I’m nearly at the point when I get to choose what ship to pursue (Just need a few more Strong Backed Labour) and I was wondering what exactly the advantages of the Zee Clipper. It says it’s faster but in what way does that manifest in game? Because I really don’t want to put in a lot of time to get the materials for only a small reward, I’d rather just settle for the Steamer to get round to exploring the sea sooner.
The Steamer is fine. The ships don’t actually grant very good bonuses – they each have a special action, but it’s not permanent, it’s a card from the deck, which means it’s up to the whims of chance. The Zee-Clipper card does give a very nice bonus – 5 points towards your progress quality and only 1 point in the Troubled Waters menace – but how often you get it is purely up to the whims of chance. The ships do also unlock certain branches on other cards, usually “get out of jail free”-type things for the really dangerous cards that would otherwise require a luck challenge. In sum, the other ships are a luxury – save it for when you have nothing better to do.
(By the way, the ships also give bonuses to your equipment-based stats – Respectable, Bizarre, and Dreaded. The Swift Zee-Clipper is the only one that doesn’t, but it’s generally agreed that its bonus – speed – is the most mechanically optimal one. Just keep that in mind.)
Don’t worry about it. I’d say, go for the basic Steamer, and enjoy the voyaging. Then, later on, you can grind for something else - I now have Zubmarine. You have lots of time and many opportunities to change your mind and do something else.
Go with the steamer for now. Giving up your current ship just puts you back at this stage in the process, so you aren’t losing that much if you decide to switch later.
This will let you explore the Unterzee for a bit, and see whether you consider the benefits of a more expensive ship worthwhile.
The advantage of the Zee Clipper is that it adds an opportunity card (and unlocks access to options on other opportunity cards) that gives you an above-average bonus to the quality determining how far along you are in your voyage. The net effect is usually just that you shave a few actions off of every voyage, though if you’re unlucky and skirting the edge of your Troubled Waters being too high, needing a few less actions to reach your destination might make a huge difference in how long your trip takes.
Personally, I did exactly what I recommend: I bought the steamer to start off, explored for a while, and then came back and purchased the Swift Zee Clipper, and don’t have any regrets.
Cheers, that sounds like a good idea I think I’ll do that, gets me exploring sooner.
Personally i ground out a zee-clipper without going for a tramp-steamer first and it was soul-crushingly boring but i didn’t want to abandon all that progress
so yeah don’t do that
Just do whatever your character feels like doing. I started with the Zee-Clipper, but I got bored and I switched to a Zubmarine.
I’m torn between a zubmarine and a yacht. On the one hand, the zubmarine is powered by the correspondence and a marvel of science. On the other hand, the yacht is clearly a sign of affluence, and previously owned by a Master no less.
Steamers are for roustabouts and the lackadaisical. Sure, it’ll get you from point A to point B, but it will get you there in neither style nor comfort.
All three superior boats give you cards and bonuses that are more than worth your while, but they also give those who peek at your mantelpiece a clue that you are no common zailor! They used to be much more difficult to get, but with the re-working of the monetary system, Wilmot’s End and the War of Assassins getting a superior boat gets you a great sense of pride and accomplishment to go the the salt zee air.
Personally, I went with the yacht. After all, it’s not about the destination: it’s the journey that counts. And I, for one, want that journey to be in style and comfort.
I went with the yacht too - it seemed to me to be the most glamorous of options, and I have not been disappointed with it!
My primary character has a Zubmarine and my secondary has a Swift Zee-Clipper. I’ve never gone for the Tramp Steamer because none of my character would be caught dead in those things. Even when they’re dead they get a nice boat ride with the skinny guy who likes to play chess. It’s a bit old fashioned, but elegant and relaxing.
Seriously though, I’d say unless you have something across the zee you need to do right now spend the time to get the boat you want. I knew the moment a zubmarine was available that my primary character could have nothing less. Because zubmarine. It’s like if they offered a dirigible I don’t care how long I’d have to grind for to get that.
This is very true. Getting my Zee-Clipper was much easier than my Zubmarine.
I have a Swift Zee-Clipper, and I enjoy its grace and speed. My subsidiary character isn’t sufficiently advanced to be eligible for boat shopping yet.
Go with the steamer for now. Giving up your current ship just puts you back at this stage in the process, so you aren’t losing that much if you decide to switch later.
This will let you explore the Unterzee for a bit, and see whether you consider the benefits of a more expensive ship worthwhile.
The advantage of the Zee Clipper is that it adds an opportunity card (and unlocks access to options on other opportunity cards) that gives you an above-average bonus to the quality determining how far along you are in your voyage. The net effect is usually just that you shave a few actions off of every voyage, though if you’re unlucky and skirting the edge of your Troubled Waters being too high, needing a few less actions to reach your destination might make a huge difference in how long your trip takes.
Personally, I did exactly what I recommend: I bought the steamer to start off, explored for a while, and then came back and purchased the Swift Zee Clipper, and don’t have any regrets.[/quote]
I think this is a great plan and I suspect I will adopt it for my subsidiary character.
I have the zee clipper, and while I don’t believe its slightly higher speed (on the occasional card) even comes close to making up for the cost of getting it, I certainly don’t regret buying it: It is (in my opinion) the coolest of all the ships and it is definitely what my character would sail. It’s like a lot of the gear that I have–with my R.F. bandit chief that provides +4 dangerous, I really don’t need my ruthless henchman anymore . . . but I hang on to him because I like how he looks on my profile. :)
Keep in mind that the Swift Zee Clipper is now effectlvely quite a bit cheaper these days, since the primary cost is the large number of Use of Villains that you need to procure, which you can gain at a rate of 2 a week by just having the Enforcer profession and being patient.
Given that another use for Use of Villains is to gain a Gang of Hoodlums (which I’d consider an essential POSI item), I think Enforcer would be rather attractive if I were pre-POSI: its rewards are effectively 88E per week if you plan on using Use of Villains rather than selling them (and even if you’re selling them, the 40E per week is more than any other profession).
Keep in mind that the Swift Zee Clipper is now effectlvely quite a bit cheaper these days, since the primary cost is the large number of Use of Villains that you need to procure, which you can gain at a rate of 2 a week by just having the Enforcer profession and being patient.
Given that another use for Use of Villains is to gain a Gang of Hoodlums (which I’d consider an essential POSI item), I think Enforcer would be rather attractive if I were pre-POSI: its rewards are effectively 88E per week if you plan on using Use of Villains rather than selling them (and even if you’re selling them, the 40E per week is more than any other profession).[/quote]
- you gain contacts with criminals.
I’m personally a Rat-catcher atm, since I need labour for my zub.
Kindof a weird question. My “character” doesn’t like 1) robbing from anyone except other thieves or devils, or 2) selling souls or trading them in a way that doesn’t “free” them or return them to their owners.
Is that going to block my progress towards any or all of these ships?
[quote=Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]Kindof a weird question. My "character" doesn’t like 1) robbing from anyone except other thieves or devils, or 2) selling souls or trading them in a way that doesn’t "free" them or return them to their owners.
Is that going to block my progress towards any or all of these ships?[/quote]
The zubmarine is 100% constructed by you. The yacht is gambled with Mr.Apples for, only the zee-clipper is stolen and the steamer is instantly purchased.[li]
Thanks. Unfortunately the zee-clipper would’ve been my first choice, so I’ll probably just go steamer then.