Guide to Escorting
Escorting is a simple method of making cash, and the biggest advantage to it is that it’s reliable. You don’t need anything at all to start escorting; anyone can do it with any character. Escorting isn’t going to bring you millions in days, but it’s a great start.
How to Escort
Escorting is pretty simple to figure out, as you might have guessed you escort a NPC from one location to another. These locations can be either towns or dungeons. There’s really no reason to do dungeon escorts since no matter the location you will always make the same gold, which is a random amount around 600-900 per trip.
The major downside to escorting is that you can only take one NPC at a time, and you need to wait five minutes between each trip. The five minute timer begins right after the escort is accepted rather than completed. Multiclienting is very useful here; try escorting with three UO clients running at once. You will triple your profits.
One of the biggest misconceptions about escorting is the need of a mage who can gate, which is untrue, though mage characters significantly increase the ease of escorting. Once you have a mage you can mark all the cities and gate the NPCs to them to receive your money almost instantly. However, a mage isn’t an absolute necessity. Escorting can still be done by moongates.
Finding NPCs to escort
Finding NPCs is an easy task once you’ve memorized a few of them. Just about every city has an escort, even those that aren’t escort destinations. I have marked maps with the locations to these NPCs and how to travel with them by moongate between cities. These are in descending order and you should go for the top of the list first. All the cities are about as easily accessible if you are a mage though. If the NPC is not at the mapped location it probably just needs time to respawn, other people escort too!
Blue locations have moongates for non-mages, green locations don't and should only be used on mages with runes, and red locations are unguarded and dangerous.
Jhelom
The moongate is close, it's an unpopular town, what more do you want?
MAP
Skara Brae
The moongate is close and it's a safe area, but the crowds sometimes make it difficult. The dock escort is usually free though!
MAP
Minoc
A safe and close moongate along with two town escorts close together. This is one of the top escort towns.
MAP
Magincia
An above average escorting town littered with dungeon escorts. The moongate is kind of dangerous though, watch for snakes!
MAP
Vesper
This place shares a moongate with Minoc, and is relatively unpopular. Not a bad choice.
MAP
Moonglow
Not a big selection, and the moongate is fairly close.
MAP
Cove
Far from everything and unpopular, this makes a great place to pick up escorts if you're a gater.
MAP
Serpent's Hold
Great for mages because of the unpopularity.
MAP
Britain
Being the most popular city makes a lot of competition. Stay away from here if you can.
MAP
Nujel'm
There's only one escort here, but the town is pretty unpopular so don't expect much competition.
MAP
Yew
The moongate is far away and the city is huge and confusing. Not a good choice.
MAP
Trinsic
Not only does the moongate route go through piles of confusing hills, but the city is huge and far away. Avoid this one if you can.
MAP
Delucia
Not much here, avoid this one.
MAP
Occlo
This is an unguarded town though fairly unpopular. If you're running out of safe towns and you're a mage go ahead, it's likely there will be no reds around.
MAP
Buc's Den
Not only does this city have no guards, but it is a popular hangout for reds. This should probably be your last choice.
MAP
Once you have found an escort you can either use the single-click context menu or use chat commands. There are two different chat commands which work if you simply stand next to the NPC and say them.
Destination
“I am looking to go to <place>, can you take me?”
The NPC will reply with what city or dungeon they want to go to.
I will take thee
“Lead on, payment will be made when we arrive in <place>!”
The NPC will follow you until you reach your destination.
While the escort is following you it won't fight, but you can kill it. They usually carry only a few hundred gold and are not worth it. The other thing you can do is abandon your escort, which will cause them to disappear into thin air, but your five minute timer still is in effect.
Escorting Destinations
As I explained previously, it’s rarely worth it to take NPCs to dungeons. The safety of city guard zones prevents you from losing money, and there are no disadvantages to simply sticking with cities.
When you ask a NPCs destination they will reply with one of the following.
Cities:
Jhelom
Skara Brae
Magincia
Minoc
Moonglow
Vesper
Yew
Britain
Trinsic
Cove
Nujel’m
Serpent’s Hold
Occlo
Dungeons:
Despise
Shame
Deceit
Wrong
Fire
Covetous
Hythloth
Ice
Destard
Blue locations should be accepted by everyone, mage or not. I put them in an approximate order of ease of moongate travel, so if you are a non-mage try to for the top of the list.
Green locations should only be accepted if you are a mage and have a rune to that city.
Red locations should never be accepted unless there are no other NPCs available and you are a mage with a rune to that location.
Escorting Methods
Gating
Gating is the act of using the mage spell “Gate Travel” on a marked rune or runebook to create a portal. Using recall leaves your escort behind. Once the portal is created the mage and the escort can go in to get to their destination instantly. This technique is the most commonly used escorting method, but it requires a high level mage. The five minute rule still applies of course, so this method often involves more waiting.
Using Moongates
Moongates are static portals that go between various towns. Unlike gates, these portals are permanent and do not require magery to use. To use this method you simply pick up your escort, have it follow you to and through the moongate, and bring it to your destination. Only certain towns have moongates, see the previous section for maps on how to find these gates.
I highest suggest you do not try to walk the whole distance with your escort. These two methods are the only efficient ways to go.
The End
Thanks for reading and I hope I helped you improve your future escorting.
I’m sure I’ve missed some things in this guide so please comment on what you liked, what you didn’t like, what could be improved, etc.
I'm definitely going to make improvements yet!
