Superior Buried Treasure: More Valuable Than We Thought (Data & Farming)

tl;dr Collecting loot during the Search for Buried Treasure in the Desert Highlands is a better farm than we thought, worth at least 15g/hour, potentially more than 50 gold. It takes practice to extract value from the event, because it's only 20 minutes, so it's not as easy as the competing Auric Basin meta. Still, I'd recommend giving it a try because it's a good source of elegy and intact mosaics and there's a chance of a music box.

The Search for Buried Treasure takes place every hour (starting at the top of the odd, UTC hours). It requires mounting up and using Treasure Maps to echo-locate spots where treasure is located. These can be anywhere in the Desert Highlands, which could theoretically cause you to waste time running around; fortunately there are ways around that. Once you find the loot, you have to wait briefly to channel "digging it up" after which you gain a container. The event lasts for 20 minutes.

Reasons for Unpopularity & Resurgence

The reasons this hasn't become popular before are:

• Change of Value: Intact Mosaics used to be cheap; current market values have increased the container value by 10-20%.
• Challenge: It's a freaking pain to learn to do this efficiently, scaring off the most casual farmer.
• Timing: The event is short; you have to make every second count. Worse, it only takes place once every other hour; it conflicts with Auric Basin meta, which is less effort and comparable in value.

Here's why I recommend it:

• There's a chance of an account bound Khadari's Music Box
• It's a solo source of Elegy Mosaics, which otherwise require group effort.
• The gold is sufficient to make it worth the time.
• If you're lucky and get several recipe boxes, it would be much more valuable.

updated: added a tip about using the map to identify the general location of the treasure, saving a lot of time; you'll need that to get more than 10-12 treasures in the 20 minutes.

u/intp37 farmed a stack of Superior Buried Treasure, growing the amount of data available on the wiki by over 50%. The average market value that player's containers turned out to be roughly at least 25s and possibly as much as 80 silver or more. An experienced harvester can collect 20-25 superior treasures during the 20 minutes the event lasts, which translates to 5g to 20g per session, or 15-60 gold per hour. The wiki's data shows a bit more value, so I've stuck with the lower numbers here to set expectations better.

Large Range of Values

There's a huge range between the lowest & highest values. The factors determining whether you see closer to 5g or to 20g per session are:

• How many containers you open. If alone & inexperienced, expect to extract 8-10. You can get 20-25 if experienced. And people who do this in a group claim many more containers.
• How lucky you are in loot, with the highest value loot including: Zehtuka recipe boxes, rare unID gear, and Intact Mosaics.
• Whether you sell instantly or make a custom offer.

Basic Mechanics (updated)

• Mount up
• Double-click a treasure kit.
• Look for the ping on the mini (or macro) map: it will show the treasure's location.
• Use a waypoint to get close
• Repeatedly use the special action key: far is red, not far is yellow, and nearby is green.
• Follow the green ping and use the special action to uncover the treasure. Dig it up.

Data from 250 Superior Buried Treasures

Highlights: 79 elegy mosaics (funerary currency), 65 rare unID, 9 intact mosaics (material), 1 ascended recipe, two exotic gear items, a handful of orbs

! 26s89c! 10 Spirit Shards! 2218 Trade Contracts! 79 Elegy Mosaics! 13 Trader Keys!! 124 common unid! 204 uncommon unid! 65 rare unid!! 37 Congealed Putrescences! 87 Empyreal Fragments! 102 Eyes of Kormir! 9 Intact Mosaics! 325 Milling Stones! 7 Obsidian Shards! 106 Piles of Bloodstone Dust! 18 Slivers of Twitching Forgemetal!! 28 elonian rares! 1 exotic armor (Salomon's Jousting Halter of the Rebirth)! 1 exotic weapon (Timera's Shield of Good Cheer)!! 20 Medallions of the Magi! 21 Medallions of the Rabid! 15 Medallions of the Shaman! 16 Medallions of the Soldier! 1 Crest of the Shaman!! 25 Coral Tentacles! 28 Beryl Crystals! 27 Chrysocola crystals! 14 Emerald Crystals! 24 Ruby Crystals! 14 Opal Crystals! 25 Sapphire Crystals! 2 Agate Orbs! 1 Chrysocola Orb! 1 Emerald Orbs!! 9 Black Diamonds! 3 Ebony Orbs! 4 Freshwater Pearls! 3 Moonstone Orbs!! 3 Maguuma Burls! 5 Sunset Jewels!! 1 Recipe: Sunset Amulet! 2 Recipes: Sunset Earring! 2 Recipes: Sunset Ring! 1 Recipe: The Twins' Grieving Insignia! 1 Stories of the Great Zehtuka

