Gathering Collectables in FFXIV (2024)

Last updated on Oct 02, 2023 at 12:00by Shikhu6 comments

This guide will explain the collectable system and ephemeral nodes forgathering, in addition to providing rotations that you can use for both leveling andendgame.

Collectables have several purposes. They unlock scrips that can be usedfor materia, gear, and endgame nodes. They also help support crafting byallowing you to obtain aethersands by using Aetherial Reduction, whichis the act of breaking down specific collectables into sands you can craft with.

While leveling, collectables are an easy method to gain experience points.While this is not the fastest method, because collectables grant scrips, it isthe most efficient after around level 70.

To unlock the collectable system at level 50, you must first complete the mainstory quest "The Better Half"and the side quest "Inscrutable Tastes."Additionally, there are side quests for each scrip exchange that arelocated beside said NPC for each expansion.

Unlike crafting classes that use their regular skills to make collectables,Mining and Botany instead have unique skills that are only used for collectables.Fisher toggles an action called Collect, which turnscertain fish into collectables based on their size.

As mentioned above, Mining and Botany have unique skills with the solepurpose being for gathering collectables. Some cost GP. Others do notand have various effects which impact your Integrity and Collectability.

The skills can be pressed inside this collectable menu, meaning you caneven move those skills off your hotbars and save some space. If you hoverover the skills, the circle above will show you your predicted Collectabilityrating, and there are also toggle buttons below to see the prediction withcertain buffs applied.

The top of the menu shows your Collectability out of the max rating of1000 and predicts ratings when you hover over skills. For the skill Brazen Prospector, it shows the range your rating can be between.

After that, there is the blue primary actions area, which is comprised of the regularbuttons you would use to gain Collectability. Scour is the basic skill,with the other skills being based on that as mentioned on the tooltip. Brazen Prospector gives you a random rating of 50%-150% of Scour and Meticulous Prospector gives you 75% but has a chance to giveyou extra attempts.

Below that is the red secondary actions and bonuses region. Thishouses skills and bonuses that increase your Collectability rating. One skill is Scrutiny, which costs 200 GP and gives you up to 250 additionalrating. The second skill is Collector's Focus, which increasesyour chance to trigger intuition by 75% of its current chance.

The bonus intuition rate gives you a chance to gain an extra 100Collectability, while Collector's Standard has a random chance to buff Brazen Prospector and Meticulous Prospector to be 100% ofScour instead of the percentages they originally are.

For a more in-depth explanation of FFXIV's Mining and Botany skills, check outour dedicated guide linked below.

Ephemeral nodes hold items that you also have to gather as collectablesin a similar way to other collectables. The difference is that theironly purpose is for the items to be broken down using Aetherial Reductionto turn the items into aethersands, crystals, and clusters forcrafting. It is the equivalent of desynthesis. Fishing classes can alsoreduce specific fish into aethersands using the same methods.

To unlock reduction, you need to complete the level 56 quest"No Longer a Collectable"and the quest "The Better Half" that unlocks the scrip exchange.

Once you hit 400 Collectability rating on these items, you have a chance toobtain aethersands. At 1000 Collectability, you have a chance to gain a bonusthat can grant you up to 10 sands per item. You always want to aim for either 400or 1000 - there is no need to waste GP aiming for anything different.

With there only being a few collectable skills, you can easily use similarrotations at any level. The skill Collector's Focus has not beenvery useful, meaning these rotations are perfectly valid from level 50 allthe way to level 90.

There are low stat and high stat rotations. To be able to use the highstat rotation, you need to be close to hitting 200 Collectability on Scour.

While leveling, 600 rating is enough for quests and Custom Deliveries butis only the minimum for Rowena's Splendors. Instead, try to aim for 1000 forthose items.

This is the generally used rotation if you reach the stat requirementsmentioned for the item. Lower stats can also use this rotation, butyou might need to spend more GP on collectable skills.

This is the lower stat rotation if you do not hit close to the maxCollectability rating. It trades off yield for rating becausethe max rating (1000 in most cases) is always better. Depending on your stats, youwill need either 400 or 600GP.

This is simply an example of an ephemeral rotation you would use tohit 400 rating when you have no GP. 400 is required to be able to get a chanceat sands.

Fishing uses very different skills compared to Mining andBotany. The collectable rating of the fish relates to the size ofthe fish and is relative to each fish, meaning a large fish with a rating of700 might not give any rewards because the fish is normally much larger. Acommonly small fish with a rating of 50 might instead give the highest possiblerewards. Fisher can also reduce certain fish into aethersands like the otherclasses.

For certain fish, you also have to consider bait, weather, and time alongsidethe correct type of hookset to be able to catch it.This can make certain fish give huge rewards at the cost of the fish beingrare or hard to catch.

To gain a higher Collectability rating on your Fisher, you want to beusing Patience II because it increases the chance of landing largerfish. Aside from that, you also want to use Identical Cast tobe able to hook the fish a second time easily. Double Hook will notgive you two collectables at once.

The main differences in gathering collectables using Spearfishing are the skillsavailable to collect fish and the ability to isolate the fish based on thespeed and size of the fish you want. Nature's Bounty is the main way togather collectables while Spearfishing because you can easily catch the fish.

To learn more about the various skills available to Fisher, check out our guidelinked below.