Cartography

Cartography is a skill in which the player can explore the map of Melvor, uncovering hidden areas and secrets throughout their journey.

This page is up to date (v1.2.2).
Cartography
This article is about the Cartography skill. For a guide to leveling the skill, see Cartography/Training.

Skill Overview

The World Map of Melvor consists of a grid of 944 hexagonal map tiles (called Hexes). The map layout is the same for all players and all players start on the same Hex (15, 16). The primary action for Cartography is Surveying map tiles in order to discover them.

Once a Hex has been fully discovered, the player may travel there. Some Hexes contain Points of Interest which will be revealed upon traveling to the tile. Visiting a Point of Interest will always provide a blurb of text explaining a bit about the location, and some Points of Interest will reward the player with resources upon the first visit.

The base interval for a Survey action is 5 seconds. It can be reduced through various boosts.

Map Mastery

When first uncovering the map, each hex will have a level between 1 and 5 that will determine how many times it must be surveyed in order to be fully discovered. Once the map has been fully discovered once, the max level for all hexes will be increased to 5. Leveling a hex to 5 is referred to as Mastering it, and Mastering all 944 hexes is referred to as Map Mastery

Hex Level Total Surveys Difference
1 24 24
2 108 84
3 264 156
4 504 240
5 864 360

The map takes a total of 944*864=815,616 actions to fully survey, for a total of 67,968 minutes (approximately 47 days) at the base time interval of 5 seconds.

Undiscovered Hexes

These icons will appear on undiscovered Hexes if there is something to discover underneath.

Icon Description
Denotes an   Archaeology Dig Site exists underneath.
Denotes a Point of Interest underneath.
If "Toggle Cat" is enabled in Settings, then this icon will denote a hidden   Archaeology Dig Site. It will display only when you locate a required Dig Site item in   Archaeology (One example being the   Torn Chart).

Points of Interest

These are the types of Points of Interest (POIs) that can be discovered underneath a Hex.

Icon Description
An   Archaeology Dig Site.
A standard POI which will sometimes provide Item rewards.
Provides powerful permanent modifiers. Requires you to be located on the Hex to become active.
Used when traveling to significantly reduce GP cost to get to a location. These are automatically used when traveling.

Surveying

When you embark on a journey to explore a hex in Melvor Idle, your visibility extends to the tiles closest to you, with the tiles near the edge marking the limit of your sight. Over time, both your visible range and survey range will expand. Initially, you can only survey a hex that is adjacent to your starting tile.

There are two methods to survey tiles:

  • Survey: This option allows you to queue one or more tiles for surveying. There's no limit to the number of tiles you can queue, but initially, you can only queue up to the six tiles surrounding your starting hex. Some tiles cannot be surveyed until certain conditions are met.
  • Auto Survey: In idle mode, this feature enables automatic surveying of the entire map. Auto Survey is primarily designed for later in the game because early on many of the tiles have requirements that must be met before they can be surveyed.

Travelling

 
Map of Melvor showing the travel costs for every hex. Credits: @draedon123 on Discord

Travelling around the map costs   and the total for every path taken is shown before you move to a new Hex. As the game progresses, you will find ways to reduce travel costs, but early in the game these costs can seem quite high. Each Hex has a different base cost, and you can see the cost of each tile on this map.

In the map, the colors represent the base   costs associated with each tile.

Heat map colors for travel costs
Map Color Travel Costs (per Hex)
Blue Up to 5,000 
Green 5,000  to 25,000 
Red 25,000  to 1,500,000 
Yellow 1,500,000  upwards

Creating Maps

In addition to surveying, Cartography is used to create the Dig Site Maps used in   Archaeology. Creating a map has three steps:

First, the player can convert any type of Logs into   Paper. Higher tier logs will produce more paper. Turning logs into paper has a base interval of 5 seconds, which can be reduced by bonuses that affect non-combat skill intervals and can also be affected by chance to double items or chance to preserve resources.

Second, the player can select a dig site and create a map in one of the map slots for that dig site. If they already have a map for the selected slot, map creation actions will instead make progress on upgrading the map towards the next tier. Creating maps costs paper and has a base interval of 5 seconds, which is affected by the same interval reduction bonuses as creating paper as well as by the chance to preserve resources.

