FFXIV gathering for crafting: plan materials, locations and node windows

Start with the finished items you need, rather than a list of places to visit. The crafting planner calculates the materials still missing after your owned items are deducted. Its Gather materials action opens a gathering itinerary with the same targets and quantities, so choosing a location does not mean entering the plan again.

Which materials belong on the gathering list?

The itinerary includes materials the plan will obtain directly. Intermediates selected for crafting expand into their ingredients instead. Choosing Gather or buy for an intermediate keeps that item as a target and removes the ingredients you would otherwise have needed to craft it.

For three blacksmith Bronze Rivets with one Bronze Ingot already owned, the remaining chain needs four Copper Ore, two Tin Ore and five Fire Shards. The crafting walkthrough shows the calculation and the selected recipes. A change of recipe can change this list, so settle the intended method before collecting materials.

How do I choose between gathering locations?

Compare the source rows for your targets. Each row identifies a gathering method and level, its area and known coordinates. Sources that provide several wanted materials are shown together. For example, Maple Logs are ingredients of Maple Lumber; open their sources to choose a logging location that fits your trip.

The area and method filters narrow the displayed alternatives without changing the material quantities. They are not an automatic route optimizer: movement time, available teleports, your gathering abilities and the number of successful attempts can change which trip suits you. The itinerary does not turn a quantity target into a promised number of nodes or minutes.

What do timed and hidden materials change?

An ordinary source without time restrictions is different from a timed source whose window is incomplete. Recorded timed-node windows are displayed in Eorzea time. A window crossing midnight continues into the next Eorzea day. Compare it with the Eorzea clock before travelling.

A Hidden label identifies a material listed among a node's hidden resources. It does not promise that the material will appear on every visit. Level and timing also do not establish that every character can gather every listed item; check the node and material pages for relevant requirements before committing to a trip.

How do I keep progress while gathering?

Enter the quantity you now own in the Owned control next to each material target. The remaining quantity updates, and a target you have fully covered drops out of the source list. Returning to crafting keeps those quantities attached to the same plan. Recipe output already in your inventory can also reduce the whole chain, so record an owned intermediate on the crafting page rather than treating its ingredients as gathered.

Pagination and filters have ordinary URLs. Reloading a source page restores the selected view; the crafting goals remain part of the link. Opening another person's shared plan does not silently replace your saved plan. Adopt it explicitly when it should become your own working plan.

What should I do when a material has no gathering source?

Select the material name. Its page lists crafting, vendors, exchanges, duties and other acquisition methods. An absent gathering row is not proof that the material is unobtainable. The itinerary keeps the target visible and does not add a gathering place to fill the gap.

Use the database gathering browser when exploring materials outside your current craft. Return to the planner when the useful question is how much remains for several selected recipes.