Best treasure chest combo level for loot (and maybe luck?)?

[Keven2002]

I've done quite a bit of treasure hunting before and right after the overhaul when I was bored. I stopped doing maps in favor of other content that gave a better return on investment (also at one point I was dwindling down under 100 maps). Fast forward to now, I'm back around a full Davies locker (500 maps) which I started pulling from a month or so ago given my boredom with the Fey event.

Since I started to do maps again, I'd say that 99% of them have been cache/horde/trove. I could be wrong here but I seem to remember getting more legendary items in these chests (and some weren't bad - not as intense as something scalis might drop but not immediately trash). I've done 25-30 maps and I've kept nothing except the pink/blues/tmaps. I know that UO has done little stealth adjustments in the past to dial back loot (I remember waaaaay long ago, like 10-15 years maybe, average Tmap loot was some of the best in game), so I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this too or maybe I'm doing something differently than I did 3 years ago when the overhaul was first done.

So my question to those people that are still plugging away at maps would be this:

Have you noticed any certain combo(s) that are better than others? Example: is an artisan supply chest better than an artisan trove? Is a rangers cache the best out there?

Also: Have you noticed a certain chest quality (rusted/metal/gold) adds to the overall quality of loot? In my experience, rusted chests basically kill the loot in every instance but maybe that's me.

Lastly: Has luck (or Fel chests) played a consistent part in what you are getting? I have a max luck suit that I use which seems to actually hurt the loot (I think overall loot is better when I'm wearing my SDI suit) but wondering if maybe there is a sweet spot.

 

[Anon McDougle]

I think luck is very important but definitely each of my characters seems to have sweet spots and it's probably just perception so i go with as much as possible over 3k on my thunter

 

[dvv]

The condition of the chest you pull up does signify the amount and/or quality of loot.

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

To echo what @dvv said, chest quality heavily affects loot quality.

Furthermore, I have been keeping track of chest quality for a little while, and it seems that Hoard & Trove maps don't spawn as Rusty. With only ~70 total Hoard/Trove maps, it's not definitive, but considering Cache seems to spawn about 25% rusty, I think it's reasonably accurate. I've attached my spreadsheet for those interested.

However, even in normal and golden chests, the drop rate for Legendary loot is still fairly low. Luck will improve this, but only the loot within a given chest. Chest quality is determined by Cartography.

I do T-Maps mostly for the pinks, blues, T-Maps and specials. If I happen to get a nice weapon or piece of armor, bonus. I also do Supply chests for resources; primarily Malas and Ter Mur (Peerless ingredients & Essences).

Happy Hunting.

EDIT: UO Guide has some good info on T-Maps: Treasure Map - UOGuide, the Ultima Online Encyclopedia

Also, there is a bullet-point under "General Loot Distribution" that states: "Luck has a significant impact on the quality of magic equipment. 0 luck and the distribution will be centered on Major Magic Item. 4000 Luck and the distribution moves up to be centered on Major Artifact. Each 1000 in Luck basically moves the distribution up 1 equipment category. The distribution is truncated before Legendary, so even with 4000 Luck you won't see as many Legendaries as you're expecting."

 

[Keven2002]

I've been using my 3500 luck suit (I've boosted w luck statue too to get 4700) and a good bit of my chest loot has been antique/cursed instead of brittle.

Another problem I'm having is trying to remember back when I did tons of chests after the change, when I was doing lots of supply maps, if the overall return on time was better with those or with the horde maps I'm doing now. I think obviously the pinks/blues are the big perk of horde (and trove) maps but with how long it takes to clear the spawn and wait to remove trap etc, part of me feels like all the other stuff you get from supply maps (like carto glasses - still looking for a +5 or talisman / pardons /etc) is just as good AND take a lot less time. I'm up to 40 horde maps done now and I haven't kept a single piece so it's not like the items are that much better.

Also - has anyone noticed any one profession (ie mage vs ranger) give better items / stats than another? I think I probably pointed this out several years ago but it doesn't really seem like the profession has an impact on the properties; only the items themselves (like gnarled staff for mages etc).

