Introduction
For those Adventure players, Maps are an essential part of the gameplay. Maps offer the fastest way to level up the important Adventure skills such as Search and Lockpicking, and the higher these skills are, the better items you will able to obtain through questing and digging.
What are maps?
Maps are items in your inventory that allow you to make various Discoveries or to locate treasures on the open sea, in Landing areas or inside buildings in towns around the world.
It should not be confused with Piece of Treasure Map which relate to ship salvaging
How do I get Maps
Maps can be mostly commonly obtained from reading books inside Archives in major cities around the world.
The town that have Archives are listed below
London
Amsterdam
Lisbon
Seville
Marseille
Venice
Tunis
Naples
Genoa
Athens
Alexandria
Istanbul
Calicut
Lima
Settlement town in East Asia and South America
Some Maps are only obtainable through plundering NPC pirates or given as quest reward
What skills do I need to obtain Maps
The skills you need are
1) The language used by the town where the Archive is located when you browse through the book.
For example you will need Portuguese if you are browsing through the Archives in Lisbon
2) The appropriate level in Geology, Archaeology, Theology, Biology, Art or Treasure Appraisal that is required for the Map to 'pop'.
For example an R8 (Rank 8) Art Map will require level 8 in Art to obtain.
If you don't meet the language or the Adventure Discipline Skill requirements, as long as you are in a fleet with a person that does, you will also be able to obtain the Map.
For example, if you fleet up with a person who has Italian and level 8 in Art, you can also obtain a R8 Art Map in Venice when browsing through the Archives.
How many different categories of Maps are there
There are six different categories of Maps, each corresponding to one of the six major Adventure Disciplines.
They are:
Geology
Archaeology
Theology
Biology
Art
Treasure Appraisal
How many types of Maps are there
There are 2 types of Maps
The first type is a Discovery Map
The second type is a Treasure Chest Map
What's the difference between the two types of Maps
The Discovery Map as the name suggests, has a Discovery attached to them. When you open up the map, either by searching or using recognition, you will receive a Discovery Card, which would then appear in your list of Discoveries.
These Discoveries can then be reported to Nobles for money and fame.
The second type of Maps are Treasure Chest Maps. Unlike the Discovery Maps, they do not have Discoveries attached to them. Instead, when you open them through Search or Recognition, you will receive various Trade Items, along with a substantial amount of cash.
Because the Treasure Chest Maps do not have a Discovery attached to them, you would not get Skill Proficiency in your Adventure Disciplines. You will however still receive Adventure Experience, and Skill Proficiency in your Search and Lockpicking skills.
Why bother with Maps
There are three reasons why you should bother with Maps
1) They grant you Discoveries, which can then be reported to for money and fame. In addition, the more Discoveries you make, the higher your Nobility Rank. If you want to become an Elite Adventurer, and discover every Discovery, then you need to browse for the Discovery Maps
2) Each Discovery Map yields significant amounts of Adventure Experience and Fame. Because a single person can hold a full inventory of the same map, it is also the most efficient way to level up your Adventure Level and to fast track your Adventure Fame.
3) The same reason as above, Maps also yield significant increases in Skill Proficiency, and like your Adventure level, Maps are the quickest way to level up your Adventure Discipline skills of Geology, Archaeology, Theology, Biology, Art or Treasure Appraisal, as well as Search and Lockpicking skills.
What are Map Fleets
Map Fleets are fleets formed by players (usually five player) whose main activity is opening a specific Map.
Map Fleets are like quest fleets, except they open Discovery Maps instead of running quests.
Why form Map Fleets
Like quest fleets, forming a five player fleet with other Adventurers to open Maps would allow each player in the fleet to gain 3 x the amount of Skill Proficiency in passive Adventure skills such as Geology, Archaeology, Theology, Biology, Art, Treasure Appraisal and Lockpicking as compared to opening Maps by oneself.
(more details below)
What are the conditions of obtaining multiple copies of the same Map
To hold multiple copies of the same Map in your inventory, you need at least one other player. Hence, forming Map Fleets is both one of necessity and efficacy.
In order to obtain a specific Map you must first meet the skill requirements, such as language skill and Adventure Discipline skill. These skills can be shared, if at least one member of the fleet meets the skill requirements. Another reason for fleeting up,
Secondly, you must not have the Map in your inventory.
