Harvesting

               == Harvesting Styles: The Debate ==

Both techniques have their benefits in certain situations, and some players will adapt to using either as is best for a given circumstance. However, both techniques also have their adherants, depending on one's objectives and upon one's way of thinking. It should be noted that in some circumstances, the two techniques clash with eachother.

For example, if a clear cutter and a cherry picker are harvesting the same area and both are seeking the same resource, statistically the cherry picker is likely to get a better share of that resource, since the clear cutter is spending time clearing other nodes. Whilst neither player is doing anything wrong, this situation can sometimes lead to bad feeling. Indeed, occasionally one sees raging arguments on this subject in game, with people on each side of the debate throwing insults at eachother and accusing eachother of being "greedy" in various ways, depending on their perspectives.

The reality of the situation is, as with most of these kinds of things, that both approaches are valid and permitted and have their pros and cons. Every player can "do it their own way".

Harvesting is a competitive (contested) activity, where players are competing for the same resources. One of the options in such a circumstance is to see if you can come to an amicable agreement with the other harvester(s) present. Of course, in a competitive scenario, that is not always possible, and you are left with only two options - compete or move on. Regardless, the knowledgeable harvester is advised to be aware of the various techniques and adapt their approach to their own advantage according to the situation. 

Finally, note that clear cutting is only viable/necessary in the lower tier zones. In the higher tiers, Daybreak designed things a little differently, where the respawning of nodes is not of a random type, and the population of each node type is independent. In these newer zones, then, you can just harvest those nodes you need, knowing that they will not respawn as different node types.