Big stash and "Nifty" achievement

[Sharkad]

To get an achievement "Nifty", you have to discover a big stash in a chest. Good news is that savescumming works: you can load game before opening a chest if you aren't satisfied with result, My sleight of hand is at 51 and small stashes are pretty rare and normal stashes are pretty damn rare. 100% achievement guide is kinda vague: it says that: 1) your sleight of hand should be at least 75 to event get a chance of big stash and 2) it was changed in some patch, so I'm not sure how this game mechanic works now. This topic (https://steamcommunity.com/app/933480/discussions/0/1836811737969407533/) sheds some light at this mystery, but there are no hard numbers in it, sadly.

So I wonder, do I have a chance for a big stash with 51 SoH? Has anyone discovered a big stash with low sleight of hand?

[MikeBob2013]

I've got zilch for my Slight of Hand skill (I've never increased it but I do have a +4 racial bonus, so that would make it 19, iirc) and I get the small stashes a lot. I'm going to begin improving it soon and see how it goes. ;)

[Sharkad]

Since stashes are unclear game mechanic and there is no clear explaination of it, I have decided to test it myself with a bit of console magic and a lot of patience. I have found some answers and got the achievement "Nifty" in the process, but many things are still unclear. I will post my findings here for the sake of other players.

As I have wrote earlier, savescumming allows to reroll stash in the chest. I have never encountered a big stash with 51 points in Sleight of Hand, so I have increased this skill to 65 and opened one chest multiple times (I didn't count the exact number, but I have loaded more than 50 times) and got no bih stash.

Then I have increased SoH to 75 and after multiple reloads (again, more than fifty) I got ONE big stash.

At SoH = 104 I was able to get big stashes several times, but not really ofhen (about 5% of the time, but I didn't track the number of reloads and shashes, so no hard numbers here). All of the stashes I have found contained 'Scienta Sinistra' with other valuable loot or single recipe of frost-enchanted sword.

Results and observations:

1. Getting a big stash with skill level less than 75 seems highly unlikely at best.

2. Increasing SoH past 50 doesn't seem to increase chance for small and medium stashes.

3. All of the small and medium stashes I've seen worth less than 100 coins if you sell everything you have found in it.

4. It's weird that I have seen only two kinds of big stashes. I know that big stashes can contain an awesome dagger, the best backpack, a recipe for the best thief hood or a +1 learning point book, but I haven't seen any of those items. Do they require certain player level? Do they drop in another region of Enderal (I was experimenting at the castle Golden Ford)? I would love to know that, but I don't.

Verdict:

It is no doubt that Sleight of Hand is a questionable skill. There are other crafting skills which are almost useless until really high values, but Sleight of Hand is based on randomness and there is an achievement which you can get only by opening big stash, which apparently requires getting this skill to at least 75. I really hope that devs will change this mechanic or at least explain it to us.

[MikeBob2013]

Thanks for taking the time to post your findings.

It's looking like 'Nifty' is one that's going to have wait until my next play-through.

[Puddy]

Ok, it might have saved you a bit of time and effort if i'd have posted this sooner, but...

There is a mod on Nexus that lets you change your chances for stashes. I know that's probably not what you want to do, but if you look at the 3rd pic along on that mod page, you can see the formula, as well as the default settings, for stashes.
https://www.nexusmods.com/enderal/mods/53

So yes, it does appear that level 75 in SoH is necessary for a Big Stash....but also, that there are different reward levels that are only available at a certain player level.

I'd love to know if anyone finds any unique weapons and where if possible, although i'm not sure that is a factor. I found a unique axe, southeast along the coast from Ark, just a chest on it's own on the beach past the harbor.

[MikeBob2013]

I read a post awhile back saying that there's unique loot available *only* from big stashes. If I recall correctly, the item mentioned was a blueprint for a craftable set piece. (I'm thinking Nerevar was the author of that post - he knows all that stuff. =p)

[Sharkad]

Originally posted by Puddy:

Ok, it might have saved you a bit of time and effort if i'd have posted this sooner, but...

There is a mod on Nexus that lets you change your chances for stashes. I know that's probably not what you want to do, but if you look at the 3rd pic along on that mod page, you can see the formula, as well as the default settings, for stashes.
https://www.nexusmods.com/enderal/mods/53

So yes, it does appear that level 75 in SoH is necessary for a Big Stash....but also, that there are different reward levels that are only available at a certain player level.

I'd love to know if anyone finds any unique weapons and where if possible, although i'm not sure that is a factor. I found a unique axe, southeast along the coast from Ark, just a chest on it's own on the beach past the harbor.

Thank you for your answer, it clears up this game mechanic! Are the numbers on the screenshot default?

Concerning your questions about unique weapons, there are some screenshots posted on reddit.
This is probably the axe you found: https://i.imgur.com/qj6wsM2.jpg
And this is another unique weapon:
https://i.redd.it/ypil2cjvoyp21.jpg

Also a recipe of Venturer hood (a part of very good set) is found exclusively in big shashes.

[KhobarKast]

Well, its just as I stated in my guide, you need 75 Sleight of Hand. If you have at least that, then you have a chance of finding big stashes.
The note about being fixed can be removed, that's true. That was included because it was a different skill before that patch and I was working together with the developers to take a look at the script and change it to what it is now.

Edit: I clarified the patch note in the guide. Thanks guys for bringing that to my attention :)

[Puddy]

Originally posted by Sharkad:

Originally posted by Puddy:

Ok, it might have saved you a bit of time and effort if i'd have posted this sooner, but...

There is a mod on Nexus that lets you change your chances for stashes. I know that's probably not what you want to do, but if you look at the 3rd pic along on that mod page, you can see the formula, as well as the default settings, for stashes.
https://www.nexusmods.com/enderal/mods/53

So yes, it does appear that level 75 in SoH is necessary for a Big Stash....but also, that there are different reward levels that are only available at a certain player level.

I'd love to know if anyone finds any unique weapons and where if possible, although i'm not sure that is a factor. I found a unique axe, southeast along the coast from Ark, just a chest on it's own on the beach past the harbor.

Thank you for your answer, it clears up this game mechanic! Are the numbers on the screenshot default?

Concerning your questions about unique weapons, there are some screenshots posted on reddit.
This is probably the axe you found: https://i.imgur.com/qj6wsM2.jpg
And this is another unique weapon:
https://i.redd.it/ypil2cjvoyp21.jpg

Also a recipe of Venturer hood (a part of very good set) is found exclusively in big shashes.

That is the axe yes! I wonder if some chests have more of a chance of dropping those weapons though. I'll look in xedit again, see if there is any clue, cause i did find something related to the stashes in there once but didn't really examine it further.

I also found the hood blueprint too, but i didn't know where i'd picked it up. I have a bad habit in games of not looking what i'm looting, just taking all, and i didn't know i had the hood till i got home and was putting stuff away.

And yes, i do believe those are the default settings but i'm just presuming there. That is how it's set before you change anything, and i doubt he altered it first, so yes. I actually added that mod so i could change my affinity, so i've seen how it is before you change anything. I did, however, end up changing my chances in that too, cause even at 100 SoH, those stashes were too rare in my opinion.

[JarrodTravelstead]

All I know is, I've gotten my SoH to 90+ at character level 32 and big stashes have only triggered a few times. Anything that isn't a big stash has been vendor trash; I would have gotten more money looting an NPC house for Noble Cloaks and miscellaneous items than I would for selling yet another Assassin Hood.

I've also tried equipping myself with every enchantment that boosts SoH but I don't think it's affecting stash triggers.

So far I've gotten:
A strong helm +17 handicrafts (neat, but I don't skill handicrafts, and I already found a +15 helmet through normal play anyway)
Skill book
Skill book + 1 memory point book

That's all. And all that is kinda neat, but I could have bought or found those skill books anyway (I'm not even sure I want them). The memory point is the only definite win, but then, it's also not worth dropping 90+ crafting points. Quite the opposite, I've already spent multiple points on Trickster in large part because I could skip Lockpicking.

The unfortunate thing here is that I'm told that you only get one chance at a stash per chest ever, so I think I'm going to start bypassing Massive Chests and writing down their locations to return to later -- I'll pick them up if, and only if, the base chest already has an important spell or weapon that I need.

A shame that the current system kind of optimizes/rewards un-fun play ...

