While this update was met overall with high praise, there are still a lot of details that aren't clear. I want to get the information I've learned out there and will happily update this post as I learn more. If you think I missed something, please let me know.

Some skins are better than others.

It's a fairly well known fact that not all infinite gathering tools are created equal, even when not accounting for the extra harvesting benefits. For example, the Consortium Harvesting Sickle has a shorter animation and actually completes the harvest partway through the animation instead of at the end. The Unbound Magic Harvesting Blast has a longer than normal animation, but harvests three strikes all at once.

Well, these benefits are tied to the skin itself, not the tool. You can purchase your typical Orichalcum Sickle from a merchant, transmute the skin onto it with no glyph, and get these benefits in harvesting speed or extra hits.

Suggested skins to use:

1. Consortium Harvesting Sickle: faster animation, can animation-cancel for faster harvest.
2. Fused Molten Sickle: faster animation, can animation-cancel for faster harvest.
3. Unbound Magic Harvesting Blast: gathers three hits at the end of the animation, good with the Glyph of Bounty (see below).
4. Unbound Magic Logging Pulse: Gathers two hits on the last strike, good with the Glyph of Bounty (see below).
5. Unbound Magic Mining Beam: Gathers two hits on the last strike, good with the Glyph of Bounty and Rich veins (see below).

Suggested skins to avoid:

1. Skritt gathering Tool: Roots player in place, making canceling animation (such as for avoiding attacks) difficult.

Glyphs have some not-so-obvious mechanics.

Some of the glyphs are fairly straightforward in function, namely the Industry (50% faster harvest speed) and Flight (100% faster move speed after harvest), so I won't be going over those much. However, others have more nuance to them.

Glyph of IndustryThis one is pretty straightforward, dropping the normal harvest time by 33%. This is what a 50% speed increase does. I will admit that I have not personally timed this, so it is possible that my interpretation is incorrect, but that is how the phrasing of the description works out.

Glyph of FlightThe buff duration is 5 seconds, but it's important to note that you don't actually get to move at double-speed afterwards. Unmounted movement speed caps out at 400 units/second, which is the same speed as an out-of-combat player with Swiftness. To my knowledge, mounts are unaffected by speed modifiers altogether (Swiftness doesn't do anything on them). This is nice for harvesting in areas with enemies that attack you while harvesting as it gives you a better chance to get away.

Glyph of the Leatherworker/TailorI'm grouping these two together because their mechanics are identical. These give a 33% chance on each strike to generate a scrap of the appropriate material.

However, the original blog post for this update was a bit misleading on these glyphs in particular. In it, ANet said that the tier of leather/cloth you would get depended on your level and node you were harvesting.This is only partially true. The material tier you get is dependent on your level, but does take downlevelling into account. The node you are harvesting from actually has no impact whatsoever on what you get, only your (adjusted) level does. This is usually irrelevant, as you'll never find copper nodes in a level 80 area, but it does factor in when harvesting home instances. Keep this in mind when looking to collect certain materials. On the upside, these can get you any tier of material, including T6. T6 materials are rare occurrences, but they do drop from these glyphs.

Glyph of the WatchknightLike the Leatherworker and Tailor glyphs, this provides a 33% chance per strike to get a sprocket. Unlike those two, there's only one tier of sprockets, so the entire second paragraph of the above can be ignored for this.

Glyph of the UnboundThis is currently the only glyph that behaves differently when placed on different tool types (not skins, types). When placed on a sickle, it gives a greater yield per strike of unbound magic. This is usually not a concern, since the other two tools hit three times (minimum) per node and generally even out, but it is worth noting. On picks and axes, it gives 1-3 unbound magic per strike and on sickles it gives 3-6 per strike.

Glyph of BountyThis one seems straightforward, giving a 33% chance per strike of getting another strike on the node, but it has much more nuance than that. First and foremost, this additional strike itself gets the same chance of generating yet another strike. Theoretically, this can chain endlessly, but there is a hard cap of 3 extra strikes on any given node (4 total on plants, 6 total on saplings and ore nodes). Secondly, The unbound skins mentioned above will immedietly harvest this additional strike, with the sickle even immedietly harvesting a second extra strike. Third, because my testing suggests that the chance is calculated on each strike, this means your typical saplings and ore nodes have ~70% chance to get at least one additional strike. That said, I have a small sample size, so more testing is needed to confirm this.

It also appears that a node can only have one "extra strike" at a time. Once an extra strike has been generated, no more will be on that node until all "extras" are consumed. In other words, if the first strike on a sapling or ore node generates an extra, then the second and third will not do so. Once you harvest this "extra," you once again have a 33% chance of generating yet another. What this works out to on these nodes is a 70% chance of one extra strike, but only a 33% chance after that for additional strikes. Rich veins are an exception and do not generate extra strikes.

However, it should be noted that this glyph does have some limitations on the nodes it works on. It does not function inside home instances with exception of the Black Lion Garden Plot, where it does. It also does not work on Guild Hall synthesizers.

Glyph of the ScavengerThis gives a 33% chance of a fine crafting material per strike. I don't own this glyph myself, so I invite those who have to chime in and let me know if you have found any methods of predicting what it gives you.

Good stuff ... I'm holding off on Glyphs until Anet intro more. It seems that the effect that Bounty Glyph has on the Unbound tools is unintended ... I would expect Anet might nerf things like that as well.

I was wondering the Leatherworker/Tailor/Watchknight Glyph's give a 33% chance on each strike to generate a scrap of the appropriate material, is this a flat rate or is it modifiable by Guild Gathering Boost (6-20%) and/or the Guild Gathering and Swiftness Banner (+15%)

Anyone been able to get the T6 leather/cloth with the Glyph? Granted, I’ve not done much testing (too busy with SAB) but I seem to only have gotten T5 material so far.

@Oglaf.1074 said:Anyone been able to get the T6 leather/cloth with the Glyph? Granted, I’ve not done much testing (too busy with SAB) but I seem to only have gotten T5 material so far.

I have. It's rare, but you can get T6 materials. Will update the OP with this information.

Incredibly helpful.

@Oglaf.1074 said:Anyone been able to get the T6 leather/cloth with the Glyph? Granted, I’ve not done much testing (too busy with SAB) but I seem to only have gotten T5 material so far.

Only tier 5 so far as well.

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:

@Oglaf.1074 said:Anyone been able to get the T6 leather/cloth with the Glyph? Granted, I’ve not done much testing (too busy with SAB) but I seem to only have gotten T5 material so far.

That’s super good news, really.

T6 leather prices be cray-cray.

@wytchlight.1384 said:I was wondering the Leatherworker/Tailor/Watchknight Glyph's give a 33% chance on each strike to generate a scrap of the appropriate material, is this a flat rate or is it modifiable by Guild Gathering Boost (6-20%) and/or the Guild Gathering and Swiftness Banner (+15%)

Haven't been able to get enough of a sample size myself, so I can't say. I haven't noticed any increase with the guild banner compared to without from before the update, and I've never used the guild gathering boost.

I have been using the Leatherworker Glyph on my Harvesting Tool for a few days now and already have an observation to make. There's a chance for additional leather on all nodes except mining and logging. This means I can get extra leather even if I'm harvesting vegetables or cloth for example. I think this extra flexibility makes it the best single gathering glyph currently available. I want to hear from other users if they have gained any Tier 6 materials with the glyph. So far I have only harvested Thick Leather Sections though. I guess this means that Trading Post prices will come down to reflect the extra materials being gathered.

Happy hunting!

Maybe they should update all permanent mining tools to have 4 hits, instead of some 3, some 4

@"Drarnor Kunoram.5180" said:While this update was met overall with high praise, there are still a lot of details that aren't clear. I want to get the information I've learned out there and will happily update this post as I learn more. If you think I missed something, please let me know.

Some skins are better than others.

It's a fairly well known fact that not all infinite gathering tools are created equal, even when not accounting for the extra harvesting benefits. For example, the Consortium Harvesting Sickle has a shorter animation and actually completes the harvest partway through the animation instead of at the end. The Unbound Magic Harvesting Blast has a longer than normal animation, but harvests three strikes all at once.

Well, these benefits are tied to the skin itself, not the tool. You can purchase your typical Orichalcum Sickle from a merchant, transmute the skin onto it with no glyph, and get these benefits in harvesting speed or extra hits.

Suggested skins to use:

1. Consortium Harvesting Sickle: faster animation, can animation-cancel for faster harvest.
2. Fused Molten Sickle: faster animation, can animation-cancel for faster harvest.
3. Unbound Magic Harvesting Blast: gathers three hits at the end of the animation, good with the Glyph of Bounty (see below).
4. Unbound Magic Logging Pulse: Gathers two hits on the last strike, good with the Glyph of Bounty (see below).
5. Unbound Magic Mining Beam: Gathers two hits on the last strike, good with the Glyph of Bounty and Rich veins (see below).

Glyphs have some not-so-obvious mechanics.

Some of the glyphs are fairly straightforward in function, namely the Industry (50% faster harvest speed) and Flight (100% faster move speed after harvest), so I won't be going over those much. However, others have more nuance to them.

Glyph of IndustryThis one is pretty straightforward, dropping the normal harvest time by 33%. This is what a 50% speed increase does. I will admit that I have not personally timed this, so it is possible that my interpretation is incorrect, but that is how the phrasing of the description works out.