Thirdly, you must have either reported the Discovery attached to that Map to a Noble or never made the Discovery in the first place.
If all three conditions above are not met, your will not be able to obtain the desired Map no matter how many times you browse the Archives.
What are the mechanics of obtaining multiple copies of the same Map
The mechanics are rather simplistic.
First, each time you browse through an Archive, there is a chance that you will obtain a Map ('popping' a Map).
Most of the times, you are browsing for one specific Map, therefore when you 'pop' a Map that is not the Map you are looking for, keep it in your inventory. Remember that if a specific Map is already in your inventory, you cannot obtain it again from browsing the Archives
Secondly, the important part, when the desired Map does 'pop', trade it to your friend/fleet member. This effectively means your inventory is free of the desired Map and you can obtain it again through browsing the Archives.
Thirdly keep browsing, and you'll soon 'pop' another one of the desired Maps. Like in step 2, trade it to your friend/fleet member. Now your friend is holding multiple copies of the same Map.
When you become mentally tired and cannot browse the Archives anymore, simply ask your friend/fleet member to transfer all copies of the desired Map back to you.
Now you have multiple copies of the same Map.
What are the steps of obtaining Maps in a Map Fleet
1) Browse the Archives for the desired Map
2) Pass the desired Map to player B, keep browsing
3) Repeat step 2 until mentally tired
4) Player B passes all the copies of the desire Map back to player A
5) Player B repeats the same process as player A, except they pass the desire Map to player A
6) At the end, both player A and player B should have multiple copies of the desired Map
7) If you would like more maps, simply boomerang to the closest port (sail to the closest port, leave and sail back) to browse the Archives again. Just make sure that one player is holding all the desired Map before the other player browses the Archives.
What are the conditions of opening multiple copies of same Map
In order to open the same Discovery Map multiple times. you must report the Discovery to a Noble before you go back to open the Map again. If you don't report the Discovery, even if you Search in the same spot with the Map in your inventory you would be able to find anything.
What are the mechanics of opening multiple copies of the same Map
As mentioned, you cannot open the Map again, if the discovery attached to the Map is not reported to a Noble first.
However, even if you have not reported, you can still leech Skill Proficiency from fleet members when they open a Map next to you.
If you have already reported the Discovery or have not yet made the Discovery from the Map, and a fleet member opens the Map in your vicinity and you happen to have a copy of the same Map in your inventory, you will make the Discovery and consume the copy of the Map
What are the steps of opening Maps in a Map Fleet
Method A
(the step by step procedure below is used for opening Maps in Landing area, where the closest Noble is located in a town and therefore need to leave the Landing area and sail there)
1) You need to stock up on as many of the same Discovery Map in your inventory as possible.
2) Sail to your destination
3) Player A opens the Map by him/herself
4) Player B goes in to open the Map. Player A leeches skill proficiency
5) Player C goes in to open the Map. Player A and B leeches skill proficiency
6) Player D goes in to open the Map. Player A, B, and C leeches skill proficiency
7) Player E goes in to open the Map. Player A, B, C, and D, leech skill proficiency
8) Player A, B, C, D, and E go and report their discovery to the nearest Noble
9) Next round of Map opening begins. Player E opens first, and the order is reversed. E>D>C>B>A
10) Repeat
Method B
(the step by step procedure is used for opening Maps inside buildings in Towns, where the closest Noble is located within the same town)
1) You need to stock up on as many of the same Discovery Map in your inventory as possible.
2) Sail to your destination
3) Transfer all the Maps to one person
4) Divide the total Maps by the number of people in the fleet, and each player would take in turns opening that amount.
5) Player A opens Map. Player B, C, D, and E leech Skill Proficiency
6) Player A reports Discovery to a Noble. Other players remain inside the building.
7) Player A returns and opens another Map, then reports back to the Noble in town. He/She continues until he/she reached the set amount.
8) Player A, transfers all the Maps to Player B.
9) Player B repeats the steps of Player A. Player A, C, D, and E. Leech Skill proficiency.
10) The process repeats as player C, D, E all take turns to open Maps.
This guide may sound confusing, but once you do a run inside the game, everything would make much more sense.