My unmodified Watchful is at 154, 180ish with items. Is it high enough to reasonably expect to be able to finish a certain self-destructing storyline within the next year ? I’m not scared of the grind and the destruction of my character, but I am afraid of the IRL time investment : I already went through the Uttermost East ambition in Sunless Sea three times to gather all the information I can get, since it is Salt I am really curious about, rather than Mr Eaten, and since I played without saving, it did take me quite a lot of time already.
One is always ready to Seek. It’s never too early to start :-)
It takes a few months to take a brand newly created character to the end of Seeking in a few months, so you already have a good head start.
The main factors which limit progress:
- Until SMEN level 21 (when you can go to Winking Isle), you pretty much progress by one level a week (unless you have a lot of Appalling Secrets to burn).[/li][li]Eventually you’ll need either Notability 12, unless you’re at one of the times of year which allow you to choose the Torment Destiny (which will cost Fate if you already have a Destiny).
Other than that, it’s pretty straightforward - you might need to grind an item here and there, get in and out of menace areas, etc.
edited by dov on 11/16/2017
There’s not really any disadvantage to starting at any time. You get a head start on the weekly SMEN increase at the very least.
The disadvantage is an opportunity deck clogged full of evil no-discard cards, so there’s something to be said for waiting until your other card-based goals are complete.
The cards are based on Unaccountably Peckish, not SMEN. It’s quite possible, and very helpful, to have ways of raising and lowering UP to draw the cards when you need them (once a week) and not when you don’t.
Oh yeah, I forget that smart people strategize instead of avoiding the wiki and torturing themselves for fun. <_<
But the hunger apparently can’t catch you at zee or when you’re dead, so it’s not really a drawback for my playstyle. >_>
At Zee, you have a steady supply of zailors to quell your appetites, I’m sure.
Besides just raising your SMEN, you’ll need 200 Watchful with items, 7 Searing Enigmas, a Classic Short Story/Long-Lost Daughter/Noman, another 7 Enigmas and 2542 Proscribed Material or someone willing to give you a Calling Card, and a ship. That and some miscellaneous items for Scars, Stains, and Chains.
You can absolutely finish Seeking within the next year. If you have those items and lots of Appalling Secrets you could even finish in a couple weeks.
Or at Hallowmas you need all seven confessions, but that’s only nominally within the next year.
About Watchful, do I need to get my base, unmodified Watchful to 200 or is it enough to have it over 200 with items? And where/who could I ask for a Calling Card ? I am at SMEN 9 so far and grinding Appalling Secrets for the Drown your Secrets option on the Seeking Road.
Edit: also, where would be the best place to raise my Watchful further ? I am currently at base 154, 192 with items.
edited by Anvil on 11/17/2017
You don’t need your base at 200, modified 200 watchful is enough.
Only another Seeker (presumably someone who’s done with it) can give you a calling card. There’s a thread for just that.
Also, if you want to make the process as quick as possible, get as many levels as you can through Appalling Secrets now, before your SMEN gets too high. (If you have secrets to use, use them before you get your weekly point from Unaccountably Peckish.) The AS cost can get out of reach pretty quickly.
You’re never ready to seek. Seeking is a terrible idea, for all that I feel terrible for Him. I wonder if there’s a connection there somehow . . .
Reflecting on that, I just realised that getting to Notability 12 is one massive grind in and of itself. I considered using Fate to get the Torment Destiny, but the wiki says it requires me to have St Cerise’s Candle already, which I doubt I will be able to achieve before Christmas, so it seems I will have to endure the Notability grind too (currently at SMEN 13, with the Drown your Secrets option being a 50% challenge now). Quick question : is there a set order in which you get the candles or can some of them be obtained before others (ie, St Cerise) ?
edited by Anvil on 11/21/2017
Except for very uncommon cases (e.g. being "gifted" St Destin’s candle in Hallowmas), you’ll indeed need to collect the candles in order.
Except for very uncommon cases (e.g. being "gifted" St Destin’s candle in Hallowmas), you’ll indeed need to collect the candles in order.[/quote]
Thanks. While I am at it, is there any lore hidden somewhere as to who were those "saints" whose candles seekers are collecting ?
One is never ready to Seek. It is always too early to start. If you insist on doing pointlessly self-destructive things to no benefit, then you can begin doing so whenever you want. Start by getting betrayed, to make a Seeker very happy, then get a Starveling Cat so you can easily grind Unaccountably Peckish up and down for the free SMEN each week. The very high UP cards have basically no consequences to their Seeking options, so try and use those whenever possible.
Also, I haven’t completed Seeking but I’ve heard from people who have that the Salt ending isn’t very informative and that the other endings are significantly better. So take that into account.
I personally really like the Salt ending, but it doesn’t give much concrete information. YMMV
Thanks for the info, but gathering information about Salt is literally the only reason I’m on the Seeking Road, so my choice is already made. Besides, I still have a good deal of notes about Salt from my travels in Sunless Sea (I did play through the Salt-related Ambition three times), and I feel that I am oh so very close to the entire picture, so my hope is that I will be able to make something out of whatever results asking my Question will yield.
Interestingly enough and on an unrelated note, it is funny to see that both Eaten-Seeking and Salt-Seeking revolve around kenosis, ie the mystical process of making yourself empty to make room for the divinity.
You will not be disappointed.
As disappointment is an emotion you won’t be able to feel if you choose to Seek.
Among other emotions, perhaps.
edited by Tystefy on 11/24/2017
[quote=illuminati swag (Benthic)]One is never ready to Seek. It is always too early to start. If you insist on doing pointlessly self-destructive things to no benefit, then you can begin doing so whenever you want. Start by getting betrayed, to make a Seeker very happy, then get a Starveling Cat so you can easily grind Unaccountably Peckish up and down for the free SMEN each week. The very high UP cards have basically no consequences to their Seeking options, so try and use those whenever possible.
Also, I haven’t completed Seeking but I’ve heard from people who have that the Salt ending isn’t very informative and that the other endings are significantly better. So take that into account.[/quote]
As a novice in all things seeking how would a nasty cat be used to allow one to obtain free SMEN each week? Asking for a friend…
You can use the “Cats…” option in the flit to chat with your horrifying friend for 3 Unaccountably Peckish. Do that a few times, then draw opportunity cards until you get one that lets you gain 1 SMEN and Marsh-Mired in Dreams of Sustenance. You lose the Marsh-Mired weekly with Time the Healer. Thus, 1 essentially free SMEN.
That’s not the only way to gain Unaccountably Peckish for the cards, but it’s certainly the easiest and most reliable.