Captain's Reef, vague landmarks and bad luck maps

[phil quota]

Map to my grandfather, lost city and Maltoban's hideout all said "Northwest of Gran Grenada". I still can't find Maltoban's hideout because the only non-generic landmark is "Capain's Reef" in the middle of a lake. Where is Captain's Reef?

Any map labeled NW of Gran Grenada is a screw job, realizing how much land mass is NW of GG. I started out going west of the Indian village east of GG. (roughly 1667-68) I didn't realize that seeing no landmarks means that there is nothing there. I made several trips to GG and wilderness north and west until I realized this. I was able to find both my grandfather and the lost city roughly south of Villa Hermosa. That good luck is countered by the bad luck of being unable to find Maltoban's hideout. I made my way all up the coast of the main land, all through Louisiana to Florida. I thought maybe I should go west past the Guianas and Brasil. The game tells you to turn back, that you are out of the action of the Spanish Main, essentially at the boundaries of the map. I've never been to Panama and I don't think there is a "Panama Canal" of any sorts.

Where is Captain's Reef?

[Davypi]

Well, I'm not exactly sure how serious your question is or if you're just complaining about known RNG issues. The map is generated randomly so there is no way for anyone to answer your question regarding where Captains Reef is. There are known issues of the game putting hideouts so far west that they aren't identifiable. That said, I've never heard of it happening three times in one game and I've also never heard of it placing one outside the valid game area. According to the printed version of the map that comes with the game, there is a lake whose nothern tip starts at Gran Granada (What we would call Lake Cocibolca or Lake Nicaragua). In real life, there is a lake NW of GG (Lake Xolotian) but I don't know if its represented in the game. Its possible that the game spawned Captains Reef on the Pacific Ocean side of Granada, although I don't recall ever walking that far west, so you might try hitting the west coast and then follow it north to look for landmarks. My best guess is that your "lake" is actually the Gulf of Fonseca, but I could easily be wrong here. The only other inland water mass I can see on the map corresponds to Lake Okeechobee in Florida, but thats probably too far away from GG to be the right one.

https://www.google.com/maps/@12.3782683,-86.0446573,8.71z

[realist1003]

"Northwest of Gran Grenada". I still can't find Maltoban's hideout because the only non-generic landmark is "Capain's Reef" in the middle of a lake. Where is Captain's Reef?

I've gotten maps with a seamark in this particular lake several times. It's a lake that's a bit inland at the southeast base of the Yucatan peninsula. I've put an oval around the area on this map - https://imgur.com/a/qjHRwiy

You can just barely see this lake by sailing into the "elbow" where the shoreline there changes from east-west to north-south. That can be a bit tough to do, because there's a settlement (or pirate haven, mission or Indian village) at this elbow that's easy to enter when trying to sail in this area.

Depending on the precise location of what's on a treasure map around this lake, it may have a description of "northwest of Gran Granada", "south(east) of Campeche", or "southeast of Villa Hermosa". (The maps always reference the closest city, and this area is an equal distance from all three of those cities.)

Hope that this information is helpful.

[realist1003]

I'll also offer (repeating and summarizing from other comments) some general ideas for treasure maps that I've found helpful:

(1) When the treasure maps don't show any sort of seamark (the named rocks and reefs) or settlement, it usually helps to realize that there should be one nearby. It's like the treasure map is zoomed in and that reference is just off the map. This point has often helped me when Lost Cities or Montalban's hideout are "north of Veracruz" without any seamarks visible on the map. It also helps to realize that "north of Gran Granada" - without any visible seamark or settlement - will be a location just south of the stretch of east-west shoreline north of Gran Granada (that has many settlements, havens, Indian villages, and missions).

(2) As a general point looking for treasures and landmarks, I turn on the telescope and keep it straight ahead of me at all times as I walk around searching on land. It's a technique that I stumbled onto over time and that I find helpful especially at the higher levels, where the overhead doesn't show a very big area when you're on land. It often helps me see landmarks that I otherwise would have missed.

(3) Building on point (2), it's also often useful to go up on top of a hill or mountain and take advantage of that good line of sight by using the telescope to look around. Montalban's Hideout and Lost Cities are usually visible from quite some distance, so that often works as a way to find them once in the generally correct area. Also, the treasure maps - especially at the higher levels - are usually "correct" but not "complete". In other words, the landmarks on the treasure map are all there, but there will be some landmarks (the Inca Temples, stone heads, etc.) that aren't on the treasure map. A key to being sure of landmarks is therefore looking at the pattern of where two or more of them are located, and the good view from on top of a mountain helps *a lot* for doing so.

(4) For the pirate treasure maps, I've learned never to buy the first piece of one in Campeche, Villa Hermosa, Vera Cruz, or any of the settlements / pirate havens that are toward that side of the map. Pirate treasures are generated in locations close to where you buy the first piece of a map. When buying the first piece of a pirate treasure map in or near those cities, the pirate treasures can therefore be generated in tough to locate spots with maps similarly difficult to the maps for Montalban's hideout and the Lost Cities. Even worse, the pirate treasures are smaller on the screen, meaning tougher to see from a distance (with the telescope) than Montalban's Hideout or Lost Cities.

[{pDs} Rikaelus]

Originally posted by realist1003:

I've gotten maps with a seamark in this particular lake several times. It's a lake that's a bit inland at the southeast base of the Yucatan peninsula. I've put an oval around the area on this map - https://imgur.com/a/qjHRwiy

Uhg, Thanks for that. Life saver. The only land mark was Rum Rock "northwest of Gran Granada" but to add insult to injury, there was ANOTHER Rum Rock along the coast proper but it didn't match the terrain. It still had me looking in the wrong place for a long time, thinking the terrain graphic was just screwed up.

Also amusingly, the second I saw your oval I remembered having this exact same problem in the past and finding someone hint to this same location. /facepalm

[Penny]

Originally posted by realist1003:

"Northwest of Gran Grenada". I still can't find Maltoban's hideout because the only non-generic landmark is "Capain's Reef" in the middle of a lake. Where is Captain's Reef?

I've gotten maps with a seamark in this particular lake several times. It's a lake that's a bit inland at the southeast base of the Yucatan peninsula. I've put an oval around the area on this map - https://imgur.com/a/qjHRwiy

Hope that this information is helpful.

Sorry to necro this but this but I'm giving this the thumbs up in the hopes that any others in the future will see this and find it helpful. I literally spent hours trying to find Montalban's hideout and all I saw was a little lake with "Captain's Reef" -- which confused me to no end, because there was another Captain's Reef not far east along the coastline, *not* in a lake. Searched that area (again, for literal hours) being confused as to why none of the landmarks were showing up.

Found this discussion, checked that little elbow corner, and lo and behold... another Captain's Reef, tucked away in a tiny lake, with Montalban waiting for me. My sigh of relief was stronger than the westward Caribbean winds near a stormy squall. Bless you for this.