FFXIV Melds Gathering Guide

FFXIV Melds Gathering Guide by Morari Entrepot

Steps toward BTN/MIN Supra

1. Get to level 50 – 271 gather, 270 perception
2. Get HQ i55 AF gear with the BiS accessories for 2.0 (raptorskin/electrum) or for 2.3 (dodore/rose gold)
3. Meld for at least 600 GP, 353 Gathering, 332 Perception (ignore the hat and use food to reach stat requirements)
4. Acquire 90 HQ one star tokens: 60 (forager’s tool) + 30 (forager’s hat)
5. Meld for at least 600 GP, 408 Gathering, 389 Perception (if needed)
6. Acquire 99 two star tokens, 3 Mastercraft Demimateria and 10 Fieldcraft III demimateria
7. Lucky number Supra

Stats to shoot for

Fresh 50: 271 Gathering, 270 Perception
premeld BiS: 323 Gathering, 321 Perception (if using 2.3 BiS then 325/323)
One star nodes: 370 Gathering, 332 Perception (with 2.4, the one star tokens and the grade 3 soils have been reduced to 353 Gathering)
Two star nodes: 408 Gathering, 389 Perception

Melding Plan

Remember, always account for materia and catalyst prices when attempting melds. Sometimes rank II materia can be more expensive than rank IIIs. When more than one set of melds is listed the first tries to make use of all the slots, the next use more higher leveled materia (leaving open slots for more GP).  In the information below, the stat caps are listed to help people make their own customized melding plans.

Slot: Name (Stats)
Desired Stats | Stat Caps
Melds
Notes

Mainhand: i55 Primary Tool (Gathering 112, Perception 64)
Unmeldable

Offhand: HQ Militia Secondary Tool (Gathering 64, Perception 112)
Gathering +5 | Gathering +11, Perception +24, GP +4
Guerdon III (Gath +5)
Just like with the crafting offhand tools, it’s impossible to cap out on everything. So if you can hit your stats elsewhere or with food, you may want to customize your offhand to your liking.

Head: HQ AF (Gathering 64)
— | Gathering +4, Perception +11, GP +4
—
Don’t go through the added expense of melding your hat if you’re close to getting your forager’s hat. If you need to meld it, go for the bare minimum to reach the require stats for the highest node you’re targeting.

Body: HQ AF (Gathering 64, Perception 32, GP 3)
Gathering +11, Perception +6 | Gathering +11, Perception +6, GP +1
Guerdon III (Gath +5), Guerdon I (Gath +3), Guerdon I (Gath +3), Guile I (Perc +3), Guile I (Perc +3)
Guerdon IV (Gath +6), Guile IV (Perc +6), Guerdon III (Gath +5)
Rank I materia are fairly easy to make and inexpensive to buy, so the first set makes for happier wallets. In set two, the order of the rank IVs doesn’t matter, but it’s always good to boost as many stats as you can successfully can before reaching into overmelds.

Hands: HQ AF (Gathering 48, GP 3)
Gathering +8, Perception +4 | Gathering +8, Perception +4, GP +1
Guerdon II (Gath +4), Guile II (Perc +4), Guerdon II (Gath +4)

Legs: HQ AF (Gathering 32, Perception 3)
Gathering +6, Perception +1 | Gathering +6, Perception +1, GP +4
Guerdon I (Gath +3), Guerdon I (Gath +3), Guile I (Perc +3)
Guerdon IV (Gath +6), Guile I (Perc +3)
Because of the stat caps, any Guile materia will only give a single point of Perception. So save some money and use a rank I.

Feet: HQ AF (Gathering 3, Perception 32)
Gathering +1, Perception +6 | Gathering +1, Perception +6, GP +4
Guile I (Perc +3), Guile I (Perc +3), Guerdon I (Gath +3)
Guile IV (Perc +6), Guerdon I (Gath +3)
The exact opposite of the legs in every way. So what goes for Guile/Perception on the Legs, goes for Guerdon/Gathering on the Feet.

Wrist: HQ Militia Bracelets (GP 43)
Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +7 | Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +10
Grasp IV (GP +4), Grasp III (GP +3), Guile II (Perc +4), Guerdon II (Gath +4)
If you have the forager’s hat, then you only need to meld GP +4 to reach 600 GP with 2.0 BiS accessories melded.

As of now, in the hours before the 2.4 goes live, the new 2.3 BiS for neck, ears, waist and the ring slots are not needed to hit any of the stat minimums. So you can save yourself time and money by just using the raptorskin and electrum counterparts.

Raptorskin and Electrum – 2.0 BiS

Waist: HQ Raptorskin Survivor Belt (Perception 14)
Gathering +3, Perception +2, GP +4 | Gathering +3, Perception +2, GP +4
Grasp II (GP +2), Grasp II (GP +2), Guile I (Perc +3), Guerdon I (Gath +3)
Simply just max the stats on the belt.

Neck: HQ Raptorskin Choker (GP 39)
Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +4 | Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +7
Grasp II (GP +2), Grasp II (GP +2), Guerdon I (Gath +3), Guile (Perc +3)

Ears: HQ Electrum Earring (GP 41)
Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +4 | Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +7
Grasp II (GP +2), Grasp II (GP +2), Guerdon I (Gath +3), Guile (Perc +3)
The earrings and the choker have identical stat caps and therefore can have the same melds.

