Mythia Jhengli
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Mythia's Guide To Treasure Hunting
While browsing the "Guides Section" of the forums, I noticed there was no guide to treasure hunting in there. Over the past few months I've seen quite a few threads about treasure hunting and have received even more PMs about the profession. So to do my part for the Hybrid's community I thought I'd make a comprehensive guide that everyone can use to better understand what it takes to be a treasure hunter.
A treasure hunter is a character designed to decode treasure maps, dig up treasure chests, and be able to successfully lockpick and disarm the treasure chest. Treasure maps are found on the bodies of various monsters throughout Britannia. The harder the monster
is, the higher the treasure map level. They [maps] may range from level 1 [easiest] to level 5 [hardest]. The harder the map, the more loot you'll find inside the chest. There are many ways to go about retrieving treasure chests. While a treasure hunter's template and tactics in completing this task are very versatile, the goal behind it remains the same.
Once you have decided to create a treasure hunter, you'll want to pick a template that best fits your play style. The template creation for treasure hunters is very unique, in that they can have many different variations based off how you play. If you like to solo, you might choice the bard treasure hunter, or the tamer treasure hunter. If you like hunting with friends and guild mates, you might decide upon the traditional pure treasure hunter template. Here are some essential skills needed for treasure hunting, as well as some common templates you might enjoy:
<>Cartography - Used to decode maps. A must for any treasure hunter build. You can decode all levels 1-5 at about 80% cartography.
<>Lockpicking - You can lockpick all levels 1-5 at 100% lockpicking. You cannot unlock level 5 treasure chests until you are GM.
<>The pure treasure hunter takes all the traditional treasure hunter skills and does not use telekinesis to untrap a treasure chest. Because of the number of skills involved with this template, it is one of the most challenging to play. A pure treasure hunter will almost always hunt with a party because there is little room here for skills to kill the guardian monsters. It is a good template for a guild treasure hunter, a treasure hunter for hire, and role played treasure hunters.
<>Remove Traps: This is the main skill that sets a pure treasure hunter apart from the rest. You will need a minimum of 50 Lockpicking and 50 Detect Hidden before you can train this skill. You cannot start with it.
<>Detect Hidden: You need at least 50 in this skill in order to use Remove Traps
<>Mining: Mining is a useful skill since it increases the distance from which a treasure chest can be dug up as follows:
+ 0 to 50.9 mining: You can dig from 1 tile away from the treasure chest.
+ 51.0 to 80.9 mining: You can dig from 2 tiles away from the treasure chest.
+ 81.0 to 99.9 mining: You can dig from 3 tiles away from the treasure chest.
+ 100 mining: You can dig from 4 tiles away from the treasure chest.
+ Number refer to enhanced skill levels, not "real".
The increased distance makes it much easier to locate the chest spot if you are not using a map archive. It also allows you a bit of distance between you and the guardian monsters that come up with the treasure chest, and the ability to get away from the initial spawn quicker.
<>The fighter treasure hunter takes a more active role than most others. Instead of provoking or sending a pet to fight the monsters, those choosing this style will be fighting the monsters one-on-one. Melee hunters can be a bit more tricky to play because the higher end chests spawn very difficult monsters. Incorporating peacemaking and musicianship into your template would help in some situations if you're forced to solo.
<>Weapon Skill of your choice: You should decide early on if you want to use a melee weapon and a shield or take up archery. Melee fighters will be very effective on low level hunts. An archer will be effective at all levels. Melee fighters will want to take into account that higher level maps will have much more difficult treasure guardians. A good tactic is to have the guardians attack a pet or have them peaced or provoked before entering the fray. This will help reduced unneeded damage.
<>Anatomy: An essential skill for any weapons fighter, also increases your ability to heal yourself and others.
<>Tactics: Damage enhancer for melee fighters/archers. Another very important skill for your template.
<>Healing: Being able to heal yourself while you continue to fight is a great advantage. You can couple healing with magery if your template allows it, or you can use healing in conjunction with potions. Either way, healing as the skill is often the main healing agent for melee fighters.
<>A mage treasure hunter can choose to play a supportive role; healing, curing and resurrecting the rest of the party, or step in and help kill off the monsters. Standard mages work best in groups. If you have no unique skills such as animal taming, or provoking, you might find it difficult to kill the treasure guardians by yourself using magery alone. So if you decide to go this route you might want to know some companions that would like to tag along to help compensate.
<>Magery: It goes without saying that a mage will need this skill.
<>Meditation: A mage is only as good as his/her mana pool.
<>Evaluate Intelligence: This skill greatly increases the effectiveness of offensive spells, if you plant to kill monsters with magery it is essential.
