The number of possible chest spawns per map! A constructive discussion.

  • Dear community,

    first of all, english is not my native language so excuse the mistakes in the following text.

    Today, someone in my alliance chat stated, that he had zero chest spawns while vanquishing Maishang Hills. I was answering in alliance chat that this is just impossbile. A map of this size has to have chests. After some minutes of discussion we both were still defending our statements. I am sure, maps of this size have chests. Especially Maishang Hills has some nice corners with pop-up spawns where chests often occur. Maybe he just missed these chests. Additionally, i do also miss chests sometimes and just see them when i am right next to them.

    I know many people here run chests daily. I do also love to run chests in Pongmei Valley and i know i will always have between 3 and 5 (never had 6 so i am sure 5 is max for Pongmei Valley) chest spawns. Shadow's Passage is always one chest (not 100% sure).

    Coming to the big question of all of this: Is it possible to have zero chests on a map like Maishang Hills? Which parameters have to be fulfilled to have at least one chest on a map (never saw a chest spawn on Saoshang Trail).

    Regarding the second question i am somehow sure that there has to be a minimal distance between the portal where you enter a map and the first possible chest spawn.

    UNDER CONSTRUCTION! Research started!
    PROPHECIES
    Explorable Area#Foes#ChestsPop-up chests
    Ascalon Foothills551no
    Diessa Lowlands3532no
    Dragon's Gullet1261no
    Eastern Frontier1962no
    Flame Temple Corridor1031no
    Old Ascalon
    Pockmark Flats2152no
    Regent Valley1382no
    The Breach
    Anvil Rock2202no
    Deldrimor Bowl1943no
    Griffon's Mouth511no
    Iron Horse Mine1812no
    Traveler's Vale1663no
    Cursed Lands832no
    Kessex Peak
    Majesty's Rest
    Nebo Terrace
    North Kryta Province1933no
    Scoundrel's Rise681no
    Stingray Strand1533no
    Talmark Wilderness1923no
    Tears of the Fallen
    The Black Curtain2723no
    Twin Serpent Lake1743no
    Watchtower Coast1391no
    Dry Top581no
    Ettin's Back1883no
    Mamnoon Lagoon
    Reed Bog
    Sage Lands2482no
    Silverwood2023no
    Tangle Root2163no
    The Falls
    Diviner's Ascent
    Prophet's Path2965no
    Salt Flats
    Skyward Reach
    The Arid Sea1273no
    The Scar2614no
    Vulture Drifts2335no
    Dreadnought's Drift1163no
    Frozen Forest
    Grenth's Footprint2415no
    Ice Floe
    Icedome
    Lornar's Pass2855no
    Mineral Springs
    Snake Dance4063no
    Spearhead Peak2205no
    Talus Chute4045no
    Tasca's Demise
    Witman's Folly1023no
    Perdition Rock2215no
    FACTIONS
    Explorable area#Foes#ChestsPop-up chests
    Haiju Lagoon
    Jaya Bluffs1722no
    Kinya Province1342no
    Minister Cho's Estate2082no
    Panjiang Pensinsula1851no
    Saoshang Trail340no
    Sunqua Vale1382no
    Zen Daijun1632no
    Bukdek Byway
    Nahpui Quarter1183no
    Pongmei Valley
    Raisu Palace
    Shadow's Passage141no
    Shenzun Tunnels
    Sunjiang District
    Tahnnakai Temple
    Wajjun Bazaar2214no
    Xaquang Skyway1635no
    Arborstone
    Drazach Thicket
    Ferndale
    Melandru's Hope
    Morostov Trail
    Mourning Veil Falls
    The Eternal Grove
    Archipelagos1582no
    Boreas Seabed
    Gyala Hatchery
    Maishang Hills
    Mount Qinkai
    Rhea's Crater
    Silent Surf
    Unwalking Waters
    NIGHTFALL
    Explorable Area#Foes#ChestsPop-up chests
    Cliffs of Dohjok
    Fahranur, The First City
    Issnur Isles
    Lahtenda Bog
    Mehtani Keys
    Plains of Jarin
    Zehlon Reach
    Arkjok Ward3182no
    Bahdok Caverns2924no
    Barbarous Shore
    Dejarin Estate
    Gandara, the Moon Fortress
    Jahai Bluffs
    Marga Coast
    Sunward Marches2965no
    The Footplain of Mahnkelon2624no
    Turai's Procession1792no
    Forum Highlands2924no
    Garden of Seborhin2503no
    Holdings of Chokhin2465no
    Resplendent Makuun1685no
    The Hidden City of Ahdashim
    The Mirror of Lyss
    Vehjin Mines1815no
    Vehtendi Valley2515no
    Wilderness of Bahdza1652no
    Yatendi Canyons1954no
    Crystal Overlook1925no
    Joko's Domain4335no
    Poisoned Outcops1845no
    The Alkali Pan
    The Ruptured Heart
    The Shattered Ravines
    The Sulfurous Wastes
    EYE OF THE NORTH
    Explorable Area#Foes#ChestsPop-up chests
    Bjora Marches
    Drakkar Lake3654no
    Ice Cliff Chasms
    Jaga Moraine2565no
    Norrhart Domains2475no
    Varaja Fells
    Dalada Uplands2854no
    Grothmar Wardowns2374no
    Sacnoth Valley
    Alcazia Tangle2265no
    Arbor Bay
    Magus Stones
    Riven Earth
    Sparkfly Swamp
    Verdant Cascades



