What's the trick to prospecting specific mat types?

[phoenyx]

I've picked up the skills for finding Points and for finding Shafts. I've made custom actions that combine the Find within 100 meters option and the Find Shafts option, or Find within 100 meters and Find Points.

I use these custom actions, they lead me to a spot, and then when I prospect I can NOT find the specific mat type. I've even tried making a custom action with range increase, angle increase, and the specific item type. When I use that, it will tell me there is no item of the specified type, but the specified material is "near by."

I've moved all over the area in small increments using choice prospecting too, and will find all manner of mats, but NEVER the type for which I'm specifically looking, even though my prospecting attempts with the mat-specific options tell me there is something either right in front of me or else "near by."

Any clues as to what I'm doing wrong here, or is this a bug I should report?

[tekkor]

I've picked up the skills for finding Points and for finding Shafts. I've made custom actions that combine the Find within 100 meters option and the Find Shafts option, or Find within 100 meters and Find Points.

I use these custom actions, they lead me to a spot, and then when I prospect I can NOT find the specific mat type. I've even tried making a custom action with range increase, angle increase, and the specific item type. When I use that, it will tell me there is no item of the specified type, but the specified material is "near by."

I've moved all over the area in small increments using choice prospecting too, and will find all manner of mats, but NEVER the type for which I'm specifically looking, even though my prospecting attempts with the mat-specific options tell me there is something either right in front of me or else "near by."

Any clues as to what I'm doing wrong here, or is this a bug I should report?

Hmm I dont have an exact answer for you but I do have an observation on this...

The location of materials sometimes is very very very small. For instance last night I founds a spot for some choice shafts. I extracted about 4 pieces....then one time I moved I guess a little to far past it by maybe 2 feet and I picked up a line of choice cloth.

So I started extracting it.....if I moved back more then 2-3 feet I would pick up the shaft bark.....if I moved 2-3 feet to far past the cloth spot I was getting basic shell stuff....... the area for the choice cloth was literally pegged in a small little 4 foot gap or so. Very crazy. I had to make a visual note of a flower so I could get it over and over without prospecting into one of the other ones.

So it could be there but in a very small window.

[anicolai]

I've picked up the skills for finding Points and for finding Shafts. I've made custom actions that combine the Find within 100 meters option and the Find Shafts option, or Find within 100 meters and Find Points.

I use these custom actions, they lead me to a spot, and then when I prospect I can NOT find the specific mat type. I've even tried making a custom action with range increase, angle increase, and the specific item type. When I use that, it will tell me there is no item of the specified type, but the specified material is "near by."

I've moved all over the area in small increments using choice prospecting too, and will find all manner of mats, but NEVER the type for which I'm specifically looking, even though my prospecting attempts with the mat-specific options tell me there is something either right in front of me or else "near by."

Any clues as to what I'm doing wrong here, or is this a bug I should report?

If you get a message saying that there are materials near by then you just have to upgrade your prospecting method. Try using Excellent or Superb prospecting on that same area.

[kierstad]

I've picked up the skills for finding Points and for finding Shafts. I've made custom actions that combine the Find within 100 meters option and the Find Shafts option, or Find within 100 meters and Find Points.

I use these custom actions, they lead me to a spot, and then when I prospect I can NOT find the specific mat type. I've even tried making a custom action with range increase, angle increase, and the specific item type. When I use that, it will tell me there is no item of the specified type, but the specified material is "near by."

I've moved all over the area in small increments using choice prospecting too, and will find all manner of mats, but NEVER the type for which I'm specifically looking, even though my prospecting attempts with the mat-specific options tell me there is something either right in front of me or else "near by."

Any clues as to what I'm doing wrong here, or is this a bug I should report?

When you get to the area that tracking points you to (noted by the range ticking down), do you just immediately prospect in just that one spot or do you do 360deg prospect? It could be you're standing right on top of it so your prospecting doesn't hit it, or it's behind you, etc.

[nunyas]

Problem may be that you are searching for "specific" mats... while yes, those will help you find that specific mat it will also give you the ever so ambiguous message of mats being "near by" but you could not find. Also, if you are using a lesser grade material prospection it will give you the same message (e.g. you prospect for "Fine" mats and the only ones near you are "choice" mats).

By far the best method for finding mats that I've used is to create a Prospect button with the widest and longest search range you have with as many source points as possible. For example, when I'm "blindly" searching for mats I use Prospect for Excellent Materials with 40 degree spread, 10 meter range, and 2 source points. The I'll enter an area that I suspect will have mats and stand 2 to 3 meters away from it and hit my "search" key. I must say that searching for "excellent mats" in the Imperial Dunes never fails to turn up a resource point if there is one in the area at all. At least, I've never had it give me the "near by" message...

hope this helps out some

[overide1]

i know not everyone likes to do this but i prettymuch harvest whatever i can to increase my level. still working on it but i plan on creating a prospection plan that pops up many sources and using the wisdom stanzas to pick and choose which source has what i want.

i guess i am just a leveler really. i do try to forage in areas with mats i want but i take it all and sell the stuff i don't need either to another player who wants them, if i can find one, or to the nearest npc for cash.

[larsa]

It seems to me that the "minor specialisation" stanzes just don't work, I believe they are broken.

Okay, I only have the "minor clothes" specialisation stanza and I'm still on the refugee island but a prospect with that stanza never has said me anything else than that "there are no materials but some are found close by", even when I prospect at a spot where a normal prospect, i.e. one without the specialisation finds exactly the materials I'm looking for.

For example I can be at my usual fiber spot and extract clothes materials. But the exactly same prospect just with an added minor specialisation brick will not find the material.

The same is true for the tracking skill, tracking for a certain type of material when there are materials at all always results in "deposit in 1 meter, end of prospection", no matter what material it is.

[usagiyo]

I will agree, the minor specifications stanza are broken for source tracking. Source tracking with a mat specification will still lead you to the closest mat of any specification. Tracking with a particular Quality, fine, choice, excellent et al. will still give you the closest mat at or lower then what you specified.

So in the case of hoping to use either one of them, mat type, or mat quality, if you are in a field of other mats, forget it. You'll go nuts trying to get it to work.

[larsa]

... So in the case of hoping to use either one of them, mat type, or mat quality, if you are in a field of other mats, forget it. You'll go nuts trying to get it to work.

Indeed, Nevrax should remove the specific mats stanzas for now and refund the skill points until the things actually work.

[korin77]

The excellent, choice, fine etc stanzas definately won't work in tracking because it finds mats from that quality down to basic. That will pick everything up. The minor specializations however do work. The one that I have, clothing specialization, picks up ALL clothing related mats. That includes clothes, resin, armor clip, stuffing AND armor shells. In a field of resources theres always one of those in there, thats why its hard to pick them up individualy.

If you are on the mainland away from the resource field and do a track, you will find the field.