FFXIV Collectables Guide

FFXIV Collectables Guide by KrevanSerKay

Contents:
(1) For Everyone
(2) For Gatherers
(3) For Fishers
(4) For Crafters
(5) Ephemeral Nodes
(6) What do you do with Scrips?
(7) Key Points

Question: What are collectables? How do they work?

Answer:

Collectables are an awesome new spin on the turn-in system for both crafters and gatherers. I’ve done a fair amount of both (miner and gsm), so I’ll try to give a decent explanation of both. I’m happy to give more details if you have follow-up questions :D.

(1) For Everyone

Collectables serve two major purposes.

1) They serve as a convenient new way to get experience.

2) They are the new turn-in system (replacing stuff like gather 99 HQ umbral rocks or craft 3 HQ Calibrated Rose Gold Cogs) for getting Scrips. Scrips buy you a set of decent entry level gear, some special mats/temporary buff items, and most importantly: Your master books. For gatherers they purchase tokens which unlock the ability to see the new 1 star nodes in certain zones.

3) You can start earning Blue Scrips at level 56 on each class.

(2) For Gatherers

The entire collectable system for gatherers is the best ever. First off: You don’t need hours of mindless grinding or a billion leve allowances to level anymore. Collectable nodes can net you an insane amount of exp in a short amount of time. If you do leves between hitting collectable nodes, you can level very quickly!

So how do they work? Basically you look at your timers menu and rowena tells you what she’s looking for. Unlike other turn-ins that ask for an item and give 2x exp for HQ, or turn-ins that ONLY take HQ, this time there are tiers of turn-ins. An item can either be level 0, 1, 2, or 3 based on how much collectability it has. If you don’t make it up to the minimum amount of collectability, the item is completely useless cannot be turned in (level 0). Levels 1, 2, and 3 give a different amount of experience and Scrips based on how much collectability you generated. Note: Since you can turn collectable items into non-collectable items, level 0 items can sometimes be used for crafting!

As an example, the level 50 requested item is usually Yellow Copper Ore with a minimum of 240 collectability. This means you’ll get nothing for yellow copper ore with less than 240 collectability, the base 60k exp for each ore between 240-399, 66k for each between 400-449, and 72k for each ore over 450.

Now how do you get collectability? It’s a fun minigame of its own! So you approach your 12 am/pm node (for yellow copper ore) and it has 8 (?) slots. Figure out which slot your item is in, and once it’s revealed MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR COLLECTOR’S GLOVE BUFF ACTIVE then try to gather it. Now a new menu should pop up! Similar to when crafting, you have a limited number of actions to raise the item to as high of a quality (collectability) as you want, while not breaking it, before gathering the items. In this case, you’re balancing your GP, the item’s Wear, the number of gathering attempts you have left, and the total collectability of the item.

Basically, you’ll use your Appraisal skills to raise the rarity up as much as you can, then gather as many ore as you can. In more detail: Each appraisal action generates rarity based on how much perception you have, while raising the Wear on the item, and consuming a gathering attempt. If the wear exceeds the maximum (e.g. 35/30) your gathering chance drops to 10% and cannot be raised by abilities. Basically, you broke it.

The bestest part of this (IMO) is that you can calculate what rotation you need to do in advance! The fact that most of it is non-stochastic is AMAZING. As an example: If last time you were at the yellow copper ore node, you found that Methodical Appraisal (essentially your Basic Touch skill) generated 96 rarity, then you’d know that if you used Methodical Appraisal, followed by Discerning Eye (1.5x next appraisal action) -> Methodical Appraisal, you’d generate 96 + (96 x 1.5) rarity! That happens to add up to 240 collectability :D.

What that means is if you know you can generate 96 on a regular hit, then you know that with two hits and 200 GP, you can generate enough rarity without going over the Wear maximum. This kind of thing is awesome because you only get 6 attempts on a node. If you use 1 attempt to reveal and 2 to get the collectability up, then you can gather 3 collectable ore over the minimum and get 180k experience off of a single node!

As you level you get new awesome skills (like Single Mind) that let you come up with new ways of maximizing your exp or scrips per node. Note: Most often, MORE items > higher quality items. If you can get 3 level 1 items, its usually better than 2 level 2 items based on how the exp scaling works. So practice and you can get that. You’ll also get new skills like Impulsive Appraisal and Instinctual Appraisal that have some RNG effects. These can be worked into your rotation both when your gear is too low to reliably reach thresholds, and when your gear is so good that you can try to increase yield even further.

Also, here is a guide Ichyro created for maxing collectability on ephemeral nodes.

—————Added Notes:——————

1) You can find the timers and slots for gathering nodes here

2) Much like unspoiled nodes, you have to successfully gather the item one time to reveal it. It will change from showing (?) in the slot with up to 25% chance of success into the actual item you want.

