Location Ranks

As you successfully play a Hidden Object Location or puzzle its Rank will increase.

As of the 1.0.6 update there are currently 10 different Ranks available for each Hidden Object Location and Puzzle in the game.

Each new Rank is represented on your Darkwood Town Map by a different colour name Plaque below the Location.

For a complete list of the increasing energy and special item costs along with the potential rewards at each Rank, see the Location Ranks/Costs and Rewards article.

Location Ranks
Each time you successfully explore a Hidden Object Location or win a puzzle mini-game you will increase its current Rank progress. Once you reach 100% on a Rank the Location will be promoted to the next Rank and the Location or Puzzle will show a new name plaque on your Darkwood Town Map.

The rate of progress for each successful play differs for each Rank, with the higher Ranks requiring more plays for each percentage increase.

By tapping on the image of a Hidden Object Location or Puzzle you bring up that Location/Puzzles Explore/Solve Window. The current Rank is displayed below the photo of the Location/Puzzle in the Explore/Solve Window. Beneath this is a blue progress bar, showing the percentage completion of the current Rank. This bar will fill the more you win games of that Location or Puzzle until it reaches 100%.

You will be given a notification of Rank advancement at the end of the game that brings the current Rank progress to 100%. This notification appears before the Rewards Window that tells you what you have won for finishing that game and contains a graphic of a spyglass that changes colour to the new Ranks name plaque colour.

Below is a list of the Location Ranks in the Seekers Notes: Mysteries of Darkwood game as of the Christmas Update, along with the colour of the name plaque a Location will have when it is at each Rank.

Please note the Name Plaque colour and decoration noted here is as seen on an iPad 3 2nd generation, and the Name Plaque appearance may vary with the device the game is played on:

Rewards for Winning Games versus Rank
At the bottom of the Explore Window for Hidden Object Locations or the Solve Window for Puzzle games, there is a 'You Can Find' list that shows all the potential rewards you might win if you win a game of that Location/Puzzle. This list represents the pool of potential items you can win if you win a Hidden Object game in that Location or win a game of that Puzzle. When you win a game, you are given a number of items at random from this 'You Can Find' list.

When you first open a Hidden Object Location or Puzzle, there are only a few items in its 'You Can Find' list. But as you win games of that Location/Puzzle and increase its Rank, more and more items are added to the 'You Can Find' list (you may need to scroll through the list by swiping or using the arrows either side to see every item). So the higher the Rank of a Location/Puzzle, the more items become available for you to receive as rewards for winning a game.

If you are looking for a particular item (e.g. an item to Trade with a Towns-Person or to use to Craft another item or a Collection item) and the information box for that item says that it can be found in a particular Location or Puzzle, check the 'You Can Find' list in the Explore/Solve Window before playing. If the item does not appear in the 'You Can Find' section of the Explore/Solve Window for that Location/Puzzle it may be at too low a Rank to reward that item yet.

For example, in Cafe: the Location must be at Amateur Rank or higher to reward the Lanterns special items needed to explore Garden and the picture must be at Connoisseur Rank or higher to reward the Horn Insert, Bowstring and Bracer Collection items from the Hunting Bow Collection.

(note: in the case of Hidden Object Locations, some items also require the picture to be in a certain Hidden Object mode, so the item may not be on the 'You Can Find' list because the Location is not in the right mode even though it is at the right Rank).

Rate of % Progress at Each Hidden Object Location Rank
Below is the list of Ranks for each Hidden Object Location from lowest Rank to highest Rank as of the Christmas Update (December 2015).

The rate of progress per play of a Location on a particular Rank varies depending on the Location itself. This means that progress on some Locations is slower than on other Locations.

As a rule of thumb, the lower the experience level you require to unlock a certain Location, the quicker the progress per play of that picture will be on the first 5 Ranks (Novice - Detective). Locations that require players to be on a much higher game level to unlock will have slower progress per play for the first 5 Ranks. The rate of progress of the final 5 Ranks (Virtuoso - Magister) remains the same for all Locations. Locations that don't obey this rule of thumb are highlighted in red.

