[Cartography] Can I stone Cartography

[T_Jones]

I heard one can exclude Cartography from the template while doing treasure hunting. However, I found that I couldn't open the treasure map without putting it on.

So how will I be able to dig up chests without the Cartography skill, and is there a downside for digging without it?

 

[DreadLord Lestat]

Before the t-map changes, you could decode them and then stone off cart. Now, finding them is based off of cart and not mining so to be able to open the map and dig up the chest, you need cart. They kind of combined mining and cartography into one skill for maps so people could add remove trap to their template.

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

Yes, you need Cartography to decode anything higher than Stash maps.
Correction: you need a minimum of 27.1 Cartography to decode Stash maps.

Supposedly you can dig up any chest with 0 Cartography. So, theoretically, you could decode the map, stone Cartography, then dig up the chest. But you would have to dig on the exact tile and the chest would be most likely rusty with crummy loot.

 

[Draza]

So, find the chest, dig it up,recall bavk and stone off carto. Recall back and fight spawn.

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

So, find the chest, dig it up,recall bavk and stone off carto. Recall back and fight spawn.

...or just bring the stones with you. They're blessed, so you wouldn't lose them if you die.

 

[HRH Liz]

...or just bring the stones with you. They're blessed, so you wouldn't lose them if you die.

You have to be in a safe log out place to use stones or everybody would just carry all their stones with them.

 

[dallasar]

There really isn't a good way to remove cartography. But, if you really wanted more room in your template for fighting the guardians, the better option would be to stone off remove trap since cart is required both for a wider dig radius (pretty amazing unless you have exact coordinates) and for quality of chest. You could rather easily dig the chest, clear the spawn, recall out to grab remove trap, go back to the chest and finish up - but from my perspective it's a bit of a waste of time. It's easy enough to solo Hoard and Trove maps with an RC, (with the exception of Eodon, in my experience) so I wouldn't bother. If you're using a different build and having trouble clearing the guardians quickly, it may be worth doing!

 

[Basara]

You only need the following skills:
1.Cartography (in the current set-up, the one skill to keep on 100% of the time)
2. Locksmithing for Hoard and Trove maps (you can use GM Magery to unlock Stash, Supply and Cache)
3. Remove Trap only SPEEDS UP the map. You can do ANY map at 0 Remove Trap skill (you still will need to use the skill button at 0 skill on the chest) - it's just that you'll get lots of singular, unlootable, blue spawn to kill before you get to actually access the chest contents. Theoretically, you could pick a lock, recall to swap out LP and RT, then come back, but by that time most of that special spawn timer would have ran out, anyway. You might as well stay and fight the stuff.

So, any character with 100 or higher Magery can get away with running with ONLY Cartography (plus magery and 500+ points in other skills), if you only do Stash, Supply and Cache.
For the non-mages, it's Cart, LP, and 520+ points in other skills, and able to do all 5 levels.
The downside of not having RT, as noted, as you will have 1-5 minutes of fighting junk monsters you can't loot or tame (you can now tame any of the tameable monsters from initial chest spawn, or later spawns during looting - but not their blue-hued guardian versions)

 

[Nero]

Instead of casting a RC you can also use a summon reaper with spellweaving mastery and arcane focus 5 or 6. So you only need 1 skill (spellweaving) instead of 2 skills (focus + mysticism) for the summon. This way you can put all t-hunting skills on your template.

 

[T_Jones]

Thanks, guys. I would rather remove RT then. It's all about adding Spellweaving + Mysticism to my template.

 

[T_Jones]

Instead of casting a RC you can also use a summon reaper with spellweaving mastery and arcane focus 5 or 6. So you only need 1 skill (spellweaving) instead of 2 skills (focus + mysticism) for the summon. This way you can put all t-hunting skills on your template.

Thanks. Will try that out.

 

[WiggyJiggyJed]

You have to be in a safe log out place to use stones or everybody would just carry all their stones with them.

How I didn't know that after 20 years playing this game I'll never know. ‍

 

[T_Jones]

I came up with the following, with a Crystalline Ring,



To do T-Hunting I swap LP out for RT, and RT for LP alternatively.
To do Fishing I swap Spellweaving out for Fishing.

Summon Reaper of Spellweaving doesn't seem to be able to take down the changelings and frost dragons effectively. RC hits harder. I had a fight with 2 Changelings, it's endless with Summon Reaper. I managed to take them down with RC.

 

[Nero]

I kill changelings easily with a summon reaper. I carry a fey slayer book and wear a shadow dragon costume with the totem ftom the store. When they copy me I switch to a SDI dragon slayer book for triple damage. Frost dragons dispel a lot but I kill them with a SDI dragon slayer spellbook too while the reaper tanks.

I agree that the RC is a somewhat better tank than the reaper but you sacrifice a lot of skill points for focus. If you are going the mysticism route anyway, I suggest dropping or stoning spellweaving completely and swap it for eval int with magery mastery vol 3 and slayer books. This way death ray becomes a sort of mini WOD, so you do not need spellweaving at all if you use the RC as tank.