    Thanks for your help. I hope to see a nice discussion.

    Have a nice day, stay healthy during corona pandemia and see you ingame!

    It'sa meeee .....

    -Jodel-

    Edited 10 times, last by Jodel_GW: Added even more data! (July 2, 2020 at 3:08 PM).

  • indeed a question I had in mind as well. Also had several discussions over the years. Personally I was long convinced the number of chests in a given area is constant. Usual chestruns often skip "ineffective" corners, where there is little chance for a chest which is why e.g. in pongmei the experience of the chestrunner is as you stated. I tried to check it on a few areas and could almost always find the same number in the same area. But there were exceptions... those were which I still seem to observe - like one chest less or more than "usual".

    The general experience is: larger area = more chests. But checking on that it's more a false interpretation since usually larger area = more foes or better maybe even larger area = more foe groups. Now I don't know the answer to the question of the mechanics - those are just some thoughts I am sharing.

    I'd suppose the number of foes or foe groups in a given area are relevant for the number of chests spawning. For a given area I do not even know if the number of groups per area is constant. But certainly the number of foes varies. And the number of chests as well - by now I am pretty sure about that. I spent 30minutes in vulture drifts trying to find the 5th chest just few days ago since it was the first time of me not finding a 5th one in more than 200 runs where I was checking for number of chests. So I'd suppose there may be fluctuation but rather due to different spawn numbers - also checking with different quests active changes the number of chests (in certain cases significantly) which again does not relate to the number of foes exclusively.

    So long story short: anet really did an awesome job on the games mechanics - the spawning and looting rngs are things that still aren't understood after what? 15 years almost. It keeps the game exciting after all the time ;)

    I WTB all kinds of Tower Shields and Defenders. I do drop research - if you find anything remarkable or want to see the results - check the thread or send a pm!

    IGN1 Red Fireball Rusher

    IGN2 Silberner Magier

  • I am not sure if this applies to this area, but from experience in urgoz, sometimes a chest only spawns when you activate a pop-up (so only after popping it, a chest will spawn). I have also had this in different areas across factions while going for GWAMM. But again, I am not sure if it actually works like this. Hope it atleast helps a bit xd

  • yes indeed - most popular the plagueborn chest outside kaineng. I did never observe it in prophecies. Definitely not in vulture drifts. I'd suggest if the algorithm of number of chests per area is clear those ones will just be identified as "hidden" but already foreseen.

