Farming Mats - Perfectlyhumble.com

Farming for gold

Valenwood, Grahtwood

Harvesting the mats

Harvesting materials while traipsing around Tamriel can be profitable. While harvesting regular mats (e.g., wood, flowers, ore..etc) you have the chance to also get the specialized materials used specifically for creating furniture for housing. These include mundane runes, heartwood, and bast to name a few. Because these aren’t as plentiful as non-furniture mats, prices can skyrocket as demand rises. Bad for housing people who need to craft furniture; great for farmers selling mundane runes.

Some basic tips to help make your farming efficient and productive:

Turn off your grass Settings -> Video -> Grass (drop down menu) “off.” Even with the improved visibility skill under each crafting category, removing the grass makes a huge difference.

How to turn off Grass

WIth Grass on

Grass off

Where to Farm Bal Foyen is very popular for the easy enemies and plentiful nodes to harvest. It’s also very busy, even during non-peak times (evenings and weekends). Betnikh, Kenarthi’s Roost, and Stros M’kai also offer plenty of farmable nodes with (usually) smaller crowds even during peak hours. Craglorn offers the possibility of getting a potent or fortified nirncrux everytime you harvest a material node - and that's a bonus if you craft weapons/armour, or sell it to other players who desire the nirnhoned trait on their gear. Even Dashaan or Auridon can be profitably farmed if you’re consistent and have a decent route.

Give resources time to spawn and not waste your time running by spots you’ve already harvested.
If you’ve completed the initial part of the Psijic Guild quest line, you will gain the ability to see “Psijic Portals,” which may contain aurbic amber, Psijic Ambrosia, and various overland armor sets, and jewelry items with infused trait. Portals will spawn at Rune spawn points about once every 3-5 runes by my estimation. Please empty all items from portals (also treasure chests, thieve’s troves, and fishing holes) or they will not respawn.
Blacksmithing and jewelry-crafting share spawn points and will rotate. Once you’ve harvested a blacksmithing node, it will next spawn with a jewel-crafting ore.

Runestone

Psijic Portal spawning on a Runestone node

Where to Farm Bal Foyen is very popular for the easy enemies and plentiful nodes to harvest. It’s also very busy, even during non-peak times (evenings and weekends). Betnikh, Kenarthi’s Roost, and Stros M’kai also offer plenty of farmable nodes with (usually) smaller crowds even during peak hours. Craglorn offers the possibility of getting a potent or fortified nirncrux everytime you harvest a material node - and that's a bonus if you craft weapons/armour, or sell it to other players who desire the nirnhoned trait on their gear. Even Dashaan or Auridon can be profitably farmed if you’re consistent and have a decent route.
Helpfull Skills & Addons Finding nodes is easier with 3 levels of Keen Eye skill available under the Alchemy Skills. This adds a golden shimmer to the nodes. In addition to this skill, HarvestMap Addon puts handy 3D markers where previously picked nodes have spawned. Options include showing these locations on the mini-map or main map, and toggling them on/off with keybinds.

Bal Foyen - full of yummy nodes that are easier to find with the Keen Eye skill and Harvestmap addon

Pick an area you like Consistency and dedicated times are important to be profitable with selling mats. If you hate Stonefalls and love Summerset, you’ll be miserable - so why bother trying to farm in an environment you don’t enjoy?
Easy mobs reduce the time/stress Starting zones are very popular for this reason. Having companions is helpful so you can focus on picking flowers while Bastian trash talks angry mobs.
Set aside a time to harvest Picking flowers is a nice, mindless activity that helps me wind down in the evening. That’s optimal farming time for me, not when I’m in a creative and want to work on a build. An hour a few times a week works for me.
Know your Level When harvesting a resource node, you will usually receive an item consistent with the level at which the character is in that particular crafting specialty. Only leveled to copper in jewel-crafting? You’ll see and harvest ore up to that level. Max level mats are worth more, usually, but lower level items can be profitable because there are always people leveling crafting.
You have a need for speed Ring of the Wild Hunt, Adept Rider gear, Assault skill, and several CP Skills will help you get around quicker and pick flowers faster.
Don’t waste time on the d!cks Grabbing a node while someone is fighting a mob is lame, but it happens - just ignore them and move on. Sometimes two people will arrive at a flower at the same time and one person will lose out. No big deal - there’s another node nearby - guaranteed. There are those who want to spend their time whispering rude comments, or following others around trying to intimidate them if they feel slighted.

Arguing or engaging with anyone over the theoretical ownership of a pixelated plant is a waste of time and energy. ESO is a game.

Where to find materials Blacksmithing and jewel-crafting ore is found around rocks, flowers for clothing and alchemy are along waterways and grassy areas, wood is plentiful in forests areas (duh) and along beaches where logs from wrecked ships have washed ashore.
Do your writs and get your resource surveys They take up precious inventory space and selling the mats harvested at survey sites will put gold in your pocket.
Keen Eye for Treasure Chests This passive skill is avialble once you reach max level in scrying under antiquities.