Glyph of FlightThe buff duration is 5 seconds, but it's important to note that you don't actually get to move at double-speed afterwards. Unmounted movement speed caps out at 400 units/second, which is the same speed as an out-of-combat player with Swiftness. To my knowledge, mounts are unaffected by speed modifiers altogether (Swiftness doesn't do anything on them). This is nice for harvesting in areas with enemies that attack you while harvesting as it gives you a better chance to get away.

Glyph of the Leatherworker/TailorI'm grouping these two together because their mechanics are identical. These give a 33% chance on each strike to generate a scrap of the appropriate material.

However, the original blog post for this update was a bit misleading on these glyphs in particular. In it, ANet said that the tier of leather/cloth you would get depended on your level and node you were harvesting.This is only partially true. The material tier you get is dependent on your level, but does take downlevelling into account. The node you are harvesting from actually has no impact whatsoever on what you get, only your (adjusted) level does. This is usually irrelevant, as you'll never find copper nodes in a level 80 area, but it does factor in when harvesting home instances. This matters based on which home instance as well, as Salma District (in Divinity's Reach) is a level 15 zone while all of the others are level 80 zones. Keep this in mind when looking to collect certain materials. On the upside, these can get you any tier of material, including T6. T6 materials are rare occurrences, but they do drop from these glyphs.

Glyph of the WatchknightLike the Leatherworker and Tailor glyphs, this provides a 33% chance per strike to get a sprocket. Unlike those two, there's only one tier of sprockets, so the entire second paragraph of the above can be ignored for this.

Glyph of the UnboundThis is currently the only glyph that behaves differently when placed on different tool types (not skins, types). When placed on a sickle, it gives a greater yield per strike of unbound magic. This is usually not a concern, since the other two tools hit three times (minimum) per node and generally even out, but it is worth noting. On picks and axes, it gives 1-3 unbound magic per strike and on sickles it gives 4-9 per strike.

Glyph of BountyThis one seems straightforward, giving a 33% chance per strike of getting another strike on the node, but it has much more nuance than that. First and foremost, this additional strike itself gets the same chance of generating yet another strike. Theoretically, this can chain endlessly, but statistically speaking, you won't get too many more. Secondly, The unbound skins mentioned above will immedietly harvest this additional strike, with the sickle even immedietly harvesting a second extra strike. Third, because my testing suggests that the chance is calculated on each strike, this means your typical saplings and ore nodes have ~70% chance to get at least one additional strike. That said, I have a small sample size, so more testing is needed to confirm this.

However, it should be noted that this glyph does have some limitations on the nodes it works on. It does not function inside home instances with exception of the Black Lion Garden Plot, where it does. It also does not work on synthesizers, like those found in WvW and in Guild halls.

Glyph of the ScavengerThis gives a 33% chance of a fine crafting material per strike. I don't own this glyph myself, so I invite those who have to chime in and let me know if you have found any methods of predicting what it gives you.

Here you can see the difference between fused molten sickle vs Consortium Harvesting Sickle in speed :

@Paul Ratticus.6847 said:I have been using the Leatherworker Glyph on my Harvesting Tool for a few days now and already have an observation to make. There's a chance for additional leather on all nodes except mining and logging. This means I can get extra leather even if I'm harvesting vegetables or cloth for example. I think this extra flexibility makes it the best single gathering glyph currently available. I want to hear from other users if they have gained any Tier 6 materials with the glyph. So far I have only harvested Thick Leather Sections though. I guess this means that Trading Post prices will come down to reflect the extra materials being gathered.

Happy hunting!

The chance is on any node at all. You just have to have the glyph on the correct tool for the node. I have it on my logging axe right now.

As for T6 materials, I can confirm it right now. I got Hardened Leather on day 1 when doing my home instance run. Dropped when I was harvesting the Fire Orchid. It's rare, but it does drop.

Not noted here is that the Skritt Gathering tool "roots" the player while gathering. I really wish they would fix this or give us a refund.

Updating the OP with a bit more information on the Bounty glyph. It appears that , while extra strikes can generate extra strikes of their own, the node can only have one "extra" at a time. For example, when harvesting a sapling, if the first swing generates an extra strike, then the second and third will not do so.

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:

Glyph of the UnboundThis is currently the only glyph that behaves differently when placed on different tool types (not skins, types). When placed on a sickle, it gives a greater yield per strike of unbound magic. This is usually not a concern, since the other two tools hit three times (minimum) per node and generally even out, but it is worth noting. On picks and axes, it gives 1-3 unbound magic per strike and on sickles it gives 4-9 per strike.

Hmmm, about that...

