Gathering has been called the most profitable Life Skill in BDO. (Players with high levels of Gathering Mastery report anywhere from 60 to 160 million silver per hour.)
Along with Fishing, Gathering is one of the easiest Life Skills for beginners to get started making money with. Besides the gathering tool, all you need is Energy.
On its own, it allows you to gather all kinds of crafting materials used in other Life Skills, Enhancement, and worker workshops. (Gathering materials are especially essential in Alchemy, which has a greater demand for bottlenecked resources.)
In many quest lines, the Gathering Life Skill is a requirement that opens up other Life Skill quests.
Gathering Tools
Each gatherable resource category requires it’s own tool.
Gathering Tools are obtained via Tool Workshops, Seal exchanges, Events, Contribution Points, and the Marketplace. You can obtain tools at a <Material Vendor>, but these are only recomended if you have no other choice.
| Gathering Tools | ||
|---|---|---|
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Axe | Use on trees to gather logs and timber |
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Hoe | Use on vegetation to gather herbs, fruits, weeds, seeds, and flowers (Barehanded gathering without a tool will mostly reward weeds which are used in alchemy) |
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Tanning Knife | Use on animal corpse to gather hides and feathers |
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Butcher Knife | Use on animal corpse to gather meat (Also used in the Hunting Life Skill to gather blood, meat, and Hunting XP) |
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Fluid Collector | animal blood or tree sap (used in Alchemy) |
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Pickaxe | rocks, ore, and gem nodes |
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Empty Bottle | gather river and sea water |
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Shabby Shovel | Use in the desert of Valencia to gather muddy water, vanadium and titanium ore and shards, blue and violet crystals |
Gathering Tools with a Lucky Boost
Magic tools are the best option, until you reach 600 Gathering Mastery. After that use a Loggia/Life Mastery tool.
Magic gathering tools give the best gathering speed and durability out of all the non-Life Mastery tools.
Magic Tools:
Requires Gathering Skilled 5
-11 Seconds to Gathering
You obtain them by exchanging Imperial Seals.
They aren’t cheap, but they are usually worth the price. Always do the math first before buying on the Marketplace!
Lucky and Magic tools give a bonus to obtaining rare resources like:
Rare resources like these are highly valuable and increase silver/hr.
| Gathering Tool | Recipe Materials | Cost | Cost For Lucky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel Lumbering Axe | Maple Timber x1, Steel x3, BSP x3 |
31,500 | 315,000 |
| Steel Pickaxe | Maple Timber x1, Steel x4, BSP x3 |
39,000 | 390,000 |
| Steel Hoe | Maple Timber x1, Steel x2, BSP x3 |
24,000 | 240,000 |
| Steel Butcher Knife | Maple Timber x1, Steel x1, Hard Hide x1, BSP x4 |
39,000 | 390,000 |
| Steel Tanning Knife | Maple Timber x1, Steel x1, Hard Hide x1, BSP x3 |
36,000 | 360,000 |
| Sturdy Fluid Collector | Steel x2, BSP x3 |
24,000 | 240,000 |
| Shining Steel Lumbering Axe | Maple Timber x1, Steel x3, Pure Iron Crystal x1, BSP, x5 |
144,259 | 1,442,590 |
| Shining Steel Pickaxe | Maple Timber x1, Steel x4, Pure Iron Crystal x1, BSP x5 |
151,759 | 1,517,590 |
| Shining Steel Hoe | Maple Timber x1, Steel x2, Pure Iron Crystal x1, BSP x5 |
136,759 | 1,367,590 |
| Shining Steel Butcher Knife | Maple Timber x1, Steel x1, Pure Iron Crystal x1, Hard Hide x1, BSP x4 |
126,259 | 1,262,590 |
| Shining Steel Tanning Knife | Maple Timber x1, Steel x1, Pure Iron Crystal x1, Hard Hide x1, BSP x5 |
129,259 | 1,292,590 |
| Shining Fluid Collector | Steel x2, Pure Iron Crystal x1, BSP x5 |
136,759 | 1,367,590 |
Lucky Tools are crafted in Tool Workshops available in almost every town.
They have about a 10% chance to be crafted, when your worker creates a normal version of the tool.
Lucky Tools are crafted about 1 in 10 crafts.