Third, the player can refine the selected map until the maximum number of refines is reached. At each step the player will be given a choice of three options to pick from which will permanently upgrade that map. Each refinement costs more than the previous one.

Upgrade Dig Site Map

Tier Upgrades Needed Total Cost Time1
Poor 0 N/A N/A
Fine 1920 1,920   Paper 2h, 40m
Excellent 3840 5,760   Paper 5h, 20m
Perfect 5760 11,520   Paper 8h

1Based on default action time of 5 seconds.

Dig Site Map Refinement

Each Dig Site Map tier unlocks new refinements which can be purchased. Refinements exclusively affect the Dig Site Map on which it is applied.

Tier Cost Refinements (Choose One)
Poor Refinement 1
1,000 
-5 Tiny Artefact Value
-5 Small Artefact Value
-5 Medium Artefact Value
-5 Large Artefact Value
Fine Refinement 2
50,000 
+3% Chance to Double Items in Archaeology
+3% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions
+3% Archaeology Skill XP
+3% Archaeology Mastery XP
Excellent Refinement 3
500,000 
-5 Tiny Artefact Value
-5 Small Artefact Value
-5 Medium Artefact Value
-5 Large Artefact Value
Perfect Refinement 4
5,000,000 
+2,500 Dig Site Map excavation actions
-10% Archaeology Interval
Refinement 5
5,000,000 
+5% Chance to Double Items in Archaeology
+5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions
+4% Archaeology Skill XP
+4% Archaeology Mastery XP
Refinement 6
5,000,000 
+1 minimum Items found in Archaeology
x2 Consumable Items received from Archaeology
+15% Archaeology Skill XP when location a Common Artefact

Skillcapes

The   Cartography Skillcape can be purchased from the store for 1,000,000  after the player reaches   Level 99.

The   Superior Cartography Skillcape can be purchased from the store for 10,000,000  after the player reaches   Level 120.

Skillcape Name Requirements Effect
    Cartography Skillcape   Level 99 +10% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography
-20% Cartography Dig Site Map upgrade interval
-10% dig site map refinement cost
    Superior Cartography Skillcape   Level 120 +20% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography
-50% Cartography Dig Site Map upgrade interval
-30% Cartography survey interval
-20% dig site map refinement cost

Pets

  Skye is unlocked at random by performing any Cartography action.
  Hex is unlocked by surveying the entire map to the initial maximum Hex level.
  Carthulu is unlocked after reaching Level 5 on every Hex. The option to do this for Level 2 Hexes is unlocked after you survey the entire map for the first time.

Pet Name Effect
    Skye -5% Cartography travel costs
    Hex +3% Global Mastery XP
    Carthulu Doubles the effects of all positive Active Modifiers from Point of Interests in Cartography

Shop Upgrades

The shop contains several upgrades that can be purchased to provide permanent boosts to Cartography. These fall into two categories:

Ship Upgrades

Ship upgrades require a specific Cartography level in addition to various items in order to purchase.

Enhancements

Enhancements require the player to discover specific points of interest first, at which point they can be purchased by spending the required amount of GP.

