Apologies on the necro, but does anyone have any more tips and tricks for this one? We're using up a lot of time just trying to find the hints. Mashing my tab key to no avail whenever the npc is being talked to, but coming up with no ???
Have one person search with the NPC, and the rest search the other side of the map via tabbing. You don't need the NPC for the ??? to pop, she just helps with finding the right area when ??? isn't up. Majority of the time when I ran this (led a lot of groups to Captain) someone else found a hint before I found one with the NPC. About 50/50 whether someone got the second hint too before I found one with NPC.
Edit add: Plus with the NPC you'll know if the ??? nearby is mob, seaweed or hint, she says different things.