<>Resisting Spells: Many of the monsters that spawn on treasure hunts are magical. This skill is recommended for anyone using magery as their main offensive / defensive skill.
<>Wrestling: Of less importance than the others. You may decide to replace this with something else and keep your distance from the monsters instead of letting them hit you. It's usually healthier that way anyhow.
<>One of the more popular styles, a bard treasure hunter can go anywhere on his/her own and survive. A very powerful treasure hunter capable of handling high level hunts on his own easier than most others. A bard is able to provoke his enemies onto other monsters and have them kill each other off while he/she deals additional damage from their template, or loots the chest unharmed.
<>Musicianship: The main skill in any bard template. Essential.
<>Provocation: The main "tool" any bard uses. Musicianship coupled with an instrument is used to provoke enemies to attack one another.
<>Peacemaking: Another useful skill. Depending on how you intend to fight the monsters, you may decide to replace this skill with something else. Peacemaking allows you break aggro with a monster that is attack you or your companions. This allows for a break in the fight to heal, make yourself invisible or others, or deal fatal damage to the guardian.
<>Discordance: The fourth tool of a bard. While not as essential as the others, discordance lowers a monster's stats making them easier to kill.
<>Like the bard, the tamer treasure hunter has a greater ability than others to handle high level hunts on his own. The tamer treasure hunter is able to find chests and disarm them, but have his/her pets [nightmares, dragons, drakes, white wyverns...ect] do the fighting for them while they loot the chest or deal additional damage from the background. A very powerful and popular combination. Tamer builds are also good bodyguards while treasure hunting. They are able to defend those who loot the goods as well as fend off any PKs that may be roaming the area. Tamers should always remember to take bonded pets only.
<>Animal Taming: The main skill for a tamer. Essential in any template.
<>Animal Lore: Needed to help control your pets.
<>Veterinary: Give the ability to heal your pets health through band-aids. Often you'll find your magic does not sufficiently do the job.
<>Magery: For transportation of you and your animals. Also great to defend yourself, help kill spawn, heal your animals in conjunction with bandaids, and to help fend off others who would want to steal your treasure.
1) The Treasure Map - Best to leave this in your bank box and scout the area first because if you are killed, the map can and most likely will be looted from your corpse.
2) Lockpicks - If you're doing a level 1-2 map, you can use the spell "disarm trap". Levels 3-5 will require lockpicks.
3) Sextant - This tool will show you the coordinates of your character which you can match to those of the treasure map. Look here to find the coordinates of the map you have and compare it to the treasure map. For those of you with slower connection speeds, I would advise checking out the new link on Tessa's Cove, as it is not nearly as picture heavy and will be much more manageable for those with slower internet speeds. It is the second link provided. Bother offer the same pictures and coordinates.
UO Stratics - Treasure Hunters of Britannia
Tessa's Cove
Although this is for the OSI version, these spots are identical to the ones placed in Hybrids and you should have no trouble finding your map on the guide. Just find where your treasure is at [approximately] and click the location on the world map. Then click one of the red pins that looks to be the exact location. Exam it, and if you selected right you'll get the exact coordinates of the treasure.
4) A Shovel/Pick To dig the treasure chest up with. What? You thought you would just use your hands?!
5) Fighting supplies - This includes what you need to be offensive/defensive on your template. It may include, but not limited to: reagents, band-aids, pets, weapons, spells, potions, armor...ect [Don't forget the obvious. Nothing is more annoying then forgetting to bring band-aids and blackpearl]
"You dig and dig, but do not find any treasure". Meaning the treasure is not there.
"You dig and dig, but no treasure seems to be here". Meaning you are close to the treasure, but not close enough to dig it up.
"You stop digging because something is directly on top of the treasure chest". Have the person, animal or monster move away from that spot and dig again.
There seems to be no message for success, but you will hear the sound and then see the dirt patch and the treasure chest appear.
If you start to repeatedly dig at the ground, [size=+1]STOP[/size]. You have found the chest. Once you unearth it fully, the initial spawn will spring out automatically. Take this time beforehand to plan an escape route. Look for areas that allow you to run back in a straight line. This will allow you to run back and not get overwhelmed by the spawn. Now, go back and dig up the chest. Once you dig it up, run back on the route you planed and suit up for battle. Once you kill off the spawn, nothing more will appear until you start to loot the chest.
If you do not dig it up, check your coordinates and make sure you're in the right area. It is very easy to mix up pins and locations on the maps. Once you dig up the chest, you need to disarm it. You can use the "unlock" spell on levels 1-2, but will need to use lockpicks on levels 3-5. Once you get a message saying you successfully picked the chest, step far back and use telekinesis to set off the traps. Standing too close can cause serious injury or it may kill you.