 

[Anon McDougle]

More luck seems to increase the number of cursed items as well

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

It's all a product of the higher stats. See Random Magic Item Generation System - UOGuide, the Ultima Online Encyclopedia

• "Since disadvantages grant the item significantly more power, powerful items tend to receive more disadvantages and they are very rarely free of disadvantages (clean)."

Negative properties are a directly tied to Item Property Intensity.

More Luck = more properties/higher intensity = higher likelihood of negative property

 

[Keven2002]

It's all a product of the higher stats. See Random Magic Item Generation System - UOGuide, the Ultima Online Encyclopedia

• "Since disadvantages grant the item significantly more power, powerful items tend to receive more disadvantages and they are very rarely free of disadvantages (clean)."

Negative properties are a directly tied to Item Property Intensity.

More Luck = more properties/higher intensity = higher likelihood of negative property

Except when it comes to loot from something like Scalis / Shadowguard. I get a fraction of the cursed/antique items from those when compared to the chest loot.

I'm up to 45 horde chests now and starting the remember why I stopped doing chests a few years ago lol. The pinks/blues are great but I've kept literally zero items outside of those. My feeling right now is that at least if I was doing a supply chest I could get pardons/talisman/glasses/etc.

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

Well Scalis and Shadowguard aren't exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

I suspect that bosses likely have a different/skewed calculation compared to "standard" mobs, much like traditional and event Artifacts don't usually adhere to the system.

 

[Keven2002]

Well Scalis and Shadowguard aren't exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

I suspect that bosses likely have a different/skewed calculation compared to "standard" mobs, much like traditional and event Artifacts don't usually adhere to the system.

Legendary artifact is a legendary artifact isn't it?

My thought is that if I'm getting a legendary item (regardless of how I get it) they should be able to be maxed out (doesn't have to be every time). I used to take part in a weekly net toss where after just 1 hour I'd have a few pieces of almost max intensity legendary armor. That is just my char too, I'm assuming others are also getting similar type stuff over the course of the toss. Comparing that to my recent t-map hunting (and my previous hunting if memory serves correct); I've gone 45 chests (maybe 6-7 hours of total playtime) with maybe 5 legendary items and none of them have even been noteworthy enough to keep.

Like I said, I'm not expecting the same exact piece of armor I'd get from Scalis in every single T-chest but at least have the ability to get one which simply isn't the case based on my experience. If we go with the logic of T-chests are just different (ie shouldn't get the same intensity as Scalis because they aren't as hard) and accept that we will not ever get the same legendary stuff then what's the point of doing a horde/trove chest? Just to get pinks/blues?

 

[observer]

I pulled up a hoard chest in fel trinsic just now. Right in the front door.
You are welcome to check it out yourself.
Pacific shard

 

[observer]

Hoard chest up
Trammel buccaneers portal

 

[Keven2002]

Sorry - I'm on the east coast and typically only play in the AM. Did you find anything worth keeping?

 

[observer]

I couldn’t fight off the guardians but if anyone is willing
To help me then maybe we can find out

 

[observer]

Pulled up a normal hoard chest trammel with 100 cartography & no luck
Mostly major items with some lesser artifacts
Sot & soa
Mysterious fragments etc

 

[observer]

Free maps in luna pacific
Dragons in buc den trammel now

 

[Keven2002]

Just wanted to circle back on this thread with my experience.

I'm up to 60 chests now (horde) and I've slowed down. Aside from the blues/pinks/trove maps, I have not kept anything which is why I've slowed down. I have been running 100 carto and 2790 luck on average (sometimes bump to 3990) and I think the one legendary piece I did end up getting was on like a gnarled staff or something (mods weren't memorable).

Another thing that I pointed out back when the chest revamp thing happened which I don't like is that the chest professions should impact properties on the professions specific items in the chest. If I'm digging up a warrior chest, the mods on the items (like jewelry) should be mostly SSI/DI/HCI/Dex etc instead of LRC/Int/etc. The skills on the jewelry should follow suit.

 

[marcbobb72]

Try digging your T-Map with Cart +5 glasses, when it rises go back to your straight luck set-up before opening the chest. I have had nothing but good fortune doing this.... I avaerage three to five legendaries per chest, think my luck suit is up to 2804 without the luck statue.
Cheers !!

