The Hunt for the Ancients is a massive set of side quests, new monsters, wardrobe items, and house items.
After more than a decade in retirement, Velts, a warrior of great renown, has returned to Our Valley with one piece of an ancient map that has been passed down through her family for generations. Velts had all but given up hope, but now believes that our community may be the key to unlocking the past.
We find out through the hunt that the Valley has four seasons: the Season of Hope, the Season of Wandering, the Season of Growth, and the Season of Jubilee. Each season covers roughly three months, roughly takes place in a different region of the valley, and is watched over by one of the Ancients.
Opening the Hunt[]
As of January 2021, all the hunt quests and the hunter token store are located in the Elder Library. Dust Warriors can now unlock the hunt by completing the Winding Path to Elder Library quest in Mama Tree
| Quest | Objective | Reward | Approximate words needed |
|---|---|---|---|
Winding Path to Elder Library[]  |
    |
  |
|
Mama Tree is the center of life for Oge-Mai citizens living in the forest. Not only does it have the largest markets in the region, it's also home to the Elders and Elder Library. A winding path down the center of Mama Tree’s giant trunk leads deep into Elder Library. There, I'll meet Velts—the great warrior leading this unique hunt.
| |||
Once you have completed this quest, you can advance to the Elder Library and complete the quest to unlock the rest of the Hunt:
| Name | Objective | Reward | Approximate words needed |
|---|---|---|---|
Joining the Hunt[] |
Minimum level 3
Write 3,000 Words |
  Unlocks 2020 Season of Hope quests and creatures |
|
I was training in the forest, trying to increase my attack speed without sacrificing my defences in battle, when the creak of a wheelchair broke my concentration. I turned and found a woman watching me from the edge of the clearing. “Don’t stop on my behalf,” she grunted, but of course I stopped anyway. “It’s nice to see a young Dust Warrior taking things seriously for once. Tell me, have you ever heard of the ancients?” As I shake my head no, she pulls a rolled up piece of paper from a bag at the side of her chair. “This is one piece of an old map that’s been with me for years. If you’re ready to challenge yourself, and I mean really ready, I could use a partner in tracking down the missing pieces. It sounds like you still have so much left to learn.”
| |||
Quests[]
A flow chart for anyone more visually inclined.
There is a main story line running through the hunt. If you are looking for clear guidance on what quests to do in which order, follow the main quest line here: Simplified Hunt.
Along the main quest line, there are certain capstone quests. When the hunt was released in 2020, each season cumulated in one of these quests in which an Ancient would appear. Now, these capstone quests act as guide posts along the main quest, and unlock large groups of hunt side quests.
2020 Season of Hope[]
After completing the Joining the Hunt quest, the 2020 Season of Hope will unlock. This is a large group of side quests that take place mostly in the forest region. Monsters known as the Curator's assistants (cat librarians) will also unlock. You can see these side quests here: 2020 Season of Hope.
Continuing along the main quest line: the next capstone quest is Curator of Elder Library. This quest unlocks more of the main quest, the side quests in the 2021 Season of Hope, and the side quests in the 2020 Season of Wandering.
2021 Season of Hope[]
Just when you finish, there's more! After completing the Curator of Elder Library quest, the 2021 Season of Hope will unlock. This is even more side quests, fighting creatures mostly in the forest region. You can see these side quests here: 2021 Season of Hope.
2020 Season of Wandering[]
After completing the Curator of Elder Library quest, the 2020 Season of Wandering will unlock. This is a large group of side quests that take place mostly in the desert region. Monsters that help the Shepherd (dogs) along with some of the Shepherd's sheep will unlock. You can see these side quests here: 2020 Season of Wandering.
Continuing along the main quest line: the next capstone quest is Stumbling Upon Sheep. This quest unlocks more of the main quest, the side quests in the 2021 Season of Wandering, and the side quests in the 2020 Season of Growth.
2021 Season of Wandering[]
You can stay put and fight more desert monsters! After completing the Stumbling Upon Sheep quest, the 2021 Season of Wandering will unlock. This is even more side quests, fighting creatures mostly in the desert region. You can see these side quests here: 2021 Season of Wandering.
2020 Season of Growth[]
After completing the Stumbling Upon Sheep quest, the 2020 Season of Growth will unlock. This is a large group of side quests that take place mostly in the river region. You can see these side quests here: 2020 Season of Growth.
Continuing along the main quest line: the next capstone quest is A Bubble Dream. This quest unlocks more of the main quest, the side quests in the 2021 Season of Growth, and the side quests in the 2020 Season of Jubilee.
2021 Season of Growth[]
I bet you haven't had enough of the river region. After completing the quest A Bubble Dream, the 2021 Season of Growth will unlock. This is even more side quests, fighting creatures mostly in the river region. You can see these side quests here: 2021 Season of Growth.
2020 Season of Jubilee[]
After completing the quest A Bubble Dream, the 2020 Season of Jubilee will unlock. This is a large group of side quests that take place mostly in the dust region. 3 new monsters will unlock around the valley. You can see these side quests here: 2020 Season of Jubilee.
Continuing along the main quest line: the next capstone quest is Proving Your Friendship. This quest unlocks the side quests in the 2021 Season of Jubilee and the 2022 Hunt.
2021 Season of Jubilee[]
Even more quests! After completing the Proving Your Friendship quest, the 2021 Season of Jubilee will unlock. This is even more side quests, fighting creatures mostly in the dust region. You can see these side quests here: 2021 Season of Jubilee.