Tips & Tricks

• Locate (but don't uncover) the first treasure before the event. Uncover it on the hour, saving you time.
• Map (mini/macro) will show a ping of the location; you can use a waypoint to get close.
• Mobility & stealth help, to avoid trash mobs, otherwise they will slow you down drastically. (Shadow Refuge as you dismount is excellent, so you can remount before you're noticed.)
• Avoid horrid locations like Prophet's Fall or Sunderlands by using [F12] to exit the map and reset (you map isn't spent, although many of us have way too many to care).
• Farming in a group is much more effective, the more the better, since each person gets their own location and one will be closer/more convenient. (see below)
• There are a limited number of locations, so it gets easier. You can also use TACO with a treasure marker pack.
• Whenever possible, use the Griffon, because: you get a better angle from the air, you can avoid mobs for longer, and have good range.
• Drink a Cup of Coffee: gives quickness for 20 minutes.

Additional tips for working in a groupIf everyone uses a kit together, one will be closer than the rest. With luck, a yellow or even a green ping. Follow that person. Once you dig up treasure, everyone can start again going for a new location. Each person you add to the group increases the odds you have a nearby treasure, thus reducing the amount of travel required (and reducing the need to exit the map because of a bad spawn).

Sources, Links, Etc

• Original Post on Reddit
• Superior Buried Treasure on the wiki
• The Search for Buried Treasure event article
• Wiki Data
• Tekkit's marker pack that includes potential locations (alternatively: the ALL-in-ONE pack) & TACO itself

added: @mindcircus.1506's suggestion about Cup of Coffee as food and updated notes about stealth per their commentsadded: data from original redditor (for those who don't want to go searching)

I'm bookmarking this thread.

I love said treasure hunt, but I had not heard about any of the music boxes before! :o (except for the gramophone and the SAB ones)

@Ashantara.8731 said:I love said treasure hunt,Would you mind sharing how often you run it (daily? weekly? more? less?) ? And how many Superior treasures do you uncover usually? Is 20-25 realistic to expect for an experienced digger? Any techniques you use that you want to share?

The music box is acc bound, so unless you are interested in it, it has no real value.

@Susy.7529 said:The music box is acc bound, so unless you are interested in it, it has no real value.

Im surprised it drops so rarely, ive opened tons of the containers they are supposed to be in since PoF has been out and havent seen one, had no idea it was a thing till it was mentioned a few days ago!

Do you know what this meta-event needs? A boss.

For example, a Wraith or a petrified Stone Summit Dwarf (using Ogden's animation rig) that was the one who hid the treasures.

As more players uncover treasures there would be a progress bar filling up, and if enough people gathers enough treasures, the boss spawns at the location of the player who gathered the most treasure. This boss will have 2 guaranteed rare drops from the Superior Treasure Chest, and also have rare chances to drops a tonic of its own form, and a "Stoneskin" infusion that gives the player the appearance of a stone dwarf, clothes and all.

@MithranArkanere.8957 said:Do you know what this meta-event needs?Sounds as if it's worth it to you to start a thread suggesting the change.

@"MithranArkanere.8957" said:Do you know what this meta-event needs? A boss.

For example, a Wraith or a petrified Stone Summit Dwarf (using Ogden's animation rig) that was the one who hid the treasures.

