The Treasure Hunter - Discussion & Advice

[Calcifer]

Hey!

So i'm beginning to explore the realms of treasure hunting right now as all other things on my other characters are beginning to fall into place & settle down & am looking for some advice, guidance & help on the the matter & trying to open up this topic for some analysis.

I'll open up with a brief intro to my character & I'll be looking for some advice on the best template that's going to be able to start taking the serious goodies home.

My character is currently looking to finish skills set up with:

120 anatomy
120 archery
120 cartography
120 fishing
120 lockpicking
120 magery
120 mining
120 musicianship
120 provocation
120 tactics

The fishing i could soulstone & chop and change the fishing skill with cartography for the extra 120 points if it might be utilised better.

I suppose i could drop mining & give it to another characters too if need be however i'm reluctant to do that.

A part of my characters build is because i'm not keen on soulstoning & changing everything constantly. 1. because i really can't be a**ed to do the soulstone quest daily & 2. because i like the 'lore' behind character development. A big part of my enjoyment of this game is not in making a character which can be everything & anything at whim, the limits make the game interesting & challenging.

So my idea for this character is a treasure hunter of both land & sea with archer to fend off those who oppose her. she loves adventure & can be gone for weeks at a time with just herself as company.

... This is where i've run into challenges.

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Her gear is currently a hand-crafted tradian outfit with an artifact-enhanced Juka-Bow. The characteristics of the armor cause all caps to be reached bar Regens & Spell Damage. she's as close as i can get to her outfit choice except for the fact that capes/dresses/shirts are being worn which are required for the stat bonus - i'd much rather she could rock my desired outfit & reach caps but alas, i digress.

I attempted an ingenious treasure map today & the challenge (for the most part ) was fun. It was a tough cookie to crack a horde of anchient liches & lich lords & i think she managed fairly well (although i ran out of arrows a few times). & that was without provocation & music right now so i think she will be fine once her skills are up. She does seem rather limited though with damage output & survivabilty.

My main concern is that she really seems so incomparable to a sampire or tamer in the same situation & taking on many monsters at once is quite a challenge, but it's definitely part of the fun.

__

So i'm just wondering, if anyone else had any insights or suggestions on how i might better utilise her to be able to take on the challenges of the higher tier maps, just a little easier?

Are there particular items / set of gear that might help me perform a little stronger in battle?

My thoughts would be something along the line of:

a] aim to get a mercenary for both battle & companionship.
b] obtain the medeis incantrix & learn to perform the mystical arts of the lost magic.
c] use summoning effectively to help ease the demands of survivability in battle.

What are your thoughts?

__


In writing this, it's already brought some clarity & ideas to the forefront which i'm excited to impliment & work towards, but of course many of you are far more experienced than myself & will no doubt have some great ideas, so please share!


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My final note is something which i found to be a bit of a frustration more than anything & i'm not sure how this relates as a traditions-only issue or a general ultima online issue... Upon digging up the ingenious treasure, the chest contained over 160 items in it where nothing is stacked (gold, reagents, gems, etc) & upon looting a couple of items monsters spawn to protect the treasure...

Is there a way that the items can be less than 160 ish but with still a similar value? I actually gave up looting the chest because i got sick of looting 3 items & then being attacked & having to run around defensivly until the ancient guardians died, just to do it 10 seconds later.

I also tried to switch up to my sampire that this point just to try speed things up but unfortunately only the treasure hunter may loot the chest...

It's not that the monsters spawn because i know that supposed to happen, but that there is over 160 items & with spawn every few items being looted, it would take such a long time to loot the chest, it really doesn't seem worth it...

I look forward to all your replies!

Cheers,
Cal!

[Amairgen]

I am going to leave this open to the community because I have really not played on this shard (only a bit on the Test Server).

However . . I do remember the fun I had T-Hunting back on Baja in the 90s. Had some challenges with the 750 skill limit but made good use of Magery and Hiding to draw mobs away then run back. If you are close enough to the Chest I don't think you need Mining (from memory). Also . . not sure but . . can you open the Chests with Magery Telekenisis?

[Calcifer]

I actually went back to the chest maybe 45 mins to an hour later (I was pleasantly surprised it was still there) & emptied it & finished off the guardians while i was at it! It felt like such an accomplishment - especially considering I know Calcifer would've wiped the floor with the mobs, it's nice to be challenged in new ways! I started throwing down some energy vortex' & it made the remaining battles much simpler. I'm still going to work on provocation for the moment & have a little play and test but no doubt necromancy would be more useful. It'll be nice to have someone play with the ancient bard addition here so i can see what awesome & exciting things that offers!

