If you thought the map was big when you first began playing Aloft, then you were no doubt in for a surprise when you realized just how big the map table in the game actually is! There’s a vast sky out there with hundreds of islands to explore and help heal.
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Peel back more sections of the table map in Aloft as you cross the borders between them and unexplore yet-uncharted islands, keep tabs on which islands are healthy, and use those lost atlases you’ve been grabbing in your explorations to point the way toward important sailing knowledge out there.
How To Use The Map In Aloft
Consult Your Map Table Often When Flying
One of the first critical pieces of lost sailing knowledge you’ll recover during the Forgotten Legacy quest at the beginning of Aloft is a map table, a large circular map that you can place in the bridge of your home island near your helm and use to keep track of islands all across this vast world. Each chunk of islands grouped together is called an archipelago, while the groups of archipelagos on any given section of your map is called a sector.
Once it’s been placed, you’ll be able to view the map table whenever needed, and there, you can see all archipelagos within any sector you’ve visited already. When looking at the map, your ship is denoted as an island with a circle that has a small point on one side of it, and the point is to help you keep track of where your helm is placed so you can steer properly when it’s time to set sail. When your ship icon crosses into a sector you haven’t been to yet, the sector will be uncovered in its entirety.
While the islands in Aloft were designed by hand, where islands spawn is random. We’ll all be exploring the same hundreds of islands, but everyone’s world seed will have these islands appear in different archipelagos and in different sectors.
Not only are there a variety of important map symbols to keep track of – like which islands were unlocked with lost atlases or which ones had frescoes on them – but you’ll also see that the map is color-coded based on the current health of the island’s ecosystem. At the moment, it seems that some islands that were previously healthy may revert to being marked as unhealthy islands until you visit, and setting foot on them turns them back to green.
Additionally, there are several symbols on the right side of the screen that you can use to highlight islands with specific features, like ones you found with lost atlases or islands with frescoes on them. When selected, other islands appear much more transparent, and the islands you’re looking for are brighter with a thicker black outline.
Every Symbol On The Map In Aloft And What It Means
|
Symbol |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
Island Colors |
|
|
Gray Dot |
This is an island you haven’t visited yet. |
|
Green Dot |
This is an island that you’ve visited already that currently has a healthy ecosystem. |
|
Yellow Dot |
This is an island that you’ve visited already that currently has an unhealthy ecosystem. |
|
Pink Dot |
This is an island that you’ve visited already that is corrupted. |
|
Symbols |
|
|
Checked Gate |
This island has a fresco. |
|
Triangular Swirl |
This island has a knowledge stone. |
|
Circular Swirl |
This island can be found with a lost atlas. |
Consult your map table anytime you’re not quite sure where to go next – there’s a whole sky of adventure out there waiting for you!
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