[Guide] Collection System and Collectibles

[Iolanthe]

[Dev Diary] Collectible Items II

The Collections System offers the chance to build buffs using resources found on Home Islands and Adventures. Most Collectibles are scattered randomly around your Home Island a few times a day in areas you have explored and can be hunted like items in Where's Wally, some can also be found on Adventures. Even if you only ever collect the items you happen to find as you go about other things they'll add up quickly.

• Collectible Resources, Collections Buffs, Trade, and Buffs to Reveal Collectibles

The Collectibles appear on the Island at level 16, then the Collections tab is added to the Mayor and there is a Quest Chain to introduce them:

• Quest Chain, Adventure Info, and "Collect All"

Sample images can be found here:

• Help Window, Sample Images, and Extremely Hidden Collectibles

Frequently Asked Questions and Search Tips:

• FAQ, Tips and Tricks

[Iolanthe]

•Collectible Resources•

Home Island

Herbs - Available from level 16
Scarecrow - Available from level 16
Food Cart - Available from level 18
Banner - Available from level 20
Kettle - Available from level 20
Barrel - Available from level 22
Grain Sacks - Available from level 22
Leather - Available from level 22

Adventures

Adamantium Ore - Available from 24 or any level when an invitation to an Adventure that has them is accepted.
Bronze Cauldron - Available from 26 or any level when an invitation to an Adventure that has them is accepted.

Herbs, Scarecrows, Food Carts, Banners, Kettles, Barrels, Grain Sacks and Leather can be found only "at home" while Adamantium Ore and Bronze Cauldrons are found only Adventures.

Friends can visit your Island to help search and can click the Collectibles, marking them and making them easier for you to find. On Adventures any player can click and collect Adamantium Ore and Bronze Cauldrons but only players who have already joined a multiple-player Adventure when the items are collected will get them.

When enough Collectibles have been found or bought in Trade (there is, of course, also a 'Complete instantly for gems' option) buffs can be made in the Mayor's House and like many other things there are level requirements to build them. Collections buffs can be Traded and most can be used on friends with the usual benefits. The Barracks' and Mayor's buffs can be used only on your Home Island.

•Collections Buffs from the Mayor's House•

Country Saying
Level 16 - Cost: 25 Herbs, 20 Scarecrows
Effect: Add 400 Wheat to a Wheatfield.


Harvest Ritual
Level 18 - Cost: 20 Herbs, 12 Food Carts
Effect: x4 Production on a Farm or Silo for 12 hours.


Hunting Contest
Level 22 - Cost: 20 Barrels, 10 Banners, 4 Grain Sacks, 3 Leather
Effect: x5 Production on a Butcher for 6 hours.


Miracle Bait
Level 22 - Cost: 20 Barrels, 10 Kettles, 4 Grain Sacks, 3 Leather
Effect: x5 Production on a Fisherman for 6 hours.


Whips and Carrots
Level 23 - Cost: 25 Herbs, 15 Scarecrows, 10 Kettles, 5 Banners
Effect: x4 Production on a Stable for 6 hours.


Drill Sergeant Skunk
Level 23 - Cost: 25 Scarecrows, 6 Food Carts, 6 Kettles, 15 Banners
Effect: x3 Recruitment speed on the Barracks for 12 hours.


Golden Ribbon
Level 24 - Cost: 25 Scarecrows, 15 Grain Sacks, 2 Leather, 2 Bronze Cauldrons, 2 Adamantium Ore
Effect: x3 Production on an Iron Mine or Iron Smelter for 12 hours.


A Sip From the Kettle
Level 24 - Cost: 15 Scarecrows, 10 Food Carts, 14 Kettles, 8 Banners
Effect: x2 Population growth on the Mayor for 12 hours.


Potion of Endless Energy
Level 26 - Cost: 40 Herbs, 10 Scarecrows, 12 Food Carts, 6 Bronze Cauldrons
Effect: x3 Production on any Workyard for 12 hours.


Master's Toolkit
Level 48 - Cost: 50 Barrels, 4 Banners, 10 Grain Sacks, 6 Adamantium Ore
Effect: x2 Production on an Epic Workyard for 6 hours.

"Complete Instantly for gems" works a little differently on Collections buffs than it does on most things, you do not need to own all the resources to make a buff using gems but the more resources you do own the cheaper the buff is to complete. Keep in mind even if you do use gems the game will still take any resources available for the buff though again the cost in gems will be less than making one when you have none of the items needed.