---side note: where do you find scrolls for the ancient bard book??

I also managed to find a cheeky hourglass hiding deep within the chest although I must admit, I was shocked to find there were 65(!!!) bones in the chest that weren't stacked. I couldn't be bothered dragging & dropping every single one (hello repetitive strain injury ) so i just destroyed the chest & will hunt another later.

It's definitely an inticing & exciting new discovery in terms of exploration & gameplay so i can't wait to delve in deeper to it!

I'd like to explore the fishing mib's more but i find them so uncommon & never really see them drop. I tried hunting the krakens & sea serpents in shame but unfortunately unless i 1-shot them I can never loot them. Even telekinesis doesn't allow me to loot corpse from a distance.

---

In response to mining, I like mining as i feel like it makes sense to have for character purposes, but also i need it for gathering stone anyway. I didn't test this ingenious chest with the unlock spell however you are right & can telekinesis them open once unlocked.


--

Expect more from me on the subject as i delve deeper

[Amairgen]

If your Bard skiils are high enough then got to the Western part of Ocllo to the newer part of the town and look for the Theatre where you can find Piper the Bard. He can give you a quest for the Ancient Bard Songs

[Calcifer]

I shall!

Thank you!

Side note: Hoping these t-maps give me some luck towards another phillips wooden steed. Just been in Bedlam for 2 hours to no avail! *cries*

[Tauriel]

Jun 2, 2020 4:28:35 GMT -8 Calcifer said:

So my idea for this character is a treasure hunter of both land & sea with archer to fend off those who oppose her. she loves adventure & can be gone for weeks at a time with just herself as company.

Hiya Calcifer!

Your above words sound just like my T-Hunter Peregrine! Although, and this is just between you and me, she can be a scaredy cat sometimes too and has been known to run from ancient wyrms on more than a few occasions *grins*   

I'm really not going to be able to help much with "best" template advice and I have zero experience with mercenaries . . . .
Peregrine's template is purely for the fun of playing such a character as I never had one of these on Baja and (as with all my characters) I choose skills that I personally find fun to do and that I can ably manage. This is for a number of reasons which I won't bore you with

She can comfortably solo up to and including a level 4 T-Map but will probably seek companionship for map levels 5-6 because I know my limitations and capabilities (again I won't bore you with these personal reasons)

She is a work in progress and im still fine tuning armour and weapons so once ive had more experience, I can share my findings
It's certainly fun to have a T-Hunter in the family that's for sure
:-)

[Benjamin]

I love this thread, however it is maddening to have only 10 skills at 120 or some variation therin. Trying to pick only 10 skills while being several classes leaves out alot of supporting mechanics needed to be survivable. and just because you can get a 120 skill does not mean you should. carto, lockpick and fishing do not need to be over 100 skill, in fact as I pointed out in another tread over 100 skill in fishing is probably bad for getting the mib's. Archery, anatomy and tactics are only getting you half of your potential dps without enough chivalry to cast eoe divine fury and consecrate weapon, BTW the 60 points we took from above is ideal amount to spend in chivaly. I know that bards can be fun, however the work to ensure that instruments have the proper slayer properties, for large groups (if not themed) can be tricky, and with no discord 1 on 1 with a boss leaves bards useless, though i do not know what the ancient bard songs are i would imagine you would need more than just music and provo to use them all. I believe a more consistent outcome in large groups of mobs favors the magery aspect of summons and direct damage / aoe spells. I would use eval int and inscription to maximize magery spell damage and considerably lessen the negative attributes of protection reactive armor and provide better reflect magic damage as well. Since dropping bard and electing to use fewer points in other skills Ive made room for necromancy and ss, just for better survivability.
so my suggested template looks like this.
chivalry-60
fishing-100
cartography-100
lockpick-100
archery-120
tactics-120
anatomy-120
magery-110
inscription-110
eval int-110
necromancy-100 for vampiric embrace
spirit speak-50 for fairly consistent heals as needed.

Stats...
Str 120
Dex 75
Int 130

As my favorite things here are taming and treasure hunting, my personal template will conform to the following, however I reserve the right to change my template at will

lockpick-100
carto-100
taming-120
lore-120
vet-120
herding-100
archery-120
anat-120
tact-120
magery-100
chivalry-80

str-120
dex-130
int-75

Happy hunting!

