equip Liana’s Tool Bag.
• Share Liana’s Bag with family by transferring via Storage Keeper to an alt.

Requirements:

• Level 49+
• Short questline starting with Black Spirit.
• 10 Energy for each trivia question. (100 total Energy)

Basic white grade gathering tools were deleted in patch:

Lumbering Axe
Fluid Collector
Hoe
Butcher Knife
Tanning Knife
Pickaxe
Fishing Rod
Old Fishing Rod
Gathering Tool Box

• The -8 seconds gathering time that basic tools used to give is now given for free without any tools needed.
• Gathering and Fishing can be enjoyed without equipping tools, basic life tools obtained from NPC shops, quest rewards, and crafting were deleted.

White Grade Gathering Tools:

• -8 seconds to gathering speed
• Max Durability of only 10. (Durability controls how often you can use the tool.)
• Can’t be repaired.