3) Each time you successfully gather a collectable item, you’ll receive an extra prompt asking if you want to collect the item with the given collectability (e.g. Would you like to keep this Yellow Copper Ore with 242 rarity? (Y) or (N)). Choosing yes will create an unstackable collectable item in your inventory that can be turned in. Choosing no will give you a non-collectable stackable version of the item.

4) You can also right-click on a collectable item in your inventory and downgrade it to a non-collectable version (analogous to the ‘Lower Quality’ option).

5) For mining, there is currently no use for non-collectable versions of the turn-in item. Many of the botany items can be used for crafts though!

6) Appraisal abilities consume gathering attempts (unless you use Single Mind) AND generate wear. Make sure you balance between the two.

TL;DR For gathering, collectability is a new minigame that replaces turn-ins to help you level quickly and get your fancy books and gear. It is less painfully dependent on RNG than trying to get HQ!

(3) Collectables for Fishing

These are extremely simple, and actually quite easy to get once you get the hang of it. First you just check which fish are currently able to be turned in under the Timers menu and make note of the minimum collectability you need to be able to turn it in. Make sure you have Collect activated, and journey to the fishing hole that your desired collectable fish lives in. Some of them have specific weather and time conditions, so be sure to look out for that (Illuminati perches are all day, all weather, woohoo). You’re going to want to use Patience (or Patience II once you get it) to force the HQ, since the collectability rating is based on the size of your catch (ilms * 10 = collectability rating) and HQ fish are always larger. While you are waiting for your GP to recharge, you can always go for NQ as occasionally it will be just large enough to still qualify for handing in.

Specific tips for Illuminati perch @ lvl 60: Use Patience 2, get a lot of goblin jigs. If you get a big tug on the first cast, use powerful hookset. If it’s a small tug, ignore it. If you get a sweetfish, just cast again (no mooch), but make sure you always have enough GP to use Powerful Hookset if you need to, because breaking those goblin jigs is going to add up. I usually catch from 0-3 per Patience II.

Bonus tip: Spend your company seals on Cordials to save time waiting for Patience to come back up!

(4) For Crafters

For crafting, all of the systems for quality are already in place. There’s not as much new stuff to learn. In short: Collectability turn-ins for crafters kind of suck, but can also be nice for newer players.

Collectable turn-ins don’t generate ANYWHERE near as much exp as levequests for crafters (unlike gatherers where collectables was king). Additionally, the amount of scrips you get is severely limited and the mats for the crafts are expensive. As an example: it can take 15-20 level 3 turn-ins (that would have sold on the MB for 500k each at the time) to get enough crafting Scrips to get a single master book. Note: Crafting and Gathering Scrips are totally independent. Sadly. You can see how this can get pricy quickly! Unlike gatherers who can just hit up a node once every 40 minutes, crafters have to use a LOT of expensive new mats to craft items just to turn them in.

So how does collectability work for crafters? Much like gatherers, BEFORE YOU START THE CRAFT you must activate the collector’s ability which declares your intent to craft for rarity, not HQ. Unlike for gatherers, you can activate Collector’s Synthesis “at will”. I’ve accidentally completed 100% HQ turn-ins before that I couldn’t use and I ended up having to sell them (it took a long time to gather those mats by hand QQ). Once you start the craft, proceed just like any other craft. This time though: There won’t be a % chance of HQ. Instead whatever quality your item is at when you finish the craft is the amount of rarity it will have.

As an example: My level 59 GSM turn-in is a Citrine Choker of Casting. Level 1 minimum is 3500 collectability. Level 1: 3500-4899, Level 2: 4899-6299, Level 3: 6300+. What’s important to note here is that a Citrine Choker has a maximum quality of 7339. That mean’s you’d need 7339 quality to get 100% HQ chance. Of that 7339 possible, you only need 3500 to get credit for this collectable turn-in. Additionally, every point of quality over 6300 is literally meaningless. Usually, though, if you can get to level 3 you’ll probably be at 100% anyway, because you’re probably well-geared and have a rotation that ends on a big byergot’s blessing regardless.

In the old system, you needed to HQ 3 absurdly difficult and expensive items. Even if those crafts went exceptionally well, you’d often only be able to get to 50% chance of HQ just to watch it NQ with mats that cost 100k each and fail. In the new system, there’s no awful RNG at the end of your crafts! However much quality you generated is how much collectability your item will have, and that DIRECTLY DETERMINES the level of turn-in you achieved. You can make it to less than 50% of the total possible quality (which usually amounts to like 10% chance to HQ) and STILL GET CREDIT. My level 59 turn-in is starred today, so I’d get 26 Scrips for a choker with 3500 quality (collectability). If I got 100% of the possible quality, it’d only be worth 31 Scrips.