After you have unlocked, and disarmed the chest, it is time to loot. Cautiously take items from the chest, watching for more spawn. Monsters will appear as you take out the items. Here is the breakdown to what you will find in the chests, depending on their levels.
Map Level--------Gold----Magic Items----Scrolls--Gems-------Reagents
1 Plainly Drawn-----1000------5------------------4--------3----------150 (3 stacks)
2 Expertly Drawn---2000------10----------------8--------6-----------300 (6 stacks)
3 Adeptly Drawn----3000------15----------------12------9-----------450 (9 stacks)
4 Cleverly Drawn---4000------38----------------16------12---------600 (12 stacks)
5 Deviously Drawn-5000------50----------------20------15---------750 (15 stacks)
After you loot all the goods you may discard the map on the ground or in a trash can and divide the loot accordingly. That is it, you're done!
You've completed your first treasure hunt! Take your loot back to town and put it in the bank. Now you may divide it up among friends, or enjoy it all if you went solo. You'll want to ID all the magic items either with an ID wand or using the skill Item Identification. The first treasure hunt is always the longest and most difficult. Once you get your play style and how the game mechanics work you'll be doing well. Practice makes perfect as they say!
In closing, I hope I've inspired some treasure hunters out there to get back in the game, as well as some others that have never done it or would like to know how to do them. They are a lot of fun and have numerous templates to adjust to how you enjoy playing. Solo, group, with friends, guild mates, role playing, it fits all criteria. So go out there and dig up some loot! Happy hunting! Cheers! =^_^=
While browsing the "Guides Section" of the forums, I noticed there was no guide to treasure hunting in there. Over the past few months I've seen quite a few threads about treasure hunting and have received even more PMs about the profession. So to do my part for the Hybrid's community I thought I'd make a comprehensive guide that everyone can use to better understand what it takes to be a treasure hunter.
[size=+1]What is a Treasure Hunter?[/size]
A treasure hunter is a character designed to decode treasure maps, dig up treasure chests, and be able to successfully lockpick and disarm the treasure chest. Treasure maps are found on the bodies of various monsters throughout Britannia. The harder the monster
is, the higher the treasure map level. They [maps] may range from level 1 [easiest] to level 5 [hardest]. The harder the map, the more loot you'll find inside the chest. There are many ways to go about retrieving treasure chests. While a treasure hunter's template and tactics in completing this task are very versatile, the goal behind it remains the same.
[size=+1]Treasure Hunter Templates and Skills
[/size]Once you have decided to create a treasure hunter, you'll want to pick a template that best fits your play style. The template creation for treasure hunters is very unique, in that they can have many different variations based off how you play. If you like to solo, you might choice the bard treasure hunter, or the tamer treasure hunter. If you like hunting with friends and guild mates, you might decide upon the traditional pure treasure hunter template. Here are some essential skills needed for treasure hunting, as well as some common templates you might enjoy:
Essential Skills [Have To Have]
<>Cartography - Used to decode maps. A must for any treasure hunter build. You can decode all levels 1-5 at about 80% cartography.
<>Lockpicking - You can lockpick all levels 1-5 at 100% lockpicking. You cannot unlock level 5 treasure chests until you are GM.
The Pure Treasure Hunter
<>The pure treasure hunter takes all the traditional treasure hunter skills and does not use telekinesis to untrap a treasure chest. Because of the number of skills involved with this template, it is one of the most challenging to play. A pure treasure hunter will almost always hunt with a party because there is little room here for skills to kill the guardian monsters. It is a good template for a guild treasure hunter, a treasure hunter for hire, and role played treasure hunters.
<>Remove Traps: This is the main skill that sets a pure treasure hunter apart from the rest. You will need a minimum of 50 Lockpicking and 50 Detect Hidden before you can train this skill. You cannot start with it.
<>Detect Hidden: You need at least 50 in this skill in order to use Remove Traps
<>Mining: Mining is a useful skill since it increases the distance from which a treasure chest can be dug up as follows:
+ 0 to 50.9 mining: You can dig from 1 tile away from the treasure chest.
+ 51.0 to 80.9 mining: You can dig from 2 tiles away from the treasure chest.
+ 81.0 to 99.9 mining: You can dig from 3 tiles away from the treasure chest.
+ 100 mining: You can dig from 4 tiles away from the treasure chest.
+ Number refer to enhanced skill levels, not "real".