[Tauriel]

I like this thread too Benjamin as it gives me some insight into what the other T-Hunters on UOT are running with. I love that you don't need to be locked into one template type. There are sooooo many different ways to play this kind of character that has fun and meaning.

Not to mention that good armour and weapons play an important role too in this balancing act.

Peregrine only has archery as her combat skill but with the benefit of hiding, she can now comfortably solo a level 5 chest and now enjoying seeking sweet revenge on the filthy pirates who have mercilessly tormented her in the past *grins*

Happy hunting!

[Tracina]

If you ever see me on, I'll be happy to run some maps. I can either take my fisher, who has archery, or my t-hunter, who uses taming.

[holly]

Came across this and thought I'd share my build and maybe get some advice.

Mining 120
Lumber 120
Vet 120
Hiding 120
Taming 115
Animal Lore 115
Cartography 100
Lockpicking 100
Fishing 100
Magery 100

Hiding is for defence, I can control a Drow Dragon pretty well with 115 tame/lore and with it guarding me I don't need to worry about ents, ore ele's or sea creatures. Same goes for treasure maps. Using gargoyle stuff means I can carve corpses and Magery is enough to get around, heal, cure and mark nice spots. I especially enjoy going to Tartarus dungeons and mining, I seem to get the higher end ores much more there and there's the tradium rocks of course.
I'm really enjoying playing this char but there's 90 skill points going spare and can't decide what would be worthwhile.
I've toyed with Forenscic Eval, Begging, Camping and Item Id but am fully aware what a waste it would be.

Eval Int ? Heal a bit more or lower hiding so i can use a Medies
Meditation ? Don't use a lot of mana so no real help
Parry ? The pets tank everything
Remove Trap ? Fits in the style/class but telekinesis or just busting the traps works
Resist ? Higher defences but pets tank.
Spirit Speak ? Mildly easier healing.
Spellweaving ? Couple of nice spells that could be handy.

All advice more than welcome and thank you in advance for suggestions

[Bran]

Hi. This s interesting and makin me think I should wake up my crawler again.

"All advice more than welcome" haha looks like youve done good as is but my 2 cents worth is this.
- not sure if higher fishing gets better loot or chance of better loot but probably worth it.
- forget forensic begging camping and itemid. Just use id wand on loot cause loot thats identify sells for higher prices
- don't lower hiding cause 120 is boss
- forget meditation just get gear loaded with lmc, mana regen and have a alchemist make revitalize pots to carry. Those pots a life saver
- forget parry just use your meat shieled pet
- forget remove trap and resist
- SS I think can heal through poison but not worth the points needed. you only got 90 to play with
- yes to spellweaving. you only need 40 to spam nature fury and keep mobs busy. each fury only takes one or two slots and casts fast

Heres my 2 cents for your 90 spare points. add 20 fishing (maybe better loot) add 40 spellweaving (furys are real handy) add 20 mage (better damage and duration) add 5 tame add 5 animal lore to make pet control solid.

Crawlers are fun to roam with.

[holly]

I kept reading that Fishing over 100 was detrimental to the rewards. Will dig out the post and link it here.
I'm trying the 115 tam/lore at the moment, so far seems to be ok and I like the idea of not having to max out skills, not sure why.
If I carry a black lich staff (+20 magery), would that have the same effect as 120 skill? I'm only really using magery for recall/mark/cure/heal as a guarding evo does all my damage.
Does the medeis only work with 120 base skill?
The guarding Drow or Unicorn is working so Natures Fury feels a little like overkill, this char is primarily for getting resources for my crafter so I'm not looking at taking on the really tough stuff. Ents and Ore elementals are my main targets.
Can't make my mind up about hiding, I have it on Mz Hyde and love it but she is the killer in the family.
If I go with 120 mage/eval and 70 hiding, I think it would be enough to "disappear" when doing T-maps, the ele's from a garg pickaxe die before they can do enough damage to kill me and a quicker exit route from doing tartarus mining looks a nice option.

Thanks for the advice, looks like I have yet another char with masses of soulstoning and testing to do

[Bran]

If you do t-chests a lot you can find the big ones can spawn a crowd. 120 hiding let you hide in a fight.

edit. oh sorry missed your medeis question. To use spells in that book you need 120 mage and 120 evalint or else 120 necro and 120 ss or else 120 necro and 120 eval int. I had to change skills a bit for that.