Talk: Grandmaster cartography guide/Archive 1

Nice! Foo 03:09, 29 June 2006 (CDT)

Lutgardis Conversatory bug up

I thought I should share this anyway, I found a better video on YouTube than the currently linked though I'm trying to get one recorded myself to put up soon.--Vonturn Runesworth 11:30, 11 May 2007 (CDT)

Could someone that has successfully done this describe the proccess in more detail? Ive tried just walking through "the left side of the portal animation" and I cant find a space to walk through. --ImperialPriest 04:34, 10 June 2007 (CDT)

You go as near as possible to the portal on the left side. then point your character directly between the 2 flags of the resurrection shrine on left side. then go a direct line in that direction. try it a few times. even when you know hod to do it you dont get it done all the time. you must go a straight line otherwise you likely get zoned because you will get stuck in a corner on the side after 2 steps. Telorian Shoran 06:20, 10 June 2007 (CDT)

What counts as 'mapped'

I don't see statements as to what constitutes an area being 'mapped'. How relevant is 'blip', where a chunck of ground is added to your map all at once? I know you don't have to step on each square foot of area, perhaps ground is mapped when its ever been in your aggro circle? Are blips pre defined tiles and the player has to step somewhere on the blip to get credit for it? Step on an adjacent blip? - Oye 10:23, 7 January 2007 (CST)

I have no idea... to me it looks like the GW map is divided by invisible barriers, and crossing one reveals a part. That's why you should scrape walls, so you uncover the part that's behind it by stepping on a border line. It varies from campaign to campaign and from location to location. — Poki#3 , 13:29, 7 January 2007 (CST)

I have noted that the extent of what gets mapped is roughly equal to the range of the compass, not just the aggro circle. The range of what counts in mapping using the U-map is about 5 times the radius (2.5 times the diameter) of the green circle which marks your location.

Xaquang Skyway / The Undercity.

They're in the same part of the map, only one is above the other. Do they count the Exploration % separately? --Poki#3 19:55, 1 July 2006 (CDT)

From what i recall, they are only counted once --Torins 12:33, 5 July 2006 (CDT)

I am sure that there is a part of skyway (NE river near south vizunah sealed exit) that you can only map via the undercity. I will have to check this tonight on a unmapped char. 10:18, 2 August 2006 (CDT)

Having mapped the entire Skyway Section (Wall Hugging), and then mapping all north and north east section of The Undercity, this did indeed increase my % by at least 0.2%. This is from the south Vizunah gate where Guardsman Pei is located to the 4 clan fight just to the west.

Therefore the statement in Overview that "The undercity" does not contribute to mapping is false. 12:17, 4 August 2006 (CDT)

Isn't it counted as a new area without a map since the september 15 update? "Improved the Mission Map (the window accessed by using the "U" key) so that it works properly in Dragon's Throat, Scarred Earth, Sorrow's Furnace, The Courtyard, The Deep, The Dragon's Lair, The Hall of Heroes, The Undercity, The Underworld, and Urgoz's Warren, where previously it showed only black."

They have their own map, which resets to blank when you leave the area. They don't count for the title. -- (talk) 14:20, 7 October 2006 (CDT)

The problem is that after the update that turned the Undercity map-less, it apparently isn't possible anymore to uncover the entire area that was possible when the undercity still counted towards the total. See the following two images:

This is an image of the southern part of Xaquang Skyway. Note the difference I outlined. The left image is what I have been able to map by scraping, the right image is what is shown on several different maps of Cantha that were linked in the Maps section of the wiki. I noticed however that that area is quite accessible from the Undercity. I'd like to know if I just missed something, or if it really isn't possible anymore to uncover that bit of map anymore. Quizer 08:20, 8 February 2007 (CST)

I know that some parts are not mappable any more compared to what the maps show. However, you should try it and if you don't get that part uncovered after awhile, move on to another area. The title is fairly lenient on how much you have to uncover. I was able to get Cantha 100% without even touching the Jade Quarry and doing a sloppy job at Fort Aspenwood. --Ryard 23:35, 8 February 2007 (CST)

i tried mapping that portion picture.. i entered the undercity from entrance outside nauphui. It did not uncover or add any percentage to my title. While in the undercity the green position cursor on the main map (M) remained positioned under the words "xaquang skyway". i only traversed the area of undercity thats pictured/clouded on (M). so, i concer undercity is NOT mappable. Sephine 21:45, 21 March 2007 (CDT)

I managed to get that piece of map info from scraping inside a tiny nook with a box in it in front of the bridge on the Eastern side of that burned out place. Wow, if that's not a run-on sentence, I don't know what is. Skydragn 03:37, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

The Math..

Here is how the math was computed for Cantha:

For Tyria, I just approximated it based on the ratio of size. --Karlos 19:15, 5 July 2006 (CDT)

IIRC it took 4 'bits' of uncovering to get 0.1% in Tyria and it took 3 'bits' in Cantha. And it didn't seem to matter how big these 'bits' were. But I only started counting that once I reached about 99% and might have missed something, so could someone please verify that? --SET 14:50, 3 August 2006 (CDT)

This 'bit' thing is a bit shady. Sometimes you don't get a 'bit', but the edge of the area sharpens a bit or something. I don't think it's that simple to determine what is needed to get 0.1%. -- (talk)

Difference Maps to Find Unexplored Areas

1) Obtain a 100% map.

2) Take a screenshot of your zoomed-out map in Guild Wars. Be sure to press Shift+PrtScrn to remove all icons. One thing you'll have to assure is that your map is the same resolution as the 100% map you're comparing to. If it's different, an easy way is to open up your game options and change the resolution to the same size as the 100% map and take your screen shot.

2) Open up Photoshop and load in both the 100% map and your current map (found in your Guild Wars\Screens folder).

3) Once both maps are loaded into Photoshop, press CTRL+A to select your entire image and CTRL+C to copy, move over to the window with the 100% map and press CTRL+V to paste. In the Layers box down at the bottom right, you should see two layers - the 100% map at the bottom and your map above that.