    I WTB all kinds of Tower Shields and Defenders. I do drop research - if you find anything remarkable or want to see the results - check the thread or send a pm!

    IGN1 Red Fireball Rusher

    IGN2 Silberner Magier

  • i am kinda sure that this does not belongs to Maishang Hills. I did vq that are a lot and i know all hidden pop-up spots and the chests are always there before the pop-upo happens. i know that some chest can pop-up with the enemies (like Xander stated for Urgoz), but not in this area.

  • cosyfiep March 25, 2020 at 5:19 PM

    Changed the title of the thread from “The number of possbile chest spawns per map! A constructive discussion.” to “The number of possible chest spawns per map! A constructive discussion.”.
  • I love this topic!! I may have run a few chests in my time, stumbled over a few on accident (that may have been the grog in or out of the game hehe) but there are several environmental things as mentioned here that will impact chest spawns. The infamous foe pop-up does occur, not in all maps but several, and will at times effect if the chest is spawned prior to the pop up foe spawning or not. Oni is a good example that may not be visible but a chest will already be there before triggering the Oni. Then you have FOW which I run a lot during Pantheon week and that dang pesky spider cave will have a chest pop up behind you 50% or more of the time (always look behind you or hit your find next item button often while traveling through). As Praise mentioned, that Elona Reach chest in the far corner is actually triggered by picking up the shard which in return opens the gate.

    There are also times where a chest can spawn literally outside of reach, which you can sometimes see, perfect example is EOTN Kilroy's punchout runs by the wolves, one will often spawn on the other side of the rocks. This makes me wonder if at times a chest can spawn outside of the "path" but not visible cause of where it spawned (just a hunch as there is no way to prove this).

    Regarding Pongmei, the typical chest count is 5...….99% of the time. I have had a few times where I got 4 and ran all over the map a 2nd time looking for the one I missed cause stubborn me thinks that is the one with that q8 gold dual modded perfect bladed shield, and most of those times, there is not a 5th to be found. However, this is a statement that not everyone will believe me on, have had debates with others over this, I have seen 6 at Pongmei. This is rare, but it's all about the right amount of space between the chests. Most people think of 5 being the max and will stop, I do the same, but there has been times I have kept going in a very rare occasional, a 6th will be there (so don't rule out but also understand proof is wanted). If this happens again, I will screenshot my chat box with pick counts between the resigns.

    With that in mind, not all areas have a set chest count that will be 100% of the time, and the size of the map may or may not always be the deciding factor. A lot of the low level areas even in HM, may only spawn 2 chests, like Jaya Bluffs. On the other hand, one of my favorite chest runs, Ice Dome, that is a relatively tiny map, can spawn 2-4 (yup sometimes 4) chests in a rather small area.

    Lastly, the actual topic on hand, I cannot say I have experienced zero chests at Maishang Hills specifically, however I have elsewhere. One example of this that drove me crazy cause it happened often, is chest running at Turais Procession. I have had several occurrences of getting zero chests here even in a row, why, couldn't tell you, but it drove me bonkers!

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  • I love this topic!! I may have run a few chests in my time, stumbled over a few on accident (that may have been the grog in or out of the game hehe) but there are several environmental things as mentioned here that will impact chest spawns. The infamous foe pop-up does occur, not in all maps but several, and will at times effect if the chest is spawned prior to the pop up foe spawning or not. Oni is a good example that may not be visible but a chest will already be there before triggering the Oni. Then you have FOW which I run a lot during Pantheon week and that dang pesky spider cave will have a chest pop up behind you 50% or more of the time (always look behind you or hit your find next item button often while traveling through). As Praise mentioned, that Elona Reach chest in the far corner is actually triggered by picking up the shard which in return opens the gate.

