The Alik'r Desert is Hammerfell's arid interior — a base-game zone built around Redguard and Yokudan culture, running from the coastal city of Sentinel east into open desert. Six treasure maps are associated with the zone, each a hand-drawn chart pointing to a specific buried chest. A seventh Collector's Edition map exists for those who pre-ordered ESO at launch; it follows the same mechanics but carries a scarcity premium.
Each map works the same way: carry it in your inventory, travel to the indicated location in the Alik'r Desert, and dig the disturbed earth mound to claim the chest. The map is consumed on use. Chest contents draw from the zone's overland drop pool — gear from Order of Diagna, Robes of the Withered Hand, and Sword-Singer, alongside crafting materials, motifs, and occasional leads for Ancestral Orc style.
Where the value is
Sword-Singer is the set that drives demand. It's a dual-wield, stamina-oriented overland set that cycles in and out of endgame builds with each balance patch. When it's in favor, Alik'r map prices climb — particularly Maps I and II, which are the easiest to reach. Order of Diagna and Withered Hand move more slowly, mostly toward players working through Daggerfall Covenant content. The CE map commands a consistent premium regardless of meta; it's not farmable, which keeps its floor up.
Champion abilities Treasure Hunter and Fortune's Favor raise the quality of drops from every chest. The companion Mirri Elendis also improves treasure chest loot through her passive. If you're planning a sustained farming session, having these active improves odds of set-quality drops over raw material fills.
How to get them
Maps drop from general Alik'r Desert loot — monsters, containers, and chests throughout the zone. No specific enemy type has a confirmed elevated drop rate. The most efficient loop pairs resource node runs with clearing the zone's two public dungeons (Santaki and Razak's Wheel), both of which contain guaranteed chest spawns that supplement random map drops. All six standard maps trade through guild traders; pricing varies by server population and meta timing. The CE map is rarer and may require sourcing from a dedicated trader.
Chest locations span the full zone:
- Map I: Southwest, south of Divad's Chagrin Mine
- Map II: West coast, palm oasis between Ancestor's Landing and Sentinel Wayshrine
- Map III: Southeast, near Bergama close to Aldunz
- Map IV: North, small island east of Tava's Blessing lighthouse
- Map V: Northeast, above HoonDing's Watch
- Map VI: East, outside Kozanet Tower