UO Stratics - Treasure Map Quests

The odds of a map appearing on one of these monsters is approximately 1% (but it seems a lot less). All maps refer to the "old lands" of Britannia, no matter where they are found - there are no treasure sites in The Lost Lands, Ilshenar or Malas, even though maps can be found there. Maps found in Felucca can only be dug up in Felucca, while maps found in Trammel, Ilshenar or Malas can only be dug up in Trammel.

All maps can be done alone if you have the necessary skills and equipment, though level 4,5 and 6 maps are a lot faster and easier with a group along to help. Level 1 maps are vastly different than the other five classes of maps, in that they can be easily tackled alone without caution or backup. Level 2 and higher maps need you to take care at all times, or you might end up dead : ) Treasure maps can be found as loot on a wide selection of the creatures in the game. These maps range in difficulty on an internal scale of 1 to 6:

Which monsters carry treasure maps ?
Map Level	Map Descr.	Monsters
0	Youthfully Drawn	Given to [young] players as part of the introduction quests and also sometimes found in the chests they lead to. Youthfully Drawn maps can only be used by young players.
1	Plainly Drawn	Agapite Elemental, Air Elemental, Bronze Elemental, Copper Elemental, Dark Guardian, Dull Copper Elemental, Earth Elemental, Enslaved Gargoyle, Ettin, Evil Mage, Fire Gargoyle, Frost Troll, Gargoyle, Gazer, Golden Elemental, Lizardman, Mummy, Ogre, Ophidian Enforcer, Ophidian Warrior, Orc, Orcish Lord, Orcish Mage, Sea Serpent, Shadow Iron Elemental, Terathan Warrior, Troll, Valorite Elemental, Verite Elemental
2	Expertly Drawn	Acid Elemental, Dark Guardian, Deep Sea Serpent, Drake, Evil Mage Lord, Fire Elemental, Ophidian Apprentice Mage, Ophidian Justicar, Ophidian Shaman, Ophidian Zealot, Ratman Mage, Reaper, Sea Serpent, Snow Elemental, Stone Gargoyle, Water Elemental, Wyvern
3	Adeptly Drawn	Arctic Ogre Lord, Cyclopean Warrior, Dark Guardian, Juka Mage, Lesser Hiryu, Lich, Meer Mage, Ogre Lord, Ophidian Avenger, Ophidian Knight-Errant, Terathan Avenger, Wanderer of the Void, Yomotsu Warrior
4	Cleverly Drawn	Daemon, Devourer of Souls, Dragon, Efreet, Elder Gazer, Ice Fiend, Kraken, Lich Lord, Oni, Ophidian Matriarch, Sand Vortex, Serpentine Dragon, Terathan Matriarch, Wanderer of the Void, White Wyrm
5	Deviously Drawn	Ancient Lich, Ancient Wyrm, Balron, Barracoon the Piper, Betrayer, Blood Elemental, Ethereal Warrior, Greater Dragon, Lord Oaks, Meer Eternal, Mephitis, Neira the Necromancer, Poison Elemental, Rikktor, Rotting Corpse, Semidar, Serado the Awakened, Shadow Wyrm, Silvani, Skeletal Dragon, Succubus, Titan, Yamandon
6	Ingeniously Drawn	Paragon Ancient Wyrm, Paragon Balron, Paragon Betrayer, Paragon Blood Elemental, Paragon Ethereal Warrior, Paragon Greater Dragon, Paragon Meer Eternal, Paragon Poison Elemental, Paragon Rotting Corpse, Paragon Skeletal Dragon, Paragon Succubus, Paragon Titan

Decoding a Treasure Map

I have a map - now what do I do with it?

Once you find a map, simply double click it to decode it. Your ability to decode the map is based on your cartography skill - the higher your skill, the more likely you are to be able to decode any and all treasure maps. (If you are unable to decode a map, you may pass it along or sell it to someone who can). These maps may be stored safely in your bank, until you decide to hunt for it; for the treasure will not begin to "decay away" until you actually dig up the chest (after which time the chest and its contents will linger for about no more than 3-4 hours).

Skill required to decode a map
Map Level	Map Descr.	Skill Level
0	Youthfully Drawn	0.0 cartography required
1	Plainly Drawn	27.0* cartography required
2	Expertly Drawn	71.0 cartography required
3	Adeptly Drawn	81.0 cartography required
4	Cleverly Drawn	91.0 cartography required
5	Deviously Drawn	100 cartography required
6	Ingeniously Drawn	100 cartography required

*Approximate, varies between 27 to 30, but this isn't a problem, as you can be trained to over 30 skill, so you can decode level 1's as soon as you have trained. You can also gain cartography skill by attempting to decode a level one map. Eventually you will be able to read it. If you get a message in the lower left of your screen saying "this map is too difficult to attempt to decode" then it is not a level one map, and you will not gain from trying to decode it.

After decoding your treasure map, the location of the chest will be indicated with a single pin.

Finding the Treasure Chest

Before heading off after the treasure, you would be well-advised to compare your treasure map against a world-map (the cloth and paper maps supplied with the CD are great, especially the paper map).

Look for any distinctive landmarks on your map, and compare it with the paper or cloth maps. Find the area on the cloth map that matches what is shown on your treasure map, and head for that area.

Many people, in fact most these days, use treasure map archives to locate the treasure chest. Stratics has an excellent one, located here Simply find the map that matches yours, note down the coordinates and off you go. If you have access to a good rune library your journey will be much shorter; many rune libraries now include runes to each treasure spot.

