Searching

[Qoith]

Some may say at lvl 10 I aint a newbie anymore but I still find LOS so different (in all good ways) from other Mordor muds. One of my biggest challenges at the moment comes when I am exploring. My searching skills are hopeless. I can know there is a hidden exit and still after 10 searches I still dont "find" the exit.

I have tried using my lvl 10 mage (piety of 10) and lvl 5 ranger (piety of 7). Is piety the main factor in successful searching and what value should I have to feel confident I have found most hidden things. My usual practice is to search 3 times in every room and about 10 times in rooms where the descriptions indicate there might be something to find. What strategies do others use?

Because the Flint engine is different from the Mordor one, I have pondering the point that maybe some things are "coded" to be found easier by certain classes - have others found this to be the case?

Any pointers to make my exploring more fruitful will be appreciated.

[Kampfer]

Well sometimes you have to guess an exit from the room description because you will never find it by searching.

Searching 3 times each room is a good one but if you know you are close to something you can try to search 10min each room.

Finding secret bring usually rewards from the loot or the treasure so searching for 2 days (10hours a day) is long but the satisfaction of finding something worth it.

I've pass over 12hours to find the proper path for the Steamblast Spell.. wasn't easy.

I've pass over 1-2 days to get the code to access an underground place.

But I'm happy i've found some things by myself.

So don't give up and search again and again

[Valiant]

As far as I know, it should be dexterity which affects searching ability. And it's also class related: rangers and druids are the best searchers.

And like Kampfer said, not all exits are revealed by searching; often you'll have to 'guess' the exit by reading the text.

[Ghandi]

As far as I know, it should be dexterity which affects searching ability. And it's also class related: rangers and druids are the best searchers.

You forget one very good searcher: Me!!!

Yep, not all can be found by simply searching. Some indeed by random guessing (found a lot with that) and some can be found by invoking items at the right spot. Some of those last ones are obvious, others surely not.

And of course...a good orb will help as well

[Qoith]

OK - the searching is still continuing...

I have found several rooms where the description just beg further investigation - searching reveals nothing and the room descriptions seem to give no clues - only intrigue - so I am thinking - "invoke" maybe (or a DM writing a very intersting description just to keep everyone pondering).

So about "invoke" - will the room description hint at the item that needs to be invoked - will that item be dropped (or found) nearby or far away? Will a monster nearby talk about it maybe?

[Ghandi]

Invoke is a rather mysterious thing. At same places it is told by npc's what to invoke and where, at other places you would not even think of idea that something could be invoked. Same thing with certain items. From most items we know what they do and what their use is. But there's a small amount of items that are a mystery of their use. Some do nothing and could be sold, but for some you'll need to do a lot of effort that it could not be just a sell-item. Could be an invoke-, trade- or a hold item (with some npc's you can trade by holding items instead of the trade command). Only way to figure that out is trial and error. With invoke that is really a pain in the ass as sometimes you dont know all where to start and you'll just invoke it at every place you are. Ghandi has trunks with stuff with unknown purposes, waiting to be uncovered.

Hope this erridicates some fog.

[Kampfer]

Ghandi has trunks with stuff with unknown purposes, waiting to be uncovered.

I understand the frustration sometimes.. I got the same thing

[kestrel]

I'll just add this question here since it is related to searching.

Are there certain things that can only be found after you reach a certain level? I have an idea of where something is at from hearing others talk, but I cannot find anything. I am pretty sure it should be a dangerous area, so that is why I was thinking it might be level restricted. I have tried to go areas before and it would say "only level 10 or higher is allowed in here". That is what got me wondering about areas that can only be found after achieving a certain level.

[Ruan]

No, but it's rather a nice idea.