When you’re mass producing these to unlock your master book, every Scrip counts, so 5 more is a lot. If you’re new to crafting, and didn’t have 4 star crafting gear when HW dropped and tons of practice HQing difficult crafts, it can be really hard to get that much quality on a craft. Thus: The new system rewards experienced and well equipped players, while reducing the dependency on RNG, and at the same time makes it easier for newer crafters to get their Scrip gear/books and start learning!

TL;DR: For crafting, Collectables can get pricy, and aren’t nearly as efficient for leveling as levequests. However, because they aren’t as heavily dependent on RNG and have tiers of accepted quality as opposed to a binary HQ or NQ state, it’s a great system for newer players!

—————Added Notes:——————

1) Just like with gathering, when you complete the craft, you’ll be prompted to as to whether or not you want to finish the craft of the item with the given collectability. Choosing yes will create a Collectable version of the item that can be used for turn-ins. Choosing no will give you a regular version of the item that can be equipped or sold like usual.

2) If you choose ‘no’ and do NOT to complete the craft as collectable (with Collectable Synthesis activated), it can create a NQ or HQ version on the item based on the quality you generated during the craft.

3) Pro-tip: If you are trying to create a HQ item to use or sell, but don’t get the quality high enough, check Rowena’s turn-in list. The item you’re crafting might be a collectable turn-in, and if your craft is over the quality minimum, you can activate Collectable Synthesis before finishing the craft and turn the item in for EXP or Scrips. (This is an alternative to using Reclaim or just finishing with a NQ item).

Okay. I think that just about covers both. I can’t stress enough how much I love the reduced dependence on RNG for turn-ins!

(5) Ephemeral Nodes

Ephemeral Nodes are a new type of time/location specific node added to the game. Ephemeral nodes spawn in specific locations for 4 hour periods. Note: Unlike unspoiled nodes, these nodes show up every 24 hours, NOT every 12 hours. That means that if a node spawns from 4am-8am, it will NOT also spawn from 4pm-8pm.

These nodes work much the same way regular nodes do, and will respawn after you mine from two separate node locations. In the new zones, nodes come in 3 pairs. You only need to mine out one node from 2 different pairs (as in 1 node at location A and 1 node at location B) in order to make the ephemeral node respawn. You can then rotate between these nodes in order to gather from the ephemeral node repeatedly throughout the 4 hour window. The times and locations of these nodes can be found here as well.

Remember to unlock the Aetherial Reduction ability in Mor Dhona. Ephemeral nodes each have clusters, a regular item, and 2 different hidden items. The 3 non-cluster items can be gathered as collectables, then “Reduced” using Aetherial Reduction to yield large amount of crystals, clusters, and new exclusive mats. The higher the collectability of the items, the rarer the items yielded from the reduction. Currently, I only know of crystals, clusters, Duskborne Aethersand, landborne aethersand, and Dawnborne Aethersand that can be received from Aetherial Reduction. The hidden items obviously yield much better reduction products than the regular item.

Here is a guide on using aetherial reduction and gathering collectable items from Ephemeral nodes. Note: a single item reduction can yield over 60 clusters! I’ve gotten over 230 clusters from a single node once using Aetherial Reduction. Over the 4 hour period you can gather many more!

(6) What do you do with Scrips?

Currently, all of the Scrips in the game are Blue Scrips. When Alexander (savage) is released, along with the release of Allagan Tomestones of Esoterics, there will be new Red Scrips that will have a weekly cap. So what can we do with these Blue Scrips (or just ‘Scrips’, for now).

There are vendors in Mor Dhona and Idyllshire named the Collectable Appraiser and Scrip Exchange where you earn and spend Scrips (respectively). You unlock the ability to interact with the vendors in Idyllshire by completing this quest after getting any one of your crafting or gathering classes to 60.

With Crafting Scrips, you can get a decent level 58 left side set of “Adept’s” gear. This gear can serve as a nice stepping stone towards making the level 60 HQ Serpentskin gear that is currently the highest level available in the game. The crafts for the level 60 left side and main hands are all unavailable until you acquire the Master Book III for each of the necessary classes.

That brings us to the next thing Scrips can buy: Master Books IIIs. These contain the recipes for most level 60 crafts and even a couple 1 star level 60 crafts. The new barding, primal housing items, and i150 gear is all locked away behind the Master Book IIIs. Additionally, level 60 main-hand tools, and some new fancy glamour items are available at this tier!