 

[Anon McDougle]

Try digging your T-Map with Cart +5 glasses, when it rises go back to your straight luck set-up before opening the chest. I have had nothing but good fortune doing this.... I avaerage three to five legendaries per chest, think my luck suit is up to 2804 without the luck statue.
Cheers !!

If you're at 100 cart the +5 will not have any effect??

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

I was under the impression that the +5 when digging up a chest would improve the chances of a better quality chest (e.g. golden vs. normal). Is that not the case?

I also thought that Luck came into play when digging up the chest, not when opening it...much like chest quality. is the loot actually determined upon opening the chest?

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

I lost the link but many years ago Kyronix said that luck was applied as soon as you started digging the chest. He verified that if you had on your luck suit, started the dig, stopped digging before it popped, that the luck was already applied and you could change suits and start the dig again without worry because luck was already applied. It was maybe 2015ish in this forum about luck and treasure chests.

 

[Dimax]

I lost the link but many years ago Kyronix said that luck was applied as soon as you started digging the chest. He verified that if you had on your luck suit, started the dig, stopped digging before it popped, that the luck was already applied and you could change suits and start the dig again without worry because luck was already applied. It was maybe 2015ish in this forum about luck and treasure chests.

http://stratics.com/threads/question-about-luck-in-tr-hunting-after-86-pub.328473/

Oops page not found

 

[Chrille]

[Treasure Hunting] - Question about Luck in Tr Hunting after 86 pub

In putch description there were several phrases about Luck, concernignTreasure hunting: 1) Loot obtained from monsters, SoS Chests, Treasure Chests, Dredging Hooks, and as Quest Rewards will be influenced by the luck of the individual getting the loot. 2) Loot generated in Felucca has a 1000...

community.stratics.com

Just add community first and it works.

 

[marcbobb72]

Great stuff....It works for me ...Cheers !!

 

[Keven2002]

I was under the impression that the +5 when digging up a chest would improve the chances of a better quality chest (e.g. golden vs. normal). Is that not the case?

No, I think you are correct based on my understanding. There is some sort of calculation on map difficulty (ie stash/supply/cache/etc) and cartography (which can go over 100 --> to 105 max). With 100 carto, I always did up a gold chest for stash/supply and maybe 80-90% of the time for cache (haven't actually tracked this).

I also thought that Luck came into play when digging up the chest, not when opening it...much like chest quality. is the loot actually determined upon opening the chest?

This is my understanding as well. It also seems like based on what DL Lestat said that the luck check is done on the first dig so there might be something there where you can start digging in your luck head piece and after the first dig swap to carto glasses and that should give you the best of both worlds. The only thing that hasn't been confirmed would be if +Carto is also taken upon initial dig... at which point you have a choice of one or the other.

 

[Anon McDougle]

If 105 is better than there should be PS for cartography...

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

I imbued my +5 glasses with 100 Luck, so they are part of my luck suit.

Assuming they do help, I would be inclined to say that chest quality is determined on first dig, since you can see the chest quality long before it is fully dug up, especially when the chest is on a tile where it is exposed on one side.

 

[Anon McDougle]

Are the glasses still spawning?

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

Are the glasses still spawning?

As far as I know, yes.

 

[Keven2002]

Are the glasses still spawning?

Yes glasses spawn in supply chests (again which makes me question if hoard maps are really worth it). There is no need for a Carto PS because the addition works exactly like mining. The +skill from the glasses is added even though the cap is 100. I'm too poor (or maybe too stingy) to own +5 glasses but these are what the +2 glasses I have do.

 

[marcbobb72]

Yes,
The glasses still spawn, got a +5 pair on a Trove the other day.

 

[Keven2002]

Yes,
The glasses still spawn, got a +5 pair on a Trove the other day.

What profession chest was it?

 

[Anon McDougle]

What profession chest was it?

I thought only supply chest had them

 

[Dimax]

The glasses are found in the Supply chests
Legendary Mapmaker's Glasses

 

[Keven2002]

The glasses are found in the Supply chests
Legendary Mapmaker's Glasses

That makes sense. I had to double chest Uo-cah to verify but that is correct, they only come in supply. I think they should come in in Trove chests and have a higher chance at being a +5. The trove chests need something to make them worth doing (considering you can get pinks/blues from other level chests that are lower.