As more players uncover treasures there would be a progress bar filling up, and if enough people gathers enough treasures, the boss spawns at the location of the player who gathered the most treasure. This boss will have 2 guaranteed rare drops from the Superior Treasure Chest, and also have rare chances to drops a tonic of its own form, and a "Stoneskin" infusion that gives the player the appearance of a stone dwarf, clothes and all.

I like this

@Susy.7529 said:The music box is acc bound, so unless you are interested in it, it has no real value.

I've updated my post to remind people it's bound. Thank you.

Just for clarification,

If I have an hour to play, after work/before dinner, and learn/execute the techniques you describe, are the gold per hour amounts you describe really achievable?

@Ashen.2907 said:Just for clarification,

If I have an hour to play, after work/before dinner, and learn/execute the techniques you describe, are the gold per hour amounts you describe really achievable?

Yes, which is why I used those numbers.

• According to the redditor, they earned their stack in 3-4 hours, which is nine to twelve sessions, or 20-27 superior treasures per event.
• Based on the listed drops (validated by wiki data), the market value is at least 25s (closer to 27 in my calcs; I just rounded down) to 30s, presuming bad luck. (First is insta-sell value; second is custom offer.) 20 treasures @25s each is 5g per event, i.e. 15g/hour, the lower number I posted.
• With lucky drops, that increases to 50-80s per container. 25 treasures @80s is 20g per event, i.e. 60g/hour; I posted 50g as the higher number.

20 treasures per event requires practice. The OP used those numbers and was backed up by other redditors.

In other words, yes, those are achievable numbers for people willing to learn the techniques.

@Susy.7529 said:The music box is acc bound, so unless you are interested in it, it has no real value.

The value is that is it rare and account bound. Of course I am interested. ;)

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:Would you mind sharing how often you run it (daily? weekly? more? less?) ? And how many Superior treasures do you uncover usually? Is 20-25 realistic to expect for an experienced digger? Any techniques you use that you want to share?

Rarely (when I remember, like these past two days about four times). And no special technique, just using the kits and heading to grab the loot. I got the Twin's insignia recipe out of one, 2 Freshwater Pearls, a couple of Diamonds, and a recipe for Bountiful Maintenance Oil (the latter being worth 37+ gold) for valuable loot.

Like I said, never had heard of those music boxes before today and never have found one so far.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:Just for clarification,

If I have an hour to play, after work/before dinner, and learn/execute the techniques you describe, are the gold per hour amounts you describe really achievable?

• According to the redditor, they earned their stack in 3-4 hours, which is nine to twelve sessions, or 20-27 superior treasures per event.
• Based on the listed drops (validated by wiki data), the market value is at least 25s (closer to 27 in my calcs; I just rounded down) to 30s, presuming bad luck. (First is insta-sell value; second is custom offer.) 20 treasures @25s each is 5g per event, i.e. 15g/hour, the lower number I posted.
• With lucky drops, that increases to 50-80s per container. 25 treasures @80s is 20g per event, i.e. 60g/hour; I posted 50g as the higher number.

I am sorry to keep bugging you with questions but I seem to be missing something. If you get 5g per session, how do you get 3 sessions in an hour? If I am able to log on at 6 pm and need to log off by 7 pm, how do I get 3 sessions in my 1 hour of play?

Thanks for this. :)

I'm not particularly interested in farming but I do like using treasure maps and I usually try to use them in Desert Highlands during the treasure hunt, which can be relatively inconvenient for me because of the 2 hour timer, so it's good to know it's worth the hassle.

@Ashen.2907 said:I am sorry to keep bugging you with questions but I seem to be missing something. If you get 5g per session, how do you get 3 sessions in an hour? If I am able to log on at 6 pm and need to log off by 7 pm, how do I get 3 sessions in my 1 hour of play?

I misunderstood, too, at first. I think he meant a total of 3-4 hours of playtime (i.e., 3 sessions of this treasure hunt = 1 hour), not actual hours on the clock.

It would be neat if this event occurred each hour instead of every two hours. :/

@Ashen.2907 said:I am sorry to keep bugging you with questions but I seem to be missing something. If you get 5g per session, how do you get 3 sessions in an hour? If I am able to log on at 6 pm and need to log off by 7 pm, how do I get 3 sessions in my 1 hour of play?

