Cartography

This page was last updated for (v1.2).

This page is currently a work in progress following the release of the Atlas of Discovery expansion

This page is currently incomplete and may contain some inaccurate information until it is fully updated.

Cartography

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

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. When first uncovering the map, each tile 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 tiles will be increased to 5.

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

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, although "non-combat skill interval" reductions from Harold or the Elite Pillar of Expertise won't affect it.

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).

Types of "Points of Interest"

These are the types of "Points of Interest" that can be discovered underneath a Hex.

Icon	Description
	An Archaeology Dig Site.
	A standard "Point of Interest" which will some times 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.

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.

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 intial maximum Hex level.
Carthulu is unlocked after 944 Hexes have been Mastered (Reach 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.

Name		Level	Cost	Cartography Interval		Increased Sight Range		Increased Survey Range
				This Ship	Total	This Ship	Total	This Ship	Total
	Ship Hull Upgrade	20	25,000 500	-2%	-2%	0	0	0	0
	Ship Mast Upgrade	35	250,000 1,000 , 500	-2%	-4%	+1	+1	0	0
	Ship Sails Upgrade	50	1,000,000 3,000 , 600	-2%	-6%	0	+1	0	0
	Ship Anchor Upgrade	60	5,000,000 5,000 , 750	-2%	-8%	0	+1	+1	+1
	Ship Rudder Upgrade	70	25,000,000 100,000 8,000 , 1,000	-2%	-10%	0	+1	0	+1
	Ship Keel Upgrade	85	75,000,000 1,000,000 12,000 , 3,000	-2%	-12%	+1	+2	0	+1
	Ship Crow's Nest Upgrade	99	150,000,000 2,000,000 20,000 , 10,000 , 5,000	-2%	-14%	0	+2	0	+1
	Ship Combat Overhaul	110	500,000,000 5,000,000 2,000 , 2,000 , 2,000 , 2,000 , 2,000	-5%	-19%	0	+2	0	+1

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.

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.

Source	Type	Cartography Boosts	Other Modifiers
River Crossing	Agility Obstacle 2	-5% dig site map refinement cost -5% Cartography survey interval +5% Cartography Skill XP
Cave Trail	Agility Obstacle 4	+5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions	+6% Archaeology Mastery XP +6% Archaeology Skill XP
Ocean Drifting	Agility Obstacle 9	-10% dig site map refinement cost -5% Cartography Interval +10% Chance to Double Items in Cartography	+10% Chance to Double Items in Archaeology
Nysa	Constellation	-5% dig site map refinement cost -5% Cartography survey interval +5% Chance to Double Items in Cartography +8% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions +8% Cartography Skill XP	+5% Chance to Double Items in Archaeology +8% Archaeology Mastery XP +8% Archaeology Skill XP
Archaeology Skillcape	Item (Cape)	+10% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions	+1 level of the Brush Tool in Archaeology +1 level of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology +1 level of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology +1 level of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
Cape of Completion (Atlas of Discovery)	Item (Cape)	-20% dig site map refinement cost -50% Cartography Dig Site Map upgrade interval -30% Cartography survey interval +15% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions +20% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography	+3 levels of the Brush Tool in Archaeology +1 minimum Items found in Archaeology +3 levels of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology +3 levels of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology +3 levels of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
Cartography Skillcape	Item (Cape)	-10% dig site map refinement cost -20% Cartography Dig Site Map upgrade interval +10% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography
Superior Archaeology Skillcape	Item (Cape)	+15% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions	+3 levels of the Brush Tool in Archaeology +1 minimum Items found in Archaeology +3 levels of the Shovel Tool in Archaeology +3 levels of the Sieve Tool in Archaeology +3 levels of the Trowel Tool in Archaeology
Superior Cartography Skillcape	Item (Cape)	-20% dig site map refinement cost -50% Cartography Dig Site Map upgrade interval -30% Cartography survey interval +20% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography
Dividers	Item (Consumable)	-20% dig site map refinement cost
Sailor's Compass	Item (Ring)	-6% Cartography travel costs
Captains Logbook	Item (Shield)	+8% Cartography Skill XP 100% increased travel event chance in Cartography
Enhanced Spyglass	Item (Weapon)	-10% Cartography travel costs -10% Cartography Interval +5 Cartography sight range +5 Cartography survey range
Old Fancy Quill	Item (Weapon)	-5% Cartography Interval +8% Cartography Skill XP
Old Spyglass	Item (Weapon)	-8% Cartography travel costs -10% Cartography Interval +1 Cartography survey range
Sturdy Fancy Quill	Item (Weapon)	-5% Cartography Interval +20% Chance to Double Items in Cartography +20% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography +8% Cartography Skill XP
Carthulu	Pet	Doubles the effects of all positive Active Modifiers from Point of Interests in Cartography
Skye	Pet	-5% Cartography travel costs
Warren	Pet	+5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions
The Monolith	Point of Interest	-5% Cartography Dig Site Map upgrade interval +5% chance to preserve dig site map excavation actions +5% Chance to Preserve Resources in Cartography
+1 Archaeology Dig Site Map Slot	Upgrade	+1 Dig Site Map slots
+1 Archaeology Dig Site Map Slot	Upgrade	+1 Dig Site Map slots
+1 Archaeology Dig Site Map Slot	Upgrade	+1 Dig Site Map slots
Cartographer's Enhancement	Upgrade	-5% Cartography travel costs -5% Cartography survey interval +2% Cartography Skill XP
Cartographer's Knowledge	Upgrade	-5% Cartography travel costs -5% Cartography survey interval +2% Cartography Skill XP
Ship Anchor Upgrade	Upgrade	-2% Cartography Interval +1 Cartography survey range
Ship Combat Overhaul	Upgrade	-5% Cartography Interval
Ship Crow's Nest Upgrade	Upgrade	-2% Cartography Interval
Ship Hull Upgrade	Upgrade	-2% Cartography Interval
Ship Keel Upgrade	Upgrade	-2% Cartography Interval +1 Cartography sight range
Ship Mast Upgrade	Upgrade	-2% Cartography Interval +1 Cartography sight range
Ship Rudder Upgrade	Upgrade	-2% Cartography Interval
Ship Sails Upgrade	Upgrade	-2% Cartography Interval
Travel Token	Upgrade	-10% Cartography travel costs

Melvor Idle version v1.2.2 (Released: 15th November 2023)
Combat: Attack Strength Defence Hitpoints Ranged Magic Prayer Slayer
Skills: Woodcutting Fishing Firemaking Cooking Mining Smithing Thieving Farming Fletching Crafting Runecrafting Herblore Agility Summoning Astrology Township Cartography Archaeology Alternative Magic
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Reference Tables: Items, Equipment, Experience Table, Upgrading Items, Combat Areas, Slayer Areas, Dungeons, Chest Loot Tables, Monsters, Monster Loot Tables