4) Now we'll compare the differences. In that same Layers box, you'll see a dropdown menu saying "Normal." Click on it, and select "Difference." Before doing this, make sure you have your layer with your map selected.

5) You should now have a difference map. Dark areas denotes places which are the same in both maps (places you've defogged), and bright areas shows the places which are different (places left to defog).

7) If you want to check on any area manually, just go to the dropdown menu again (in the Layers box) and select "Normal." In the same Layers box, you'll see an eye to the left of your layers. Clicking it will turn your layer invisible, and clicking it again will make your layer reappear. Just zoom in on the area you want to inspect, and click the eye over and over again in quick succession. This will toggle your map on and off and will allow you to see exactly where the difference is.

8) If you're still having problems making out the differences between the two maps, save and make a copy of the inversion. Now take the copy, open it in Photoshop, and invert the colors. Now instead of looking for bright spots, you'll be looking for all the dark spots. --— xis10al 15:32, 4 August 2006 (CDT)

Note: This won't work in Elona, as clouds (shades with varying contrast) pass over the map, making any map with equal contrast over all areas. It might work if you have an equal-contrast world map and you use the minimap, but I don't know if the contrasts stay the same between the minimap and world map.--Mafaraxas 03:36, 6 January 2007 (CST)

Clouds pass over EVERY continent. The minimap is cloudless, and most maps are therefore made from that, and mot the overall map. Oh, and contrast is really not a problem. We are looking for unexplored blips on the map, not brightness differences, and if that is too great, you can always change it in the options, or in most picture viewing software. — Poki#3 , 04:09, 6 January 2007 (CST)

I tried this with the Canthan Map but the only things that showed up were random parts of the map that are unexplorable (mountains in the south etc.) and when I tried the inversion thing some random spots turned but thats about it. You need to get a map where the clouds match yours. — Matrim

Read the comment before yours, Matrim. It's the U map most people use for comparisons, not the continent (M) map, as the latter features the clouds. Loading up an image of an area you took from maximising the U map and a 100% image of an area, and quickly Ctrl-Tabbing between the two is how I compare, and although this is fiddlier than the above method it's what I'd recommend. RossMM 04:37, 16 January 2007 (CST)

So do this work on Zoomed in maps off all 3 continents(the difference trick) -- 15:26, 21 February 2007 (CST)

I Do not think Tyria's Arenas (Ascalon and Shiverpeak) Count Anymore

I tested this theory using two 20 level characters, who were allowed into the staging area for both arenas, the Tyria cartographer counter never changed. However, I am pretty sure at one time it (staging areas) did count. Can anyone confirm this. If the arenas (or the staging areas for them) no longer counted towards the title then the article should be updated to reflect this.--DaveBaggins 01:20, Aug 17 2006 (CST)

Yes they do. Otherwise my Jessica would have lost her 100% some time ago, because she had barely gotten the 100% with the arenas. Just recently I atually explored the rest of the areas needed for 100% without the arenas. -- (talk) 05:36, 17 August 2006 (CDT)

I just finished a week of 'scrapping' through every mission and explorable area...doing the necro tricks...and, I'm still at only 97.6%...I have compared a 100% map to my efforts and no 'unexplored' areas jump out...except the 100% map had done old arenas and I have not...so...

you should do a photoshop/paintshop layer comparison, it works really well, I found a load of edges I thought I had done but not got every last cranny. --Lemming64 13:30, 24 October 2006 (CDT)

I'm also stuck at 97.6%. It seems to be a very common one to be stuck at and I also didn't make it to the arenas and did everything else. Unfortunately, my photoshop thing is a trial and won't allow me to do very much. Damn i don't want to do all the scraping for every explorable. Maybe I can do it on someone elses computer who has a working photoshop and Guild Wars installed.--Cursed Condemner 10:16, 8 March 2007 (CST)

For the record, i'm stuck at 97.9 % and can't get anything more. 2.1% is like an entire area unexplored. Would be nice if someone uploaded a newer map of tyria. The old one has the "old" colours and such. --Arthas 21:39, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

On GuildWarsGuru, on the Tyrian Explorers league board(or something similiar), there are two threads on exploring. The more recent one has a map of the post-July-17 update of Tyria. The alt-tabbing helped me get my last 1.2%. TwilightRhapsody 09:05, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

The Nooks and the Crannies

I cannot find the route in Talus Chute mentioned. I've scraped up and down the talus east side and no path goes up the mountains. It's impossible to makes sense of the map given - it's got a lot of zig-zagging, and I think this 'nook' needs removing, unless someone can verify a test. Alan Firehazard 17:44, 26 April 2007 (CDT)

It's there. I had a hard time finding it but if you go out of Ice Caves and go into the river. There is a little nook that you can walk into from the river. Go into that then wiggle around the edge until you can climb into the mountains--Kamn 12:29, 19 May 2007 (CDT)

I don't think the trick for getting a Tyrian character into Vizunah (local) works anymore. I tried it the other day and the Canthan part of the group ported in, leaving me behind. --129.128.232.224 16:00, 31 August 2006 (CDT)

Never mind, the character needs to accompany the Canthan party for the entire quest, not just the last part.--129.128.232.224 22:05, 3 September 2006 (CDT)

I have added some tips that really do not fit the catagory's "...specific areas commonly missed by cartographers." theme, but I feel is useful (overall). For this reason, I suggest rewording the catagory's theme to something along the lines of "specific notes or tips" or simply create a new catgory for specific tips. --DaveBaggins 06:10, Aug 17 2006 (CST)

Create a new category. Something lie' General helpfull hints' or something. You decide. -- (talk) 06:14, 17 August 2006 (CDT)

I find that section and the nooks section identical. In fact, most of the points are actually about how to make exploration easier/spawns less dangerous. Many people actually use a running build rather than fight anyways. I'm the noob who fights and kills everything. I find the notes on Kessex Peak, Nahpui and the Ascalon Settlement to be irrelevant. They are notes on how to make an area less hostile, not on how to explore. --Karlos 14:01, 24 August 2006 (CDT)

