Square Enix / Justin Moniquette
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Penned by Justin Moniquette
Justin's foray into gaming started with classic Resident Evil 3 and has only expanded since then. He graduated from RIT in 2021 and aspires to have his name in the credits of a video game one day.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Being the Warrior of Light isn’t all about taking down Empires and slaying monsters. Sometimes it involves getting your hands dirty, and what better way to do that than botany? If you’ve been looking for a guide to quickly level your Botanist class in Final Fantasy XIV then you’ve come to the right place. This guide will be quick, easy to understand, and have you gathering the bounties of Eorzea with ease.
Helpful Buffs & Items
While gathering every resource you find, and doing the job quests will level you up, there are items and buffs in the game that will speed things along.
Survival Manuals
Survival Manuals grant an excellent 150% boost to XP when used. Multiple types of Survival Manuals scale XP based on your overall Botanist level. There’s the Company-issue Survival Manual which is good until level 40. The Company-issue Survival Manual II is good until level 50. The Commercial Survival Manual is good until level 70. And, the Revised Survival Manual is good until level 80.
You should always be using these when gathering and they’re fairly easy to obtain. The Company-issue Survival Manual I & II can be bought from your Grand Company Quartermaster. The Commercial Survival Manual and Revised Survival Manual can be purchased at any Scrip Exchange for white gatherer’s scrips.
Food
Just like Survival Manuals, food will provide an XP bonus (albeit significantly less) while also providing a stat boost depending on what you eat. At lower levels, the stat bonus won’t be necessary, so just grab whatever cheap food you can that increases your GP and Perception like Alligator Salad or Carrot Nibbles.
Cordials
Cordials are a gatherer’s best friend as they let them recover GP instantly. You’ll want to stockpile a decent number of these so you can continue using gatherer abilities without having to wait. Just like the manuals, these can be purchased from your Grand Company Quartermaster for company seals.
Free Company Buffs
Those of you who are in a Free Company can take advantage of the Earth and Water buff which will give you a 10% XP boost when gathering.
Things To Remember
- Always do your Grand Company’s daily supply and provisioning quest for quick XP
- Always grab the highest stat gear from quest rewards so you can continue gathering without issue.
- Even if you don’t need it, grab at least one of every new item to complete your gatherer’s log.
- Some items can only be gathered at certain in-game times
- If you get to a point where you can’t continue your class quests due to insufficient stats, go to the Fieldcraft/Battlecraft suppliers in any of the major cities to buy better gear
Level 1-20
Class Quest Items
Level 1: 10 Latex (North Shroud x28,y26)
Level 5: 10 Maple Sap (North Shroud x26,y27)
Level 10: Crow Feather (Central Shroud x26,y20)
Level 15: 10 Marjoram (Central Shroud x18,y19)
Level 1-5
- Gather Latex for class quest
- Continue gathering Latex/new items until level 5
- Equip Hempen Dalmatica of Gathering received from quest
Level 5-10
- Gather Maple Sap for class quest
- Continue gathering Maple Sap/new items until level 10
- Grab Leather Culottes from the quest rewards and equip it along with your new Bronze Hatchet
Level 10-15
- Gather Crow Feather for class quest
- Continue gathering Crow Feather/new items until level 15
- Grab the Straw Hat from the quest rewards and equip it along with your new Bronze Scythe
Level 15-20
At this level, we unlock Pioneer’s Gift I. This ability increases the chance of triggering Gatherer’s Boon by 10%. Gatherer’s Boon will give us an additional item while gathering as well as bonus XP. This is where our stockpile of Cordials will go if we have them. The more we trigger Gatherer’s Boon, the more XP we get, and the faster we level up.
- Gather Marjoram for class quest
- Continue gathering Marjoram/new items until level 20
- Grab either the Goatskin Wristguards or Hard Leather Espadrilles as your quest reward. Keep in mind that we will be grabbing new gear so we have sufficient stats to continue the gathering quests.
Level 20-50
Class Quest Items
Level 20: 15 Grade 1 Carbonized Matter (Western La Noscea x27,y24)
Level 25: 15 Chamomile (Upper La Noscea x14,y24)
Level 30: 15 Alligator Pear (South Shroud x26,y19)
Level 35: Laurel (Southern Thanalan x20,y8)
Level 40: 20 Ramhorn Zucchini (Eastern La Noscea x21,y29)
Level 45: 20 Mistletoe (Coerthas Central Highlands x23,y18)
Level 50: 3 Spruce Logs (Coerthas Central Highlands x29,y12 / 9am – 12pm Eorzean time)
Level 20
- Gather Grade 1 Carbonized Matter for class quest
- Continue gathering new items until level 25
- Grab the Cotton Coif of Gathering from the quest rewards and equip it along with your new initiate’s hatchet.