To obtain the crafting cost for a Lucky Tool, multiply the normal cost by 10.
Steel tools have 130 Durability. Shining tools have 250 Durability. Shining tools are 2 seconds faster, which improves silver per hour.
When considering the costs of producing tools, remember there is a cost in CP for both the tool workshop and worker lodging. Weigh this against the profit you would have made having your worker gathering at a node instead.
Gathering Tools via Contribution: Renting from Norma Leight
Purchase your choice of 6 gathering tools by paying 50 Contribution for each.
Leight Family Gathering Tool Effects:
- Gathering Item Drop Rate +30% (For the type of gathering associated with the tool)
- Reduces Gathering Time by 11 sec
- Gathering Mastery +200 (For the type of gathering associated with the tool)
- Gathering EXP +10%
Norma Leight is located in the Northern Wheat Plantation, NE of Calpheon City.
Norma Leight
<Northern Wheat Plantation Owner>
Is the Leight Family Tool Worth It?
This is a good question! At a glance, this tool sounds like a dream tool! Who doesn’t want +30% drops? But you have to trade off 50 Contribution! Why do they do this to us?!? Ha. 🙂
I think this tool is great for people that don’t have allot invested in their worker nodes already.
If you do allot of active gathering, and have spare Contribution sitting around, then this tool can’t be beat.
For lazy AFKers, leave the Leight tools alone. 🙂
Magic Gathering Tools from Imperial Seals
In an update on June 24 2020, Imperial Seals were changed. You can now only obtain Golden Seals, although the old ones can still be turned in for magic tools.
- The new seals are rewarded for Imperial Alchemy, Imperial Cooking, and killing bandits, while traveling with a trade item.
- All other tools/seals were nerfed
- Golden Seals are not interchangeable with the old imperial seals. You can only exchange the new seals with the new list of items, and the old seals with the old list of items.
For details on the old Imperial Seals, skip to the very bottom of the page.
| Icon | Magic or Manos Tool | Cost | Icon | Golden Imperial Seal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Spellbound Toolbox RNG Magic Tool |
50 |  |
Golden Seal – [Imperial Conquest] |
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5k |  |
Golden Seal – [Imperial Alchemy] |
|
Spellbound Toolbox RNG Magic Tool |
80 | ||
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10k |  |
Golden Seal – [Imperial Cuisine] |
|
Spellbound Toolbox RNG Magic Tool |
200 |
Gathering Loot Categories
Gathering allows you to obtain many types of items in BDO. Each item is part of a category.
Gathering Item Categories:
- Basic Resource: white grade gathered resources like hide, timber, sap, ore, blood, etc.
- Special Resource: low drop chance items like Intact Insect Amber, Old Tree Bark, Laila’s Petal, Deep Blue Hoof Root, etc
- Rare Resource: more common enhancement materials like Ancient Spirit Dust and Black Gem Fragments
- Very Rare Resource: the rarest of enhancement materials like Caphras Stone and Hard/Sharp Shards
Gathering Rare Drops
Very Rare Resources:
Caphras Stone – safe Enhancement to obtain TRI+ gear.
- Best Items to Gather for Caphras Stones:
# 1. Gathering trees via Fluid Collector for sap or with a Lumbering Axe.
# 2. Gathering ore and herbs
- Best Items to Gather for Caphras Stones:
Hard Black Crystal Shard – used in higher levels of Enhancement
Sharp Black Crystal Shard – used in higher levels of Enhancement
Mass of Pure Magic – used to Enhance Blackstar weapons
Rare Resources:
Black Gem Fragment – Enhancement of Loggia/Manos Life Mastery gear
- Best Items to Gather for Black Gem Fragments:
# 1. Gathering meat, blood, hide
# 2. Gathering herbs
- Best Items to Gather for Black Gem Fragments:
Ancient Spirit Dust – used to create Caphras Stones
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. If you keep an eye on upcoming events, you can take advantage of price fluctuations to buy low or sell high. For the most part, you will not see many people sharing their prized secret gathering locations and strategy. When everyone knows of a certain profitable item to make or location, it soon tanks in profitability as it floods the Market.
The most common resources recommended to gather, that will not hurt other players profits are items like the following timbers used to make Calpheon Timber Crates.
