It is not mandatory to explore all the seven dungeons. In order to collect the four Marks and meet the Lord of Time, it is enough to explore three Dungeons, or four in the NES version.
Before the Dungeons
Before adventuring in any dungeon, make sure you did maximize two attributes of each of your characters. Note that such most important attributes does not always include the defining attribute (in green) of a character. If you maximize less than two attributes per character, you'll be too weak; if you maximize more than two attributes of your characters, you'll have no use for the Gold found in the dungeons.
| Class | 1st attribute |
2nd attribute |
3rd attribute |
Unused attribute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleric | Wis. | Dex. | Str. | Int. |
| Druid | Wis. | Dex. | Str. | Int. |
| Wizard | Int. | Dex. | Str. | Wis. |
| Alchemist | Dex. | Str. | Int. | Wis. |
| Illusionist | Dex. | Wis. | Str. | Int. |
| Thief | Dex. | Str. | - | Int.&Wis. |
| Ranger | Dex. | Str. | Wis.&Int. | - |
| Paladin | Dex. | Wis. | Str. | Int. |
| Lark | Dex. | Str. | Int. | Wis. |
| Barbarian | Dex. | Str. | - | Int.&Wis. |
| Fighter | Dex. | Str. | - | Int.&Wis. |
Of course, depending on your team you might need to change priorities. For example, if your only character with healing Cleric Spells is a Ranger (unlikely choice anyway), it will become necessary to maximize his Wisdom and Intelligence.
Difficulty of Dungeons
The total number of traps includes the sum of traps, gremlins, poison fountains and damage fountains. Dark winds are not included because they are harmless, they just cause darkness.
The ratio of chests to traps is a quantity related to convenience. Dungeons with high chest/trap ratio ("golden" in the diagram) have significantly more chests than traps, while dungeons with low chest/trap ratio mean more trouble than gain ("painful" in the diagram). Remember that chests can be trapped, too.
The easiest set of Dungeons that allows to collect all the Marks (plus the Time Lord) consists of three: the Dungeon of the Snake, the Dungeon of Time and the Dungeon Doom.
| Dungeon | Traps | Chests | Ratio | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snake (Sol) | 28 | 53 | 1.89 | Mark of Snake, M. Kings |
| Time (Moon) | 39 | 116 | 2.97 | Lord of Time, M. Fire |
| Doom (Fool) | 67 | 81 | 1.21 | M. Force |
| Morinia (Madness) | 106 | 105 | 0.99 | M. Fire, M. Kings |
| Perinian (Gold) | 114 | 111 | 0.97 | M. Fire, M. Kings |
| Dardin's (Death) | 132 | 113 | 0.86 | (NES Silver Pick), M. Kings |
| Fire (Fire) | 159 | 69 | 0.43 | M. Force, M. Fire |
Dungeon summary
Most items of interest are located on the deepest floor of each dungeon. The main exception is the Mark of Kings.
In the diagram below, floors with a healing fountain (H) are highlighted in green. A dungeon can be easier if there are more healing fountains and if they are evenly distributed.
| Dungeon: | Snake | Time | Doom | Morinia | Perinian | Dardin's | Fire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NES name: | Sol | Moon | Fool | Madness | Gold | Death | Fire |
| Floor 1 | - | (H) | - | - | Mark of Kings | - | - |
| Floor 2 | - | Mark of Kings | - | - | (H) | Mark of Kings | (H) |
| Floor 3 | - | - | - | Mark of Kings | - | (H) | - |
| Floor 4 | - | (H) | - | - | - | - | - |
| Floor 5 | - | - | (H) | (H) | - | (H) | (H) |
| Floor 6 | (H) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Floor 7 | (H) | - | - | (H) | - | - | - |
| Floor 8 | Mark of Snake Mark of Kings |
Lord of Time Mark of Fire |
Mark of Force | Mark of Fire Mark of Kings |
Mark of Fire Mark of Kings |
Mark of Kings (NES Silver Pick) |
Mark of Force Mark of Fire |
Also note that different releases of Ultima 3 have different "items" in the bottom level. The following table reports the differrences between the "main" (?) ports and two of the most advanced ones. The marks location could be different in other ports.