    There are also times where a chest can spawn literally outside of reach, which you can sometimes see, perfect example is EOTN Kilroy's punchout runs by the wolves, one will often spawn on the other side of the rocks. This makes me wonder if at times a chest can spawn outside of the "path" but not visible cause of where it spawned (just a hunch as there is no way to prove this).

    Regarding Pongmei, the typical chest count is 5...….99% of the time. I have had a few times where I got 4 and ran all over the map a 2nd time looking for the one I missed cause stubborn me thinks that is the one with that q8 gold dual modded perfect bladed shield, and most of those times, there is not a 5th to be found. However, this is a statement that not everyone will believe me on, have had debates with others over this, I have seen 6 at Pongmei. This is rare, but it's all about the right amount of space between the chests. Most people think of 5 being the max and will stop, I do the same, but there has been times I have kept going in a very rare occasional, a 6th will be there (so don't rule out but also understand proof is wanted). If this happens again, I will screenshot my chat box with pick counts between the resigns.

    With that in mind, not all areas have a set chest count that will be 100% of the time, and the size of the map may or may not always be the deciding factor. A lot of the low level areas even in HM, may only spawn 2 chests, like Jaya Bluffs. On the other hand, one of my favorite chest runs, Ice Dome, that is a relatively tiny map, can spawn 2-4 (yup sometimes 4) chests in a rather small area.

    Lastly, the actual topic on hand, I cannot say I have experienced zero chests at Maishang Hills specifically, however I have elsewhere. One example of this that drove me crazy cause it happened often, is chest running at Turais Procession. I have had several occurrences of getting zero chests here even in a row, why, couldn't tell you, but it drove me bonkers!

    Agent Chevy if i am right, Ice Dome has a high amount of foes whereas Turais is pretty empty. Maybe there really is a correlation between number of groups/foes and number of possible chests. Another addition: Turais has this weird spawns in the middle where just one foe after each other spawns until there is this boss spawn. Maybe each of these single foe counts as a group and can potentially spawn a chest. Thus, zero chests on that map without these spawns could be possible!? Distance between the spawns is also far enough for multiple chest i would say.

  • Agent Chevy if i am right, Ice Dome has a high amount of foes whereas Turais is pretty empty. Maybe there really is a correlation between number of groups/foes and number of possible chests. Another addition: Turais has this weird spawns in the middle where just one foe after each other spawns until there is this boss spawn. Maybe each of these single foe counts as a group and can potentially spawn a chest. Thus, zero chests on that map without these spawns could be possible!? Distance between the spawns is also far enough for multiple chest i would say.

    That may be the safer statement that chest counts are based on foe congestion versus actual size of the map. Even though Ice Dome only has 120-141 foes for a vanguish, they are in a very small area.

    That's a great point of Turais, being that I was only after the chests for q8s, I didn't think about the possibility that they would be dependent on killing a specific foe, that would obviously still need to be proven but could be a possibility.

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    Note: Definition does not specify rarity or value, although it could be a choice, it's not a requirement.

  • Just VQed Archipelagos with a total of 158 Foes. Had a total of TWO chests. Regarding the surface size it is compareable to Pongmei i would say. BUT Pongmei also just as something arround 150 Foes max but did show 4 to 6 chests. In my eyes there is no connection between map size/number of foes and the amount of possible chest spawns. This would more speak for a "fixed" range of chests per map.

  • Added some more Areas to the "Under Construction" part. Don't know if that kind of research makes any sense but we will see.

    BTW can any of the mods please rearrange my spoiler into spoiler into spoiler? I did NF and EotN into Factions by accident but i am not able to fix that.


    That may be the safer statement that chest counts are based on foe congestion versus actual size of the map. Even though Ice Dome only has 120-141 foes for a vanguish, they are in a very small area.

    That's a great point of Turais, being that I was only after the chests for q8s, I didn't think about the possibility that they would be dependent on killing a specific foe, that would obviously still need to be proven but could be a possibility.

    Did the Turai's VQ some days ago and did not have a seperate chest spawn with each of the single foes spawning in the middle.

