Many players become stuck during the Dominus Mirabilium objective that requires collecting “a crate near the residences.” The crate near the harbor is easy to identify, but the residential crates often do not appear visually. This creates confusion and long searches, especially when the crates spawn inside buildings or under terrain.
Clear Answer
The residential crates in Anno 117 spawn on land near roads and houses within the residential district. They only become interactable when a ship is docked at the main port. If nothing appears near the quest marker, the crates are likely affected by a placement bug and may be hidden inside structures. Adjusting buildings, scanning at low angles, or reloading can force them to appear.
What the Crate Objective Requires
The Dominus Mirabilium quest places two small supply crates near liberti residences.
These crates use minimal visual models and often resemble faint outlines on the ground.
The crates must be clicked manually, after which they appear in the port’s special item inventory. A ship must collect them before transporting them to the next objective.
Why Crates Do Not Appear Near Residences
Crates frequently fail to appear due to object clipping or incorrect placement. Updates to roads, house blocks, or nearby terrain after the quest triggers can cause crates to spawn inside buildings or behind structures. The quest marker may highlight the right zone but not the exact tile, making the crates difficult to detect without detailed scanning.
How to Locate Crates Near Residences in Anno 117
Players should search using a low-angle camera near roads and residential tiles. The cursor’s interaction icon often appears before the crate model becomes visible. Maintaining a docked ship at the port ensures the crate interaction is activated.
How to Fix Crates Not Spawning
Dock a Ship at the Main Port
The crate interaction only registers when a ship is present. Docking a vessel ensures the quest logic is active.
Scan with a Low Camera Angle
Lowering the camera reveals small crate outlines and increases the visibility of interaction prompts.
Relocate Nearby Residences
If crates are hidden inside buildings, moving or rotating houses near the quest marker can push the crate model into open space.
Adjust or Rebuild Road Layouts
Updating road tiles can cause the game to refresh crate placement, making hidden crates appear correctly.
Reload the Save or Validate Files
Reloading often resets object positions. Validating installation files can help resolve persistent placement issues.
Quick Tips
• Always keep a ship docked before searching
• Scan roads next to liberti houses and the trading post
• Look for the interaction cursor instead of visual models
• Move nearby buildings when markers show nothing
• Reload after layout adjustments
Comparison Table: Crate Behaviors
Crate Type Comparison
| Crate Type | Visibility | Location | Common Issue | Required Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbor Crate | Large, obvious | Port road | None | Standard pickup |
| Residential Crates | Small outline | Roads near houses | Hidden inside buildings | Ship + scanning |
| Bugged Crates | Invisible | Inside structures | Cannot interact | Move buildings or reload |
When the Quest Cannot Be Completed
If crates do not appear after multiple layout changes and rescans, the Dominus Mirabilium quest may be stuck due to a persistent spawning bug. Because the questline is optional, players can continue developing their city while waiting for a future patch to resolve the crate placement issue.
Conclusion
The Dominus Mirabilium residential crates are intentionally small interactive objects, but they often suffer from clipping issues and misplacement. Using structured scanning techniques, docking a ship, relocating nearby buildings, and reloading can resolve most cases. Persistent issues indicate a bug that requires developer fixes in a future update.
Additional FAQs About Anno 117 Dominus Mirabilium Crate Issues
Why does the crate marker appear over multiple houses but no crate is found?
This happens because the quest marker shows a general search zone, not the exact tile where the crate spawned.
When the spawning system miscalculates, the crates may appear under multiple buildings, causing the marker to spread across the entire block.
The crate may be inside one of those structures, making it invisible and inaccessible.
Relocating or deleting houses within the marker zone often reveals the hidden crate on the ground.
Why does the crate highlight flash briefly but disappear before interaction?
A brief highlight flash usually indicates the crate is trying to spawn but is obstructed by a structure or terrain.
The game recognizes the crate’s intended location but cannot display it due to collision overlap.
This situation occurs most frequently after rearranging roads or adding new housing.
Clearing a small radius around the marker and rescanning with a ground-level camera forces the highlight to remain visible.
Does the residential district layout affect crate visibility in Anno 117?
Yes. Residential layouts strongly influence crate placement because Dominus Mirabilium events rely on available road tiles.
If roads are curved, tightly packed, or rebuilt after the quest started, the crates may spawn in outdated coordinates.
Straightening roads, widening block spacing, or reopening earlier tile arrangements improves your chances of displaying the crates correctly.
This is especially important in crowded early-game cities.
Can upgrading houses make crates disappear during the quest?
House upgrades can accidentally shift the collision grid around residential blocks.
When building footprints expand or reposition during an upgrade, crates previously placed in valid locations may become overlapped and hidden.
Upgrading after the quest trigger is a common cause of the crate invisibility bug.
Downgrading or relocating the affected houses often restores access to the crate.
Do crates respawn if the residential area is rebuilt completely?
Crates do not respawn automatically because Dominus Mirabilium uses fixed event objects linked to the quest step.
Even after demolishing and rebuilding the entire district, the crates remain tied to their original coordinates.
However, clearing large sections of the district removes obstructions and may reveal the crates on empty tiles.
Once visible, the crates function normally and can be collected immediately.