- Cedar
- Fir
- Birch
These timbers are all high value compared to many timbers. Timber is known to have the highest drop rate for the very rare Caphras Stones. Logs from timber gathering are valuable also.
| Calpheon Timber Crate | |
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– Workload (3m 45s) Workshop level: 1 |
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– Crafting Materials |
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5
5
5
Best Gathering Locations
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.
Gathering Logs Near Trent
Logs are highly sought after and worth good silver. When you gather timber that is also high value, it makes for profitable gathering runs. For example, the Calpheon Timber Crate timbers of Birch, Fir, and Cedar.
Somethinglovely.net has an excellent tool that lets you select and view gatherable nodes:
Gathering Meat & Blood at Sheep Hill
Sheep Hill is the most famous gathering location for meat and blood, but 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.
Gathering Rough Stone at Pilgrim’s Haven
The best place to gather Rough Stone is at Pilgrim’s Haven. Mudstone nodes are heaped one on top of another and you barely have to move to gather. Just jump on top of a Mudstone tower and press the R key multiple times.
This location is in the Great Desert of Valencia, so be sure to have Purified Water and Star Anise Tea. Otherwise, it’s safe enough to take even low level characters.
The Shai Gathering Advantage
Shai is the only class that starts with Professional 1 Alchemy and Gathering. She also has a useful passive skill that gives her more LT than other classes per level.
See all of her Gathering buffs below.
Gathering Bonuses:
- Gathering & Alchemy starts at Professional 1.
- 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 Life Skills
Gathering Life Skill is a requirement for other Life Skills and many quests. For example, in order to obtain the ability to process higher tiers, 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 level Apprentice 4 is a little more challenging to obtain. You will need about 274 Empty Bottles filled. If you do skip the prerequisite quest chain for processing, then you will miss out on the Shabby Fence and some housing furniture, as well as additional Gathering/Processing XP.
Gathering Mastery
Gathering Mastery really boosts the items you can obtain at later Gathering levels.
BDO Gathering Mastery Highlights:
- +Common items (up to +400%)
- +Special Items (up to +100%)
- +Rare Items (up to +85%)
- +Very Rare Items (up to +44.42%)
- 0% to +30% chance of not consuming Energy (reduced from +60% chance at Master 1 Gathering Life Skill)
Press P key > 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 Buffs with Gear, Tools, & Items
The items below help speed up the Gathering Life Skill.
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Silver Embroidered Gatherer’s Clothes | +2 Enhancement:
Movement Speed+2 Level |
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Magic Tool | A gathering tool used to gather resources. With a luck increase when gathering.
|
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Lucky Steel Tool | |
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Lucky Shining Steel Tool | |
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Shining Steel Tool | -10 seconds gathering. No luck bonus. |
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Special Balenos Meal | Movement Speed Rank +2
Fishing Speed Rank +2 Gathering Speed Rank +2 |
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Skilled Worker’s Elixir | Gathering +3 |
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Hard-Boiled Shellfish | Gathering +2
Underwater Breathing +10 sec. Duration: 60/75 min. |
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Grain Soup | Gathering +1
Duration: 30/60 min. |
Gathering Item Drop Rate Increase
There are a few items that give an increase in the amount of items you can gather.
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Sweet Fig Pie | Gathering Item Drop Rate +3%
Cooking Recipe: Fig x5 + Wheat Dough x3 + Sugar x3 + Olive Oil x2 Duration: 60/75 min. |
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____ Stone of Life | Gathering Item Drop Rate up to +25% on yellow grade life stones.
Create via Alchemy or dropped by certain mobs. View them on bddatabase.net |
Gathering Mastery Gear
Gathering Mastery helps to determine the best tools to use.
- Use Magic or Lucky tools until you reach 600 Gathering Mastery.
- Magic & Lucky Tools remove any Gathering Mastery bonus. (Only the Magic/Lucky bonus is left.)
- Switch to a Life Mastery tool when you reach 600 Gathering Mastery.
There are many items you can obtain that will buff your Gathering Mastery or Life Mastery level. Manos gear is the best, but also extremely expensive to enhance.
- Loggia Gear (sold by Camellia Loggia <Seed Vendor> for 1 million Silver at Loggia Farm)
- Geranoa Gear (sold by the <Material Vendor> Geranoa in Calpheon City for 10 million Silver)
- Manos Gear (Processing > Manufacture of rare ingredients.)
