Getting Started with Traveler’s Quest

This tutorial will run you through the basics of the game Traveler’s Quest by Kitty Code, available for the iPhone and iPad. It covers the same material as the in game tutorial but with a few more details to help you walk through the steps.

The first time you run Traveler’s Quest you will be required to select a user name. Throughout the game this user name will be shared with other players of Traveler’s Quest as you bury and dig up treasure, buy treasure maps, and use your treasure detector.

Next you will be taken to the Home screen. Here you have a quick access to your current gold amount and scores, the latest news, treasure detector, tutorial, and settings. Along the bottom of the screen are the buttons to bring up the Home, Maps, Store, Treasure, and Scores screens.

Start by pressing the tutorial button and reading through the tutorial which describes the basics of the game.

Reading about the game is fine, but it’s much more satisfying to do it yourself. Let’s start by detecting treasures. Press the “Detect Treasures” button on the Home screen. The “Detect Treasures” screen features a rotating “radar” and your current detect level. The treasure detector allows you to find treasures within a 5 mile radius. You start at detect level 1, which means that you can detect treasures buried at level 1 or less. Upgrading your detector will increase your level, but not the detect radius, which is always 5 miles. If you have detect level 10, you can detect treasures buried at levels 1 through 10, but can not detect any treasure buried at level 11 or higher.

After a few seconds of detecting you will be taken to the map screen that shows nearby treasures. If new treasures are found, there will be a dialog that says how many new treasures were found, and that the treasure maps were added to your maps collection. For new players, the game gnomes bury a couple treasures for you to find. Press OK.

On the map there will be a red X for each treasure that is nearby. When you tap on an X you will see more information about that treasure. Above the map is your current distance from the selected treasure, the current accuracy bonus if you claim the treasure now, and the cost to disarm any traps that are set on the treasure. Above the X on the map will be a pop-up saying “DIG TREASURE”, the name of the player (or gnome) who buried the treasure, and a red circle with an “>” which is the “claim” button.

When you are within 1.5 miles of a treasure you are able to claim it. When you claim a treasure there is an accuracy bonus that can give you extra gold or take it away. The accuracy bonus increases as you get closer to the treasure. If you are between 1 and 1.5 miles from the treasure the accuracy bonus is negative and you will lose gold. If you’re closer than a mile you will earn gold.

Let’s claim your first treasure. Take your treasure hunting device, go outside, and try to get closer to the buried treasure. As you get nearer to or farther from the treasure the distance and accuracy bonus are updated. When you are ready to claim the treasure press the red claim button with the “>” symbol. After a few seconds you will be presented with a screen that shows you what treasure you have claimed. Congratulations, you have claimed your first treasure.

Each treasure has a name and icon and belongs to a collection. Treasures also have a value that increases as the treasure is taken further from its origin. Read more about treasures in the Treasure section. Now let’s explore some other things you can do to get more treasure.

Press the Store button at the bottom of the screen. This displays the store for your current city and surrounding area. Here you can purchase maps, purchase and sell treasure, and purchase upgrades. Press “Purchase Maps”. This shows a list of maps for treasures buried within 25 miles. The store allows you to purchase maps to treasures that may be outside of your 5 mile detect radius. Only maps for treasures buried at your current detect level (or less) are displayed. You purchase maps with your available gold. After purchasing a map it is added to your map collection. Maps within your five mile detect radius also appear in the store, so you will want to do a detect before you visit the store.

Go back to the main Store screen using the button in the top left, and then press “Purchase Treasure”. This screen lists treasures that are available for purchase nearby. These treasures were sold by other treasure hunters (or gnomes). Treasures are purchased using your available gold.

The upgrades section of the store allow you to add features to the Traveler’s Quest app, and to increase your levels. There are four levels that affect your treasure hunting. We’ve already mentioned the detecting and burying levels. Increasing the burying level will increase the depth of your buried treasures making them harder to detect and will increase the base cost to purchase a map to your treasures. Increasing the detect level will allow you to detect treasures buried at higher levels and lower the cost to buy maps. You also have trap setting and trap disarm levels. Increasing your trap setting level will raise the base cost to claim the treasures you bury. Increasing your trap disarm level will decrease the cost to disarm traps on treasures you claim. See the Upgrades section for more information.

Eventually you’ll need more gold to purchase maps, disarm traps, and to upgrade your levels. You can earn gold by selling your treasures in the store and by burying your treasure. Both these options are available on the individual treasure screens. When you sell a treasure, you sell it for the current value of the treasure. When you bury a treasure it gets buried at your current location, bury depth, and trap level. Each day it remains buried you will earn 10% of it’s current value (10 gold earned each day for a 100 gold valued treasure). You will also earn gold every time someone buys a map to your treasure. You will continue to earn gold until another player claims your treasure, so make sure you bury your treasure someplace nobody will stumble across it. Claiming treasure with high accuracy will also earn gold.

You can play Traveler’s Quest even if there are no active players in your area. If there are no maps to buy in the store, an in-game gnome (a.k.a. bot) will bury a treasure nearby for you to find. Gnomes can bury treasure as frequently as once every two hours. Sometimes the gnomes will sell a treasure to the store, or buy a map to one of your buried treasures instead. After a while you’ll begin to recognize the gnomes by name (Coach, PitaHead, Mellisa, and Mouse are just a few).

You’ve now learned the basics. Good luck and good hunting.

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