I've been fighting some areas too. Just for the fun. I haven't personally read through this article, but I'll do it sometime soon and remove anything irreleavant. -- (talk) 14:19, 24 August 2006 (CDT)

Frost Gate Mission ... option 1, letting the Ice Golem kill one of Rurik's soldiers doesn't work, as the Golem is incapable of killing the soldier reliably.--Amy Awien 14:14, 17 March 2007 (CDT)

The golem is capable of killing the soldier, yo just need to lure the golem so that he is standing just on the edge of the bridge. --Arthas 23:00, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

---

I just wanted to note that I created a character in Tyria with the intent of seeing just what you have to explore to gain the grandmaster cartographer title. I reached 100% of the map explored about midway through the Hell's Precipice mission while there were still areas of the map that were unexplored. There may also be a sort of cap on what percentage you can reach at certain places; During the ring of Fire mission, my counter got to 97.5% and did not move, that despite the fact that I uncovered the vast majority of the island after it had reached 97.5. Similarly, the counter reached 95% sometime during the Thunderhead keep mission and did not go up when I explored the area outside of the fort (I explored every connecting zone along the way).

You do not need to do any of the necrotic traversal tips to reach the grandmaster title. I reached the title by only exploring the playable areas of the game as they were intended to be played. The only deviation from that was that I sprinted around the edges of the zone on the outside of the temple in the Dunes of Despair mission -but I did so after having cleared the mobs from the inside of the temple-. That might not have even been necessary, since I reached the title with a large portion of the final mission left to go.

I just want to let players know that you do not have to do any of those weird tricks to achieve the title. Further, you do not even have to enter any of the arenas along the way (which I found out by accident since I was too high a level to enter them once I thought about it). As long as you explore each zone thoroughly, including the mission areas, you can easily get the title playing through with an all henchmen team.

65.101.19.171 17:43, 20 August 2006 (CDT)

It might be that they really made it easier to get the title, because this wasn't the case earlier. Well, it's not bothering me because I wanted a real 100% map, not just a 100% title. -- (talk) 20:11, 20 August 2006 (CDT)

By comparing two 100% maps to my own using difference maps I found that there were areas left after obtaining my 100%. This is due in part to that fact that when they removed the old arenas in Prophecies, they added in a "fudge factor" for those that never defogged the arenas. If I recall correctly, the arenas accounted for 4% of exploration. It is possible to have a 100% map and still have areas left to defog.--— xis10al 11:07, 21 August 2006 (CDT)

Does the age of your character play a role on the hunt? .171 created a new character for the title and got it so easily, while I - with a character I created during the 24h early access before the official launch of Prophecies - still have to lick every single wall to get the last 1% I'm missing. I have all the old arenas uncovered, used all the tricks and glitches and compared my map with lots of 100% maps area for area and still don't have my title, while others get the title "just to see" or with half of "The Falls" missing. Could it be that characters created after a specific date (Factions release?) have an advantage over older chars? Where is my map buffer that could get me to 101%? --zeeZ 21:47, 15 September 2006 (CDT)

having a character from the early access period too. got 100% its hard but there is still some error margin. but i didnt have to use any necro tricks. Telorian Shoran

"Alternatively, go as part Rt and bring the spirit Restoration. Move away from the hero at the timer, and before he dies cast the spirit. This will allow you to explore the area after it rezzes you without protecting him." If this is really possible (I will test it today or tomorrow) then the unnamed contributor has mentioned a great way to do this with a henchmen team and affording you all the time in the world RossMM 18:29, 3 September 2006 (CDT)

This is not true. I just tried it. Your party wipes when he dies, then when Resotration dies, nothing happens. --Karlos 19:00, 3 September 2006 (CDT)

I've tested it as well and the same happened to me. It's likely 'deaths' caused by mission failure don't count as normal deaths (think Vizunah final cutscene) and so Restoration does not work. And even if it did work this would be an exploit I'm sure the devs would fix ASAP RossMM 12:08, 4 September 2006 (CDT)

The Aurios Mines

This place relealed over 1% for me (and i hit my 95%!). I used a all henchie team, ran the challenge and just legged it around the edge, ignoring all the mobs. As long as your careful its an easy run, but one which should seriously be done by anyone wishing to gain this title. --Woonack 08:38, 21 August 2006 (CDT)

All the challenge missions (except Dragon's Throat) have that in common. I think Aurios has more explorable than other areas, but scrape all challenge missions if you want the title. --Thervold 10:54, 31 August 2006 (CDT)

Exclusive Areas in Outposts

Does anyone know if you MUST visit the exclusive areas in teh outposts? The reason i ask is i've now hit 97.4% and to have to get a guild to invite you, to each and every outpost so you can enter these Areas. In other words, has anyone managed 100% without having to use teleport tricks, and without having to change guild lots to access exclusive areas? --Woonack 16:46, 25 August 2006 (CDT)

Being a guest of the guild whom has ownership of the Outpost WILL NOT allow you access to the exclusive area, Being in a group with a member of the guild with ownership will NOT allow you access to teh exclusive area. Being in the Guild or an Allience with the who own the outpost is teh ONLY way of gaining access to the Exclusive areas

--Woonack 08:12, 26 August 2006 (CDT)

In a similar vein is it possible to achieve 100% without exploring areas such as the Shing Jea Arena combat area (ie. if you're >lvl10 or Tyrian)? I ask because I've found myself within the last 2% of the full title but other than a small area there and the restricted locations in outposts I am stumped for new places to visit. RossMM 20:02, 30 August 2006 (CDT)

I got 100% without going into the arena. --Karlos 18:59, 3 September 2006 (CDT)

Ah, back to scraping for me I guess :¬/ RossMM 12:10, 4 September 2006 (CDT)

Shing Jea Tutorial Grounds

Why was this "nook and cranny" deleted? The dragon fest was the only for Tyrian chars to map that area and the only way for Canthan chars who skipped the tutorial to go back. and map anyware but the teaching circle.