All Points of Interest

Name Type X Y Requirements Discovery Rewards Discovery Modifiers Active Effect
  The Corner of Disappointment Other 0 0
  Crevice of Riches Other 0 11   Level 35
Discover   The Pirate's Treasure Trails
5,000,000 
100,000 
4,000   Emerald
  Ancient Market Dig Site 0 14   Level 5
Find   Torn Chart
  The Ominous Port Port 1 3   Level 80 2,000,000 
  Ruined Silver City Other 1 15   Level 5
Find   Melantis Clue 3
Discover   Mysterious Island
1   Melantis Clue 4
  The Western Lighthouse Other 1 18   Level 5 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  Ritual Site Dig Site 2 2   Level 80
  The Beacon Port Port 2 19 100,000 
  The Swirling Abyss Other 2 27   Level 90 300,000 
  Melantis Dig Site 2 28   Level 90
Find   Melantis Clue 4
Discover   Ruined Silver City
  The Abandoned Temple Other 3 2   Level 80 25,000   Bones
  The Calm before the Storm Other 3 9 1,000,000 
  The Wanderer's Gift Other 3 17   Level 10 1   Gold Topaz Ring
  The Hunt for the Gilded Golbins Other 3 20 2,000   Gold Bar
  Terran Dungeon Ruins Active 4 2   Level 80 -0.1s Mining Interval
-0.1s Woodcutting Interval
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Mining (Cannot be doubled)
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Woodcutting (Cannot be doubled)
  The Treacherous North Other 4 9 5,000   Redwood Logs
  The Whispering Port Port 4 10 1,000,000 
  The Pink Kraken Other 4 16 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  Shrouded Horizon Other 4 26 50,000 
  The Jagged Labyrinth Other 5 7
  The Monolith Active 5 10   Level 35 +5% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography
-5% Cartography Dig Site Map upgrade interval
+5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions
  The Ill-Fated Vessel Other 5 23   Level 20 1,000   Mahogany Logs
1,000   Steel Bar
  Cathedral Dig Site 6 3   Level 90
  The Cursed Island Other 6 5 10,000   Big Bones
  Monuments Dig Site 6 11   Level 35
  Sandy Shores Other 6 19   Level 10 100   Crab
  The Vibrant Coral Gardens Other 6 22 500   Coral
  The Friendly Fisherman Other 6 27 50   Manta Ray
  The Ancient Wreckage Other 7 7 3,000,000 
1,000   Cursed Logs
  The Mystic Ruins Other 7 10   Level 35 10,000   Rune Essence
  Miolite Caves Other 7 12   Level 35 2,000   Steam Rune
2,000   Dust Rune
2,000   Mist Rune
  The Runed Battlefield Other 7 15   Level 10 1,000   Mind Rune
1,000   Chaos Rune
1,000   Death Rune
  Giant Dungeon Other 7 17   Level 10 3   Giant Club
1   Mithril 2H Sword
  Seashade Village Other 7 20   Level 10 -5% Cartography travel costs (for 10 travels)
  Coral Wreckage Dig Site 7 22   Level 50
  The Tranquil Open Waters Other 7 25 500   Raw Swordfish
  Shrouded Badlands Other 8 10   Level 65 150,000 
  The Shadow Lurkers Other 8 14   Level 10 500   Gold Bar
500   Silver Bar
  The Academia Arcanum Active 8 15   Level 10 +5% Magic Maximum Hit
+10% Magic Evasion
+6% Rune Preservation
+10% Magic Accuracy Rating
  The River Crossroads Other 8 19 20,000 
  The Coral Bounty Other 8 22 10,000 
100   Topaz
100   Sapphire
100   Ruby
50   Treasure Chest
  Unhallowed Wasteland Active 9 1   Level 90 1,500,000  -100% Chance To Double Loot in Combat
-100% GP From Monsters
-0.25s Monster Respawn Timer
  Shipwreck Cove Dig Site 9 3 Find   Ancient Wall Chart
  Mysterious Island Other 9 11   Level 50
Find   Melantis Clue 2
Discover   Pyramid
1   Melantis Clue 3
  The Cavern of Riches Other 9 13   Level 10
Discover   The Pirate's Treasure Trails
5,000,000 
1   Elite Amulet of Strength
1   Elite Amulet of Ranged
1   Elite Amulet of Magic
  Wet Forest Other 9 16   Level 10 60   Oxilyme Seeds
60   Mantalyme Seeds
60   Lemontyle Seeds
  Forest of Goo Other 9 17 500   Goo
  The Snow Covered Pier Port 9 25   Level 35 1,000,000 
