Monk Apple Tree Info

 

Introduction:

Monks unlock the ability to plant an apple tree. This tree takes several Batmud years to grow, (equivalent to a couple of real life months), and provides a number of specialty quests to defend it as well as some bonuses.

Apple Tree Bonuses:

• The very first apple you harvest from your tree will restore you to a "very young" youth. Which is amazing.
• Note: This apple can be given to other players and it works on them as well.
• If you don't want to reincarnate due to old age, this is a much better option than expensive youth scrolls that can sometimes fail (with horrible results).
• If you need another youth apple, you can always cut down your apple tree and grow another one.
• Apples harvested from the tree will provide your character an experience boost that lasts a couple of days.
• Eventually if your tree grows powerful enough, you will be granted a monk staff that you can wield when performing martial arts and provides additional bonuses.

How to Improve Your Apple Tree:

• Wait (Patience)
• The tree will grow over time regardless of what you do, as long as you stay in the Monk guild
• I've been told it takes around two real life years for the monk tree to reach it's maximum age
• Meditate at your tree
• Only the first couple of meditations per boot count, but meditating at your tree to gain "might"
• This pairs well with "cultivating" your sect skills. At the end of your day of earning EXP, it can be good to stop by your monk tree and meditate a few times.
• Defend your tree
• Monsters will periodically attack your tree. You will have a limited amount of time to kill them.
• Important Note: Failing these quests can reduce your apple tree's reputation, and in some cases lead to the destruction of your apple tree!
• These quests are triggered by meditating at your apple tree. You will get a warning one meditation before the triggering one that you'll need to defend your tree so you can prepare.
• You can bring friends and do this as part of a party. So don't hesitate to ask for help defending your tree.

Defending Your Apple Tree:

Background: You will occasionally get a warning message when you meditate by your apple tree. You need to complete a full meditation to get these messages since they will occur part way through your mediation session. The next time you meditate, the monsters will attack and you will have a limited time to kill them. If you fail your apple tree will be damaged (which resets its growth progress by a few years) or sometimes destroyed which means you will need to plant a new tree. It is strongly recommended that you get help before summoning the monsters.

Aggressive Killer Rabbits (4x 20k hares, and 1x 40k giant hare of destruction):

• Warning Message: 
• While meditating, you notice some hare droppings suspiciously close to the tree. Hares are natural born tree killers, that much you do know. This can only mean trouble is on its way.
• Fight info:
• You will have 10 minutes to kill all the bunnies/hares.
• Initially the four regular hares show up one by one over the course of a couple of minutes
• They are not aggressive so you need to initiate combat
• Once you start fighting them, any hares that show up later will also join the fight, so it helps to kill them fast before all four are in the room.
• They are 20k monsters, but I would say fight like 10k monsters. I can solo one (just barely), but more than that I needed help.
• The last hare (the giant hare of destruction) will arrive after 5 minutes or so. It will not turn aggro if you are fighting the other hares which is nice. It is very tough (40k exp). You need to kill it before it eats your tree.
• Success Message:
• Success! You have prevailed against the bark-eating hares. The slight damage will heal over time, and the tree is safe, for now...

How to Remove Your Tree:

• Go to the old monk in Lucetium and "ask monk about tree"
• The monk will give you an option to cut down your tree
• This is useful if you want to grow a new tree somewhere else.
• Also if you have created a monk staff, this will allow you to grow another tree, complete the quests again, and create a new monk staff.

Apples:

Message from picking your first apple (This one is special):

• Ahh, the first ever apple from the tree you've planted yourself. You can only imagine what wonders it holds, and what a miracle of life it is. You polish its cheeks, and it shines a marvellous light. You can't wait to taste the beauty -- will it be sweet, bittersweet, or just bitter. You can't help but think of life in general, how it can be sweet or bitter, but to never try is even worse than the occasional bitterness.

Message from eating your first apple (This one is special):

• You eat a polished bright red apple.
• The apple tastes too bitter for your taste.
• While eating the apple, you contemplate on the process that brought this apple to you. The apple is essentially air and water, combined by sunlight. How, you wonder, is it that a tree can assemble these elements into something edible and so different from the source parts. A tree, that took so long to grow, yet so little time has passed compared to your own life span. The train of thought goes on, confusing you, but leaving you yearning for more savoury moments like this.
• You feel youth returning to your body.
• Your mind feels clear and clean, ready to partake of new experiences

Apple Tree Sizes:

Note: The tree seems to increase in size each season, starting with the first spring after you plant it. It will get "stuck" in a loop between a still growing fruit tree and a leafless fruit tree until you advance it by meditation and killing threats against it.

• pile of dirt
• a tiny seedling
• This will sprout the first (batmud) spring after you plant it.
• At this point meditating at your tree can help increase its might.
• a small seedling
• This occurs the summer after you plant it
• a tiny sapling
• This occurs the fall after you plant it.
• a small sapling
• This occurs the next spring.
• I think you get the idea about the progression of the tree.
• a sapling
• a tall sapling 
• a bare tall sapling
• a very young almost-blossoming tree
• a very young verdant tree
• a bare, very young tree
• a young bare tree
• a very young almost-blossoming tree
• a young tree with some blossoms 
• a young tree with green leaves 
• a young tree that has lost some of its foliage
• a blooming tree
• a leafless fruit tree
• a leafless tree, its jumble of branches plainly in view
• a blossoming tree
• an apple tree (First point where you can pick apples)
• a leafless tree
• a still growing fruit tree (Current Monk tree size)
• a midsized fruit tree
• a midsized apple tree
• a blooming midsized tree
• a largish fruit tree
• a largish apple tree
• a largish tree