How important is harvesting/foraging?

[zanthar]

If I continue with this whole foraging thing (shudder), and it gets allegedly easier as I gain skills and levels, may I ask some of the things I can look forward to? Or better yet, ask specific questions about it?

Such as:

1) Is it allways going to be guesswork? Meaning I need a specific mat for a specific reason. Will I have tools/abilities/skills to determine where that mat is found and go specifically for it? Or is it always going to be like a grab bag, never knowing what's in there?

2) I assume because I'm so low level, and haven't done a single custom action yet (I understand them, just don't know quite how to make the best of them, or have the appropriate stanzas yet), that I'm dying way too frequently, merely by digging. (How bothersome... I can take on several mobs, but digging in the ground kills me... hmpfff) Is this normal, or am I perhaps doing something wrong? I see the meters, but I can't really "do" much while I'm digging to affect those meters. So when the source meter runs out, poof, that's it... Or the Explosive meter runs out, poof that's it as well, there's not much I can to afect them, right?

Well to answer your first question, there is going to be guess work for you if you forage with out help, which can be fun cause you have to explore the world around you but you can also take the guess work out by finding a higher lvl digger and ask them to show you some dig spots and this is also fun cause you can care plan for them and get lots o xp from that and also make new friends and chat to pass the time
Now for your second question, you can stop the meters from going downand reair them by getting care planning stanzas and there are 2 of them ground stalbility keeps the explosins from happenine and resource presevation halp with the "life" of the resouce node. And these skills are very important so get them ASAP cause they keep you alive and also help you get the most out of a node

[wardone]

How important is harvesting/foraging?



Very important if u want to contribute to a guild and easier once u get higher lvl and learn some skills.
I remember seeing someone say Dig 201 changed my life and i can well believe it
The further u go with it the bigger the rewards but also nothing wrong with being a late starter on harvesting especially if u fancy starting in prime roots zone

[iwojimmy]

it is possible to bypass the tedious frustrating early level harvesting.. by Care Planning.
If you look after a higher level diggers sources, you will learn where they are, get xp to improve your skills, have a more social experience, and depending on the arrangement, possibly get paid in mats or dappers also. And you can get more mats sharing 50/50 with a high digger, in half an hour, than you could digging solo in half a day - which will rocket your crafting along.

[geezas]

When you are hunting you are increasing your knowledge of Atys, and this translates into useful information of locations and mob activity when you return as a digger. So stay with the 'skull crushing' tour of Atys, and digging will be there when/if you are ready to 'do an honest days digging'

Wize man

[jared96]

One thing that diggers will always have more of then those that don't is dappers.....not that there's a lot to do with dappers. In times past, before I started digging, you used to be able to buy armor and weps with dappers. Now, for the most part, the new currency is "mats". You want that uber armor set, most crafters will be gald to make it for you for xxxx mats.

Like others have said digging is pretty hard / boring in the beginning....I found it to start getting enjoyable at level 60 as by that time I had enough skill points to buy all the necessary bricks to function effectively.

At the low levels I was extremely frustrated that my higher level guildies could pop 10 "cabbeges" and then I'd follow in the exact same spot and get none. But as I obtained higher level bricks for multi spot, angle, range etc it all started to come together. Though many will argue the point, tracking functions unreliably. I have oft used mat tracking to get to within 1 meter and despite level 250 skills somethimes fail to be able to pop one single "cabbage". Around dyron you can oft track oil and sap and find the "1 m away" sot to be in the middle of the lake. Yes it works most of the time but it can still be frustrating as your confidence in its functionality is shaken by those kinds of expereinces.

Mostly I'd suggest findinga "dig buddy". CP'ing (care planning) for a higher level charcter is one of the best ways to map the spots (rt click on map to mark your locations) who can not only show you where they are but also how to get there by the safest routes.

[naratuul]

Though many will argue the point, tracking functions unreliably. I have oft used mat tracking to get to within 1 meter and despite level 250 skills somethimes fail to be able to pop one single "cabbage". Around dyron you can oft track oil and sap and find the "1 m away" sot to be in the middle of the lake. Yes it works most of the time but it can still be frustrating as your confidence in its functionality is shaken by those kinds of expereinces.

Tracking sseems to track the resource vein- each vein has several spots where you can pop the mat. Also Prime roots tracking may seem buggier until you understand what some of the messages imply