Lastly, Crafting Scrips can get you some crafting materials, Commercial Engineering Manuals, and Delineations. What crafting materials do is fairly obvious. The others, maybe less so. Commercial Engineering Manuals give you a 20 minute buff that give you 150% bonus experience from synthesizing items (up to 300,000 EXP). Basically, you get an extra +150% bonus EXP applied until either 20 minutes go by, or the manual generates 300k extra experience for you. You can also get these from the level 50 crafting class quests. I used my engineering manuals while mass producing titanium nuggets :D. It can net you a non-trivial amount of experience, so I recommend using these if you ever craft a lot of something.

Delineations are a whole new concept. When you reach level 55 in crafting, you can choose 3 classes to “specialize” in. These three specialist classes gain 7 new abilities each, with complicated new mechanics predominantly built around the Whistle While You Work ability. At level 60, each class receives a skill called ‘Heart of the ____’ (e.g. Heart of the Goldsmith) that costs 45 CP and a Delineation (e.g. Goldsmith Delineation) token. In return, “for the next seven steps, [it] increases [the] chances of material condition becoming good.” Basically, you can spend Crafting Scrips on consumable tokens that can be used to affect the RNG in your crafts to a degree.

Now onto Gathering Scrips. Similar to Crafting Scrips, Gathering Scrips can be used to buy a level 58 set of “Trailblazer’s” left side gear. This gear can make it a lot easier to proficiently acquire Scrips from the high level collectable nodes. Unlike the Adept’s gear set, it’s fairly easy to get the Trailblazer gear, since a single node can net you upwards of 150 Gathering Scrips, whereas a single turn-in will rarely get you over 30 Crafting Scrips. Thus, in a single node, you can get the 100 Gathering Scrips necessary to buy a new pair of boots that will up your perception dramatically from the level 55 gear you get at the moghome vendor. The trailblazer set is also unmeldable, and is blown away by the HQ Serpentskin level 60 gear set (the current highest in the game).

Additionally, with Gathering Scrips you can get fishing bait, Hi-Cordials, Commercial Survival Manuals, and Rowena’s Tokens (Blue Gatherer’s Scrip). The fishing bait and cordials are obvious, and the survival manual is the gatherer’s equivalent of the commercial engineering manual described above. Rowena’s Tokens can be exchanged at Idyllshire (6,5) for Tome of Folklore from the Splendors Vendor. These tomes are essentially Master Books for gatherers. Each Tome (there are three for each gathering class) unlocks the ability to see and gather from the new 1 star “legendary” nodes in different zones. As an example, the Tome of Geological Folklore – Dravania gives you the ability to see the unspoiled node that yields Aurum Regis Ore in The Churning Mists, and Blue Quartz in The Dravanian Hinterlands. Following trends, Aurum Regis Ore will probably be combined with Aurum Regis Nuggets to make Aurum Regis Ingots when the next tier of crafts are released.

(7) Key Points/Summary:

• Collectables are a new type of turn-ins for 50+ crafting and gathering content
• Remember to use ‘Collector’s Glove’ or ‘Collectable Synthesis’ BEFORE attempting to gather the item or complete the craft
• Turning in Collectable items gets you experience and Scrips.
• Currently there are only Blue Scrips available in game. Later there will be Red Scrips with a weekly cap (similar to tomestones) that will likely yield new gear and Master Books, if SE follows trends.
• You can start getting Blue Scrips from turn-ins at level 56 on each class.
• Crafting Scrips and Gathering Scrips are totally independent, meaning that you cannot use them interchangeably. :*(
• Scrips get you a solid level 58 gear set that can be used to craft your HQ level 60 set or gather the high level Scrip nodes proficiently. This gear is analogous to the unmeldable Artisan gear you could get with turn-ins.
• Scrips also buy temporary EXP bonus items, special mats, crafting buff items (for specialists), and master books. Master Book III for crafting classes unlock the top level crafted gear and new recipes. Rowena’s Tokens for gatherers unlock the ability to see and gather from 1 star ‘legendary’ nodes.
• Gathering collectable turn-ins are an AMAZING way to get experience; crafting turn-ins are not as good.
• Gathering collectables involve a crafting-like minigame
• Crafted collectables have collectability = quality generated. No RNG at the end of your craft!
• You can find the timers and slots for gathering nodes here. Here is a second node timer tool, and a third as well.
• Cordials are your best friend. Using cordials liberally can help you get 500k EXP off of your 10am , 400k off of your 12pm node, and 500k from the 2pm node back to back to back. It’s DEFINITELY worth the GC seals or money!
• Ephemeral Nodes are a new kind of time/zone specific nodes that utilize Collectability and the new Aetherial Reduction ability to generate large amount of crystals/clusters and new exclusive crafting materials (namely Duskborne Aethersand and Dawnborne Aethersand).

Hopefully that wasn’t too much all at once. Let me know if you have questions!