Rings: HQ Raptorskin Ring (GP 22)
Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +4 | Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +4
Grasp II (GP +2), Grasp II (GP +2), Guerdon I (Gath +3), Guile I (Perc +3)
Like the waist, just cap the stats on the rings.

Dodore and Rose Gold – 2.3 BiS
The first melding set will give you 600 GP, if everything else is melded the same.
The second set gives a cost effective (ie avoiding rank IV materia) way of maxing the stats on the gear. It will give 617 GP if everything else is melded the same.

Waist: HQ Dodore Survival Belt (Perception 16)
Gathering +4, Perception +3, GP +3 | Gathering +4, Perception +3, GP +4
Grasp III (GP +3), Guerdon II (Gath +4), Guile I (Perc +3)
Guerdon II (Gath +4), Grasp II (GP +2), Grasp II (GP +2), Guile I (Perc +3)
The rank II materia can be melded in any order, depending on which you want in the guaranteed slot.

Neck: HQ Dodore Choker (GP 45)
Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +2 | Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +8
Guerdon II (Gath +4), Guile II (Perc +4), Grasp II (GP +2)
Grasp III (GP +3), Grasp III (GP +3), Guerdon II (Gath +4), Guile II (Perc +4), Grasp II (GP +2)
The rank II materia can be melded in any order.

Ears: HQ Rose Gold Earrings of Gathering (GP 45)
Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +2 | Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +8
Guerdon II (Gath +4), Guile II (Perc +4), Grasp II (GP +2)
Grasp III (GP +3), Grasp III (GP +3), Guerdon II (Gath +4), Guile II (Perc +4), Grasp II (GP +2)
The rank II materia can be melded in any order. Just like with their 2.0 BiS counterparts, the earrings and choker have the same stat caps and therefore can have the same melds.

Rings: HQ Dodore Ring (Perception 1, GP 23)
Gathering +4, Perception +3, GP +2 | Gathering +4, Perception +3, GP +4
Grasp III (GP +3), Guerdon II (Gath +4), Guile I (Perc +3)
Guerdon II (Gath +4), Grasp II (GP +2), Grasp II (GP +2), Guile I (Perc +3)
The rank II materia can be melded in any order, depending on which you want in the guaranteed slot. Rings and waist can have the same melds, as they have the same stat caps.

Stat Caps

In list form for those who need the reference to make their own plans.

Mainhand: No melds possible
Offhand: Gathering +11, Perception +24, GP +4
Head: Gathering +4, Perception +11, GP +4
Body: Gathering +11, Perception +6, GP +1
Hands: Gathering +8, Perception +4, GP +1
Legs: Gathering +6, Perception +1, GP +4
Feet: Gathering +1, Perception +6, GP +4
Waist: Gathering +3, Perception +2, GP +4 | Gathering +4, Perception +3, GP +4 (2.3 BiS)
Neck: Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +7 | Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +8 (2.3 BiS)
Ears: Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +7 | Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +8 (2.3 BiS)
Wrist: Gathering +4, Perception +4, GP +10
Rings: Gathering +3, Perception +3, GP +4 | Gathering +4, Perception +3, GP +4 (2.3 BiS)

Rules of Thumb

The One Star tokens – Fragrant Logs and Umbral Rocks – require at least 353 Gathering and 332 Perception. Aiming for the old (pre-2.4) 370 Gathering requirement will undoubtedly make things much easier.

The Two Star tokens – Redolent Logs and Antumbral Rocks – require at least 408 Gathering.

Don’t bother melding your hat. Instead, use tomato pies or other food to cover the missing points of gathering until you have your forager’s hat. The forager’s hat has better stats than a fully melded AF hat.

Always use HQ gear for melds. You’ll save money both on needing to use less materia to reach the caps, and also because HQ gear has slightly higher melding success rates.

Shoot for 600 GP, while reaching Gathering and Perception caps. It’ll save some melding frustration later.

Don’t rely on food for GP.

Ten One Star NQ tokens can be traded in for GP-restoring Cordials.

The Two Star tokens cannot be HQ’d so don’t worry about perception on those nodes.

Use the following rotation to “guarantee” at least 2 HQ one star tokens:

Gather (to get the item within reach)
Gather
Ageless Words (BTN)/Solid Reason (MIN)  [300 GP]
Ageless Words (BTN)/Solid Reason (MIN)  [300 GP]
Gather
Gather
Gather
Brunt Force (BTN)/Deep Vigor (MIN) [0 GP]
Gather (100% HQ)
Gather (100% HQ)

Unless you miss a hit (which is always possible if your gathering chance isn’t 100%) you’ll HQ the last two gatherings. Eat food to help decrease the chance of missing a hit.

This next rotation gives a higher HQ chance per gather attempt as well as giving you a 100% HQ at the end.

Toil of the Pioneer (BTN)/Toil of the Mountaineer (MIN)
Leaf Turn II (BTN)/Unearth II (MIN)
Gather
Gather
Gather
Gather
Gather
Brunt Force/Deep Vigor
Gather (100% HQ)

According to the Gear Calculator max stats for BTN/MIN, no food or FC buffs, are the following

Gathering 429, Perception 417, GP 640 – Gathering +11, Perception +12, GP +4 melded onto offhand  (Max Gathering, GP)

Gathering 418, Perception 429, GP 640 – Perception +24, GP +4 melded onto offhand (Max Perception, GP)

Gathering 429, Perception 423, GP 636 – Gathering +11, Perception +18 melded onto offhand (Max Gathering, Perception) [impossible to completely cap perception on the offhand with less than 4 available slots]