Random Encounters are points of interest located on Ylands or underwater with various constructions, loot, and NPCs. Random Encounters also sometimes contain unique or scarce items, environmental storytelling, or puzzles, with some puzzles even involving multiple Random Encounters. Encounters can take various forms depending on the region, and usually reflect specific themes, such as Egyptian Ruins in the Arid region.
Finding and exploring Random Encounters is the primary method of learning recipes for Craftable Items through interacting with Recipe Secrets and also one method for accruing Exploration Points, though not all Random Encounters provide either or both.
Random Encounters can be found in 3 main locations: Land
, Cave
, and Sea
.
Land
Land Random Encounters appear on Ylands proper and can be discovered on foot. This process is made much easier using the Compass (HUD) which displays nearby encounters in the upper-right corner of the user interface and will indicate the land encounters along the outside of the compass ring if the player is close enough to an encounter.
Cave
Cave Random Encounters can appear both on land and at sea. Land caves and sea caves both show on the compass HUD the same way as the land encounters. There is usually a minimum of one land cave per Yland on each map, with some regions supporting multiple caves on an Yland. Multiple sea caves can appear spread across any map, they are easily identified by their purple and yellow terrain surrounding the entrance which can be seen on revealed areas of the map.
Sea
Sea Encounters can be somewhat more difficult to find, as there is a limited number that can appear in the significantly larger amount of water on the map. Finding sea encounters involves spotting debris on the surface of the water, usually with the help of the compass HUD that appears while in control of a ship. Similarly to the use of a compass while on land, this compass will indicate sea encounters and sea cave entrances along the outside of the compass ring. The use of a Sonar instrument can help further by displaying the distance to any underwater points of interest at a greater distance than the compass, though it updates at a lower frequency and does not indicate direction. It should also be noted that Sonar will also react to the sea cave encounters themselves, as well as other ships.
Types of Random Encounters[]
The following are categories of notable Random Encounters.
Category
Description
Standard
Standard encounters typically feature minimal environmental storytelling and a couple of loot containers.
Hostile
Standard encounters with aggressive NPCs and/or monsters.
Trader
Various Trader stalls where the player can purchase and sell items.
Puzzle
These encounters range from finding a key to deciphering more complex mechanisms by use of environmental hints.
Multistage
Multistage encounters revolve around mechanisms that involve locating multiple Random Encounters.
Mythical Animal
A multistage encounter; the first being small outposts that contain Zoologist's Notes, a key part of finding the second encounter, the spawn locations for tamable Mythical Animals located on the same Yland.
Relict
Underwater encounters that have locked relict containers holding that regions special relict component.
Loot Chest
Encounters consisting of a single container with loot, typically in both surface and sea caves.
Note: There are certain encounters with NPCs that are intended to be aggressive, but instead will trade their weapon. These are not Trader encounters.
Random Encounters[]
Below are tables of every random encounter that can be found in each region.
The Tropical region has 77 random encounters; 51 are on land, 5 are in land caves, and 21 are found at sea with 3 of these being different sea cave loot chests.
The Arid region has 52 random encounters; 35 are on land, 3 are in land caves, and 14 are found at sea with 3 of these being different sea cave loot chests.
The Monsoonal region has 67 random encounters; 51 are on land, 1 is in land caves, and 15 are found at sea with 3 of these being different sea cave loot chests.
The Temperate region has 56 random encounters; 39 are on land, 1 is in land caves, and 16 are found at sea with 3 of these being different sea cave loot chests.
The Taiga region has 56 random encounters; 37 are on land, 1 is in land caves, and 21 are found at sea with 3 of these being different sea cave loot chests.
The Polar region has 37 random encounters; 19 are on land, 2 are in land caves, and 16 are found at sea with 3 of these being different sea cave loot chests.