A few questions from a new player

[ugmar]

Hello all.

I have been enjoying the shard for around 2 weeks off and on.  Thank you very much for creating / maintaining this place.

I do have a few questions I would like to know in order to decide how I want my build to go.

- Certain chests in dungeons seem to be immune to telekinesis.  Are these random, higher level ones, or what?  Also how does this relate to treasure hunting?  Basically am I going to be required to add detect hidden / remove traps to be able to do high end chests?

- Cartography - I seem to be raising this very slowly.  Is that just the nature of the skill?  I can not seem to use it in the starting town to make maps, any suggestions on raising it would be appreciated.  (Currently making maps in tram)

- Is there a cap on resource cost reduction, spell damage, damage, etc..... if so where can I find those maximums?

- I seem to be able to use a shield in my offhand and cast spells without removing it, is that intended?

- Outside of doing the dungeons and their spawned bosses what are some other things to look at in that same general skill range that have cool rewards?  I have done a few quests that were quite interesting but always open to things I might have missed.

Thanks and have a pleasant day.

[Amairgen]

Hi - thanks for the good questions. I hope the following helps a bit.

- Certain chests in dungeons seem to be immune to telekinesis.  Are these random, higher level ones, or what?  Also how does this relate to treasure hunting?  Basically am I going to be required to add detect hidden / remove traps to be able to do high end chests?

Answer We have added random 'Special' dungeon chests that have better drops. Because of that some of the usual dungeon picking aids do not work on them adding a bit more risk.


- Cartography - I seem to be raising this very slowly.  Is that just the nature of the skill?  I can not seem to use it in the starting town to make maps, any suggestions on raising it would be appreciated.  (Currently making maps in tram)

Answer Sorry . . it seems to be the nature of the skill. We have done nothing odd with it here. Maybe others here who have trained this could provide tips from their personal experiences. Beyond that Google UOGuide.com is all I can suggest on it.


- Is there a cap on resource cost reduction, spell damage, damage, etc..... if so where can I find those maximums?

Answer We have not imposed caps on any of these other than what came with the starting scripts. We have not listed numbers for individual properties as they are tweaked by the use of Runic tools and Spellcrafting. Lower Reg Cost can go up to 100%. Also you can use the command [MyStats for a menu on your character in game which may help.


- I seem to be able to use a shield in my offhand and cast spells without removing it, is that intended?

Answer Yes. As a Mage forever I was always 'picked' that Warriors could bandage themselves while fully armed but Mages had to drop things to mentally cast a spell.


- Outside of doing the dungeons and their spawned bosses what are some other things to look at in that same general skill range that have cool rewards?  I have done a few quests that were quite interesting but always open to things I might have missed.

Answer Try talking to the guard in the gate to the Britain King's Castle. You can bribe him to get into the 'King's Hunting Preserves'. That will take you to a random location to face a Mini-Champ for some things and potentially Power Scrolls. You can also talk to the Monks inside the dungeon entrances to get a Mini-Boss quest for that dungeon. The player Quest Journal (and the Quest Board on the Forums here) has a list of the custom quests with some tips.

[ugmar]

Thank you for the response.

1 - I had noticed better loot in those chests. Currently they seem to do very little up to about 90 damage when I open them with my face. Will this get higher, and are the chests from treasure hunting considered "special"?

2 - Not a problem on Cartography, it has traditionally been annoying to raise but T-Hunting was one of my favorite past times when I have played UO in the past, so worth the time.

3 - I appreciate the suggestion on the kings hunting preserve, that sounds like the right step for me right now. I am successfully killing some of the bosses at the end of dungeons now, some are killing me.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.

[Amairgen]

Apr 1, 2016 15:15:18 GMT -8 ugmar said:

. . . T-Hunting was one of my favorite past times when I have played UO in the past . . . are the chests from treasure hunting considered "special"?

*smiles* If you like Treasure Hunting you are in for a treat here.

1) When you dig up a buried Chest there is a random chance it will be a 'Themed' chest.

2) When a 'Themed' chest is revealed, all the chest Guardians will be from that 'Theme'. (all pirates or terathon or undead etc).

3) 'Themed' chests also contain some 'Theme' related loot.

4) There is a 20% chance the buried chest will be 'Themed'

Here is a list of the potential buried Treasure Chest 'Themes' and their levels:

Level 3:
Solen, Brigand, Savage, Ettin, Ogre, FrostTroll, Juka, Spider

Level 4:
Undead, Pirate, Ophidian, Terathan, Reaper, Fey, Minotaur

Level 5:
Dragon, SkeletonDragon, Titan, Dead, Ice

Level 6:
Demon, Lich, Shadow