Do the coffin pieces spawn anymore? I know they used to be in level 7 chests. I don't see them in the UO Cah list anywhere though.

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

They do, I have gotten them in the cache maps (level 3). I think that is what they are called but I have only gotten them twice since the change. Once on Chessy and once on Siege.

The whole loot system does not make sense for treasure chests. I make almost as much gold doing the stash and supply maps as I do with cache and hoard isn't much better. I miss the old maps, digging through the treasure and having a reason for the higher level ones. No more dropping things in to pop more guardians.

 

[marcbobb72]

I believe that chest was a Supply Trove in Fel....

 

[Anon McDougle]

I believe that chest was a Supply Trove in Fel....

A chest can be either a supply or trove not both

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

According to A Coffin - UOGuide, the Ultima Online Encyclopedia , Coffin Pieces come Cache or higher chests in Malas.

It's been a while since I got one, but that sound right.

 

[marcbobb72]

I aolpogize for the gramatical error, left out the word or....
Thank you for the correction Anon.

 

[Keven2002]

The whole loot system does not make sense for treasure chests. I make almost as much gold doing the stash and supply maps as I do with cache and hoard isn't much better. I miss the old maps, digging through the treasure and having a reason for the higher level ones. No more dropping things in to pop more guardians.

This is the conclusion I've come to as well (and really the purpose of the thread). I've done probably 90-100 hoard chests now (honestly I've lost track because I threw some lower level maps in just to clear them out) since making this thread and I haven't kept anything (except pink/blues/trove maps). The hoard and trove maps are more of a pain because there is a longer timer on them to prevent spawning the non-lootable guardians (which I think is still very stupid they have no loot) and there really isn't any clear reward for digging them up compared to something like a cache (or even a supply chest if you don't care about pink/blues).

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

^^^^^ This!!

My treasure hunter was my most played character and now he sits around watching the grass grow

 

[petemage]

This is the conclusion I've come to as well (and really the purpose of the thread). I've done probably 90-100 hoard chests now (honestly I've lost track because I threw some lower level maps in just to clear them out) since making this thread and I haven't kept anything (except pink/blues/trove maps). The hoard and trove maps are more of a pain because there is a longer timer on them to prevent spawning the non-lootable guardians (which I think is still very stupid they have no loot) and there really isn't any clear reward for digging them up compared to something like a cache (or even a supply chest if you don't care about pink/blues).

Not that t-hunters with hundreds of hours of experience were screaming it off the roofs and had their posts deleted en masse. Disagreeing with a developer was labeled an instant offence had Petra sent you one more angry PM. What was left were new t-hunters cheering over some newly added decorative sword but toally not seeing how 90% of the loot was cut. A level 6 or 7 map back then was a true treasure packed to the rim. Now look at those pathetic 2020 pirate's chests

 

[Keven2002]

Yea I agree to a point.

I think the armor/weapon loot in the old chest was still "meh" 95% of the time so I think things did did need some adjustment but the adjustment they made seems incomplete. To your point, they added things like ancient weapons / octopus necklaces / etc that had potential to be an ingredient or something but they didn't do anything else for them... to the point now that when I've gotten them, they just go into the trash (and they don't even have trash point value).

The way they've implemented the treasure changes could be improved by simply scaling loot (because let's be honest they aren't going to undo what they did). Something like a cache chest would have 15-19 items with a 15% chance of items being legendary (moderate intensity) / hoard would have 20-24 items with a 45% chance of items being legendary (higher intensity) / trove would have 25-30 items with 60% chance of being legendary (max intensity). Or at least something like that. Also note the intensity of legendaries. I don't think we need roof level legendaries being given out like candy but currently I have seen literally zero high intensity legendary items given out in any chest (I've done several hundreds of chests cache through trove).

Another thing to do would be to allow 115 powerscrolls to spawn in Fel Trove only maps. Given that nothing in the game drops Trove maps and the number of different scrolls that could drop even within the same profession; I don't see it as a huge power creep impacting 120 scrolls.