There is some oddness here with something that might be a bug: A chunk of what ought to be the 2021 Season of Growth (a bunch of side quests in the river region) also unlocks here.
2022 Hunt[]
After completing the Proving Your Friendship quest, the 2022 Hunt will unlock. Here, there is a quest chain for each of the main areas in the forest, desert, river, and dust regions of the valley. Each quest will give you a piece of armor, and at the end of the quest chain, you will have a set of armor associated with one of the main areas. Once you have the full armor sets for every area in a region, you can set out on a legendary quest chain, which cumulates in getting a legendary battle item.
Although these quests were released a few each season, the regions they covered did not correspond to the season like previous years of the hunt. The first quest of every quest chain is available at once, so we are presenting them all together. You can see these quests here: 2022 Hunt for the Ancients.
Hunter Tokens[]
All hunt creatures (which first appeared as a part of the hunt) drop Hunter tokens at about 1 hunter token/100 words. The other creatures dropping Hunter tokens used to change on a regular basis, but are currently much more persistent in doing so. You can find the full lists of current creatures dropping tokens on the Hunter Token page. If you're interested in knowing which creatures used to drop them, check out the Hunter Tokens Historical Sources page.
Most stand-alone hunt quests will have hunter tokens as a reward.
Hunter tokens can be used to buy items at the Hunter Lodge Token Store in Mama Tree.
Hunter Lodge Token Store[]
Wardrobe Items[]
There are a huge amount of wardrobe items available in the token store. You can view a gallery of the offerings in the Elder Library, or you can see details about variants and categorization on the Hunt for the Ancients 2020 Wardrobe page, the Hunt for the Ancients 2021 Wardrobe page, and the Hunt for the Ancients 2022 Wardrobe page.
House Items[]
The hunt has introduced several house items. You can view a gallery of the offerings in the Elder Library, or you can see details about variants and costs on the Hunt for the Ancients House Items page.
Monsters[]
These monsters are permanently associated with the hunt and therefore always drop hunter tokens.
In 2020, new monsters appeared regularly. However, in 2021, no new monsters appeared until the Season of Jubilee. No monsters appeared as part of the 2022 hunt.
Season of Hope[]
Mama Tree and Elder Library
800 words/40 minutes
Luciola Forest and Forward Base
600 words/60 minutes
Base Camp, Forward Base, Stone City, and Tall Trees
400 words/40 minutes
Mama Tree, Elder Library, Base Camp, and Forward Base
800 words/90 minutes
Mama Tree, Elder Library, and Stone City
1000 words/120 minutes
Mama Tree and Elder Library
1000 words/180 minutes
Season of Wandering[]
Three Points Crossing
700 words/90 minutes
Gansu Watering Hole
900 words/180 minutes
Dig Site and Ruins
450 words/60 minutes
Dig Site
150 words/15 minutes
Dig Site
250 words/25 minutes
Dig Site
350 words/30 minutes
Three Points Crossing
1200 words/180 minutes
Dig Site
1,000 words/240 minutes
Season of Growth[]
Dark Forest Outpost
1200 words/180 minutes
Three Points Crossing
Endurance battle for 10 minutes
Mama Tree
Endurance battle for 3minutes
Floating City of Balance
Endurance battle for 20 minutes
Floating City of Balance
1600 words/600 minutes
2020 Season of Jubilee[]
Riza Rivertown
2000 words/1440 minutes
Guardian's Lair
1500 words/250 minutes
Ruins
2500 words/600 minutes
Riza Rivertown
900 words/120 minutes
Luciola Forest
1000 words/120 minutes
2021 Season of Jubilee[]
Guardian's Lair
500 words/60 minutes
Dig Site
600 words/90 minutes
Riza Rivertown
700 words/120 minutes
Dark Forest Outpost
800 words/120 minutes
2022 Season of Jubilee[]
City of Light
900 words/120 minutes
Historical Releases[]
- The 2020 Season of Hope ran January 1st-March 26th 2020, with updates January 1st, February 4th, and March 4th. The Curator arrived March 24th with a global event: Raising the Curator.
- The 2020 Season of Wandering ran March 26th-June 24th 2020, with updates March 26th, April 24th, and May 24th. The Shepherd was found on June 24th with a global challenge: The Shepherd's Lost Sheep.
- The 2020 Season of Growth ran June 24th-September 24th 2020, with updates June 24th, August 4th, and August 24th. The Caretaker arrived on September 24th.
- The 2020 Season of Jubilee ran September 24th-January 24th 2020, with updates September 24th, October 24th, and November 24th. On December 13th, the Bard was found, and there was a global quest: Celebrate Stories.
- The 2021 Season of Hope ran January 24th-May 4th 2021, with updates January 24th, February 24th, and March 24th.
- The 2021 Season of Wandering ran May 4th-August 4th 2021, with updates May 4th, May 24th, and June 24th.
- The 2021 Season of Growth ran August 4th-October 24th 2021, with updates August 4th, August 24th, and September 24th.
- The 2021 Season of Jubilee started October 24th-January 24th 2021, with updates October 24th, December 10th, and December 24th.
- The 2022 Season of Hope started January 4th 2022 with a single update.
- The 2022 Season of Wandering stated May 4th 2022 with a single update.
- The 2022 Season of Growth stated August 4th 2022 with a single update.
- The 2022 Season of Jubilee stated October 24th 2022 with a single update.