It was likely deleted as it is no longer possible to use the Dragon Festival games to explore that area, and so is not a useful tip. Personally I don't mind it being included as a footnote, but it's no longer helpful RossMM 15:40, 2 September 2006 (CDT)

Since the "Boardwalk" area was opened this past weekend and perhaps it will be opened again, this info should be permanently left in. Frostty1 03:00, 26 October 2006 (CDT)

Missing 1.1% of cantha and i know i have still got Monastery Overlook and Jade Quarry left to explore. Hate that its so hard to get into these 2 areas. --Arthas 14:43, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

External Links

Would it be possible to add this link to a new section for external links? I found this very useful for finding small area's within Cantha. --SK 06:40, 12 September 2006 (CDT)

Seconded, I found this guide invaluable RossMM 14:22, 12 September 2006 (CDT)

Undercity

Exploring the undercity no longer seems to unfog the main ('M', as opposed to 'U') map. See Talk:The_Undercity. -- 127.0.0.1

Mapping with capping groups...

...is a pretty bad idea. Not only is mapping with pugs in general harder than with henchmen because they simply will not want to go into every nook and cranny on the map. But capping groups specifically are notorious for people who leave after they get their cap (whether maliciously or because all they had time for was their cap). Either way, your group will be left more vulnerable and less likely to want to take on unnecessary fights in fringe areas. That note does not constitute good advice. --Karlos 22:00, 16 October 2006 (CDT)

Glitch in Ederon Terrace (/A required!)

In short: This glitch uses recall on henchies when they are past the 'gate' to go into a town without zoning. Furthermore, using this in eredron allows to enter deep into a glitched area, for a total of 0,4-0,6%. The exact tutorial how to do it is here. P.S. This glitch is doable even without hench orders. You just need a bit of luck and stand as close to the entrance as possible =) (tip, take only ranged henchies).
Anyway....my point....should we add this glitch to the guide ? -- Torins (talk) 12:42, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

Sure, place it with the note about Eredon Terrace to begin with. --Karlos 12:49, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

Wait, I can't get this to work on any henchman in there. Are you sure it still works? --Karlos 13:04, 18 October 2006 (CDT) nvm, got it to work. Nice. :) --Karlos 13:09, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

I added it. This was very cool. thank you. --Karlos 13:26, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

Don't thank me, thank the one who invented it ;) -- Torins (talk) 13:44, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

He (or she) didn't share it with us... you did. :) --Karlos 13:47, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

Nice. Took a couple tries to get it to work, but it added 0.5%.  :) Anyone know of any other outposts that this will work on? Even if it just gets you into the 'gated' area that would be cool. --Rainith 22:26, 18 October 2006 (CDT)

I have tried to get it to work on a couple of other outposts with no success. To begin with, the henchmen do not always stand way ahead of you as they do in Maishang Hills. --Karlos 14:22, 24 October 2006 (CDT)

Supposedly, it works at one of the entrances to Saint Anjeka's Shrine, too (worth another 0.1-0.2% exploration). However, I didn't get it to work there. --84-175 (talk) 14:38, 24 October 2006 (CDT)

St.Anjeka's exclusive area is a tiny little balcony, not even worth 0.1%. --Karlos 14:59, 24 October 2006 (CDT)

Will be much easier to do if it works with Heroes :) Azziliz 04:11, 25 October 2006 (CDT)

Yeah. Just a few more days :P Heros will be even for people that don't have Nightfall so anyone can try it ^^ Thanks for the tip man. Thanks to this I got 0.4%, and 0.1% at a missed part of Jade Quarry, and not I'm a Grandmaster :o. Thanks again ^^ — Poki#3 20:22, 25 October 2006 (CDT)

Just tried this, henchmen touched the zone portal and warped a few feet away. No chance to use Return to get past the portal whatsoever. --XT-8147 10:03, 27 October 2006 (CDT) (sig screwed up... wtf)

Fixed? Damn, I was just going to try it out. -- (talk) 10:16, 27 October 2006 (CDT)

It still works with the scared merchant, you just have to drag a group of monsters to the resurrect shrine and he will run in, he gets stuck for about 10 seconds first but then does run in and you can recall right to him. --Lemming64 16:22, 27 November 2006 (CST)

What, they fixed it? Shame :(

The Scared Merchant with Death's Charge at Eredon Terrace worked ok just now after attacking the priest; no need to attack and drag monsters. However, I can't do the Henchie/Recall exploit (described on guildwarsguru.com) anywhere at all. The Henchie runs towards the flag, but almost as soon as he crosses the portal, the flag poofs and the Henchie relocates back to your position. It happens so quick, you usually can't cancel Recall before he relocates. When you do and you cross the portal, you actually zone back into the town as if you'd run at the portal. It seems like they nerfed this?58.104.227.84 00:11, 5 July 2007 (CDT)

Don't do the henchie one. That tip is from before henchmen started teleporting back when they crossed the portal. — Poki#3 , 13:20, 5 July 2007 (CDT)

Me and a friend of mine had some fun doing this in the Crystal desert, we were in Skyward Reach, just outside of Augury Rock, we let them walk into Augury Rock, and recalled ourself in there, then we would walk to the other portal leading to Prophet's Path and for some reason, we didn't zone just outside of Augury Rock, but right infront of The Amnoon Oasis, still can't quite figure that out ^_^ --mer 14:26, 28 November 2006 (CST)

I had some fun with this also. It worked with the scared merchant. I recalled him he ran in and I got a good .5%. I loved the edge of the world thing that you get to see. Very cool.Obsidian Flame 21:08, 15 February 2007 (CST)

removed my previous comment. scared merchant still works. 166.66.108.117 13:35, 8 March 2007 (CST)

Elonian Unmappables

Added the Realm of Torment and Hidden City of Ahdashim to the list of areas that don't count towards the cartog title, anywhere else in Elona that isn't mappable? Warhawk 08:24, 16 November 2006 (CST)

Yup. 1st Chalenge mission (As oposed to the seccond which IS mapeable), and the cave you use to go to Vaabi (Forgot the map name). Oh, and Nightfallen Garden. — Poki#3 16:50, 16 November 2006 (CST)

And the Sunspear Sanctuary, of course. --Bonjela 18:35, 1 December 2006 (CST)

Dasha Vestibule and the area that comes with the mission is also not mappable.--192.87.49.2 08:43, 22 March 2007 (CDT)

Only areas that explicitly appear on any main map are mappable--this explains why some challenges matter and others do not; for intance, Remains appears on main map, but Shadow Nexus does not. Although there is an outpost marker for sanctuary, there is no map showing for it.