The increased distance makes it much easier to locate the chest spot if you are not using a map archive. It also allows you a bit of distance between you and the guardian monsters that come up with the treasure chest, and the ability to get away from the initial spawn quicker.
The Fighter Treasure Hunter
<>The fighter treasure hunter takes a more active role than most others. Instead of provoking or sending a pet to fight the monsters, those choosing this style will be fighting the monsters one-on-one. Melee hunters can be a bit more tricky to play because the higher end chests spawn very difficult monsters. Incorporating peacemaking and musicianship into your template would help in some situations if you're forced to solo.
<>Weapon Skill of your choice: You should decide early on if you want to use a melee weapon and a shield or take up archery. Melee fighters will be very effective on low level hunts. An archer will be effective at all levels. Melee fighters will want to take into account that higher level maps will have much more difficult treasure guardians. A good tactic is to have the guardians attack a pet or have them peaced or provoked before entering the fray. This will help reduced unneeded damage.
<>Anatomy: An essential skill for any weapons fighter, also increases your ability to heal yourself and others.
<>Tactics: Damage enhancer for melee fighters/archers. Another very important skill for your template.
<>Healing: Being able to heal yourself while you continue to fight is a great advantage. You can couple healing with magery if your template allows it, or you can use healing in conjunction with potions. Either way, healing as the skill is often the main healing agent for melee fighters.
The Mage Treasure Hunter
<>A mage treasure hunter can choose to play a supportive role; healing, curing and resurrecting the rest of the party, or step in and help kill off the monsters. Standard mages work best in groups. If you have no unique skills such as animal taming, or provoking, you might find it difficult to kill the treasure guardians by yourself using magery alone. So if you decide to go this route you might want to know some companions that would like to tag along to help compensate.
<>Magery: It goes without saying that a mage will need this skill.
<>Meditation: A mage is only as good as his/her mana pool.
<>Evaluate Intelligence: This skill greatly increases the effectiveness of offensive spells, if you plant to kill monsters with magery it is essential.
<>Resisting Spells: Many of the monsters that spawn on treasure hunts are magical. This skill is recommended for anyone using magery as their main offensive / defensive skill.
<>Wrestling: Of less importance than the others. You may decide to replace this with something else and keep your distance from the monsters instead of letting them hit you. It's usually healthier that way anyhow.
The Bard Treasure Hunter
<>One of the more popular styles, a bard treasure hunter can go anywhere on his/her own and survive. A very powerful treasure hunter capable of handling high level hunts on his own easier than most others. A bard is able to provoke his enemies onto other monsters and have them kill each other off while he/she deals additional damage from their template, or loots the chest unharmed.
<>Musicianship: The main skill in any bard template. Essential.
<>Provocation: The main "tool" any bard uses. Musicianship coupled with an instrument is used to provoke enemies to attack one another.
<>Peacemaking: Another useful skill. Depending on how you intend to fight the monsters, you may decide to replace this skill with something else. Peacemaking allows you break aggro with a monster that is attack you or your companions. This allows for a break in the fight to heal, make yourself invisible or others, or deal fatal damage to the guardian.
<>Discordance: The fourth tool of a bard. While not as essential as the others, discordance lowers a monster's stats making them easier to kill.
The Tamer Treasure Hunter
<>Like the bard, the tamer treasure hunter has a greater ability than others to handle high level hunts on his own. The tamer treasure hunter is able to find chests and disarm them, but have his/her pets [nightmares, dragons, drakes, white wyverns...ect] do the fighting for them while they loot the chest or deal additional damage from the background. A very powerful and popular combination. Tamer builds are also good bodyguards while treasure hunting. They are able to defend those who loot the goods as well as fend off any PKs that may be roaming the area. Tamers should always remember to take bonded pets only.
<>Animal Taming: The main skill for a tamer. Essential in any template.
<>Animal Lore: Needed to help control your pets.
<>Veterinary: Give the ability to heal your pets health through band-aids. Often you'll find your magic does not sufficiently do the job.
<>Magery: For transportation of you and your animals. Also great to defend yourself, help kill spawn, heal your animals in conjunction with bandaids, and to help fend off others who would want to steal your treasure.
[size=+1]What Supplies Do I Need?[/size]
Now that you have selected your template, you'll need supplies. So, what exactly do you need to find everlasting riches? Not much! Here are the basic supplies you'll need:1) The Treasure Map - Best to leave this in your bank box and scout the area first because if you are killed, the map can and most likely will be looted from your corpse.
2) Lockpicks - If you're doing a level 1-2 map, you can use the spell "disarm trap". Levels 3-5 will require lockpicks.