  • Two areas you can really see some odd chest behavior is that of FoW/UW. I noticed sometimes chests are just plain there, other times you have to at least aggro the mob(s) and other times you have to actually kill a mob to spawn the chest. The mob death is easy to see in GoK for a chest spawn fairly often. I also anecdotally noticed that it seems the order in which you bring mobs into view has a feel that it adjusts the chest spawns.

  • Thanks Marty Silverblade for fixing my Spoilers!

    Just another idea of chest spawns: Do we expect that the chest spawns are depended on the direction i go over a map? lets assume we enter an area through the same portal but in one run we take the clockwise route and the next run we take the counterclockwise route. Would we expect any pattern or are non-pop-up chests spawn right when entering the area?

  • on areas with multiple entrance logging the differences would definitely interesting. I could definitely imagine that ther may be differences...

    What xander said is again something different which I want to question - are we sure the chests are already "generated" upon entering the area? I wouldn't know a way to check that though other than some "hacking" where one would search the data. The foes seem to be generated, otherwise the counter on a vanquish couldn't work (I mean the progress bar part). Thoughts?

    I WTB all kinds of Tower Shields and Defenders. I do drop research - if you find anything remarkable or want to see the results - check the thread or send a pm!

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    IGN2 Silberner Magier

  • Seeing as how it's been reported that some chests appear after a foe is found and/or is slain; it's at least possible a chest could appear in an area you've already searched. At the very least the direction you start from could make finding some chests more problematic.

    It also occurs to me to wonder that if foes and objects can be a trigger for chests to appear; what kind of interactive objects and other things serve as a trigger. A NPC? An active Bounty?

    I think I'll tinker with a few things as I have time.

  • are we sure the chests are already "generated" upon entering the area? [...] The foes seem to be generated, otherwise the counter on a vanquish couldn't work (I mean the progress bar part). Thoughts?

    I think the foes are generated but only 'on paper', i.e. they only start becoming graphical and active when you get into compass range. The exception may be certain boss patrol groups, I never looked into those (.e.g. hydra in desert, koren in drakkar). Whether chests are also generated upon area entry, I can't think of any way to test that, nor of any way to make use of the answer.

    what kind of interactive objects and other things serve as a trigger?

    The only object apart from live foes that I have seen with a chest is the corpse of brave brent poltroon. He might be one of those weird objects that fall into multiple classes partially, including foe? There are other examples, like npcs being affected by "fall back" but not heal area... So I think foes are still the only object that have a chance to spawn locked chests.

    >WTB< | ign Adanel Jade

  • I think the foes are generated but only 'on paper', i.e. they only start becoming graphical and active when you get into compass range. The exception may be certain boss patrol groups, I never looked into those (.e.g. hydra in desert, koren in drakkar). Whether chests are also generated upon area entry, I can't think of any way to test that, nor of any way to make use of the answer.

    The only object apart from live foes that I have seen with a chest is the corpse of brave brent poltroon. He might be one of those weird objects that fall into multiple classes partially, including foe? There are other examples, like npcs being affected by "fall back" but not heal area... So I think foes are still the only object that have a chance to spawn locked chests.

    Something interesting I came across looking into when things spawn came from toolbox. An enemy, npc, player, etc are lumped together as a general Agent type. There is of course a data structure to hold lists of these on the game client. It seems there is also an array of agents for the map that extends outside the rendered and compass range. It seems to have limited information compared to the stock one and is largely unexplored but I think that could help lead to some answers on when chests spawn.

  • Is it possible to have a counter for locked chests in an area? We do have a counter for Foes so why not have a counter for chests? I am not into coding or some sort of high level IT so i don't even know how TB knows the number of Foes in an area.

