I’ve been a POSI for a fair bit now, but focus is definitely not my strong suit. After spending far too long in the forgotten quarter trying to find an eyeless skull(no luck - if i want one, i’m going to have to go begging), i’m rethinking my priorities. I still don’t have one of the high level lodgings, and i’m leaning toward the bazaar, although certainly i am intrigued by the royal bethlehem as well. For seasoned players, what would be the best thing for me to concentrate on next - the best lodging secrets can buy, or beginning to delve into the cave? My other thought was to dig more into my ambition (nemesis), as i have let that fall by the wayside for a fair time. i realize we all pinball about differently, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.[li]
I’d go for one of the 4-card Lodgings and afterwards get as much Bizarre/Dreaded/Respectable as you can to make it easy to attain Notability 3 or 4.
Goats are always good. Over, Uber, Hepta.
[quote=harbourlady]I’ve been a POSI for a fair bit now, but focus is definitely not my strong suit. After spending far too long in the forgotten quarter trying to find an eyeless skull(no luck - if i want one, i’m going to have to go begging), i’m rethinking my priorities. I still don’t have one of the high level lodgings, and i’m leaning toward the bazaar, although certainly i am intrigued by the royal bethlehem as well. For seasoned players, what would be the best thing for me to concentrate on next - the best lodging secrets can buy, or beginning to delve into the cave? My other thought was to dig more into my ambition (nemesis), as i have let that fall by the wayside for a fair time. i realize we all pinball about differently, but any advice would be greatly appreciated
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[li]hmm. if you value personal development, you should probably work on the nadir or your lodgings. the nadir is a recurring burst of petty-cash, but it cuts your stat growth quite significantly, so it might be foolish to rush it too much. still, going begging for a skull doesn’t cost much- and you can even cut the guilt by sending them 5th city coins or suprise packages in thanks once you get one. the up-front cost of the nadir means if you’re as close as you sound like you are, it’s probably worth finishing it just to get the >1500 echoes item, (from revealing the route to revolutionaries or the great game) even if you wait to go in once that’s claimed- which might be folly itself.[/li][li]Lodgings are also highly valuable, but harder to get. Their price tends to be around 625 echoes, so if you wanted, you could buy one just by wasting the >1500 echoes item and buying the items to easily upcraft to it. (If you’d do that, I recommend 1250 echoes of prisoners honey- less resources you already have- to upcraft to the bazaar lodgings for 50 permits, personally.) of all the lodgings, only it returns 4 scrap and 2 echoes on its card. the failure is pretty punishing, though.
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edited by Grenem on 11/7/2015
Expanding on the advice above, I suggest that you first work on the Membership of God’s editors as your first BDR item. It has a solid + 4 to Respectable and has an opportunity card that reduces both Nightmares and Scandal while giving some little Connected:Church.
Don’t grind a goat until you’re max stat and have everything else sorted. Money comes quicker with higher stats.
1 get a 4 card lodging. Make it a very high priority, as Sacksmas is coming soon, and upgrading your four card lodging is easier then than any other time of year. Royal Beth may be faster than the Bazaar, but you may end up wanting both eventually.
- God’s editors - useful, easy BDR
3 I’d suggest stat grinding, with an aim to get a gang of hoodlums. They’re very expensive, but will make grinding a lot of other, useful, stuff much cheaper and easier in the long run (thefts of a particular character in the Flit).
- Work through storylines, such a velocipede squad if you want to spend fate, or finish the Jack storyline, or affair of the box.
Crossing the POSI barrier certainly opens up a wealth of options and it can be difficult to know where to start.
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Upgrading your lodgings will give you new ways to acquire certifiable scraps, which you’ll need in large quantities need to buy a number of special items. At Christmas, you can upgrade this further for a much cheaper price than you can during the rest of the year, which will let you hold 5 cards in your hand. As this is a once-a-year opportunity and a 5-card lodging is incredibly useful when inside the Cave of the Nadir, I would make this your priority - if you can manage to get both a bazaar emporium and a room at the royal beth before the wicket closes, so much the better.
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The cave of the nadir is a Fun Spooky Time with the possibility of earning a fair chunk of echoes once a week. It’s particularly helpful if you’re grinding airag or searing enigmas in pursuit of a larger goal like the impossible theorem. Keep in mind it takes a bite out of your stats though. Having a 5-card lodging improves your chances of drawing profitable cards, so I’d focus on that first if you can. Incidentally if you do decide to sell the location of the Nadir, keep in mind that a) you can only do this once, so pick your faction wisely and b) the items you receive are very costly to obtain through other routes, so unless you already have them I wouldn’t just flog them for echoes. And there’s a forum thread dedicated to giving out skulls to people in need, so ask there and see if you can find a kindly soul to throw you a bone, as it were.
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If you want to upgrade your profession, your going to need Notability. As others have said, that means increasing your BDR, so gathering the materials for the various items available in the sidestreets (club, transport etc) should be your first step here. There are a few good guides to notability and BDR floating about on the forums if you want to know more.
