Zaralek Cavern is a new Dragon Isles zone introduced in patch 10.1. In terms of Herbalism, this zone brings a brand new type of buff for herbs – Lambent. By gathering herbs with the Lambent buff, you can collect Zaralek Glowspores, a new crafting reagent required by several new recipes.
Although Zaralek Cavern isn’t particularly abundant in uncommon herbs, like Saxifrage, Bubble Poppy or Writhebark, you can still gather a fairly decent amount of them along with Hochenblume which is found in large quantities, similar to the other Dragon Isles zones. Of course, along with all these herbs, you can get Zaralek Glowspores. So, here is a herbalism route that covers the areas in Zaralek Cavern with the highest concentration of herbs.
Requirements:
- Dragon Isles Herbalism
- Mastering the Elements trait unlocked
- GatherMate2 addon (optional)
Where to go:
Fly to Loamm in the Zaralek Caven (56, 55) and have this as starting point for your mining session.
What to do:
First of all, this herbalism route is quite different from Zaralek Mining Route that we’ve previously covered. If for mining ore you should hang around the lava area in the middle of the zone, for gathering herbs you’ll basically be focusing on the areas surrounding the middle.
The most important areas that you shouldn’t leave unchecked are:
- Aberrus Approach (48, 18) – this is also where I found the most herb nodes with the Lambent buff
- Deepflyer Nest (60, 40)
- Sulfur Wastes – especially the eastern part at around (51, 59)
- Nal Ks’Kol (60, 70)
- Cascades Column (46, 75)
- Igira’s Watch (41, 46) – the area at the entrance of Zaqali Caldera
You can also check the area at Zaqali Caldera. There are several possible spawning locations for herbs here as well. However, the mobs here are elite and pretty nasty. There’s a no-fly stackable debuff as well; at 10 stacks you are automatically dismounted. These elements make herb gathering pretty difficult in this area, so it’s best to skip it. If you get dismounted here, you’ll find it difficult to remount and even die to the elite mobs.
Of course, it’s best to keep your Overload Elemental Herb ability for the Lambent Herbs. When used on a Lambent Herb, it will spawn a Suspicious Spore which runs around leaving Zaralek Glowspores behind it. You’ll have to gather those spores quickly before they disappear.
Loot:
After an hour of gathering herbs on this Zaralek herbalism route, I got the following valuables: 
- Zaralek Glowspores x 261
- Rousing Order x 8
- Rousing Ire x 7
- Lava Beetle x 28
- Hochenblume x 566
- Saxifrage x 82
- Bubble Poppy x 14
- Writhebark x 21
As you can see, Zaralek is not exactly the best area to gather herbs if you want Rousing Air or Rousing Frost. Also, for this run, I used T5 green herbalism gear, so if you’ll use blue gear, you’ll get more spores and herbs.
Tips:
If you have an Alchemist with the Transmute: Dracothyst recipe, as well as capped Transmutation and Chemical Synthesis, it’s a good idea to craft Dracothyst from your Zaralek Glowspores. If your craft gets a nice Multicraft proc, you can get a fairly decent profit. However, the price for Dracothyst is dropping vertiginously.
Before starting your herb gathering session in Zaralek Cavern, it’s a good idea to get all the Dragon Glyphs in the area. Unlocking Ground Skimming and Land’s Blessing in your Dragonriding skill tree can help a lot with your vigor management.
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