 

•Trade•

Collectibles are kept in the "Miscellaneous" section in the Trade Office and like other items in the Trade Office Collectibles and the completed buffs there do not have level restrictions.

Anyone with a Trade Office can trade Collectibles but since the storage tab does not appear in the Mayor until level 16 any that are acquired earlier will be visible only in the Trade Office 'Selling' tab when choosing 'Offer or 'Cost'.

•Buffs to Reveal Collectibles•

Should you wish to find every last Collectible and some just won't be found there are Reveal buffs available for gems in the Merchant. The Reveal buffs can also be traded in the Trade Office. Keep in mind it's wise to take a moment and make sure the costs are worth the rewards.


Home Island: Fairy Fire
Level 16 - Cost: 9 gems - Tradable
Effect: Highlights all remaining Collectible Items present on your home island (highlight lasts 5 minutes.)
Important: Before using, make sure that you still have some Collectible Items present on the island.


Adventure Island: Fairy Light
Level 16 - Cost: 19 gems - Tradable
Effect: Highlights all remaining Collectible Items present on an Adventure map (highlight lasts 5 minutes.)
Important: Before using, make sure that you still have some Collectible Items present on the island.

[Iolanthe]

•Quest Chain and Adventure Info•

Main Quest: The Collector's Path  (level 16)

Tasks:
• Collections Collection 
(level 16)

"To check your available collections open the Collection's tab in the Mayor's House. They will become available progressively as your level increases."

• Open the "Collections" tab.

"You've found it! Amazing!!"

The Mayor has a new tab, "Military" has gone and "Collections" has arrived. When clicked on the map the Collectibles go straight to the Mayor. "Collections" can only be found by clicking the Mayor, using the hotkey "h", or clicking the Resource portion of the top bar on-screen. Storehouses, regular and Improved, do not have the tab. Military info can still be found by mousing over the small Settler head in the top bar on-screen.

Reward: 1 Scarecrow - 1 Herbs

The number you own of a certain item and the cost to make a specific buff are shown as: owned/cost

The different background colours on the items in the Mayor indicate rarity, Brown is common, Green is less common, and Blue is rare.

•••

• Collecting On-Map Items 
(Quest completed "The Collections Collection") 

"Collecting the items on the map is no easy task! It will require your full attention as they are very easy to miss. For starters, gather 6 [sic] Scarecrows and 12 Herbs. If you don't see them all on the map immediately don't worry - they re-appear a few times a day." 

• Own at least 10 Scarecrows. (The quest text is incorrect, you do need 10.)
• Own at least 12 Herbs.

"How fortuitous!" 

Each icon you find and click randomly gives 1 or a few of the item.

Old Collectibles disappear from Home Islands every 8 to 10 hours when a new set arrives, the timing can vary with each reset and from player to player.

Reward: 30

•••

• Complete a Collection 
(Quest completed Collecting On-Map Items") 

"Complete the "Country Saying" collection by gathering all the required ingredients! Why are you still reading this? Get going!" 

• Produce at least one "Country Saying" at the Mayor's House and use on one of your Fields.

"At long last! It is completed!" 

When the Wheat refill is complete it will be found in the Resources tab of the Star menu like other refills, the rest of the Collections buffs appear in the Buffs tab.

Reward: 10 - 6 Scarecrows - 12 Herbs

Like orders in the Bookbinder buffs must be "Picked Up" when complete and they cannot be queued. When the building is upgrading buff production pauses though Settlers continue to arrive so long as there is room for them.

Upgrading the Mayor's House and buffs to speed population growth do not decrease production time.

•••

• Adventure Time 
(level 26 - Quest completed "Complete a Collection")

"Collect a Bronze Cauldron from an adventure map. It can only be found on adventure maps you visit and will not reappear on that adventure once you have collected it. Best of luck!"

• Own at least one Bronze Cauldron.

"You're quite the explorer!"

The quest can be completed simply by "owning" 1 Bronze Cauldron whether found on an Adventure, purchased in Trade or borrowed for just a minute.

Adventures: There is a chance of a Bronze Cauldron (and Adamantium Ore) from any standard Adventure, but only a chance, it is not guaranteed they will appear, if there is at least one Collectible to find "Collect All" will be in the Quest Book when you visit. Event Adventures are a bit of a wild card, it's uncertain whether they all have them. When you find and click one the Adventure Collectibles are delivered immediately in separate "Adventures Shipment" mail that can be claimed on the Home Island and added from the Star to the Mayor like regular loot. You do not need to send troops or complete the Adventure to find Cauldrons, if they are there you can cancel the Adventure when they've all been collected, they will not respawn.

