Exploration has been in a bit of a sticky situation over the past many years, and we've finally sat down and decided to revamp it. This comes in a few separate changes of varying degrees.

First, the dreaded rule of threes. Bane of explorer and coder alike. Some of you know about the rule, some of you don't, but previously only one in three rooms in Achaea counted for exploration, and which rooms were selected was a bit arbitrary as far as their actual placement was concerned. This led to a lot of areas being worth significantly more or less than they should have been, in the grand scheme of things. This rule is no more! Now, some of you may realize that this causes a bit of an issue, with what was and was not tracked being moved over to the new system. Fear not! Your current progress has been updated based on exploration in rooms that were nearby, or that were pre-requisites to reach your current room. Keep in mind that there are a few exceptions, such as special exits, hidden rooms, and a few more, so if one of your top-secret hidey-holes didn't count for exploration before, you'll likely have to revisit it.

Second, old areas. From the single rooms lost to a building collapse, to the large temples lost when a Divine was slain, countless rooms have lingered in a state of limbo, counting towards exploration progress while being inaccessible to the entirety of the game. This has been rectified, and in most instances should no longer be the case. Our goal is for exploration to evolve alongside the world of Achaea, and this change should help your ranking more accurately reflect your standing within the Fellowship of Explorers. For those of you who own an Explorer's Tome, feel free to keep an eye out for any rooms or areas that we've missed in our cleanup, and BUG them accordingly.

Third come stockrooms. Some of the most highly-guarded and valuable-filled rooms in the game that, as far as the Fellowship of Explorers is concerned, amount to little more than a dusty cabinet full of boxes and bins. Given the strict security in place for these rooms, the lack of meaning tied to them, and the extremely low turnover rate of shopowners, the Fellowship of Explorers has decided to stop considering stockrooms when evaluating a member's progress.

Lastly, for those of you without an Explorer's Tome, keeping track of your progress can be a bit of a hassle. Fear not! A cartographer has set up shop in Delos, where you may purchase blank maps for a measly sum of five thousand sovereigns. These single-use items can be used to gain a rough estimate of your exploration progress in an area, via SURVEY FOR MAP.

So, what does this all mean? All in all, your exploration ranking should now be a much more accurate reflection of your status as an explorer within the world of Achaea. It should mean that your hard work to worm your way into every last crevice of a particular area won't go to waste due to a room that simply isn't tracked by the system. It should make exploration more inclusive, and competitive, across the entire game, and bring a system that's been long overdue for an overhaul much more in line with more recent systems.

Best of luck, explorers!

Penned by My hand on the 21st of Miraman, in the year 801 AF.