---
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
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
---
# Gathering routes

id: rpg-grind--gathering-routes
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/rpg-grind--gathering-routes
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/rpg-grind--gathering-routes/

The player repeats a route through gathering nodes and optimizes visit order, carrying capacity and return trips.

## At a glance

![Gathering resources in an open zone](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/rpg-albion-online-10.webp)

[Albion Online](https://store.steampowered.com/app/761890/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. A resource node becomes a stop on the gathering route

- Account for the return trip and storage capacity as well as gathering speed.

- [Albion Online](https://store.steampowered.com/app/761890/)

## How it works

The player repeats a route through gathering nodes and optimizes visit order, carrying capacity and return trips.

## Variants

### Action → reward

<a id="gathering-routes-loop"></a>

- Visit mineral deposits, plants and other nodes → accumulate raw materials. <a id="gathering-routes-repeat"></a>
- Change routes when nodes deplete or become occupied. <a id="gathering-routes-option-2"></a>
- Choose a tool for resource quality and yield. <a id="gathering-routes-option-3"></a>

## Design example

An herbalist plans a loop through a swamp to gather ingredients and return to an alchemy table.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [Albion Online](https://store.steampowered.com/app/761890/) (id: source-a98e2425ef7a18e6)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors