Talk:Explorer Map

Rename to "Explorer Map"
I propose "Explorer Map" over "Exploration Map", because "Explorer" is part of the item name, and "Exploration" is not. Perhaps "exploration" was a term used when the feature was teased or something, or maybe it only persisted since the creation of the page, or because it's the name of the 1.11 update, but anyway it's not part of the item name.

I also suggest sentence case, since it's not a literal item name, but

We would rename this page, the image, readjust the double redirects, and readjust the term used throughout the wiki. All in favor? – Sealbudsman talk/contr 15:54, 28 March 2017 (UTC)


 * -BDJP (t 16:48, 28 March 2017 (UTC)


 * – Sealbudsman talk/contr 16:22, 30 March 2017 (UTC)

Please add a section listing the possible notations
Please add a list of all the possible notations, with sample images. In version 1.20, there are new brown and gray things that can appear on a Buried Treasure Map in addition to the red X. What are they? I was hoping it was a trail ruins, but I went and dug up the whole area and nothing out of the ordinary was there. Martinthurn (talk) 16:46, 9 June 2023 (UTC)

Size
On a regular map, you can display any size from 128*128 to 2048*2048. How big is the land shown in an explorer map? The BlobsPaper.png 03:42, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * It is the same size as a 1:4 Map, so 512*512 – Nixinova • Book and Quill.png Diamond_Pickaxe.png Map (item).png • 03:54, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Thank you. The BlobsPaper.png 13:56, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

Actually, it depends. Explorer Maps traded from Villagers (Ocean Monuments and Woodland Mansions) are 512x512 (scale 2), but Buried Treasure Maps found in Ocean Ruins are 256x256 (scale 1) MestreLion (talk) 07:35, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

54.90.67.60 20:39, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

Orientation
There is nothing to denote the orientation of the map. Maps used to have east at the top. Do these maps have east or north at the top? 54.90.67.60 20:39, 3 July 2017 (UTC)
 * The idea that maps had East at the top is a misconception dating back to the Beta days (see Maps). It was due to some confusion over how to interpret directions on the Map when the sun at that time rose in the North. In fact, the orientation of maps never changed, and north was always at the top. It was the direction of the sky that changed. – Sealbudsman talk/contr 20:53, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

Question on Distance
I recently restarted playing Minecraft. My previous experience predated villages. The first village I found was pretty crappy except for the fact that it was full of cartographers, and I was very excited to try out the explorer maps. I died trying the underwater one, so I decided to go for the woodland mansion. The map sent me over 12,500 blocks east and 5,500 blocks south of the village! (about 13,350 x 5600 from spawn.) Is there any known maximum distance that these maps will send you? Or minimum? 73.228.236.183 07:00, 21 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Your distance to a woodland mansion is quite typical. I have only once heard of somebody's first mansion being closer than 10,000 blocks from them on BOTH axes. However, the wiki is generally not the best place to ask questions like this, because if we knew the answer it should already be in the article. Better places to ask would be the Minecraft Discord (sometimes you can ask a developer directly there) and the Reddit /r/MCPE subreddit. – Auldrick (talk &middot; contribs) 11:22, 21 December 2017 (UTC)

Unique Buried Treasure Maps
So, I've started a few new worlds since these maps were added and found several of the 'Buried Treasure Map' in each world. However, in each world... while each map has a different ID, they all point to the exact same buried treasure location. For example, I started a new world yesterday and got myself BTM ID #0 and dug up the treasure. Leaving, I saw two more underwater ruins so I looted them and got BTM ID #1 and #2. Checking them, they pointed to the exact same as ID #0 - and I was even still in the map area.

Is there only one buried treasure per world or is there something I should be doing to cause the maps to point to another one? Do they point to the nearest buried treasure based on where they were generated? Do they point to the nearest buried treasure based on where they are first viewed (hold in hands)? -- User:96.55.112.91 at 22:49, 23 November 2018


 * My understanding is that they get assigned to the nearest treasure chest when you first look at them. So if you have several maps you haven't looked at yet, you only want to look at one initially. If you look at a second map, you'll just waste it unless you first go somewhere that's closer to a different treasure chest. Since there's no way to know where that would be, the best strategy is to look at one map at a time, find that chest, and break it before looking at a second treasure map. – Auldrick (talk &middot; contribs) 15:05, 25 November 2018 (UTC)


 * User:Auldrick, I tried what you suggested (breaking the chest before opening a new treasure map), but still, all maps I have show the same point...--187.94.193.57 16:23, 28 April 2019 (UTC)


 * In retrospect, I think breaking the chest probably doesn't have any effect, all that matters is getting closer to a different treasure chest. In your case, this would mean you're still closest to that same chest (the one your broke) when you looked at the next map. If you already tried travelling a good way away from it, you might have more luck trying a different direction. You might also want to try asking on community discussion forums (see links in sidebar) where you'd reach a lot more readers. (The wiki's talk pages are meant for discussing our articles, not game mechanics.) – Auldrick (talk &middot; contribs) 17:18, 28 April 2019 (UTC)


 * According to this bug (MC-108082), this is a confirmed problem. The maps will forward you to the closest (to the map's origin) treasure chest location, even if it has been removed. Stayen2 (talk) 15:42, 22 May 2019 (UTC)


 * this is essential for the Article, and the game mechanics and content is what the wiki is about at all.
 * the maps bought from same trader seem to always point to the same location ( i tried opening it when `/locate` showed different one, 1.14.4 ).
 * Irvnriir1578 (talk) 22:41, 8 February 2020 (UTC)

Treasure Map obtained by fishing
In the Wiki it says that treasure maps can only be found in shipwrecks or ocean ruins, but in 15.2 I obtained one by fishing.