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Harvesting Rares

What follows are some questions and answers about harvesting rares and what exactly these rares could be used for.  Did I miss something?  Is there something you'd like to post for discussion? Please email me or post it in the TTH forums!

1) So what's a "rare"?

Rares are, as the name implies, rare harvests from the harvesting nodes located throughout the world of EQ2.  Rares are used for crafting some very high quality items and equipment, and are worth serious money on the open market (if you come across one you can't use or pass on to a friend!).

2) Which rare crafts which item?

Here's a quick breakdown:

Rare harvest type	Node Type	Type of item that can be crafted
Ore	Ore	Heavy armor, medium armor, most weapons, sconces and light fixtures for your house, and high quality combat art and spell upgrades for some classes
Precious Metal / Gems	Stone	Earrings, wrist items, necklaces, and high quality combat art and spell upgrades for some classes
Hides	Dens	Light armor, belts, bags, fist wraps, and weapons which must be drawn from a pouch / holster (throwing daggers & axes, etc.)
Roots	Roots	Very light armor, sashes, house decor like rugs and paintings
Wood	Wood	Bows, wooden weapons (staff, batons, etc.), shields, furniture for your house, and strongboxes

So which rares can be found at "gathering" nodes (as in the ones you take food, spices and other provisioner materials from)? See below under the "Imbued" discussion!

3) I've heard people talking about tier 2, tier3, etc. (abbreviated t2, t3, and so on) rares.  What's that all about?

Tiers are a way of describing where a rare is harvested, the level of craftsmanship necessary to produce something with the harvest, and, most importantly, the level range the crafted item can be used by.  Tier one rares produce items/spells/abilities that can be usefully equipped (roughly) from level 1 to level 9, tier 2: lvl 10 to lvl 19, t3: 20 to 29, t4 30 to 39, t5 level 40 to level 49, t6 level 50-59, t7 level 60-69, t8 level 70-79, and t9 level 80-90.  Note that these are approximate values, t3 armor crafted with a rare will surely be the better choice than t4 standard armor until probably halfway through the 40's.

4) So where should I go to try and harvest these rares, and what should I be looking for?


If you're like me in not having enough patience for hours and hours of harvesting just to raise yourself to the next tier, you'll probably want to raise these skills as you go along.  While your soloing in Thundering Steppes, for example, harvest some nodes in safe places as you go along.  This biggest disadvantage to this kind of harvesting is that you'll be harvesting in places where an aggro mob could stumble into your peaceful harvesting session, but you'll be glad you kept your skills up when at level 45+ you're out harvesting t5 stuff, instead of slugging it out with node-stealers in Oakmyst Forest.  Also, whatever your feelings are about what's commonly called "node-stealing" (harvesting from a node someone is currently harvesting from, thereby reducing their harvesting chances by one), you should know that some folks will take serious offense if you attempt it.

Finally, one disclaimer before the list.  Rares are rare.  Expect long hours of harvesting without seeing one, or you might just find one when a node pops underneath your group's camping spot.  You just never know, so don't get frustrated!

Tier	Zones to Harvest In	Harvesting Skill Needed	Ore Rare	Stone Rare	Hide Rare	Wood Rare	Roots and Shrubs Rare
Tier 1	The newbie zones and areas immediately around the cities.	0	Bronze Cluster, Solidified Loam	Rough Lapis Lazuli, Copper Cluster	Wax Leather Pelt	Severed Alder	Yarrow
Tier 2	Antonica, Commonlands, Greater Faydark	20	Blackened Iron Cluster, Alkaline Loam	Rough Coral, Silver Cluster	Cured Leather Pelt	Severed Bone	Sisal Root
Tier 3	Nektulos, Thundering Steppes, Butcherblock Mountains	90	Steel Cluster, Malleable Loam	Rough Jasper, Palladium Cluster	Cuirboilli Pelt	Severed Fir	Dandelion Fiber
Tier 4	Enchanted Lands, Zek the Orcish Wastes, Steamfont Mountains	140	Feysteel Cluster, Ductile Loam	Rough Opal, Ruthenium Cluster	Engraved Leather Pelt	Severed Oak	Oak Root
Tier 5	Rivervale, Feerott, Lavastorm, Everfrost	190	Ebon Cluster, Fused Loam	Rough Ruby, Rhodium Cluster	Augmented Pelt	Severed Cedar	Figwarts Root
Tier 6	Sinking Sands, Pillars of Flame, Lesser Faydark	240	Cobalt Cluster, Alkalai Loam	Rough Pearl, Vanadium Cluster	Scaled Leather Pelt	Severed Ironwood	Saguaro Root
Tier 7	Tenebrous Tangle, The Barren Sky, The Bonemire, Loping Plains	240	Xegonite, Spongy Loam	Acrylia Cluster, Rough Moonstone	Dragonhide Leather Pelt	Ebony Lumber	Nimbus Root
Tier 8	Kylong Plains, Fens of Nathsar, Kunzar Jungle, Jarsath Wastes	340	Incarnadine Cluster, Silicate Loam	Tynnonium Cluster, Rough Fire Emerald	Hidebound Pelt	Mahogany Lumber	Mantrap Root
Tier 9	Sundered Frontier and Stonebrunt Highlands	375	Brellium Ore (no loam for T9)	Kaborite Cluster, Ulteran Diamond	Spotted Pelt	Eucalyptus Lumber	Toxnettle Root

Thanks Kias of Oggok and Len of Permafront for various corrections in this table!

5) Ever since live update #6, I've been seeing "Imbued" armor, jewelry, dolls, etc.  Is that crafted with rares too?

These are semi-rare materials that are used in crafting to create imbued items. Imbued items are more valuable and generally offer a nice stat boost to regular gear and weapons.

Tier	"Imbued rare" descriptor
Tier 2	Glowing
Tier 3	Sparkling
Tier 4	Glimmering
Tier 5	Luminous
Tier 6	Lambent (Thanks Wydow of Unrest!)
Tier 7	Scintillating
Tier 8	Smoldering
Tier 9	Ethereal

6) Harvesting is so tedious, any way to make it go faster?

Harvesting rares is a huge time sink and while it yields a good amount of value as a money maker for those who sell rares and as a money saver for those who need the rares, it is a huge commitment. Set aside large chunks of time to gather. If you're gathering for crafting and don't need rares, then utilize guild hall gathering NPCs to do the hard work for you. If you want those rares though, you have to go out and get them yourself. There are tools in game: picks for mining, shovel for gathering, fishing pole for fishing, trap for trapping, and a saw for foresting that will speed up the process. The level 70+ tools shave 2.5 seconds off each harvest which can add up to a lot in the end. You can find these tools on the broker and they are fairly common and reasonably priced.

Did I miss something?  Is there something you'd like to post for discussion? Please email me or post it in the TTH Guide Forums!