Gathering Mastery Items:
Clothes
Accessories: Ring, Belt, Earring, Necklace
Tools: Pickaxe, Lumbering Axe, etc
Pearl Shop Gathering Gear
Pearl Shop Underwater Gathering Gear:
| Da-Dum Da-Dum Diving Suit Set (2200 Pearls) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Da-Dum Da-Dum Diving Suit Set Contains 2 Pieces: Set Effect: Swimming Speed +59% |
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Da-Dum Da-Dum Diving Hat | Underwater Breathing +30 sec. | |
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-Endurance while swimming, Swimming Speed +90% |
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Gathering & Life Skill Pets
Hedgehog pet gives a chance to obtain an extra gather. He also gives Life Skill EXP +1-4%, depending on Tier.
Hedgehog Gathering Proc Chances:
- T1 and T2 Hedgehog: 30% proc chance
- T3 Hedgehog: 40% proc chance
- T4 Hedgehog: 50% proc chance
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Pet Life Skill Talent: Life Skill Experience Gain 1-4%. 4% doesn’t sound like much, but with 5 pets, you could increase your Gathering experience by 20%. Most cats give Life Skill buff.
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Pet Skills: Gathering Level +1 and/or Gathering Exp +5%. Random chance to obtain by all pets. Pets have 3 Skills at Tier 4, 2 Skills at Tier 3, and 1 Skill at Tier 2.
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.
Gathering Tips
- the best Gathering experience is obtained via wild herbs
- equip a Matchlock to avoid the cheer animation while gathering. This is especially useful during AFK water gathering with Empty Bottles. (You won’t get interrupted and stop gathering.)
- mouse movement allows you to gather from a distance. For an explanation and demonstration, view Jeffy’s video: https://clips.twitch.tv/ObedientAdorableCucumberDoggo
- You can turn in weeds to Lara <General Goods Vendor> in Heidel for gathering experience. You must have 100 Weeds minimum in your inventory, then talk to her. Click “Chat” option. (Chat option isn’t visible if you don’t have Weeds in your inventory.)
Magic Gathering Tools via Old Imperial Seals
NOTE: These were the rewards from the old Imperial Seals. You can still turn these in, but can’t obtain new ones any more.
All info inside the red border, is from the old system.
Shiny Golden Seal – [Imperial Training]
Imperial Training Seals are exchanged for Magic Tanning Knife and Magic Lumbering Axe Imperial Training Seals are acquired by doing imperial horse training. It’s not too difficult to get these, but the problem here is that you can use these seals to make other things like Black Magic Crystal – Viper. Depending on the cost of the Viper crystal or other items at the time, Imperial Training Seals can be valued differently. You might be better off getting the Viper crystal or the other rewards and then ordering a magic tool from the Marketplace.
Imperial Training Seal Exchanges:
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Shiny Golden Seal – [Imperial Conquest]
Imperial Conquest Seals are difficult to obtain quickly. You get these seals from killing bandits that roam around the map.
Image credit to Facemelt#5867
Killing bandits will give about 20 seals per hour. To get the bandits to spawn, buy a trade item from the <Trade Manager> and put it on your horse. Look for the red bandit icons on the world map. The bandits are levels 50 to 55. They will drop 0-3 Conquest Seals.
Conquest Seals help make Black Magic Crystal – Harphia and Awakened Spirit’s Crystal. so we can use them to help determine the value of Conquest Seals.
Imperial Conquest Exchanges:
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– It’s not recommended to go out of your way to grind for Conquest Seals, but if you’re trading anyway, try to go routes that have bandits available.
Shiny Golden Seal – [Calpheon Trade]
Calpheon trade seals are obtained via completing Calpheon trading quests. These are time consuming, so not recomended.
2 → 
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Shiny Golden Seal – [Imperial Fishing]
Imperial fishing seals are easy to obtain via AFK Fishing. Selling your full inventory of fish to the Imerpial Fish Delivery NPC can give you 40+ Fishing Seals (4 Magic Fluid Collectors). But, the ease of obtaining Fishing Seals, makes them plentiful and cheap on the Marketplace. Fishing Seal Exchanges:
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Sources & Additional Info
- Jeffythewise Life Mastery Google Doc
- bdocodex.com and bddatabase.net data searches
