{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/rpg-grind--gathering-routes","type":"mechanic","id":"rpg-grind--gathering-routes","lang":"en","title":"Gathering routes","summary":"The player repeats a route through gathering nodes and optimizes visit order, carrying capacity and return trips.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/rpg-grind--gathering-routes/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--gathering-routes.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--gathering-routes.md","aliases":[],"tags":["RPG grinding","Gathering and production"],"sourceIds":["source-a98e2425ef7a18e6"],"sources":[{"id":"source-a98e2425ef7a18e6","title":"Albion Online","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/761890/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player repeats a route through gathering nodes and optimizes visit order, carrying capacity and return trips."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Action → reward\n\n<a id=\"gathering-routes-loop\"></a>\n\n- Visit mineral deposits, plants and other nodes → accumulate raw materials. <a id=\"gathering-routes-repeat\"></a>\n- Change routes when nodes deplete or become occupied. <a id=\"gathering-routes-option-2\"></a>\n- Choose a tool for resource quality and yield. <a id=\"gathering-routes-option-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"An herbalist plans a loop through a swamp to gather ingredients and return to an alchemy table."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A systematic RPG grind reference: 110 mechanics and 330 variants in 18 sections. Four layers answer different questions: what the player repeats, what develops, how rewards arrive and what constrains the loop. It covers single-player RPGs, ARPGs, MMORPGs and adjacent management and accumulation systems. Every mechanic has an explanation, variants and a hypothetical example; coverage, combinations and verified game observations follow the catalog."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"rpg-grind","id":"gathering-routes","title":"RPG grinding","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/rpg-grind/#gathering-routes","categoryIds":["resources-production"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Gathering routes","description":"The player repeats a route through gathering nodes and optimizes visit order, carrying capacity and return trips.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-albion-online-10.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Albion Online","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/761890/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/761890/c1f90394188db2eeada6ea8a7a9f56e0fec6eb26/ss_c1f90394188db2eeada6ea8a7a9f56e0fec6eb26.1920x1080.jpg?t=1788194761","credit":"Sandbox Interactive GmbH","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Gathering resources in an open zone","alt":"Gathering resources in an open zone","markers":[{"x":51,"y":49,"label":"A resource node becomes a stop on the gathering route"}]},"tips":["Account for the return trip and storage capacity as well as gathering speed."],"examples":[{"title":"Albion Online","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/761890/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial RPG grind taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and expanded to cover activities, progression goals, reward rules and constraints. All original thirty family/branch/variant identities are preserved. Official developer and publisher sources support only the specifically described released-game observations; design variants and scenarios are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/rpg-grind"}}