Island of Shehkah

Someone added a note saying that it was only possible for Elonian characters to get Elona Grandmaster Cartographer because it wasn't possible to map the Island of Shehkah (the small area north of the first mission on Istan), however, this has been proven false many, many, many times, best evidenced in this thread at GWGuru http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1005177 , where there are many screenshots of foreign characters with the title. The leeway given is reportedly more than enough to cover the Island, and in addition, it has also been reported (though I've only seen it once) that watching through the cinematic when you arrive at Istan from Tyria or Cantha uncovers at least part of it. Therefore, I'm removing it. The fact that it's not a fully mappable area could be added, but I'm not sure in what form (since it's supposedly partially mappable, not to mention unneccesary for the title). Warhawk 00:53, 20 November 2006 (CST)

Shiro's Banishing Conditions

The article says that "Shiro never banishes a human player as long as there is only one human player in his aggro range so doing the mission solo or with henchmen won't work." but I've been banished as the only human in my group. The rest were all henchmen, seeing that I did not have any heroes yet, and I was on my warrior.

I remember trying multiple times to be banished with just henchmen, and he never ever ever banished me. Even if it was just me and one hench, it would always be the hench to be banished. Maybe it changed somewhere, and if so, if someone could verify this, it would be good to know. --Thervold 11:37, 15 December 2006 (CST)

Same. And belive me...I tryed for a while. How long ago was it that you were banished with henchmen?--TheDrifter 19:51, 15 January 2007 (CST)

I'm not going to go and try it, but wouldn't it be possible to just... go there alone? He'd have to banish you. Mightywayne 08:42, 19 January 2007 (CST)

Last time I tried that he just refused to banish me, and so I got beaten to a pulp. My guess is that he won't banish a character if there's no-one else in the party near him, as then there'd be no-one left to kill the bound spirit that takes their place. RossMM 11:47, 19 January 2007 (CST)

Agreed, Shiro definitely doesn't banish you if you're the only human player in the party, as of Jan 08. Astralphoenix123 14:38, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Necrotic Traversal and Bridges

The nec-traversal trick to get yourself up to a bridge no longer seems to work. If you kill something under a bridge and nec-traversal to it you will be under the bridge rather than, as was previously the case, on the bridge itself. Some of the suggestions on this page (The Great Northern Wall, The Frost Gate, and Raisu Palace (Mission), to name three) need to be reworked or deleted once this has been verified by enough people. -- 127.0.0.0

I second this. Neither Necrotic Traversal (NT) NOR Rebirth (Heroes Rebirthing me) worked for me during 50+ attempts using the Etins / dying under the Bridge in Frost Gate. I am VERY sure I had the Rebirth / NT point spot on. My first attempt to do this was only in the last few days. My suspicion was raised even further when I WAS able to NT to one of Rurik's Guards very easily once I got the Golem's to kill him (Which was very hard, have the correct spawns (Where you are able to pull BOTH Golems onto the guards) for this always been rare?). Raxous 05:09, 5 January 2007 (CST)

Thirding this. It doesn't work anymore. About the golems, it's not easy getting a good spawn, and there's a higher chance of you finding a stray wolf in the canyon than there is of you getting it just right. I got down there the other day after finding a wolf that I could staff to death just after the catapult area where the bonus starts. mikkel 12:31, 5 January 2007 (CST)

Quadrupling this. Tried Northern Wall several times and did not work--yet it did work several months ago, when I used it to get Grandmaster for Prophesies. Put this fact on main page, and had it removed. It should stay there.

I just recently did this before New Years and I was able to do it. Now with my second character post New Years, I cannot do the Nec travel. So this problem is confirmed was fixed. kmg0 9:29, 5 January 2007 (EST)

Well, you can use Olias' bone fiend to kill Rurik's guards in the frost gate. Just make him summon a minion and sacrifice so that the bone fiend becomes masterless and is able to kill Rurik's guards.

works wonders. i couldnt get both golems to aggro the guard. i had too many minnions, and they actually killed all the guards and rurik, but the mission did not end with failure. and he rez's later at the cutscene. Sephine 10:44, 15 February 2007 (CST)

I am unsure if this belongs here, but there is an interesting post on Guru's stating that henchies and heroes will warp towards the player when they are flagged to go to (and reach) a point beyond an area's exit. It appears to work and could be a useful alternative to rebirthing. --Amy Awien 07:55, 23 April 2007 (CDT)

The Cathan Newcomers table seems to be wrong...

...correct me if I'm wrong but if you add up the percentage explored it comes out to 99.1% which can't be correct. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Matrim (talk • contribs) 19:27, 17 January 2007 (UTC).