  Watchtower Dig Site 10 2   Level 90
Find   Island Chart
  The Pirate's Treasure Trails Other 10 6   Level 35
  The Eye-Conic Cave Other 10 18 1   Barrier Gem
69   Eyeball
  The Fisherman's Bounty Active 10 27 500   Raw Swordfish +20% chance to gain GP equal to base fish sale price while Fishing
-3% Fishing Interval
+10% chance to gain 1 cooked version of a fish when Fishing
  Northern Cove Other 11 1   Level 90 3,000,000 
30,000   Paper
  The Bustling Port Port 11 8   Level 65
  High Lands Other 11 9   Level 65 30,000 
10   Dragon Claw Fragment
10   Ancient Claw Fragment
  Spider Forest Active 11 13   Level 10 +0.2s Attack Interval
+50% chance to ignore Slow effects
  A Harvest Haven Farm Other 11 16 60   Potato Seeds
60   Onion Seeds
60   Cabbage Seeds
  The Sunset Fishing Point Other 11 22 50   Raw Salmon
  The Penguin Bay Other 11 25   Level 35 3,000   Raw Shrimp
2,000   Raw Sardine
1,000   Raw Crab
  The Molten Peak Active 12 11   Level 65 +10% chance to ignore Frostburn
+10% chance to ignore burn
+5% Chance to apply burn when attacking
  The Southern Lighthouse Other 12 18 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  The Beginning Port Port 12 19 10,000 
100   Normal Logs
100   Bronze Bar
  A Sadge Kraken Other 12 21 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  The Engraved Riches Other 13 2   Level 80
Discover   The Pirate's Treasure Trails
5,000,000 
50,000   Summoning Shard (Red)
50,000   Summoning Shard (Green)
50,000   Summoning Shard (Blue)
50,000   Summoning Shard (Silver)
50,000   Summoning Shard (Gold)
50,000   Summoning Shard (Black)
  Sacrificial Site Dig Site 13 12   Level 10
Find   Cult Flyer
  The Restless Sanctum Other 13 14   Level 10 1,000   Bones
  Farmer's Market Other 13 16 500   Potatoes
  Old Village Dig Site 13 17
  The Glacial Expanse Other 13 25   Level 35 5,000   Ice Arrows
  Golbin Village Other 14 15 1,000   Bronze Bar
  A New Start Other 14 17 250 
50   Shrimp
1   Bronze Dagger
  The Watchful Ship Other 14 20 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  The Fake Port Other 15 3
  Bazaar Dig Site 15 11   Level 65
Find   City Chart
  The Frosty Haven Other 15 25   Level 80 100,000 
  Toxic Swamps Other 16 8   Level 50 500   Lethal Toxins Potion IV
  Pyramid Other 16 13   Level 35
Find   Melantis Clue 1
1   Melantis Clue 2
  Aeris Dungeon Ruins Active 17 2   Level 80 -0.1s Crafting Interval
-0.1s Fletching Interval
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Crafting (Cannot be doubled)
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Fletching (Cannot be doubled)
  The Misty Port Port 17 6 1,500,000 
  The Shimmering Oasis Active 17 14   Level 35 100,000 
20   Amulet of Glory
20   Amulet of Accuracy
-50% Auto Eat Efficiency
+2% Auto Eat Threshold
  Holy Isles Other 17 17   Level 10 2,000   Holy Dust
100   Medium Urn (Enchanted)
  The New Horizon Other 17 20 500,000 
5,000   Paper
  Glacia City Ruins Dig Site 17 25   Level 80
  The Secret Glacial Hoard Active 17 28   Level 80 2,000,000 
2,500   Diamond
2,500   Sapphire
2,500   Topaz
2,500   Ruby
2,500   Emerald
-0.1s Herblore Interval
-0.1s Runecrafting Interval
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Herblore (Cannot be doubled)
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Runecrafting (Cannot be doubled)
  The Flowery Fields Other 18 14   Level 35 2,000   Wildflower
  The Shimmering Sands Outpost Other 18 15   Level 35 -10% Cartography travel costs (for 10 travels)
  A Secluded Hut Other 18 17   Level 10 1,000   Normal Logs
1,000   Oak Logs
  The Moonlit Pier Other 19 8   Level 35 5,000   Stardust
1,000   Golden Stardust
1,000   Secret Stardust Potion IV
  Perilous Peaks Active 19 9   Level 80 2,000   Dragon Bones +20% Flat Slayer Area Effect Negation
