Multiple explorer or treasure maps could lead you to the same place

From what I tested, anew cartographer will generate maps to the nearest unexplored structures. So it seems logical that in the same location, without exploring those, each new cartographer will continue to generate maps to the same structures. It's like activating several normal maps from the same spot, they're all different (and don't update each other), but show all the same area.
Not very useful like that if you carefully try each cartographer before any exploration, but if changed, you could lose all access to this nearest unexplored map by a simple villager death.
So, Works As Intended?

Agreed, WAI.

I believe that what players "expect" to happen is that each map goes to a different location. So rather than requiring players to get a treasure map and then go find that treasure one at a time, players would like to collect several and then go on a treasure run. 

Furthermore, in the activity of searching for one treasure they may come across another chest. But they may not want to open it (since loot is generated upon opening) so that any treasure map therein spawned is not a duplicate. 

Is the above intended gameplay? It is decidedly a less-than-fun result so I doubt it. So "Works as intended" may be accurate but may also lead to much less fun. I also fail to see how this functionality could possibly work on servers with multiple players without players running into some of these odd circumstances. I think each treasure map should simply generate independently. 

I should clarify that I am finding maps in shipwreck and submerged village chests in 18w19b rather than purchasing from a cartographer. Map seed is 387808623 if it matters. I'm using creative mode to explore the new snapshot content. 

Please rethink this functionality. Make each treasure map generate independently of all previously generated treasure maps. 

I agree with Daniel Smith, as of version 18w22b, buried treasure maps from inside shipwreck and aquatic ruins all lead to the same treasure. Please fix this to independently generate to new treasure with each map.

Reopening for developers to decide.

can confirm for pre release 6

since i got two seperate ocean explorer maps that led you to the same place

by place, i mean ocean monument

This still happens for me in Minecraft 1.13 (the full release). I found treasure map #0 in a shipwreck, found the treasure and explored the full map. Afterwards on my way home I found treasure map #1 in a different shipwreck. Map #1 leads to the same spot as map #0, even though I fully explored the first map before I found the second one. I can provide further details if you want.

Confirmed that this issue still happens in 1.13 released a few days ago. If any buried treasure map is found, then the buried treasure is located, looted and the chest destroyed then replaced by a solid block, any map in the vicinity found before or after (the after is important) will still lead to that buried treasure chest that you already looted. This goes completely against the mechanics of the game, as mentioned above where cartographer point you out to the nearest unexplored structure, and not the nearest structure no matter its current state. 

So my question is, what is the point of this? It makes maps and exploration completely useless as it is, with 10 maps having 10 different IDs leading to the same buried treasure chest you already looted. Here are a few screenshots showing 2 different buried treasure maps with different IDs, one looted before and one after, and all pointing to the same chests that is already looted: https://imgur.com/a/5ZVP2eo

I saw someone mentioning woodland mansions above. I had 2 woodland mansion maps on me at the same time in 1.12 that I got from cartographers, and they were leading to unique woodland mansions, as it is supposed to. Having 10 maps leading to the same place is just a waste of time for players and doesn't make you want to look for them.

I see a few ways of fixing this: apply the cartographer mechanic to buried treasure maps, making each map unique and leading to a different buried treasure chest, or make only one buried treasure map available per buried treasure chest area/vicinity. First one honestly sounds a lot easier to implement, as it is a mechanic already existing in the game and also the one that makes the most sense.

Experiencing the same issue. Makes the mechanic of maps completely unplayable.

Discovered my first map and found treasure.

Discovered my second map and it was pointed tot the same place. Assumed random occurrence. Could not find second treasure in the same area.

Discovered third and forth map, all pointed to the same location. Gave up looking after that.

The section about buried treasure maps is still persistent in 1.13.1.   For buried treasure maps, the area can already be "explored" or "loaded", but the maps will still lead to the closest structure. This also includes the chest at were already broken from my repeated experience .
1.13.1 single player. if any info/proof is need please let me know, but it is the same as original post.

I opened an issue about something like this and they lead me to this post. I got four buried treasure maps that lead to the same treasure. Two of them were near the treasure location and in the same flooded ruins, so I understood the duplicated maps. But the other two maps were from different locations (one an ocean temple, the other from a ruin) and quite far away from the treasure location, still they lead to the same chest.

Java edition 1.13.1 single player, wonder when this issue will be solved.

Removed the mention of differently named explorer and treasure maps from the summary. Explorer and treasure maps are now named without an added number.