The Canthan table (excluding the 2 last entries) shows how much you will have if you explore the said area and all the previews ones. The whole idea of having a % table is totally wrong, because people experience wary. Someone can scrape a few parts more, someone a few parts less. It's i-m-p-o-s-i-b-l-e for it to be as accurate as the person who put that up wanted it to be. Good idea, but impossible :( I would like to encourage a discussion on whenever to keep or to delete those. I say delete... — Poki#3 , 15:19, 17 January 2007 (CST)

I second the vote for thrashing. It's not as accurate as I think something on the wiki page should be, but kudos should be given to the author for trying. FlameoutAlchemist 16:05, 20 January 2007 (CST)

10 days have passed, and no objection, so I'm removing that table. — Poki#3 , 07:35, 27 January 2007 (CST)

Difference Trick Question

Does this work on all continents?? -- 05:23, 23 February 2007 (CST)

Why do you think It shouldn't work? You just need to find a good map, that's all. — Poki#3 , 07:42, 23 February 2007 (CST)

Works better on some continents than others - it's very useful in Cantha because the map is often very dark and seeing differences with your eyes can be difficult. And, IMO, it tends to be better for seeing large missed areas than small missed areas as the difference sometimes isn't that great. Paulatpingu 10:49, 15 March 2007 (CDT)

If anyone is monitoring this discussion, could you please explain to a VERY inexperienced image editor how I can get the resolutions to match between the 100% map I downloaded (from the Maps section of guildwiki, the map titled Elona 3.1 mb by SilentVex) and the zoomed-out screenshot of the Elona map? I had resolution set to 1280 x 800 in Options in-game when I took the screenshot, but when I open them both in Gimp, the 100% map has a res of 5529 x 4147 and my screenshot has a res of 6635 x 4147. Probably obvious to anyone that's an expert, but changing the height to 5529 then adjusts the width automatically. Should I be using 1280 x 768 in-game instead? Brankoz 13:34, 4 June 2007 (CDT)

Most experienced mappers I know (including myself) use the 'u' minimap expanded to fullscreen and pulled to the area in question (just printscreen - DON'T hide the interface) because it eliminates clouds and aligns without adjusting resolution. Just zoom out (scroll back) until you have the largest view of the map area and any screenshot will match most if not all the large maps. I find it easiest to bring the map up as a background and the minimap up as a layer. Set layer to about 50% transparency and align the map, then switch back to 100%. You can then compare the map to your map by turning off the layer (click the eye). The difference trick works for finding large unmapped areas, but I never found it accurate enough for finding tiny missed areas in Cantha or Elona (I never tried it in Tyria). --Falseprophet 12:21, 19 August 2007 (CDT)

I guess me saying it just worked for me doesn't help much... The only thing I can suggest is to make sure that you are following the steps through correctly, for example as listed here. You should be able to resize the image to get things to line up, maybe turning off scaling so that when you change the height it doesn't automatically change the width too. But I don't know what the numbers you have relate to - obviously they should be 1280 x 800 or whatever your res is. I'm no expert either, so hope that helps!

PS - The guide is for Photoshop, but the steps are virtually identical for the GIMP - that's what I used and it was fairly straightforward.Paulatpingu 14:23, 4 June 2007 (CDT)

Hero Screen

How can you get these three titles lined up in the Hero screen, like on the image? Jebus 09:16, 3 March 2007 (CST)

Have to make a new char & visit all 3 continents before making any progress on other titles, I'd think. Don't believe there's any way to sort them (though I certainly wish there was).--Fourth Horseman 09:42, 3 March 2007 (CST)

My money is on PhotoShop, as it would be difficult to get all three maxed without any progression for the titles in between. RossMM 05:14, 15 March 2007 (CDT)

ANet could make my day by giving us a sort feature, or just putting things in a more logical place. Despite the order of partial titles I achieve Tyria and Cantha's exploration line up, while Elona's is relegated all the way to the bottom of the list. It's very annoying since I have to scroll down constantly to check my progress. -Gildan Bladeborn 12:05, 2 April 2007 (CDT)

Titles are ordered as mentioned on the Title page. Yukiko 15:03, 18 July 2007 (CDT)

Regarding Leeway and Thorough Wall-Scraping...

I like to scrape maps as I work through the game; I find it's an excellent way to achive the title, since you hit 100% naturally at the end, won't ever have to worry about revisiting maps to get that final .01 percent, and pretty much never have to compare maps. But I didn't realise just how efficient the method was until I hit 100% in Tyria: --Bonjela 14:57, 18 May 2007 (CDT)

Hahaha ;] I most me doing something wrong then, since I got 100% just after starting Hell's Precipice :P — Poki#3 , 17:50, 18 May 2007 (CDT)

A little paranoia goes a long way, I suppose... >_> --Bonjela 18:13, 18 May 2007 (CDT)

Woah... I wanna see your entire map--Thelordofblah 22:12, 1 July 2007 (CDT)

Lions Arch or Seaboard?

On the 100% tyria map, it shows the Watchtower S/W of Lions Arch and the land around it uncovered, on the edge of the peninsula there. Anyone know how to get to that? I can't seem to get to it from either LA or the seaboard mission. -Kumdori 16:55, 7 June 2007 (CDT)

You go from Lions Arch south, im pretty sure there is a hill you go over that makes it difficult to see the way. 69.244.222.162 22:48, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

Vizunah Square (Local)

Quesion regarding this, the description says that after mapping Xaquang skyway and mapping Vizunah Square Foreign, going to Local won't add percentage to the map. So I take it that for foreign born characters, there's absolutely no need to enter Vizunah Square Local then? jhu 22:05, 1 July 2007 (CDT)

There isn't but i wil stil look nice on your 100% map to have all places

Enlarged Tyrian map (update July 17, 2007)

I read about the enlarged map in preparation to GW:EN. Does anyone already know which areas are affected and how it affects your explorer title? --Pheronike 05:23, 18 July 2007 (CDT)

It doesn't... — Poki#3 , 07:56, 18 July 2007 (CDT)

Or with a couple of more words: Anet will not change titles in a way that may result in players losing a maxed title. I would assume that we either get a new explorer track for GW:EN or none at all. --84-175 (talk) 15:41, 18 July 2007 (CDT)

The enlarged map has, however, changed the appearance of the map, including making unexplored areas more defined (now they have some texture to them, instead of being mostly a uniform blur). Because of this the 100% maps posted on the site are no longer quite as useful for identifying unmapped areas (I would know, I am stuck at 99.9%...) --User:MDubourde 09:25, 19 July 2007 (CDT)

I just got 100% in Tyria again and it seems to me that it got harder with the new map. Many nooks and hole stripes are no longer uncoverable, so I guess it's no longer so easily possible to get 100% w/o the last mission. When I got 100% now, the only places I didn't bother to get where: dunes of despair, southwestern fortress and the wilds, evennias place. That would make about 0,6% extra by my guess. --Ineluki 08:07, 12 August 2007 (CDT)

Graphical change to the minimap?