| Dungeon: | Snake | Time | Doom | Morinia | Perinian | Dardin's | Fire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ??? version(s) | Mark of Snake Mark of Kings |
Lord of Time Mark of Fire Mark of Kings |
Mark of Force | Mark of Fire Mark of Kings |
Mark of Fire Mark of Kings |
Mark of Kings | Mark of Force Mark of Fire |
| Amiga port | Mark of Snake Mark of Kings |
Lord of Time Mark of Kings |
? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Ponycanyon ports (NES) |
Mark of Snake Mark of Fire |
Lord of Time Mark of Fire[1] Mark of Kings |
Mark of Force | Mark of Fire Mark of Kings |
Mark of Fire Mark of Kings |
Silver Pick Mark of Kings |
Mark of Fire Mark of Force |
| NES names | Sol | Moon | Fool | Madness | Gold | Death | Fire |
- ↑ NES cave of Moon: the Mark of Kings on level 2 is replaced by another Mark of Fire.
The four marks
Inormation from Sosaria
| Town | Character | Hint |
|---|---|---|
| Montor East | Fighter in pub | "'Marks' are useful!" |
| Britain | Oracle | Of marks I say there are but four of fire, force, snake & king. Learn their use in Devil Guard, or death you'll surely bring. |
| Devil Guard | Fighter on grocery island | "Four marks, four uses!" |
| Devil Guard | Fighter on center islet | "'Marks' gained in dungeons!" |
| Devil Guard | Fighter on pub island | "Seek ye the Dungeon of Fire!" |
| Devil Guard | Fighter on guild island | "Hot metal leaves a 'mark'!" |
| Devil Guard | Thief on stables island | "Mark thee well!" |
| Devil Guard | Fighter on east island | "The king favors a 'mark'!" |
| Devil Guard | Fighter on east island | "A 'mark' helps invoke the snake." |
| The Marks and the Silver Snake | ||
| Britain | Thief in pub | "Exodus lies beyond the silver snake!" |
| Fawn | Cleric on north side | "'Invoke' the silver snake!" |
| Fawn | Cleric on north-east | "To pass you need a mark!" |
| Fawn | Cleric on south side | "<Pray> in the Circle of Light!" |
| Yew | Any cleric in south-east | "Welcome to the Circle of Light!" |
Function of the Marks
Each member of your party will need to have four special Marks branded onto their bodies to complete the game. You get them by touching the hot metal rods that are found in the dungeons. Unlike the cards, all of your players should hold all four of the marks.
- Mark of Kings: this mark will allow your party to reach levels above five and raise your hit points to a maximum of 2550.
- Mark of Fire: this mark will allow you to walk on lava without receiving damage, which may be necessary to get some of the hints.
- Mark of Snake: this mark is required to get past the large snake that blocks the entrance to Exodus' Castle.
- Mark of Force: this mark will prevent your party members from dying when crossing the force fields that are found inside Exodus' Castle.
The Mark of Kings
You'll be able to get to a maximum of 550 health points, initially, by (T)ransacting with the King, provided you have enough experience.
With your 550 points, go to the dungeon in the northeast corner of the island, in the blackened area. You'll recognize it by its waterway. In the first level you should find two "plates", one of which you should touch. They yield the Mark of the King. With the Mark of the King, you can now get up to 2550 health points, again provided that you have enough experience.
Remaining Marks
By now you should have at least one Mark and all four Cards.
You'll find the Mark of the Snake on the eighth level of the Dungeon of the Snake (NES cave of Sol). In order to find the Lord of Time and the Mark of Fire, look in the Dungeon of Time (NES cave of Moon), which you can only reach via the Moon Gates. Lastly, you'll find the Mark of Force on level 8 of the Dungeon Doom (NES cave of Fool).
If you're playing the NES remake, you will have to look for the Silver Pick at the bottom of the cave of Death (originally Dardin's Pit)