You can't do it in a single hour. You'd have to logon three times, every two hours.Nevertheless 5g in 20 minutes is 15g per hour.

It's the same calculation used to determine the AB meta rate of gold acquisition, another event that lasts less than an hour.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:I am sorry to keep bugging you with questions but I seem to be missing something. If you get 5g per session, how do you get 3 sessions in an hour? If I am able to log on at 6 pm and need to log off by 7 pm, how do I get 3 sessions in my 1 hour of play?

Hmm,

Too bad. I have tons of the maps and had hoped that this was an actual 15g per hour option. If I would need to set aside two hours and twenty minutes for the game in order to make the one hour rate its not going to work for me. 15g return from setting aside nearly two and half hours of my day is a pretty low return.

Thank you for the initial heads up, and the answers, anyway.

@Ashen.2907 said:Too bad. I have tons of the maps and had hoped that this was an actual 15g per hour option. If I would need to set aside two hours and twenty minutes for the game in order to make the one hour rate its not going to work for me. 15g return from setting aside nearly two and half hours of my day is a pretty low return.

Thank you for the initial heads up, and the answers, anyway.

You only need to set aside 70+ minutes; it's just that it's not continuous minutes. This isn't any different from doing world boss events: you do the ones that coincide with your schedule. This one would substitute for AB meta in the rotation.

I don't have good data on the value of the ordinary buried treasures. They might be worth farming. In fact, since my minimum value doesn't depend on 'lucky' drops, it's possible that they are also worth close to 20s each. If that's true (and again, I have no data one way or the other), then you can do that at any time.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:Too bad. I have tons of the maps and had hoped that this was an actual 15g per hour option. If I would need to set aside two hours and twenty minutes for the game in order to make the one hour rate its not going to work for me. 15g return from setting aside nearly two and half hours of my day is a pretty low return.

Thank you for the initial heads up, and the answers, anyway.

I know that they are others with differing schedules than myself but I would need to be able to be at my computer over the course of a period of two and a half hours in order to earn the one hour rate described. I will stick with farms where I can set aside one hour of my day to achieve my per hour return. rather than two and a half hours for the same rate.

I do enjoy the event and have used it in the past to farm up a few intact Mosaics. It's pretty effective.Basically to make the gathering of buried treasure go as fast as possible you can't spend any time dealing with the mobs around. This is especially important if the buried treasure is in the branded areas, where they can knock you back one after the other into more aggro.

My biggest tip is to run this event on thief, Staff/Shortbow Daredevil. On your skill bar run Blinding Powder, Shadowstep and Shadow Refuge. Trait that to suit your tastes.Then pair that with a cup of light roasted coffee for food.You fly to the spot the map points you and try to dismount as close as possible to it, then immediately cast Shadow refuge open the chest and either SB5 or Shadowstep away. The quickness buff from the coffee makes this much faster. Often if you play it right you can grab the buried treasure if it's is in the middle of some mobs and be long gone.Blinding powder is also a very effective disengage.

Lets also be clear though... the average, low end yield of this event, in terms of raw gold is not that much better than harvesting iron/plat/wood in core Tyria

Then pair that with a cup of light roasted coffee for food.Great tip. Completely forgot about it.

@Ashen.2907 said:

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:Too bad. I have tons of the maps and had hoped that this was an actual 15g per hour option. If I would need to set aside two hours and twenty minutes for the game in order to make the one hour rate its not going to work for me. 15g return from setting aside nearly two and half hours of my day is a pretty low return.

Thank you for the initial heads up, and the answers, anyway.

No, you do NOT need to sit at your computer for 2 and half hours to equal the 1 hour rate described. Let me give you an example of how it would work, you do the first event at 1pm, it takes 20 minutes then you log off when it's finished a do something else, at 3 pm you log back on and do it a second time, rinse and repeat at 5 pm, now you've done the event for 1 hour, without sitting at your computer for 4 and half hours. Now do you understand the math?

Personally I keep forgetting to do this event, even though I have over a 1000 Treasure Maps.