I noticed today when I continued constructing my tyria map that when I tried lining up overlapping sections of the map, I couldn't get them to line up using the 'difference' filter. Then looking at the overlapped parts under a normal filter, I noticed the parts I'd done before today's (8/23/07) update were generally more blurred than those I'd inserted today. Anyone else care to confirm? --Mafaraxas 18:45, 23 August 2007 (CDT)

Also got that on my Tyria map, like for example in the northern corner of henge of denravi where u once entered to arena, the entire map seems to be unexplored. And thats not the only area in which i can see something like this. Could it be that the map of tyria is bugged? --Arthas 20:45, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

EOTN Areas

The new expansion regions count for "Tyrian Cartographer"? Swordfish56 04:27, 2 September 2007 (CDT)

No, but mapping is part of the Master of the North Title Track. BigAstro 14:18, 2 September 2007 (CDT)

Problem

I matched 2 maps together, but i can't understand a thing from it after setting both to show difference. It's like a big mess.

Which continent did you try? just out of interest -Ezekiel 04:53, 12 September 2007 (CDT)

I found that when doing a difference map once you're over 90% or when doing Cantha, it is hard to tell. Might be relevant to your situation.--— xis10al 05:42, 12 September 2007 (CDT)

No mention of TexMod & Cartography Made Easy?

I'm wondering why their is no mention of TexMod anywhere in this article? It is a third-party texture replacement program designed for use with DirectX 9.0c games. It has been recognized by ArenaNet as being usable without adverse action by them (so far), provided it does not create an imbalance in the game.

One of the textures that can be altered is the map. By using this program, and the Cartography Made Easy series of mods, you can more clearly distinguish between revealed map segments and any that have been missed. This is a substantial aid to anyone trying for the Cartographer title.

Every other title provides more detailed and accurate feedback when a character moves forward in obtaining a title. Drunkard's get blurrier, the Lucky break fewer lockpicks, Skill Hunters are more versatile, Sunspears and Lightbringers collect bounties, etc. But maps are ambiguous. Large chunks are unblurred, but inside of those chunks are several smaller segments that can still be unknown. This is a "false positive" situation resulting in an unreliable map for the purposes of getting this title. So we all engage in endless scraping (without the mod). This mod allows more accurate targeting of your scraping efforts, but you still have to get there and do it.

Other mods are available for things like adding spirit range to the radar, critical strike replacement graphics, altered UI graphics, enhanced adrenaline indicator, etc.

(I should mention that the Cartography Made Easy mods are not bug-free. Graphic glitches occur with transparency through 3D models, screen turns white or yellow, etc. But zoning or simply minimizing/normalizing the window temporarily resolves these issues. Also, all mods are unloaded if you change characters.) -- Sabardeyn 13:44, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

To each their own. A game mod is a game mod is a game mod. I wouldn't use it, and don't see the need to mention it. A cartography title is so cool because there are no real shortcuts. It has to be earned, and displaying the title is truly indicative of achievement. Start adding in mods, and the title is less prestigious. --Alphastream 15:11, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

I'm also against the mod. I see no need in making mapping even easier then it already it (You just have to scrape). Besides, I saw it when a friend of mine was trying to get this title in Tyria... painting the whole unexplored map red isn't exactly making it easier, since you still don't know what parts are explorable and what aren't... — Poki#3, 21:21, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Cart Made Easy uses a 100% explored map as reference to draw orange on where you haven't explored. I wouldn't mention TexMod either, but it's better to understand what the mod actually is. --Kale Ironfist 22:42, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Poki your comment is about a different map mod. As Kale mentioned, CME creates an orange cloud layer that is semi transparent. The original GW terrain map is replaced. The new map is totally black (no blurred out, unused terrain) with only revealable areas (explorable zones, missions, etc) shown. These mappable areas can be seen through the orange fog (somewhat) so you have some idea of the extent of mappable areas. If, exploring a zone, the map shows terrain under the fog, you've missed a spot. Now you know which portions of the zone to go scrape. Here is a link[1] to the sample image. Notice that west of the Granite Citadel is black? That means nothing mappable/explorable is there. But almost everything else around the Citadel has terrain under the fog - so you know that it still needs to be mapped.

I should state that my intent in mentioning TexMod was not with the idea that players should stop what they're doing. But that people who have already reached 90%+ might find this a more viable option than image comparison efforts or endless scraping to find those last few percentage points. Personally, I was at 80%+ by the time I saw this article and at 95%+ before I discovered TexMod. Since posting my original comment, I've reached approximately 101%+ already, with about another maybe 1.5% to uncover (western Ring of Fire - lava imp area, Lornar's boss mobs NW&NE of Temple, scraping the end of Mineral Springs, Rurick's path in Frost Gate and Kessex Peak southern and western borders). Knowing what I needed to go back and scrape made me far less frustrated. -- Sabardeyn 08:43, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

