Completely new to game, a few questions

Fallen London
1

I had read somewhere on this forum that people buying exceptional for the first time got 20 turns added, I only got my limit increased and was still out of turns, I know its not listed in the benefits, I just figured it might be an added bonus they don’t mention, or is this not a thing anymore?

Also, avoiding too much in the way of spoilers, am I safe in just working on 1 or 2 areas of expertise while completely ignoring the others, or am I ham-stringing myself in general?

What would be some good fate purchases for a Watchfull/Shadowy toon.

In addition, anyone looking for a shadowy or watchful goon for cooperative work (or maybe not so cooperative; heck, anything really)? (Honestly I’m not sure that you even can involve yourself in others plots that much; or if you can, if I would be useful at all to anyone.

Also, any posts I might do well to read that I wouldn’t find by casual reading. (I am literally just starting tearing into the forum, generally will check the first two pages of every section for game-relevant posts -Already read over the rules)

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help.

P.S. Reading the forums and just realized I missed out on getting someone to invite me to the game, since I had just purchased exceptional, I can’t abandon this account and get it. Are there any other ways to access that storyline?
edited by KoolAid on 6/27/2015

2

I can’t help you on any Fate stuff, but I can say that you will need all of your main qualities eventually. It’s generally okay to raise one at a time, but some storylets in the starting areas will have bonus options or something that uses a different stat, so being a generalist can pay off.

For forum topics, the ones on managing menace could be helpful, though they’re pretty far back. Fortunately you won’t have to worry about that for a while, and it’s probably still a good idea to visit the menace areas at least once just to get a feel for them.

3

When you become an Exceptional Friend, the amount of action points you can retain is raised to 40. This means that after a good night sleep of 8 hours you will wake up to 40 actions as opposed to just 20. This is efficient in that it allows you to harness more hours with having to play constantly so it is very good for a busy person (even if using all those actions seems to take a while).

As for skills, you are free to level as you see fit but you will in time need to be a master of all skills to rise higher in the echelons of Fallen London society. For the moment you may just focus on your interests and return to the other areas to imrpove yourself.

Players cannot at present assist in many matters involving other players, but there are a few things.

As for the invitation reward, that is for the player who brought you to the game and its value is of no long-term consequence I assure you. The invitation storyline is just a brief paragraph leading you into the game, nothing to fret over.

If you need general information, there is a user friendly wiki that, while dated, is far more navigable than its wikia counterpart.

http://echobazaar.wikidot.com/

edited by Owen Wulf on 6/27/2015

4

Wow guys, thanks for the fast replies, really the only thing I’ve left to worry about are the fate unlocks. Are there any that are considered must-have, or at least, the best of (in general all, but I am focusing on shadows and watchful to start)

5

I haven’t played many of the Fate-locked stories yet, but I do highly recommend the Soul Trade and the Blemmigan Affair storylines.

6

Of all the Fate-Locked Content that I have played I would recommend the “A Trade in Souls” and “The Gift” above all others. If you are an Exceptional Friend, you will receive a Exceptional Story each month, which is exclusive to Exceptional Friends and vanishes at the end of the month. I would wait to play “The Gift” until you have access to Court. “A Trade in Souls” (if I remember correctly) is relatively low level and has the benefit of tying into several other storylets in minor, but fun ways.

However, none of the Fate content is “must have” in that you cannot progress without it.

7

By the way Soren, what is your character’s name in Fallen London - is it Josh or Soren?

8

This changed about a month ago (iirc). Back when exceptional friendship was bought with fate, every extension (30 days) also restored 20 actions. Now you buy EF with a card, and don’t get any actions.

9

Actually my character name is Smelgen, I just changed my forum username to match.

Thanks for the tips on locked content, I think I may hold off on any fate use until I hit 50 with all my skills, just to make sure I don’t fail any checks on paid stories, and also, to give me a bit of time to acclimate myself to the game before spending my fate points.