[Sharkad]

Originally posted by JarrodTravelstead:

All I know is, I've gotten my SoH to 90+ at character level 32 and big stashes have only triggered a few times. Anything that isn't a big stash has been vendor trash; I would have gotten more money looting an NPC house for Noble Cloaks and miscellaneous items than I would for selling yet another Assassin Hood.

I've also tried equipping myself with every enchantment that boosts SoH but I don't think it's affecting stash triggers.

So far I've gotten:
A strong helm +17 handicrafts (neat, but I don't skill handicrafts, and I already found a +15 helmet through normal play anyway)
Skill book
Skill book + 1 memory point book

That's all. And all that is kinda neat, but I could have bought or found those skill books anyway (I'm not even sure I want them). The memory point is the only definite win, but then, it's also not worth dropping 90+ crafting points. Quite the opposite, I've already spent multiple points on Trickster in large part because I could skip Lockpicking.

The unfortunate thing here is that I'm told that you only get one chance at a stash per chest ever, so I think I'm going to start bypassing Massive Chests and writing down their locations to return to later -- I'll pick them up if, and only if, the base chest already has an important spell or weapon that I need.

A shame that the current system kind of optimizes/rewards un-fun play ...

Chests with a chance of stash (non-massive chests can have stashes too!) are a limited resource, that's true, but writing down all of their locations seems a little bit too much for me .You can save before opening the chest and load the game if you didn't get big stash you want (and that's unfun too, because seve/loading can take several minutes). The only problem is the fact that contents of big stashes are level-dependent (best rewards are unlocked at level 45), but I am not sure if you can get lower level reward at higher levels. I hope someone who understands this game mechanic can explain it here.

[Sharkad]

After poking around with Enderal Extended I have figured out this game mechanic, so let's ressurrect this topic!

1. All of the big stashes appear only once. After that you will get only normal stashes instead of big ones.
2. There are five tiers of stashes depending on player level (1-14, 15-24, 25-34, 35-44 and 45+), two big stashes for each tier.
3. You can't get low-tier stashes at high levels. If you didn't get them while your level was in that range, they are lost forever.
4. Most of the big stashes are jewels and talent books (which you can find elsewhere). The most valuable items you can find are:
lvl 25-34: disenchantable helmet (+ handicraft)
lvl 35-44: elven dagger with unique skin and nice enchantment (it's invisible if you hold it)
lvl 45+: recipe for Venturer's hood and an axe with pretty good damage and no enchantment.

The only thing I want to know if there is another way to get an enchantment to increase handicraft, so if anyone knows the answer, please respond here, your help is very appreciated.

And yes, you can also use console and mods to change this game mechanic or add items you want.


I probably need to write a guide about all this stuff.

[MikeBob2013]

There *are* alternatives to that helmet. It looks like it would be really nice to have, but I've cleared the Legendary threshold without it. It requires almost every other equippable item in the game with a Handicraft bonus (Skaragg gloves and boots, Ring of the Smith, Starling Helmet of the Master Smith, Hoofbeat Family Amulet) AND a decent Fortify Handicraft potion, to boot - but it can be done.

This reddit page has some really useful info:

https://www.reddit.com/r/enderal/comments/b0l3nc/theorycrafting_attempting_to_craft_the_best/

[Sharkad]

There was another thread on reddit which has even more interesting info:
https://www.reddit.com/r/enderal/comments/b1iafw/enchanting_alchemy_handicraft/

Users who posted in that thread report that it's possible to increase handicraft up to 400. I did a quick testing, and turns out, with grand soul, enchantment = 100, and all of the enchantment perks from phasmalist and thaumaturge tree I could enchant ring, armor, amulet or gauntlets with Handicraft + 34. And I didn't even use enchanting-improving potion and gear! Turns out it is true that you don't really need to spend a single point to increase Handicraft if you want to enhance your gear to legendaey level.

The only thing you absolutely need to do for that is to learn handicraft-increasing enchantment. I failed to learn it from a helmet in a stash (my level is too high) and I haven't found any ring with this effect yet. I have starling helmet, but it is not disenchantable.

[MikeBob2013]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to make Slight of Hand a high priority on my next go-round, because I'm for sure not going to see that helmet on this one (not that I really need it =p).