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Gathering core system

Document Game Design - Gameplay - Gathering Core System
Status: Exploratory Last updated: 2026-01-18

1. Purpose of this document

This document defines the overall, and the moment to moment gameplay for gatherers.

The basics of gathering:

  • Give content to people that are disinterested in combat
  • Feeds the crafting economy
  • Sinks gold at higher level
  • Intertwined with trading/diplomacy
  • Has its own tasks and quests
  • Has its own gear
  • Has its own skills
  • Should have its own identity. Not just a warrior, that leveled woodcutting, and has an axe in their inventory.

2. Low rank/introductory phase

  • Starts out simple, mostly click and wait
  • Has board tasks for the lowest level materials from the adventurers guild

Low level gathering should have an easy way to turn their materials into small profit. This phase is to get them introduced to the most basic gathering method, and shouldn’t last too long.

3. After ranking up

  • Should give alternative ways of gathering
  • Introduce minigames
  • Give options to gather low level materials much faster
  • Unlocks better grind spots, methods
  • Unlocks gather specific spells/techniques

What does it looks like in play, via the example of a woodcutter: The adventurer completes their rank up challenge, and become rank E, from F. They get an extra quest from a woodcutting tutor, or adventurers guild sending them towards a woodcutter expert. They can unlock a new skill here, that tracks gatherable trees on the minimap. Upgrading this skill shows the common gathering materials on the world map.
Going from E to D gives them a skill, that gives them the direction towards the nearest rare gathering node. This will be crucial during Everspire gathering Going from D to C gives them the opportunity to use the woodcutter guilds groove, in the elven city. This is an advanced gathering place.

4. Gatherer skills

  • Gathering skills aim to increase output, or give QoL.
  • The basic gathering action is also a skill. This ensures that if someone joins a group as a gatherer, they lose at least a small part of their kit, to gain the ability to gather.

Example skills: Basic gathering: Chop down the tree next to you. Perception: Marks gatherables on the minimap. Leveled up version also unlocks the gatherers map.

Eye for details: Your next gathering action provides an extra material. Feel of the land: You get the direction towards the closest rare gathering node. (by direction: it is N, NE, E... and so on. If the node is inside a special area, it shows the entrance to that area)

Blessing of the Nature God: can only be activated at an acolyte of the nature god. This respawns every gathering node, which has less than a 30 minute replenishing time.

Invoke of the Nature God: Lets you instantly respawn the closest gathering node, with less than a 30 minute replenishing time.

These skills should either gained free at rank up, or unlocked via rank locked quests, or Everspire discoveries.

5. Specific gathering areas

Some areas have specific gathering rules, or location, that makes them extremely desirable. For example, the Woodcutters guild in the elven city is close to a bank, has a lot of trees in a small area, has trees of multiple rarities, and has a fast replenishing rate. In exchange, to be able to get in, adventurers need to reach a certain rank, and either have their personal reputation in that region high, or be in a company, with good relations with the elves/woodcutting guild, which they can levarage.

Some exotic materials should come from the Everspire. These specific areas can have different ways to unlock/reach.
Some could be a hidden room, which is detectable with a skill.
Some could be a mini gathering level, where the gatherer is safe, once they reached that area, but they need an escort to get there. Once they are there, they can drop the party, and do their gathering, until their bags are full. Some could be a gatherable enemy, like a treant, or crystal golem, or even a skinnable dragon. Some could be in a safe floor, but they need preparations to use. The gatherer has to reach that level, with certain gatherer items in their inventory, like specific acorns, magic crystals... If they do this enough time, and max this out, they make their very own groove.

6. Gathering gear

  • Has rarity
  • One affix is Blessing of [gathering skill]
  • The rest of the affixes work normally
  • Specific gathering bags, that have more slots, but exclusive to gathering items.

Blessing of [gathering skill]: Upon equipping a piece of gathering gear, you gain a blessing. This blessing stacks. Every Blessing of [gathering skill] affix grants you 10 stacks of the buff, every lesser affix gives you a fraction of that. Each affix gives a stack once per minute, up to their maximum. This prevents people from carrying multiple sets with themselves, and just swap into gatherer, when its the most convinient to them. The buff increases the gathering yield, based on the stacks.

7. Gathering and economy

  • Gathering lets adventurers build money on the low end
  • Lets adventurers build money, if they chose slower methoods
  • Sinks money from the economy, if adventurers decide to do the fast methood
  • Gatherers could ask for escorting services, that drop them in specific gathering zones
  • Guilds could organize escort runs, or write out escort tasks for their gatherers
  • Gathered goods go to crafters, or used raw by guilds, to compelte projects.

8. Open questions

  • Can gatherers reach SS rank?
  • Should different Gathering professions have separate ranks?

Discussion