Escorting is a simple method of making cash, and the biggest advantage to it is that it’s reliable. You don’t need anything at all to start escorting; anyone can do it with any character. Escorting isn’t going to bring you millions in days, but it’s a great start.
How to Escort
Escorting is pretty simple to figure out, as you might have guessed you escort a NPC from one location to another. These locations can be either towns or dungeons. There’s really no reason to do dungeon escorts since no matter the location you will always make the same gold, which is a random amount around 600-900 per trip.
The major downside to escorting is that you can only take one NPC at a time, and you need to wait five minutes between each trip. The five minute timer begins right after the escort is accepted rather than completed. Multiclienting is very useful here; try escorting with three UO clients running at once. You will triple your profits.
One of the biggest misconceptions about escorting is the need of a mage who can gate, which is untrue, though mage characters significantly increase the ease of escorting. Once you have a mage you can mark all the cities and gate the NPCs to them to receive your money almost instantly. However, a mage isn’t an absolute necessity. Escorting can still be done by moongates.
Finding NPCs to escort
Finding NPCs is an easy task once you’ve memorized a few of them. Just about every city has an escort, even those that aren’t escort destinations. I have marked maps with the locations to these NPCs and how to travel with them by moongate between cities. These are in descending order and you should go for the top of the list first. All the cities are about as easily accessible if you are a mage though. If the NPC is not at the mapped location it probably just needs time to respawn, other people escort too!
Blue locations have moongates for non-mages, green locations don't and should only be used on mages with runes, and red locations are unguarded and dangerous.
Jhelom
The moongate is close, it's an unpopular town, what more do you want?
MAP
Skara Brae
The moongate is close and it's a safe area, but the crowds sometimes make it difficult. The dock escort is usually free though!
MAP
Minoc
A safe and close moongate along with two town escorts close together. This is one of the top escort towns.
MAP
Magincia
An above average escorting town littered with dungeon escorts. The moongate is kind of dangerous though, watch for snakes!
MAP
Vesper
This place shares a moongate with Minoc, and is relatively unpopular. Not a bad choice.
MAP
Moonglow
Not a big selection, and the moongate is fairly close.
MAP
Cove
Far from everything and unpopular, this makes a great place to pick up escorts if you're a gater.
MAP
Serpent's Hold
Great for mages because of the unpopularity.
MAP
Britain
Being the most popular city makes a lot of competition. Stay away from here if you can.
MAP
Nujel'm
There's only one escort here, but the town is pretty unpopular so don't expect much competition.
MAP
Yew
The moongate is far away and the city is huge and confusing. Not a good choice.
MAP
Trinsic
Not only does the moongate route go through piles of confusing hills, but the city is huge and far away. Avoid this one if you can.
MAP
Delucia
Not much here, avoid this one.
MAP
Occlo
This is an unguarded town though fairly unpopular. If you're running out of safe towns and you're a mage go ahead, it's likely there will be no reds around.
MAP
Buc's Den
Not only does this city have no guards, but it is a popular hangout for reds. This should probably be your last choice.
MAP
Once you have found an escort you can either use the single-click context menu or use chat commands. There are two different chat commands which work if you simply stand next to the NPC and say them.
Destination
“I am looking to go to <place>, can you take me?”
The NPC will reply with what city or dungeon they want to go to.
I will take thee
“Lead on, payment will be made when we arrive in <place>!”
The NPC will follow you until you reach your destination.
While the escort is following you it won't fight, but you can kill it. They usually carry only a few hundred gold and are not worth it. The other thing you can do is abandon your escort, which will cause them to disappear into thin air, but your five minute timer still is in effect.
Escorting Destinations
As I explained previously, it’s rarely worth it to take NPCs to dungeons. The safety of city guard zones prevents you from losing money, and there are no disadvantages to simply sticking with cities.
When you ask a NPCs destination they will reply with one of the following.
Cities:
Jhelom
Skara Brae
Magincia
Minoc
Moonglow
Vesper
Yew
Britain
Trinsic
Cove
Nujel’m
Serpent’s Hold
Occlo
Dungeons:
Despise
Shame
Deceit
Wrong
Fire
Covetous
Hythloth
Ice
Destard
Blue locations should be accepted by everyone, mage or not. I put them in an approximate order of ease of moongate travel, so if you are a non-mage try to for the top of the list.
Green locations should only be accepted if you are a mage and have a rune to that city.
Red locations should never be accepted unless there are no other NPCs available and you are a mage with a rune to that location.
Escorting Methods
Gating
Gating is the act of using the mage spell “Gate Travel” on a marked rune or runebook to create a portal. Using recall leaves your escort behind. Once the portal is created the mage and the escort can go in to get to their destination instantly. This technique is the most commonly used escorting method, but it requires a high level mage. The five minute rule still applies of course, so this method often involves more waiting.
Using Moongates
Moongates are static portals that go between various towns. Unlike gates, these portals are permanent and do not require magery to use. To use this method you simply pick up your escort, have it follow you to and through the moongate, and bring it to your destination. Only certain towns have moongates, see the previous section for maps on how to find these gates.
I highest suggest you do not try to walk the whole distance with your escort. These two methods are the only efficient ways to go.
The End
Thanks for reading and I hope I helped you improve your future escorting.
I’m sure I’ve missed some things in this guide so please comment on what you liked, what you didn’t like, what could be improved, etc.
I'm definitely going to make improvements yet!