In a multiple player Adv everyone who has joined the Adventure when a player clicks a Collectible should find a shipment mail at home, if a player joins an Adventure after a Collectible has been collected they will not get that one. The invitation must be accepted to count, simply 'invited' isn't enough so make sure everyone has actually joined before collecting.

NOTE: As of March 2014 the delivery process has been changed some on the Test server, Adventures must be completed before the mail with collectibles arrives. It is likely this will go live on the regular servers before too long.

Note: Premium does not give extra Adventure Collectibles.

Reward: 30 - 50

Quest Chain Reward: 60

•••

•"Collect All"•

A heading called holds the recurring quest to:

• Collect All

"The scouts have reported that the collectible items have reappeared on our island. You should go and check them out for yourself."

• Collect all the collectibles on the map.

"Great! You found all the collectibles! We'll have to keep an eye out for when they reappear next!"

There are no rewards for this quest, it's there just to show how many Collectibles are hiding on your Island, it resets every 8 to 10 hours when a new set of Collectibles arrives and the number of items to find can change with each reset. Use it as a guide or ignore it completely, even if you only ever click the items you stumble across they'll add up quickly.

Adventures: "Collect All" will also appear on Adventures if there is at least one Collectible to be found and Collectibles once collected do not respawn on Adventures. Remember, any standard Adv can have them but not every Adv will.

[Iolanthe]

•Help Window and Sample Images•

A Help Window has been added and can be found below your Avatar in the "Help Window Archive" -> Interfaces -> The Collections.

Home Island

You do not need to own the sector for Collectibles to appear, once the Explorer has uncovered it they will come.

Adventures

Bronze Cauldron pics snipped from Bounty Hunter and Secluded Experiments.

Some things are camouflaged or tucked away and take a fair bit of finding indeed:

Collectibles are quite small and will fit even in places a Flowerbed won't go so don't forget to check in nooks, between buildings, 'neath trees, along rugged coastlines, under wisps of cloud and in other out-of-the-way places and remember, a pair of fresh eyes can work wonders. There is also the possibility of:

•Extremely Hidden Collectibles•

Collectibles are sometimes hidden completely by the terrain or a building, if you're lucky you may be able to spot them when the map is "Loading..." and the landscape and buildings haven't yet appeared. Otherwise it really is a case of mousing over everything and crossing your fingers, purchasing a Reveal buff either from the Trade Office or for gems in the Merchant, or simply deciding to let that one stay unfound.

I have just found a collectible on my island that would never be found unless I'd rolled my mouse pointer over it, as it was hidden behind a mountain on the East side of s8:

This image shows where I found it - you can see that when the text isn't there, it's invisible. Surely, a collectible shouldn't appear here?


Original bug report on the Test server

Thanks to Jamdoggy for posting this fantastic image and to Fexno and peck_ed for other animation and images.

[Iolanthe]

Please note: This post is still a work in progress and all this information can be found in the guide above and the posts below but while real life has been demanding of late I wanted to get at least the bulk of it up in a more collected form before even more time had passed. I'll try to get things tidied and more added soon.

Once again, many thanks to everyone who has contributed, do please carry on, it's much appreciated.

•FAQ•

Home Island

• Where can I find the different Collectibles?

Herbs, Scarecrows, Food Carts, Kettles and Banners are on Home Islands only, Bronze Cauldrons are only on Adventures. They can all be found for sale or swap in the Trade Office under "Miscellaneous" as well.

• How often do Collectibles respawn?

On 23.03.16 the timing pattern was revised, now players have some control:

Every 8 hours old Collectibles are removed, a new set appears and the counter 'quest' "Collect All" restarts. The number of Collectibles can vary with each reset and the start of the 8 hour countdown is set by your first login of the day. For example: If you log in in the morning at 07.00 the next set should appear at 15.00. If you stay logged out long enough, like overnight, the timer should reset to your next login time.

• Do I have to own a sector to find Collectibles there?

No, if there are no clouds and you can see the sector Collectibles can appear there.

• What is the reward for finding all the Collectibles?