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The ambitions are gradually reaching their end points, so it might be fun to catch up to the content boundary so you’re ready to go as soon as the end is available. This will probably involve some heavy grinds, too.
Anyway, the best thing is probably to pick a concrete goal which appeals (get lodgings, upgrade profession, finish x storyline, get an impossible theorem) and follow the steps you need to make it there - you’ll pick up a lot along the way. In terms of your immediate aims, you could do a lot worse than to try and grab a lodging to upgrade when Christmas comes.
I’d recommend the BDR route as well, but particularly because notability will allow you higher level professions which can have valuable weekly rewards. You’ll also wAnt to buy a Townhouse even when you already have a 4 card lodging for the sake of opening either a salon or orphanage (and it may be easier to have one of those set up before you start seriously looking for lots of making waves!)
The three four-card lodgings are best obtained through Thefts of a Particular Character in the Flit. The Brass Embassy needs a bunch of Brilliant Souls and Muscaria Brandy (plus enough Connected: Hell and a couple other items), the Royal Beth needs fifty Antique Mysteries, and the Bazaar needs fifty Bazaar Permits. Only the last of these can be purchased without drawing a specific card.
A slight correction to the above: the Ratwork Velocipede and the one Empyrean Redolence beast that gives BDR both give a total of +4.
BDR is a good idea - it’ll save you a lot of grinding Making Waves, when you decide to progress towards Notability.
Getting a Salon/Orphanage is an option, as is joining either the Young Stags or Parthenaeum.
But as others have suggested, getting a four-card lodgings is a solid option. All three of them are pretty good. (If your Persuasive is fairly high, I’d recommend getting the Bazaar lodgings. If you have 100 Echoes in cash, there’s a Persuasive challenge on that card which costs 2 Echoes on failure but gives 2 Echoes + 4 Scrap on a success.)
thank you all for the advice - looking over it all, i definitely think the next step is going to be to grind for a 4 card lodging and try to manage it before sackmas. i’ve already joined a club (parthenaeum), done the marriage thing, am in with gods editors, and I have a lovely zee clipper. I’ve also got the clay sedan and the landau, so i’ve got a good start on the BDR bit. Other than straight up purchasing the 4 card locations from the land agency in the baazar, are there other/less expensive ways to come by those lodgings? And if not, what is the best source for whispered secrets in large amounts? (i’ve got about 40k at the moment, so i’ll need to double down to purchase the bazaar lodgings, but i’m much closer to that then any of the other 4 card digs)
There are alternatives available! The Royal Bethlehem has a discount option on the merry gentleman card (requires 5 Nightmares), the Premises at the Bazaar’s cheaper option can be found in the Bazaar Side-streets, and the Brass Embassy’s alternative is found on the Hell faction card.
Royal Bethlehem - 50 Antique Mysteries
Premises at the Bazaar - 50 Bazaar Permits
Brass Embassy - 500 Brilliant Souls, 100 Muscaria Brandy, 1 Brass Ring (requires 50 connected Hell and Intimate of Devils)
The alternative options are cheaper. If you’re closer to getting there with whispered secrets, and are really in a hurry, the fastest way to get masses of whispered secrets is to earn amber in Mahogany Hall burning stuff for Japser and Frank, and then converting that into whispered secrets with the Tiger Keeper in the Labyrinth.
brilliant! i think i will be in a position to get my digs at the bazaar and the royal bethlehem by sackmas. Time to don my ratskin and spidersilk. i’ll be in the flit if anyone needs me…
Is burgling Antique Mysteries from Feducci the easiest way to acquire them? I’ve picked up 5 along the way and I’m trying to grind for a reservation at the Royal Beth now. It seems like I can get them for a shade over 11 actions (with the POSI option to gain Casing), but my Shadowy’s not especially high so I have about a 60% chance to succeed at not using up more Casing.
I know you get an Antique Mystery either way, but using up 50 CP of Casing instead of 30 is a pretty big deal.
edited by JimmyTMalice on 11/11/2015
edited by JimmyTMalice on 11/11/2015
It’s at the very least the simplest way to get them. You can always use the Fidgeting Writer if you’re the gambling sort, or if you have a stockpile of Trade Secrets you can get 5 per. I’d personally just stick to what you’re doing after you’ve used your Trade Secrets, though, since it’ll get you there reliably.
edited by Sara Hysaro on 11/11/2015
The Useless Advancements thread might give you some inspiration for long-term goals.
If you’ve collected a lot of rats on strings, you can bulk-convert them to rostygold at a rate of 1.1 gold per rat, and then trade with the Tiger Keeper as well. It costs five actions to sell off your rats, but it’s not like you’re using those rats, are you?
Rats are very useful if you want to marry a player, though. Grinding rats through Unfinished Business is by far the most efficient way to raise Planning a Wedding.
with some pretty dedicated grinding with thefts of a particular character and converting most of the whispers i had collected into echoes and (eventually) to permits, i am the proud new owner of lodgings at the bazaar! I’m not going to lie - it was a nice little thrill when that extra card slot appeared!! Still hoping to get the room at the bethlehem by sackmas as well, when i’ll do my utmost to get that coveted 5th card slot!