TexMod is a third-party program and shouldn't be mentionned in any other way than a simple acknowledgement of its existence. Its page is already much more detailed than need be, imo. In addition, it actually doesn't provide the help you think it does, since it uses another user's 100% map. That map isn't fully uncovered (even though it uncovers more than the needed 100%), and thus can be misleading and an hinder in some cases. 194.199.224.146 12:55, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Your comment is not completely accurate. TexMod on this wiki has a one sentence entry referring users to the Official Wiki for information. That is hardly "much more detail than need be". Perhaps you followed the link and have cross-commented? Yes the released mod is one player's 100% cleared map. However, the creator asks that users post a message to the mod's talk page about any missing bits. Users generally provide screen captures and sometimes directions. After this the original mapper confirms the error and takes a new screen capture - providing error-checking and quality control. While I cannot point you to a direct quote, I know that differences in monitors and graphic cards make multi-source cut&paste impossible. Pixel color and placement change with different hardware - making a compiled map impossible/useless. (This problem occurs even with captures from one computer system. Try to match edges/overlap with several Area Map captures in an art program with maximum zoom.) Additionally, their are conditional areas (arenas limited by level) and changes Anet has made to the world. Having said all of that, I'm not sure if any map updates have occurred since the release of EotN/GW:EN. Considering how time consuming it is to find these relatively small areas, I cannot really blame the mapper on the delay - even if the perfectionist in me dislikes it. -- Sabardeyn 02:00, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

As a guy with 14 Grandmaster Cartographer titles I can attest that I never mindlessly scrape for hours looking for missing slivers of the map, I just enter zones and then (this is key) don't leave until they are all the way explored. TexMod is the recourse of the lazy. -Gildan Bladeborn 22:33, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

Hah, wow, or maybe of the people who have better things to do than fucking scrape for hours on end. 72.192.62.109 14:09, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

This need update

They have an article about TextMod on the official wiki. TulipVorlax 03:49, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Tyrian Cartographer Checkpoint

FWIW, without using tricks, such as Necrotic Traversal, I made it to 61.5% just before getting on the boat heading to Amnoon Oasis at the end of the Sanctum Cay mission. I think I've explored all accessible areas (including Dragon's Gullet). 71.29.78.147 01:58, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Update (same poster as before): A different avatar, also not using Necrotic Traversal, nor running past the Charr in The Great Northern Wall, made 61.8% just before embarking to the Oasis. 151.213.183.250 02:59, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Necrotic Traversal cleanup.

Someone (I don't have the time right now -_-) needs to cleanup the NT thingy. Before January 2007 you could use this to transport yourself onto a bridge by teleporting to a body under the bridge. That bug has since been fixed, so The Great Northern Wall thing is inaccurate. However NT is still teleporting, so you can reach unreachable places, like the outside of the castle in Dunes of Despair. This required cleanup. — Poki#3 , 22:14, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Will someone soon get this thing sorted out ? I will try the wolf one day and report back as needed. TulipVorlax 22:31, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Eredon Terrace

Is it just me or due to some unknown update you cant get to the restricet area or end of the world bug anymore? When merchant runs in to town and u shadow step on him u get automaticly zoned in to the outpost. When u try to send a henchmen or hero in to town as soon as he enters town he is teleported to the starting area. So any one can check it and tell me if that is true or im just doing it the wrong way... Max Out 01:31, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

You are trying it the wrong way. You need to talk to the priest (belonging to the opposite faction) at the shrine and tell him to fight. He and the two warriors will attack, however the merchant will flee - probably into the town. You need to shadow step to him as soon as he is a fair distance behind the portal and you're ready to explore the area. -- Sai Qui 14:14, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

NOTE:you can't get there anymore the glitch is fixed. the merchant doesn't run into town anymore. the way above(with the henchman) also worked but this has been fixed too.82.72.233.33 21:05, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Sorry Anon, but you're wrong. It works fine, just tested it twice to make sure and it worked flawlessly both times. To be fair, the second time he ran directly away from me (similar to the warthog herding) and he went into town because I lined him up with the gate .Ezekiel [Talk] 09:28, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

I just did it, works perfectly fine.Gorbachev116 19:35, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

I can shadow step into the town, but I'm unable to enter the resticted area. The bug has been fixed? --83.44.87.239 23:46, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Still works, just tried. Could walk through the gates to the restricted area. Zephram 00:21, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Locations that are not included on the map

I removed the "Ruins of the Tomb of the Primeval Kings" from the list for the following reasons:

• they don't exist as such anymore
• the Underworld is already mentioned as not needed for cartography
• exploring the "Tomb of the Primeval Kings" location does indeed add to the title progress

Also, I added Dragon's Lair mission location to the list. Cheers. --Johh 13:15, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Remains of Sahlahja Tombs

Can you get 100% cartographer if you leave this area unexplored? Jope16 23:35, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Nope. — Poki#3 , 00:51, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

but if you have explored everything except that little piece you don't need to scrape the whole area, just rush through it and explore the easiest part.82.72.233.33 20:46, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Lion's Gate

what's said in the guide is incorrect. i just entered Lion's Gate just by talking to the guard. it should be removed, i'm canthan, and i didn't get it by entering Tyria. i don't know iff it works for Tyrian or Elonian characters, but mine just walked in... 78.21.7.221 18:39, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Unwaking Waters

It says you can use necrotic traversal to uncover more areas. For one, the guide doesn't make much sense here, it doesn't tell where or how and is rather vague-and is it still possible?Gorbachev116 03:08, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

I agree. Exactly what is the area being uncovered? Is this a way to fully scrape the three-pronged island to the SW? I used a reef lurker and Necrotic to get to the same path we take during the mission. Is there an additional area? I see several potential channels, but in a few tries did not see reef lurkers in those areas. Clarification of what area is made accessible, and how often reef lurkers are found there, would be helpful. Also, there is a mention of gates that can be walked through. The one I found was the gate for the mission, which again, is not really a new area (you can scrape that area while waiting for the mission to start). Thanks! --Alphastream 21:25, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Shing Jea Arena

Not sure how relevant it is but the Shing Jea Arena is a little more than .2%, I went from 7.9% to 8.2% just by going there on my tyrian-born. I doubt its a full .3% but its a little more than the .2% it says.

Gates of Kryta

Since the map update, the graphics for this mission have changed. There are no longer little islands off the coast in the south and the general shape of the coast has changed too. The image should be updated to corrispond with the map update. Mokushiroku no Yami 02:08, 2 July 2008 (UTC)