Level 25-30
- Gather Chamomile for class quest
- Continue gathering items until level 30
- Grab Velveteen Coatee of Gathering from quest rewards and equip it
- Go to Fieldcraft/Battlecraft supplier and buy upgraded gear to match your level
Level 30-35
- Gather Alligator Pear for class quest
- Continue gathering until level 35.
- Alternatively, you can begin doing Levequest to speed up your leveling
- Grab the Toadskin Culottes as your quest reward and equip all new gear
Level 35-40
- Gather Laurel for class quest
- Gather highest level item/do Levequests until level 40
- Take the Fingerless Boarskin Gloves of Gathering as your reward and equip new gear
Level 40-45
- Gather Ramhorn Zucchini for class quest
- Gather Mistletoe until level 45
- Turn it both the Zucchini and the Mistletoe for the level 40 and 45 class quests
- Grab the Peisteskin Crakows of Gathering and Woolen Doublet as your rewards
Level 45-50
- When available, grab Spruce Logs for your class quest
- While waiting, gather Rosewood logs/branches until level 50
- Choose whichever reward has the highest stats for your current gear.
Level 50-60
Now that we’re finished with ARR, we have a couple of new options when it comes to leveling our Botanist. In Heavensward we are given access to the Diadem. The Diadem is an instanced zone made exclusively to help level Disciple of the Land classes. It can be unlocked by speaking with Aurvael in the Firmament and should be used in tandem with Levequests and daily Grand Company provision quests.
Class Quest Items
Level 53: Cyclops Onion (The Dravanian Forelands x37,y19 /hidden)
Level 55: Emerald Beans (The Churning Mists x22,y22 /hidden)
Level 58: Birch Log (The Sea of Clouds x26,y33 /hidden)
Level 60: Chysahl Greens (Coerthas Western Highlands x8.7,y10.7 /8 am or pm Eorzea time)
Level 50-53
- Complete Ishgardian Levequest or do the Diadem until level 53
- Gather Cyclops Onion for class quest
- Grab the Holy Rainbow Work Gloves as your reward
Level 53-60
Once we reach level 53 we want to get gear that can carry us until level 60. Ideally, we want to get the High-Quality level 53 tools for Botanists. This can be grabbed from the marketplace or crafted if you have the necessary classes on level. If you don’t have the Gil or the crafting classes necessary for it then you can use the Diadem as your main mode of leveling since it scales.
After this, leveling Botanists is pretty simple. Complete class quests as they come up and grab any gear better than yours from the class rewards. If you need to level go to the Diadem or do Levequests.
Level 60-70
Class Quest Items
Level 63: Wild Popoto (The Fringes x11,y25)
Level 65: Walkers Popoto (The Ruby Sea x7,y8)
Level 68: Nanoriso (The Ruby Sea x12,y15,z-.08)
Level 70: Rhalgr’s Streak (The Lochs x7,y9 /4 am or pm Eorzea time)
Level 60-63
- Do Kugane Levequests and gather local resources until level 63
- Get High-Quality level 63 gear for the Botanist
- Collect Wild Popoto for the class quest
Level 63-70
Just like before, once we grab our new gear we’ll be doing Levequests, gathering new resources, and jumping into the Diadem to level up. Complete your class quests as they come up and take any gear that’s better than yours if it’s applicable.
Level 70-80
Crystarium Deliveries
Level 70: Animal Trace (Amh Araeng x31,y18)
Level 73: Animal Droppings (Lakeland x16,y23)
Level 75: Megafauna Leftovers (Il Mheg x11,y24)
Level 78: Megafauna Trace (The Rak’tika Greatwood x27,y26)
Now that we’re in Shadowbringers we say goodbye to class quests and hello to Crystarium Deliveries. They’re essentially the replacement for class quests so don’t forget to do them as they come up.
Just like before, we want to grab upgraded high-quality gear at level 71. Once that is done we will do Crystarium Levequests and gather new resources to level up. We’ll also be utilizing collectibles for some extra XP.
Level 80-90
Studium Deliveries
Level 80: Hannish Staple (Thavnair x24,y10)
Level 83: Garlean Staple (Garlemald x15.7,y28.7)
Level 85: Lunar Staple (Mare Lamentorum x35.1,y26.8)
Level 85: Hairpin Material (The Ruby Sea x23,y6)
Level 88: Elpis Staple (Elpis x22.4, y23.5)
Level 90: Eternity Ring Material (Labyrinthos x27.9, y16)
Just like in Shadowbringers, Endwalker doesn’t have class quests and is replaced with Studium Deliveries. Complete these as they pop up for the XP. We’ll also want to get upgraded gear like before so we can gather the new resources. At this level, you’re focusing all in on Collectables and Old Sharlayan Levequest. By focusing on these you’ll hit the max level quicker than in any previous expansions.