A very useful tool for any treasure hunter and one that is highly recommended is UO Automap. There is a downloadable file of treasure chest locations available for that as well. You can find it at the bottom of the nav bar to the left.

If you are a more independent type, and would prefer to find the chest yourself, this essay will give you some pointers on how to do that.

Once you believe that you have arrived in the right area, you can begin digging by double-clicking on your shovel, then clicking on the map you want to dig, then clicking where you want to dig on the ground. Digging can take several seconds to complete. Any interruption to this dig will invalidate your attempt - so stand still, stick down the shovel and keep at it 'till you're finished :)

If you fail to find the treasure, move on a step and try again.

After some attempts you will at one time hear the distinct sound of digging, the same sound miners hear when they mine for ore. This means you have found the treasure chest. At first you will see the ground where you are digging change into "a dirt patch" and soon thereafter the chest will pop-up. The first round of monsters may spawn and you will have to get rid of them. After that the fun of opening the chest can begin.

The following messages are given when digging:

"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.

As valuable as the map might seem to the intrepid treasure hunter, once you successfully find and dig up the treasure your map becomes useless.

While searching, your mining skill will come in handy. The higher your mining skill, the larger your dig radius.

0 to 50.9 mining: You must 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".

Claiming your Prize

I've found the chest - now I'm rich beyond my wildest dreams, right!?

Well, not exactly. Most chests are trapped and do damage equal to chests fitted with a Tinker's trap. Of more concern are the monsters which spawn nearby when the chests are dug up, and spawn when you remove items from the chest. These creatures can be very dangerous, and seem inclined to target the chest-digger as soon as they appear. The higher the level of the chest, the more scary the creatures that show up.

Note: The chests have been said to disappear within 1-3 hours after being unearthed, whether they have been cracked open or not.

In order to safely open a chest, you need to do the following things:

Pick the lock.
Deal with the trap.

Picking the lock: Pretty straightforward. Double click your lockpick, and click on the chest. If your lockpicking skill is high enough, you'll pick the chest. A mage of sufficient skills can open level 1 and level 2 chests, using the 'Unlock' spell; 50 magery is required to open level 1 chests, 100 magery is enough to open level 2 chests.

Dealing with the trap: You have 2 options here, an easy way, and a hard (but more impressive) way. The easy way is to cast "Telekinesis"' on the chest from 4 or more squares away. This triggers the trap and you can then safely open the chest. The harder way involves use of the "Detect Hidden" and "Remove Trap" skill. It is not necessary to use "Detect Hidden" on the chest to find the trap, but you do need at least 50 Detect in order to use the "Remove Trap" skill to remove the trap. (Khal's note - there is no guarantee that the "Remove Trap" skill will be successful, and failure can mean death. Using "Telekinesis" will always work, as long as you don't stand too close to the chest)

Note: The player that decodes the map and digs up the chest does not have to be the same player that picks open the chest.

Requirements for opening treasure chests.
Map level	Map Descr.	Minimum Lockpicking	Magery
0	Youthfully Drawn	The chest isn't locked	0
1	Plainly Drawn	36.0 skill	50
2	Expertly Drawn	76.0 skill	100
3	Adeptly Drawn	84.0 skill	no effect
4	Cleverly Drawn	92.0 skill	no effect
5	Deviously Drawn	100 skill	no effect
6	Ingeniously Drawn	100 skill	no effect
DO NOT TRY TO OPEN A CHEST UNTIL YOU HAVE AT LEAST THE RECOMMENDED LOCKPICK SKILL.

The following is an indication of the types of creatures you should expect to spawn when you open the chest, and when you remove items from it:

Creatures Spawned during looting of chest
Map Level	Map Descr.	Creatures Spawned
0	Youthfully Drawn	Chest Guardians
1	Plainly Drawn	Mongbats, Ratmen, Headless Ones, Skeletons, Zombies
2	Expertly Drawn	Orc Mages, Gargoyles, Gazers, Hellhounds, Earth Elementals
3	Adeptly Drawn	Liches, Ogre Lords, Dread Spiders, Air Elementals, Fire Elementals
4	Cleverly Drawn	Dread Spiders, Lich Lords, Daemons, Elder Gazers, Ogre Lords
5	Deviously Drawn	Lich Lords, Daemons, Elder Gazers, Poison Elementals, Blood Elementals
6	Ingeniously Drawn	Ancient Wyrm, Balron, Blood Elemental, Poison Elemental, Titan

Most chests seem to spawn around 12-15 creatures. On a level 2 or higher chest, 4 creatures will spawn as soon as you have dug up the chest. Precast an invisibility spell while you dig up the chest and target yourself just after you finish digging to survive this spawn, or simply run for your life. Not all of the creatures will spawn while you are taking the treasure, they need a little coaxing. To coax more monsters to spawn, simply try to drag an item around inside the chest, the item will snap back to the original location but it will still have the desired effect. It will trigger more spawns, and therefore increase the amount of loot a chest gives.

The following is an indication of the types of treasure you should expect to find within the chests:

Treasure found in chests
Map Level	Map Descr.	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)
6	Ingeniously Drawn	6000	60**	23	18	~900

* There is no pattern to the quality of items you get in each level chest. It's random. The benefit of doing higher level chests is that you get more items, and therefore increase the chance of getting something good. Note that magic items include weapons, armor, clothing and jewelry.

** In addition to the normal magic items in a level 6 chest there will also always be a minor artifact.

- Original document by Daedalus Rising of Atlantic & Kynaerth'an of Catskills. Edited by Khal'abbil of Europa, Blackheath of THB and Dizzy of THB. Re-written in response to all the requests for accurate information on the Treasure Hunters and Cartographer's Forums.