Same in 1.14.1 - looks like the map directs to the treasure chest closes to the map's origin. I tried looking at maps a long way from their origins, yet they directed me all to the same, long gone, treasure chest.

(1.14.1v on Win10/i7/16GB)
Also, it does NOT help any, if you keep all the treasure maps or carry them with you and fill them one and all by exploring over and over again, although you already looted and destroyed that specific chest.

When you get the next map, even if the game lags (see MC-126244), the next map will again point to that very same treasure.

Example: In demo seed (-343522682), all maps lead to the treasure at -77 60 427 …

Same here:

The map started at 1.13 but these chunks were loaded for the first time at 1.14.2.

Seed: -5008628905712119151

Coords: X: -3725, Z: -433

I've also picked up >5 duplicate treasure maps. I started a practice of keeping all of my old maps in a chest and compare anything I pick up against those maps. ... to make that a bit less tedious, I also took screenshots of all the maps, moved them into their own folder, and scroll through with feh (my image viewer) to quickly see if I already visited the spot. I also leave a symbol in the ocean for anything I've picked up so I don't go digging through the same place again.

I suspect this is by design and just points to the closest treasure (claimed or not), in order to prevent permanently losing a treasure because a map got destroyed, and to prevent gaming the system.

I don't mind the duplicate maps, but it would be really nice if there was some indicator on the map if the player had already been to that exact location, rather than keeping an archive.

This is still happening on 1.14.4. For me, this happened when there were two shipwrecks within 200 blocks of each other. There must have been a third nearby because when I got to it, the chest was already dug up... At least whoever went there didn't take all the loot 🙂 (the heart of the sea was still gone....)

Appears to be fixed for cartographers in 1.15 Pre-6, which will now give a different explorer map for each cartographer. This means that you can buy many different ocean/woodland explorer maps without actually exploring. This is still not fixed for buried treasure maps though.

This appears to be a problem on 1.16.0.66 beta for treasure maps.  Lately all treasure maps are pointing to the same location for me even though I've found that treasure and destroyed the treasure chest.  The sunken ship or underwater buildings where I find the treasure maps can be over 1000 blocks away from the map location.

exists in bedrock 1.16.0.67 beta

In tests last night I travelled over 6000 blocks in one direction, found multiple sunken ships and underwater ruins - all maps pointed to the same buried treasure that I'd already found that was 300 blocks from my spawn point

This issue is still occurring in 1.16.1 Java

I didn't have this issue until the most recent nether update now all maps I find are the exact same map. Traveled thousands of blocks from the chest, past other known buried treasure sites and I'm still getting the same map.

I haven't been purchasing from a cartographer. It's shipwreck maps that I have been finding.

I faced this issue today as well, in a multiplayer server. Killed the old cartographer, created new one in his place, and got the same ocean explorer map. Surprisingly, when I tested it in creative mode, the issue didn't come up again. Test was exactly same - replace cartographer, and trade until he sold ocean explorer maps.

Specifically, in creative mode, whether or not I explored the ocean monument, I could replace the cartographer and get a different map. But, in the multiplayer server, I ended up visiting the previously-cleared monument. And after multiple attempts at getting a new map, I gave up on getting a new monument.

Both used Minecraft version 1.16.5, vanilla; but it may be worth noting that my creative world was ported from previous versions. I don't know if that helps. The multiplayer server, however, is only a few months old, so probably not ported.

Additional information: I previously received a different explorer map when I traded with another cartographer, about 200 blocks away.

I'm okay to run more tests if needed, to reproduce the issue

Why is this still unassigned / unresolved?

When treasure maps first came out, there were (apparently) thousands of buried treasures to be hunted for. Now it appears the entire world has only ONE treasure, with EVERY map pointing to it.

Can confirm in 1.19.

can confirm for 1.18.2

i can confirm in 1.19.3 and 23w04a

I can confirm in 1.20.4 

Can confirm in 1.21 with trial Explorer maps 

@unknown 1.21 is already listed as an affected version.

To emphasize this report, I want to confirm that this has also happened to me several times in version 1.21.4

In this case, I found up to six treasure maps in the same area, and they all showed me the same location. In the attached images, the only difference I show is the map I'm holding; they're different, but they share the same location. Perhaps this is intentional, since from a certain perspective it makes sense, (lore) as if in the ancient civilization there was a team that was jointly investigating the location of the treasure or something like that. But in case it's not intentional and is an error, I wanted to present this report

If required, here's the information to locate the area:

Seed: 4076986276051962637
Coordinates: -938, 62, -212