Detecting Hidden

Flag detecting hidden.gif

Detecting Hidden can be used to reveal hidden players and traps. There is both a passive and active form of Detect Hidden. When invoking this skill (active use), the character is given a targeting reticule and asked, "Where will you search?" The skill check is run when an area is selected. If successful, hidden characters and traps within the search range will be revealed. The further a hidden character or item is from the targeted tile, the less chance to detect successfully. Detect Hidden works against both Invisibility and Stealth, though not equally. Invisible characters are easier to detect. Use of the Detecting Hidden skill in a home the character owns or is friended to is always 100% successful. A stealther may re-hide immediately upon detection, wherein Tracking should then be used.

There is a 10 second delay between uses of Detecting Hidden.

The passive Detect Hidden range against a character using Stealth is a 4 tile radius; stealthers are advised to stay at least 4 tiles away from others.

Publish 97 removed the need to have Detect Hidden in order to train the Remove Trap skill.

Finding Hidden People

  • The radius of detection is based on your Detect Hidden skill.
  • Your chances of finding a hidden player depend on the relationship between your Detect Hidden skill and their Hiding skill.
  • House owners, co-owners and friends are able to instantly reveal anyone hidden in their house regardless of skill level. You cannot gain skill by using Detect Hidden on the house floor.
  • Having a high Detect Hidden skill helps to automatically reveal people that stealth in your vicinity; The passive Detect Hidden range against a character using Stealth is a 4 tile radius.
  • The Detect Hidden skill also helps you when you are using the Tracking skill and when you use the Reveal spell.
  • All human characters have Jack of all Trades of 20 Detect Hidden
  • All elven characters have a racial bonus increased chance to passively Detect Hidden.
  • Passive Detect Hidden is not active in “Abyss” ruleset shards.

Finding Hidden Containers

Kotl City, Exodus Dungeon and the sands around the wreck of the BMV Ararat have hidden containers which can be found using the detect hidden skill. If your skill is high enough, you will passively detect the boxes, receiving the message ‘your keen senses detect something hidden in the area’. You must then use the skill actively to locate and reveal the container. Exodus and BVM Ararat container types have 2 traps, poison and explosion. the Regal Box from the Kotl City has Poison and Dart trap

The training aid Crystal Ball of Knowledge obtained from Ortlem the Mystic’s quest is particularly useful, the difficulty of the skill being related to the distance from the target.

  • Too Easy = on the hidden box but failed attempt
  • Very Easy = 1-2 tiles away
  • Easy = 3-4 Tiles away
  • Optimal = 5+ tiles away


Dungeon Traps

Most traps in the oldest dungeons are no longer hidden, they can be seen by a graphic of a saw blade hole or poison cloud.

As of Publish 80 passive detection of other floor traps will only occur if a player has at least 75 detecting hidden skill.

Trapped Containers

Spawning or Static Boxes, Chests, Crates, Barrels and Kegs are almost always trapped. Most will have all three of the trap types.

Crafted, lockable containers can be trapped by a tinker. These include

To see if a container is trapped place it on the floor and use the Detect Hidden skill on the container or on the floor next to it.

If the container is trapped and the skill is successful the word “[trapped]” will appear over it.

In the classic client only the 3 types of container traps are displayed with a colored “[trapped]” message when detected.

  • Purple for explosion traps
  • Blue for dart traps or dart & explosion traps
  • Green for poison traps, poison & dart traps, poison & explosion traps or poison & dart & explosion traps


Virtue vs Vice Sigils & Traps

  • A passive detecting hidden check will alert the player when they are near the sigil with a message that, “Their keen senses detect something hidden in the area” if a player has at least 80 detecting hidden skill.
  • Players must use detecting hidden and have at least 100 stealing to reveal and steal the sigil.
  • Traps can be passively detected with a detecting hidden skill of at least 80
  • Traps can only be revealed by using the detecting hidden skill actively.


Training

Method 1

You will need to have tinkers of different skill levels create trapped chests for you. For starting off after training with an NPC have a tinker that makes trapped boxes for breaking paralysis make a trapped box for you. The tinker should have a skill level around 35. This will take you to roughly 60 detect hidden, at which point you can start using a trapped box made by a GM tinker. For faster skill gains you can allow a Satyr to use the Discordance skill on your character in the Twisted Weald once you reach around 50. This will allow you to use the lower level trapped box for much longer.

With the classic client create a single button macro to use the skill on your last target. Manually use the Detect Hidden skill on the box once, then continuously press the macro button to continue training. For the enhanced client create a new hotbar and drag the Detect Hidden skill icon to it. Then place the box on the ground if you are not using the enhanced container option, or you can leave it in your pack if you are using the enhanced container option. Then right click the icon on the hotbar, choose target, and choose "stored" and target the box. After that you can use that macro to train your skill.

As of December 10, 2018 (Publish 103), at from 50-100 skill the Crystal Ball of Knowledge reports the following

Detect Hidden Skill Tinker Skill 50 Tinker Skill 70 Tinker Skill 87.5 Tinker Skill 100
50 Not tested Challenging Not tested Not tested
60 Easy Optimal Not tested Very Challenging
70 Easy Optimal Not tested Challenging
80 Very Easy Easy Not tested Challenging
84 Very Easy Easy Optimal Challenging
90 Very Easy Easy Optimal Challenging
90.1 Very Easy Easy Optimal Optimal

Gains became very slow in the 83.x range, so I made 2 boxes with 87.5 skill and the gains picked up again. For most of the run, I would drop the Easy and Very Challenging items from my tests and cycle on Easy and Optimal. If I could do this without restrictions, I would get a 50, 75 and 100 skill box and run through those. As the lower one slows, the next higher one should pick up. Using a GM box at 60 skill is very slow.

Method 2

Buy 30+ skill from a Thief Guild master (there's one in new haven)

You cannot gain skill by using Detect Hidden on the house floor. but if you lock down and trapped Small Crate and then using the Crystal Ball of Knowledge stand one tile from it and detect hidden the crate. as you gain in skill you will see the message changes to easy, you then need to stand 1 tile further from the crate and the difficulty will change to optimal again. keep moving each time it gets easier. by 90 skill you should be about 8+ tiles away so make certain you have room to move.

How to make your own training box to take you all the way to GM.

  • buy 30+ tinkering from trainer in haven
  • buy 50 boards, 10 iron ingots and tinker tools from them as well.
  • buy 10 bolts from a Fletcher in new haven
  • make carpentry tool
  • use Carpentry tool to make Small Crate with 0 skill you have 75% chance... [this is wrong, you need 10.0 skill now]
  • use tinkering tool to make Dart Trap with 1 ingot and 1 Bolt
 - Good luck doing this method on Siege. Instead of doing all that, find someone who is a tinker. Done.


See Also