There are no rewards for "Collect All", it's there just to show how many Collectibles are hiding on your Island, it resets every time a new set of Collectibles arrives. Use it as a guide or ignore it completely, even if you only ever click the items you stumble across they'll add up quickly.

• Can I help a friend search their Island?

Yes but only the Island's owner can click and collect.

• I've started making a Collections buff in the Mayor but the timer isn't moving, is it bugged?

Buildings pause their production whilst upgrading, when the upgrade is complete production starts again. The Mayor is a little different, buff production pauses but Settlers will keep coming so long as there is there is room for them and upgrading the Mayor's House and buffs to speed population growth do not decrease buff production time.

• WHERE is the last one?!?!

Scroll down for Tips and Tricks [more coming soon]

Adventures and Bronze Cauldrons

• Which Adventures give Bronze Cauldrons?

All the standard Adventures from Explorer searches, rewards from completing another Adventure (follow-up,) and the Merchant "Adventure" section have a chance of Cauldrons, whether or not a specific one does this time is random. It's still uncertain if all the special Event Adventures have them or no.

• How do I know if my Adventure has any Cauldrons?

As soon as an Adventure has been started you can Visit and look in the Quest Book, if there are Cauldrons to find "Collect All" will show, you do not need to send any troops or complete the Adventure to collect Cauldrons. Once collected Cauldrons do not respawn on Adventures, if they've all been collected you can play or cancel the Adventure at will. Remember, any standard Adv can have them but not every one will every time.

• Does everyone on a multiple-player Adventure that has Cauldrons get them?

Everyone who has accepted the invitation before Cauldrons are collected gets their own set, simply being invited isn't enough. On Adventures every player can see and collect Cauldrons but it's wise to talk to each other, make sure everyone has actually joined the Adventure and decide who is going to collect them so nobody misses out.

• I clicked a Cauldron on an Adventure but I now can't find it anywhere, where did it go?

When you or another player finds and clicks one the Cauldrons are delivered immediately in separate "Adventures Shipment" Mail that can be claimed on the Home Island and added from the Star menu "Resources" tab to the Mayor like regular loot. To see how many you have stored in the Mayor open the Collections tab and scroll down to "Potion of Endless Energy" or look in the Trade Office -> Selling -> Place Offer -> "Offer" -> and scroll down or untick everything but "Miscellaneous".

• WHERE is the last one?!?!

Scroll down for Tips and Tricks [more coming soon]

•Tips and Tricks•

Collectibles "should" all be appear at the same time but many people swear they've found something later in a place they're certain they already checked. It's worth doing something else for a little then looking again, it's easy to look right past something if you look hard for it.

In case a graphic has glitched visiting a friend's Island and returning home or refreshing may make the missing appear and asking an eagle-eyed friend for help often ends in everything being found.

Collectibles can also be very hidden and sometimes the only way to find them is to mouse over them accidentally but here are two excellent tricks to narrow things down in sectors you own. Neither works in Bandit occupied territory or on Adventures but the vast majority of Collectibles will be in sectors you've claimed at home.:

Decorations:

Building a small deco like a Flowerbed helps to spot most collectibles

Choosing "Move Building" from the build menu for one already built works too, Collectibles make gaps in the [green].

Roads:

Collectibles are placed the same way as roads, between buildable locations.
They can be found immediately adjacent to buildings, but not behind them (although a tall building like the Trade Office may still hide them - due to the size).
And it appears that they can only appear where it is possible to build a road, which does apply to the hidden locations posted here (the "Build Street" tool highlights when you hover over them). It's likely the "cosmetics" covering more space than the actual object, like the Friary.

There is some discussion ironing out the finer points on this further down the thread but it's well worth taking a trip around the Island with the "Build Street" tool from the Toolbox in the building menu to find possible future spawning points.

[Iolanthe]

Reserved

[SwampHen]

Thanks for the helpful guide, Iolanthe. I am struggling with 3/9 collectibles on my island, but after seeing the "hidden" image examples, I'll have another go...

[arpy2013]

How long does it reappear the collectables???

[gargatzis]

Hey there... id like to khnow how many times a day does the items apear on the map?

[Shelob81]

"Even if you only ever collect the items you happen to find as you go about other things they'll add up quickly."

That one sentence at the very beginning of this guide said it all: you don't need to collect them all, even if you only click on those you can plainly see or accidentely click going about on your island will help add up quite fast. The hidden once are there for the die hard searchers, you can just leave them if you want.