Gathering

From AionSource.com Wiki

To craft your items you'll need to gather some materials. Any material needed can be found during your journey in land of Atreia. Your ability to gather an item is dependent upon your skill level. For you to successfully gather a certain material, the level of the material you are attempting to gather can only be 5 levels above your current skill level.

While gathering an item, 2 bars are shown to the player. These 2 bars represent the success/failure rate of the material being gathered. Your success/failure is dependent upon which bar reaches the maximum first. If the success bar fills before the failure bar, then you will have successfully gathered the material, visa versa. The difference from the level of the source and the level of your character determines the success rate.

The higher the difference from player level and level required for gathering, the faster the success bar will fill. Further, having a higher skill level also slows down the failure bar from filling as well.

Gathering rules:

A player can gather a source max 5 level over the gathering skill level (the name of the sources that can't be gathered will be displayed in red).
The gathering skill can be applied max 5 time on the same target (exeption for gems, only one time) and this value is also shared with others players who are gathering at the same time.
Sources spawn zones are static and when a source respawn it will be the same type.
It is possible to store in the same slot max 100 resources of the same kind.
The human gathering skill level is maintained after you become a Daeva, although it will be impossible to gather humans materials.
You gain experience even if the gathering operation fails.

Aether gathering

The essence of Aether exists inside everything in the world of Aion. It's role is as important as to define the difference from human and Daeva, like creatures that can't handle the Aether and the chosen one can.

Divine Power is furthermore an Aether form, that is obtained after an enemy's death, hence absorbed from the player and converted into Divine Power. Aether can also be gained through gathering resources.

Gathering skills are divided into 3 categories:

Human Skill

Level 1-9 player are considered humans, it is possible to gather only in human way (with hands). Although you will be human only for a short time, it's recommended to develop this skill, because once you've become a Daeva it will be impossible to gather human material anymore. You also can't gather any material 5 level over your skill level.

Daeva skill (Vital power and Aether extraction)

Players gain the ability to handle the Aether energy when becomes a Daeva, furthermore it is possible to gather materials while flying. You will gain also two other gathering skills.

The first one is the vital power extraction, that you can use on the same target of the human skill. It starts from the human skill level. Daeva have the ability to extract the essence of the source and transform it in it's purest state without damaging like human do with their tools.

Only Daeva can use the Aether extraction skill, is a new kind of skill starting from level 1.

The main difference from gathering skill and Aether extraction is that Aether shards spawn only in air.

Aether stones have the same properties of normal sources, but the Aether you can gain differs in according to chance. Being the Aether shard duration defined, they don't disappear only after the gather, but can also disappear during the gather process while flying, if it happen the operation will fail and you'll fall and die.

Having Aether the essence of every thing in Aion, is possible to convert the energy extracted from every substances. The converting skill is obtained only when you're a Daeva, furthermore transmutations recipes are not obtained by leveling but buying it from a NPC.