When I first started using the new tools, I thought they had nerfed the sickle because I was only getting 1-3 UM per plant. But I was told by others that it had always been that way, and I realized that the juicy bonus amounts probably only come when harvesting special nodes like LS3 map currencies, not your average onions and zucchini. So that is only partly accurate.

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:

Glyph of the Unbound

This is currently the only glyph that behaves differently when placed on different tool types (not skins, types). When placed on a sickle, it gives a greater yield per strike of unbound magic. This is usually not a concern, since the other two tools hit three times (minimum) per node and generally even out, but it is worth noting. On picks and axes, it gives 1-3 unbound magic per strike and on sickles it gives 4-9 per strike.

I find this strange, because post-update, I'm still getting 4-9 Unbound magic when harvesting onions, flax, or passiflora. I have exchanged my tool for the glyph version as well.

EDIT: It appears I was remembering incorrectly, because it looks like there was indeed a nerf, though not as large of one as you're reporting. It's now yielding 3-6 unbound magic per strike on a sickle. I've updated the OP with corrected values.

I'm not liking the fact that the home instance in Divinity's Reach is different from the other home instances. :/

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:

Glyph of the Unbound

This is currently the only glyph that behaves differently when placed on different tool types (not skins, types). When placed on a sickle, it gives a greater yield per strike of unbound magic. This is usually not a concern, since the other two tools hit three times (minimum) per node and generally even out, but it is worth noting. On picks and axes, it gives 1-3 unbound magic per strike and on sickles it gives 4-9 per strike.

Okay. I went to the desert and picked flax, lentils and herbs for a while to see if I was crazy or my pick was broken. XD So far everything has given me 2 or 3 UM. Maybe I will try switching the glyph and see if it makes anything happen differently.

@notebene.3190 said:I'm not liking the fact that the home instance in Divinity's Reach is different from the other home instances. :/

You can go to the other homes. I find rata to be the smoothest in node layout, tho I personally enjoy Hoelbrak. I avoid Divinity Reach like the plague.

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:

Glyph of the Unbound

This is currently the only glyph that behaves differently when placed on different tool types (not skins, types). When placed on a sickle, it gives a greater yield per strike of unbound magic. This is usually not a concern, since the other two tools hit three times (minimum) per node and generally even out, but it is worth noting. On picks and axes, it gives 1-3 unbound magic per strike and on sickles it gives 4-9 per strike.

Update: I am absolutely only getting 1-3 UM from harvesting normal veggies.

@artemis.6781 said:

@notebene.3190 said:I'm not liking the fact that the home instance in Divinity's Reach is different from the other home instances. :/

Yeah I know, I just really like my home home. Sure be nice if they could change that.

@Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said:Glyph of BountyThis one seems straightforward, giving a 33% chance per strike of getting another strike on the node, but it has much more nuance than that. First and foremost, this additional strike itself gets the same chance of generating yet another strike. Theoretically, this can chain endlessly, but statistically speaking, you won't get too many more.

Surely the bolded can't be true. There are other means of generating extra strikes (such as the Item Booster), and I've read that people can get those odds as high as 99%. (According to the fine folk over on reddit those bonuses are additive). If the bolded were true people would be able to generate infinite loot. That would have been exploited and nerfed by now.

~ Kovu

@Kovu.7560 said:

@"Drarnor Kunoram.5180" said:

Glyph of Bounty

This one seems straightforward, giving a 33% chance per strike of getting another strike on the node, but it has much more nuance than that. First and foremost, this additional strike itself gets the same chance of generating yet another strike.

Theoretically, this can chain endlessly

, but statistically speaking, you won't get too many more.

I think what was meant is that theoretically, the chain could go on and on. On a practical basis, it can't happen. It's like saying, "in theory, you can flip a coin to heads 40 times in a row" but the odds against it are a billion to one.

In this case, if there's a 33% chance without diminishing returns, then the odds of getting five bonus strikes from the same node are something like 243:1. It's entirely possible that the chance are reduced on a given node.

I know that in the early days of Southsun, I could sometimes get four strikes on a passion node, without it counting against the 3 nodes/day cap. But never 5. So my guess is that there's a cap on bonus strikes or a diminishing returns factor, e.g. 33% for initial strike, 18% for a second bonus, 9 for a third, and so on. That would be consistent with what we see, short of having data from a few thousand attempts.

Thanks for this info, you answered a lot of my questions I had.

I just wanted to update my earlier post and confirm what Drarnor Kunoram.5180 said. I got my first "Harvester Glyph bonus" Tier 6 leather today, while I was harvesting a cloth node in my Guild Hall. Just one Hardened Leather so far, over the course of a week or so. So it's possible to get Tier 6 mats from any node but they are really, really rare... Not sure the Harvester Glyphs are worth the hundreds of gold they're selling for on the Trading Post though!

Happy hunting!