QUESTION
I?m an adventurer, but I want to start harvesting resources to trade with crafters. How do I get started?

ANSWER
If you?re an adventurer, it?s a good idea to take up harvesting. As your adventuring level rises, keeping your harvesting level in line with the types of resources available in the areas you hunt makes a lot of sense. Hardcore crafters whose crafting levels are much higher than their adventuring levels will need you to collect the resources they use, since they don?t dare venture into higher level areas to gather them on their own.

To get started in harvesting you?ll need to find a trainer. Trainers are located in all starting cities and villages. (If you?re having a hard time tracking a trainer down, you should be able to hail a guard and ask for directions.) Once you?ve found the harvesting trainer, he or she will send you off on a brief quest to harvest some nearby resources. Completing this quest line will not only complete your training but net you a basic set of harvesting clothing.

Before you harvest your first resource you?ll need to equip some tools. Your first tools are given to you as part of a harvesting quest. Other basic starter tools are available from the harvesting trainer at no charge, but as your harvesting skills grow you?ll need to purchase better tools and clothing from either a trainer/vendor or from player crafters. Tools and clothing are equipped under your harvesting inventory tab (figure 1 below). Make sure you?re buying the right tools for the job–each harvesting specialty requires different tools.

Choose Your Harvesting Specialty

Harvesting abilities come in five varieties:

Quarrying (stone, gems)
Mining (metal)
Lumberjacking (wood)
Skinning (animal hides)
Reaping (plants)

You?ll be asked to choose a primary and secondary skill. If you intend to craft, you need only consider what types of resources your crafting class uses in order to pick your harvesting specialty. If you?re not a crafter, and don?t intend to become one, you still might want to consider the types of things you could potentially want crafted and harvest appropriately, since crafters are often all too happy to create an item for a customer who has the right resources on hand. Does your character wear medium armor? You may want to harvest skins. Will you be looking for someone to build you a house or a boat some day? Lumberjacking is where its at.

It helps to know what materials the crafting classes use:

Artificers - wood, stone, gems (found in stone)
Outfitters - animal hides, textile plants
Blacksmiths - metal

Once you?ve chosen a primary and secondary harvesting specialty you?re not stuck with your decision. To change your primary/secondary harvesting skill just visit a trainer again. Be warned, though, that whatever experience you?ve gained in your previous harvesting specialties will be lost and your skills reset to 0.

Harvesting a Node

Okay, so you?ve equipped your tools and you?re ready to harvest. The process couldn?t be simpler. You?ll find resource nodes scattered throughout Telon in logical places. Trees are obviously easiest to find in forested areas.You?ll generally find plants growing in patches on open plains and fields. Watch the bases of rocky areas for stone and metal. You?ll have to kill animals (or wait until someone else does) in order to harvest their skins.

Now, let?s say that you?re out to harvest a few chunks or shale. To begin harvesting, all you need do is approach the node (in this case a Deposit of Shale), target it, and right click (figure 2 below). Your character will begin the harvesting process. When harvesting is complete, the node will display as remains (example: Remains of a Deposit of Shale). Right click again to loot the remains.

Raw resources can be combined in groups of 20 to create another resource. For instance, 20 chunks of shale combine to make 1 slab of shale. To combine resources, right click a stack of 20 or more and select `combine.` (You can also undo this should you need to…but you shouldn?t need to.)  Combining resources can help save inventory space.

Figure 1 Harvesting inventory window

Figure 2 Harvesting a node

Progression

You?ll have to reach level 100 in each of your skills in order to begin harvesting tier 2 nodes. Once you?ve reached 100 skill level you?ll also need to train. Training is accomplished by purchasing and reading (right click) a book supplied by harvesting trainers. While you may be able to harvest tier 2 nodes without training you won?t increase your skills until you?ve trained.

A Few Pointers

• You?ll switch between your harvesting and adventuring gear automatically depending on which activity you?re engaged in.
• You may want to whip up a quick macro key with the command /TargetNextNode. This will help you quickly target any harvesting nodes within your general area, which in turn makes them easier to locate..
• Holding down the right and left mouse buttons at the same time causes your character to run forward by default. This is handy for harvesting, since you can use your mouse for everything from movement to steering to harvesting to looting.
• As soon as you?re able, purchase the harvesting training book for the next tier for each of your specialties. (These are available from the harvesting trainer.) It?s much easier to have the books on hand should you find you?re ready for the next tier than to run all the way back to town to purchase one.
• Harvest resources with other players. It makes them easier to harvest and increases your yield.

Now you?re equipped with a basic knowledge of harvesting. Get out there and start seeking nodes! You?ll find that harvesting is fun and slightly addicting. Selling resources to crafters is also a revenue source for the savvy adventurer.