Edit: New question; should I be concerned with / working towards second chances - if so, could anyone point me towards a good place to start? (I know next to absolutely nothing about them thus far, just read something about this, but it sounds important).
edited by Smelgen on 6/28/2015

10

Second chances are only an aid in the event you fail a roll as they allow a second chance to redo said roll. Once you level up a skill enough you will take challenges that, if you fail them, may result in an injury of somesort. Accumulate enough such injuries and you are sent to a place of menace you must work your way back from.

To use a second chance, scroll over the challenge quality of a storylet and check off &quotuse second chance&quot just below it. Mind you, even if you succeed on the initial roll you still lose the second chance. Best used for high-risk rolls to maximize your chance to succeed.

edited by Owen Wulf on 6/28/2015

11

To add to Owen Wulf’s comments, an easy way to get second chances is through social interactions at your lodgings:

Chess Matches against other players will give Sudden Insights (a second chance for Watchful checks).

Suspicious Loitering will give Hastily Scrawled Warning Notes (a second chance for Shadows checks).

Sparring Bouts will give Hard Earned Lessons (a second chance for Dangerous checks).

Coffee at Calligula’s will give Confident Smiles (a second chance for Persuasive checks).

There are other ways to get second chances as well, but those options will also introduce you to other players in-game.
edited by vitamancy on 6/28/2015

12

Thanks everyone; you’ve all been so very helpful, its greatly appreciated.

13

A new-ish player myself, I would suggest you just level up ‘organically’ and do the stories you are interested in. Still, each area of expertise unlocks different areas and different storylines, so it would be better if you switch up around here and there. If you specialise just on 1 or 2 skills, you’ll bevery bored grinding that stat once you hit the roadblock of diminishing returns. Then the storylines start to dry up and get very boring. So, switch up a little and focus on other areas and their related stat.

I almost gave up a month back when the game was getting incredibly grindy with the same cards over and over again, with me having done all the content I could based on my stat back then. Luckily I had a great Patron helping me push through and I found a lot of interesting storylines open to me after overcoming that bump.

Cheers :)

14

[quote=Smelgen]Actually my character name is Smelgen, I just changed my forum username to match.

Thanks for the tips on locked content, I think I may hold off on any fate use until I hit 50 with all my skills, just to make sure I don’t fail any checks on paid stories, and also, to give me a bit of time to acclimate myself to the game before spending my fate points.

Edit: New question; should I be concerned with / working towards second chances - if so, could anyone point me towards a good place to start? (I know next to absolutely nothing about them thus far, just read something about this, but it sounds important).
edited by Smelgen on 6/28/2015[/quote]

I had sent a few social actions to &quotSoren&quot along with an explanation of what Second Chances were, how to get them, and my advice on how to use them - but couldn’t quite figure out why the profile I encountered didn’t seem to fit with what I saw of you on the Forums. The name-change here explains a lot! (I’d recommend putting your profile link in your forum Signature, if you’d like others to more easily find you in-game.)

Second chances can be handy, but they’re not vital. So keep a few of each on-hand, but don’t go crazy trying to hoard the things.

[quote=agewisdom][quote=Smelgen]
Also, avoiding too much in the way of spoilers, am I safe in just working on 1 or 2 areas of expertise while completely ignoring the others, or am I ham-stringing myself in general?
[/quote]

A new-ish player myself, I would suggest you just level up ‘organically’ and do the stories you are interested in. Still, each area of expertise unlocks different areas and different storylines, so it would be better if you switch up around here and there. If you specialise just on 1 or 2 skills, you’ll be very bored grinding that stat once you hit the roadblock of diminishing returns. Then the storylines start to dry up and get very boring. So, switch up a little and focus on other areas and their related stat.

I almost gave up a month back when the game was getting incredibly grindy with the same cards over and over again, with me having done all the content I could based on my stat back then. Luckily I had a great Patron helping me push through and I found a lot of interesting storylines open to me after overcoming that bump.

Cheers :)[/quote]
Agewisdom’s advice here is pretty solid. Variety is the spice of life, and all that. ^_^

You will eventually need all four main Qualities around 100ish to proceed to the late-game content, so don’t limit yourself by only working 2 stats. (After that point, do what you like.)

Or, if you’d prefer this in the form of a gym metaphor: having great biceps is nice, but don’t skip ‘leg day’.