-40% Slayer Coins
  The Perilous Ascent Other 19 10   Level 80 350,000 
  The River Rest Other 19 14   Level 35 200,000 
  The Frostbite Bluff Other 19 25   Level 80 100,000 
  Castle Ruins Dig Site 20 3   Level 80
Find   Navigation Chart
  Ancient Forge Dig Site 20 12   Level 80
Find   Shipment Chart
  Quarry Dig Site 20 13   Level 35
  The Eastern Deceitful Woods Other 20 18   Level 20 5,000   Steel Arrows
  The Frost Drift Port Port 20 26   Level 80 2,000,000 
  The Golbin's Stash Other 21 8   Level 35 2,000 
20   Diamond
10   Topaz
  Secret Mines Dig Site 21 15   Level 35
Discover   The Abandoned Vein Mine
  Castle of Kings Other 21 16   Level 20 1   Knight's Cape
1   (G) Mithril Platebody
  The Shadowed Port Port 21 20   Level 20 100,000 
  The Lone Huntress Other 22 5
  Dragon Valley Other 22 13   Level 35 50,000 
  The Abandoned Vein Mine Other 22 15   Level 35
Discover   Old Mine
5,000   Mithril Ore
5,000   Adamantite Ore
5,000   Runite Ore
5,000   Dragonite Ore
  Mucky Cave Other 22 18   Level 35
  The Flickering Fire Camp Other 22 20   Level 35 4,000   Basic Soup
  Fisherman's Enclave Other 22 22   Level 20
  Lost Temple Dig Site 23 8   Level 35
Find   Old Temple Chart
  The Capital City Crossroads Other 23 10   Level 35 1,000,000 
  Old Mine Other 23 14   Level 35 3,000   Coal Ore
  Shallow Shores Other 23 23 Discover   Fisherman's Enclave 2,000   Raw Shrimp
1,000   Raw Crab
500   Raw Lobster
  The Sea Noodle Other 23 25 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  The Capital City's Square Other 24 10   Level 35 1,000,000 
  The Capital City's Knights Other 24 11   Level 35 1,000,000 
  The Cityscape Bridge Other 24 12   Level 35 1,000,000 
  Stoneworkers Dig Site 24 14   Level 35
  Willowshire Other 25 7   Level 35 -5% Cartography travel costs (for 10 travels)
  The Capital City's Alleyways Other 25 10   Level 35 1,000,000 
  Prat's Bridge Other 25 13   Level 35 1   Lemonade
1   Old Hat
3   Rubber Ducky
  Bandit Hideout Active 25 17   Level 35 +10% Ranged Accuracy Rating
+10% Ranged Evasion
+10% Ranged Strength Bonus from Equipment
-0.1s Thieving Interval
+25 Stealth while Thieving
  Dark Waters Active 25 26   Level 90 1,000,000  +10% Accuracy Rating
+10% Global Evasion
-20% Flat Slayer Area Effect Negation
+5% Maximum Hit
+25% Slayer Coins
  The Friendly Port Port 26 8   Level 35 1,000,000 
  Roots of Riches Other 27 6   Level 35
Discover   The Pirate's Treasure Trails
5,000,000 
4,000   Diamond
5,000   Ruby
1,000   Gold Diamond Necklace
  Capital City Lighthouse Other 27 13   Level 35 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  The Port of Nations Port 27 14   Level 35 1,000,000 
  Rosedale Other 27 18   Level 20 -5% Cartography travel costs (for 10 travels)
  The Bustling Passage Other 28 17 300,000 
  The Vibrant Port Port 28 21 100,000 
  The Pushy Sailor Other 29 9 -2% Cartography survey interval (for 10 travels)
  Ragnar Dungeon Ruins Active 29 12   Level 80 -0.1s Cooking Interval
-0.1s Firemaking Interval
-0.1s Smithing Interval
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Cooking (Cannot be doubled)
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Firemaking (Cannot be doubled)
+10% Chance to gain +1 additional resource in Smithing (Cannot be doubled)
  The Outer Regions Other 30 17   Level 90 20,102,022 
  The Edge of Darkness Other 31 0   Level 100 2,000,000 
  The Sand-Covered Treasure Other 31 17   Level 90 1,000,000 
500   Diamond
1,000   Damage Reduction Potion IV
  The Multicultural Port Port 31 18   Level 90 5,000,000 

Skill Boosts

This table lists most sources of Cartography-specific modifier boosts. For a list of boosts that apply to all skills, see the Skill Boosts page. This list does not contain boosts provided from   Mastery rewards.