@swgsomekid Well, in case of Wanderer's refuge we have the following - D3 in Morse Code, North East direction on the compass is highlighted with an outline, A picture of a broken wall with a broken barrel next to it and a picture of two palms or twin palms or intersecting palms...
so yeah. Far as I can tell, that's all the clues this map provides.
The Mystery Begins!
@swgsomekid reading that watermark as He's MIA seems like a stretch - some letters end up upside down, some mirrored - doesn't look intended
I went to Wanderers and went to D3.
There are no ruins with a broken barrel. None of the ruins on the top of the island have a broken barrel.A good look at the completed maps and info from Ancient Isles University on Twitter...
Ashen Reaches
Full Tweet with attributions:
Code/Messages: VIII, near the wind rose
AYSXPW = Shadow (ENCODED by using DeMarco's Cipher Disk)
Combination: P=O
Symbols: Ashen Palm trees
Direction: North by North-West
Old Faithful Isle
Full Tweet with attributions:
Symbol: Skeleton Limbs
Direction: South-East
Kraken's Fall
Full Tweet with attributions:
Message: Reflect
Symbol: Flame
Direction: East by South-East
Wanderer's Refuge
Full Tweet with attributions:
Code: D3 (in Morse Code)
Symbols: Two Palm Trees; Ruins with a barrel
Direction: North-East
Smuggler's Bay
Full Tweet with attributions:
Codes: AIWSEY = RUTINY (?)
3MZ7 = WALK
5S89 = DIVE
O9EW9EN9 = SENTENCE
2=A
Combination: Z=L
Symbols: Shark
Direction: North by North-WestAIU followed up with:
Rutiny is probably a mistake by them. The main theory is that it's suppose to say Mutiny.
If you are new and wondering how the codes are decoded, they are using the cipher discs we got previously in the mystery. AIU's Chenzo made a very handy online version which can be found here.
I am now at Kraken's Fall, unable to find anything at Wanderer's the other night, and I think I found what could be used for teh spyglass. Just not sure where to stand to align them up the right way. I shall investigate post haste!
I did find this site here, standing from the torch that's on Kraken's Fall and looked out East by South East as the map showed, and I came across this site. Still couldn't find anything, but maybe it could lead to something?
Okay I got a theory.
Unfortunately, I've been on Ashen Reaches for moments now and I didn't find anything for now..But I still think it's a good one.
So, we got to go on each of thoses islands,
WALK in the map's direction beginning from D3,
DIVE when you arrive on the shores,
REFLECT the sunshine at 8:00 (a.m. or p.m. I don't know that since I cannot prove anything) by using the Spyglass in its opposite way (in the depths), centered on your SHADOW.
I don't think there is necessarily something to put into the eye or anything.. but I could be wrong here.I hope that will help
So with the update, there are things we can do with the maps.
Looks like we're stuck on getting the symbol on Ashen Reaches?No longer stuck! :D Kudos to Lorenz Sinclair on Discord for figuring it out.
It's a lot of sailing to set it up but worth it for that ending, one of the best cutscenes ever in the game...
The Wiki link that Jeditoph posted above is a good starting place for finding where to stand on each island to activate the rock murals... only one currently missing on there is Ashen Reaches.
This is the legendary Lorenz Sinclair's screenshot showing that location.
You need to stand in those places shown and play Ballad of the Mer until a mural appears on the rock.
I'm still not convinced Lesedi's spyglass helped that much, a lot of the screenshots I've seen explaining how that was supposed to work don't make sense to me at all. In any case, the general locations were given on the maps that were assembled (the compass locations top right). When you have enough players trying out spots, they were going to be found pretty fast.
The rest of the steps are detailed on the Wiki, I'd rather not spoil them here for players who rather finish it spoiler-free.
I will say though, having one of the locations be all the way out at Ashen Reaches is a bit annoying. It all can be done solo but I recommend getting in an Alliance if you can, because it can be a real pain if you merge (speaking from experience on this!)
Also, Ancient Isles University have a report for those who need it. And I'm sure there are plenty of others doing guides.
All in all, I think this Mystery was a good first attempt. There's a lot of room for improvement though.
I know a lot of folks complained about the time gates but I think that's kind of inevitable to prevent some players getting ahead and keep us working on it as a community. But I think they could improve it by having it more clear when we are waiting on such gates.
The one thing I want to learn is what clue did they give us so that we had to play Ballad of the Mer at the spot where the X was? I was kinda angry that I was right on two of the islands and where the X was, and I was digging all over to find nothing. I didn't even think playing a song was supposed to be what I had to do!
Goes to flip her captains table over once more, then her chair!
That being said, I do have to say the mystery was a bit strange to me, as far as it is when finding these clues. Like yeah it makes sense that they didn't want other players to get ahead of others in finding these clues, but at the same time having to wait for the next steps were a bit annoying as well.
ONE THING I do want Rare to avoid doing for future mysteries is needing to use social media interactions to get to the next clue, IE liking a tweet or retweeting. That turned A LOT of people away from the mystery and went on to do other things.
With all that said I'll look forward to what sort of mystery Rare comes up with next. Maybe the next mystery will involve why all the rum's gone! (SPOILER It's all Grog Soaked Ed's fault!)
@capt-brookes said in The Mystery Begins!:
With all that said I'll look forward to what sort of mystery Rare comes up with next. Maybe the next mystery will involve why all the rum's gone! (SPOILER It's all Grog Soaked Ed's fault!)
I wouldn't be surprised if the next mystery is "Where did DeMarco's soul go?". It seems like Lesedi is going to follow it, and since she has nothing else to do with Arena being gone I guess she is the new Mystery NPC for the time being?
I knew I was right in the use of lesedi's spyglass, just had to be more specific with trying out all ways to unlock spots.
For those wanting a video guide there is this one I am using to run through the locations at the moment https://youtu.be/rDJ-KNMmU3U
Ancient Isles University on Twitter / X
1040 out of 1048