Changing Unlocking Levels for Update Locations:
For the duration of the Foggy Ship Update, Ship could be unlocked at game level 7. This was done to ensure all players could take part in the Update's Timed Challenges, which revolved around this Location. The % progress per play at each Location Rank reflected this low unlocking level (players progressed faster through the levels per play), as did the energy requirements to play the Location (amount of energy points required per play) and the rewards for winning plays of the Location (amount of experience points and coins earned). With the introduction of the Halloween Update, Ship was upgraded to a 'higher level' Location, to bring it more in-line with the order player's open other Locations as they work through game levels in the game. The unlocking level for Ship was increased from 7 to 36, meaning new players (who had not already opened the Location during the Foggy Ship Update) must reach a higher level to open the Location than player's who were playing the game during ths update. The % progress per play at each Location Rank now reflects this new higher unlocking level (players progress slower per play at each Location Rank). Additionally, the energy requirements to play the Location and experience and coin rewards for winning a play of the Location were increased to match this new high unlocking level and slower progress rate.

For the duration of the Halloween Update, Gloomy House could be unlocked at game level 7. The % progress per play at each Location Rank reflected this low unlocking level, as did the energy requirements to play the Location and the rewards for winning plays of the Location. With the introduction of the Christmas Update, Gloomy House was upgraded to a 'higher level' Location. The unlocking level for Gloomy House was increased from 7 to 42. The % progress per play at each Location Rank now reflects this new higher unlocking level. Additionally, the energy requirements to play the Location and experience and coin rewards for winning a play of the Location were increased to match this new high unlocking level and slower progress rate.

For the duration of the Christmas Update (November 2014 to Fabruary 2016), Night Street (formerlly Winter Yard) could be unlocked at game level 7. The % progress per play at each Location Rank reflected this low unlocking level, as did the energy requirements to play the Location and the rewards for winning plays of the Location. With the Introduction of the Valentine's Update, that Night Street was upgraded to a 'higher level' Location. The unlocking level for Night Street was increased from 7 to 48. The % progress per play at each Location Rank now reflects this new higher unlocking level. Additionally, the energy requirements to play the Location and experience and coin rewards for winning a play of the Location were increased to match this new high unlocking level and slower progress rate.

Hidden Object Location Ranks and Special Items
Some Hidden Object Locations require Special Items in addition to Energy Points for each play. The number of special items needed to play increases as the Rank of that Location increases. The game calls them Premium Locations and the special items are known as access passes in the game.

As of the 2017 Valentine's Update, the following Hidden Object Pictures require Special Items to play:


 * Clothing Store requires Gold Threads in addition to energy to play
 * Garden requires Lanterns in addition to energy to play
 * Dressing Room requires Theater Tickets in addition to energy to play
 * Ship requires Pieces of Eight in addition to energy to play
 * Gloomy House requires Candy Cauldrons in addition to energy to play
 * Old Square requires Locks in addition to energy to play
 * Antique Shop requires Brooches in addition to energy to play
 * Veranda requires Raindrops in addition to energy to play
 * House of Toys requires Golden Bells in addition to energy to play

The number special items needed for each play of a Location increases as the Location's Rank increases. At higher Ranks a large number of special items may be required for each play of that Location.

It may sometimes be beneficial to leave a Location that requires special items on a lower Rank if you expect to have a number of quests that require investigating that Location later. But this approach may backfire if the items needed for the quest can only be won when the picture has reached a certain Rank.

Below is the amount of Special Items required for each play of a Location at the different Hidden Object Location Ranks:

Puzzle Ranks
The order and requirements of Ranks for puzzles are identical to those for the Hidden Object Locations unlocked at earlier Game Levels listed above.

Related

 * SN Home
 * HO Location/Puzzle Rank's Rewards and Costs
 * Darkwood Town Map
 * List of Hidden Object Locations
 * Hidden Object Modes
 * List of Puzzles
 * Energy