3) Sextant - This tool will show you the coordinates of your character which you can match to those of the treasure map. Look here to find the coordinates of the map you have and compare it to the treasure map. For those of you with slower connection speeds, I would advise checking out the new link on Tessa's Cove, as it is not nearly as picture heavy and will be much more manageable for those with slower internet speeds. It is the second link provided. Bother offer the same pictures and coordinates.
UO Stratics - Treasure Hunters of Britannia
Tessa's Cove
Although this is for the OSI version, these spots are identical to the ones placed in Hybrids and you should have no trouble finding your map on the guide. Just find where your treasure is at [approximately] and click the location on the world map. Then click one of the red pins that looks to be the exact location. Exam it, and if you selected right you'll get the exact coordinates of the treasure.
4) A Shovel/Pick To dig the treasure chest up with. What? You thought you would just use your hands?!
5) Fighting supplies - This includes what you need to be offensive/defensive on your template. It may include, but not limited to: reagents, band-aids, pets, weapons, spells, potions, armor...ect [Don't forget the obvious. Nothing is more annoying then forgetting to bring band-aids and blackpearl]
[size=+1]How Do I Dig It Up?[/size]
Once you have your character made and you have a map and are well supplied, it is off to get your riches! Decode your map and look at the location and compare it with the link provided above. When you pinpoint the correct pin from the link that matches the map. See how the pins on your map match those on the ones with the coordinates? Once you have a match, head to that point using UOAM, as it is much easier that way. UOAM will allow you to get a rough estimate on where the chest is at. Now, use your sextant to make your way to the exact spot by double-clicking the sextant to get your character's coordinates and match them with the coordinates on the map Stratics provides. [size=+1]Disarm, Kill, and Loot[/size]
Once you have located the exact coordinates of the treasure chest, it is time to dig it up. Double-click your shovel and click your map, then the tile you wish to dig on. You'll get one of these following messages:"You dig and dig, but do not find any treasure". Meaning the treasure is not there.
"You dig and dig, but no treasure seems to be here". Meaning you are close to the treasure, but not close enough to dig it up.
"You stop digging because something is directly on top of the treasure chest". Have the person, animal or monster move away from that spot and dig again.
There seems to be no message for success, but you will hear the sound and then see the dirt patch and the treasure chest appear.
If you start to repeatedly dig at the ground, [size=+1]STOP[/size]. You have found the chest. Once you unearth it fully, the initial spawn will spring out automatically. Take this time beforehand to plan an escape route. Look for areas that allow you to run back in a straight line. This will allow you to run back and not get overwhelmed by the spawn. Now, go back and dig up the chest. Once you dig it up, run back on the route you planed and suit up for battle. Once you kill off the spawn, nothing more will appear until you start to loot the chest.
If you do not dig it up, check your coordinates and make sure you're in the right area. It is very easy to mix up pins and locations on the maps. Once you dig up the chest, you need to disarm it. You can use the "unlock" spell on levels 1-2, but will need to use lockpicks on levels 3-5. Once you get a message saying you successfully picked the chest, step far back and use telekinesis to set off the traps. Standing too close can cause serious injury or it may kill you.
After you have unlocked, and disarmed the chest, it is time to loot. Cautiously take items from the chest, watching for more spawn. Monsters will appear as you take out the items. Here is the breakdown to what you will find in the chests, depending on their levels.
Map Level--------Gold----Magic Items----Scrolls--Gems-------Reagents
1 Plainly Drawn-----1000------5------------------4--------3----------150 (3 stacks)
2 Expertly Drawn---2000------10----------------8--------6-----------300 (6 stacks)
3 Adeptly Drawn----3000------15----------------12------9-----------450 (9 stacks)
4 Cleverly Drawn---4000------38----------------16------12---------600 (12 stacks)
5 Deviously Drawn-5000------50----------------20------15---------750 (15 stacks)
After you loot all the goods you may discard the map on the ground or in a trash can and divide the loot accordingly. That is it, you're done!
[size=+1]Congratulations![/size]
You've completed your first treasure hunt! Take your loot back to town and put it in the bank. Now you may divide it up among friends, or enjoy it all if you went solo. You'll want to ID all the magic items either with an ID wand or using the skill Item Identification. The first treasure hunt is always the longest and most difficult. Once you get your play style and how the game mechanics work you'll be doing well. Practice makes perfect as they say!
In closing, I hope I've inspired some treasure hunters out there to get back in the game, as well as some others that have never done it or would like to know how to do them. They are a lot of fun and have numerous templates to adjust to how you enjoy playing. Solo, group, with friends, guild mates, role playing, it fits all criteria. So go out there and dig up some loot! Happy hunting! Cheers! =^_^=