    It iterates through the array of agents while checking for a few flags that determine they are an enemy which is constrained by compass range generally, Although based on some data that can be captured outside compass range it may be possible to look further. If you mean the vanquish count that is a separate piece of data. You could have a counter for locked chests at least based on compass range but I am unsure at this point how far out the map data extends passed compass range that the client receives. So it is a maybe if it would be far reaching enough to be of any use. I am leaning towards a no to just load a map and scan the entire thing for chest entries except maybe on small maps like ice dome or Tasca's potentially.

  • Updated some maps here.

    Let's start some assumtions which are somehow reflected in these data:

    1. Quality of Chest seems to have an impact on the number of chests. It looks like maps which have chests that don't contribute to Treasure Master Title in NM have a maximum of 3 chests. wrong: see Pongmei Valley (Thanks Pleikki )
    2. Number of possible chests seems to be connected to the number of foes/groups per map. Thus, the minimal number of chests in a map which has chests that contribute to Treasure Master Title in NM can be low, if the number of foes in this map is also low (for example Turai's Procession).
    3. The maximum number of chests per map seems to be 5. Some reported that they had Pongmei Chest Runs with 6 chests but as i manly run Pongmei for chests and did nearly all of my Treasure Hunter Title there without even ONE 6-chester, i still doubt that number.
    4. Nearly all chests have at least 1 chest. The only exception so far is Saoshang Trail, which is a) relatively small and b) has a low number of foes. I think, there is no chest because of the size of the map. A chest spawn needs a definied minimum distance to the portal which was used to enter the map.

    I am not sure if we ever can tell what the maximum number of chests per specific map is, but looks like we already got some insight into this coding.

    Edited 3 times, last by Jodel_GW (July 1, 2020 at 4:14 PM).

  • Updated some maps here.

    Let's start some assumtions which are somehow reflected in these data:

    1. Quality of Chest seems to have an impact on the number of chests. It looks like maps which have chests that don't contribute to Treasure Master Title in NM have a maximum of 3 chests
    3 The maximum number of chests per map seems to be 5. Some reported that they had Pongmei Chest Runs with 6 chests but as i manly run Pongmei for chests and did nearly all of my Treasure Hunter Title there without even ONE 6-chester, i still doubt that number.

    You know Pongmei doesnt count for treasure hunter in normal mode, yet it has basically allways 5 chests ;P

    But yeah, 450g chests that dont count for title overall have 4-5 chests in almost any larger area of desert/Kourna/kaineing city area from my exprience so 1. aint really true

  • Here is my modest contribution :

    I have done a lot of Pongmei HM and never seen more than 5 chests.

    I have seen some area with 0 chest :

    - Reed Bog NM (this was a long time ago so take this one with a grain of salt).

    - Tasca Desmise HM. I'm almost certain about this one. I triple checked the whole map. I even popped a conset to run more easily on the map. (If this matter I had the titan quest active).

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    • Official Post

    Here is my modest contribution :

    I have done a lot of Pongmei HM and never seen more than 5 chests.

    I have seen some area with 0 chest :

    - Reed Bog NM (this was a long time ago so take this one with a grain of salt).

    - Tasca Desmise HM. I'm almost certain about this one. I triple checked the whole map. I even popped a conset to run more easily on the map. (If this matter I had the titan quest active).

    I have had 0 chest runs in tascas, although i didn't always check if the one out of bounds spawned. Sometimes way into the mineral springs portal a chest spawns you can't get.

  • I have had 0 chest runs in tascas, although i didn't always check if the one out of bounds spawned. Sometimes way into the mineral springs portal a chest spawns you can't get.

    in theory you can - with a shadow step behind the portal - but it'd be tough - let's spread the word that crysta still drops there :D

    I WTB all kinds of Tower Shields and Defenders. I do drop research - if you find anything remarkable or want to see the results - check the thread or send a pm!

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    IGN2 Silberner Magier

  • I've been doing tascas nm with defend droks active out of boredom off and on.

    Its been from zero and three for me.

    Todays best so far q13 spawn raven staff in middle of midget camp /sigh

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