The game was much simpler when there were just four districts and Mrs. Plenty’s Carnival to visit. Since them, the game has expanded massively as I’ve moved my skills past 50. I get very particular, obsessive, and systematic when there are long lists of things to do, and my actions only allow me to make a tiny dent in it all.
As of now, there’s:
Wolfstack Docks
the Shuttered Palace
the Forgotten Quarter
the Flit
my Ambition, Heart’s Desire
a whole bunch of opportunity cards
the current Exceptional Story
Lost in Reflections
Flint
44 additional Fate to potentially spend, I want to see where the Christmas fate-locked option and the decommissioned Steamer’s story lead for 39 of it
I’m currently clearing out my opportunity deck and trying to get a first theft done in the Flit, but I feel really uncertain about where to start.
For long-term goals, I got into this universe from Sunless Sea, so I’m curious as to what the Iron Republic or Polythreme would look like up close.
Well, the first thing you need is a ship for your long-term goals. If you don’t mind using the wiki, you can browse the requirements and decide on what ship you would like. However, you may need stats at 100 for that - If I remember correctly.
What kind of a person is your character? What kind of projects and actions would he prefer? Appearance suggests a focus on the adventure and exploration side (Wolfstack, Forgotten Quarter) rather than the intrigue and society elements (Shuttered Palace). I’m still busy at the Palace, but mainly because I prefer dealing with other matters. Over time, some opportunity cards automatically become discards because the rewards are trivial or even negative. Don’t be overwhelmed!
I’ve mostly developed my persuasive and watchful - early on, Veilgarden proved to be the most interesting and surprising location I went through. Malcolm is attracting to exciting ventures, seeking to return to the Zee, but the cultured life has proven surprisingly pleasant. Thanks for the pointers. I think I’ll focus thieving in the Flit for now, dealing with the Fate stories in between. edited by Malcolm Harris on 12/30/2016
If you’re looking for specific paths to pursue, the Making Your Name trackers are always a good bet. Each one ties together multiple separate storylines and goals; there’s one for each stat and they end at 7.
Watchful goes through Ladybones, the Forgotten Quarter, and the University.[/li][li]Persuasive goes through Veilgarden, the Shuttered Palace, and the Court. [/li][li]Shadowy goes through Spite, the Flit, and Mahogany Hall.[/li][li]Dangerous goes through Watchmaker’s Hill, Wolfstack Docks, and the Labyrinth of Tigers.
[quote=Optimatum]If you’re looking for specific paths to pursue, the Making Your Name trackers are always a good bet. Each one ties together multiple separate storylines and goals; there’s one for each stat and they end at 7.
Watchful goes through Ladybones, the Forgotten Quarter, and the University.[/li][li]Persuasive goes through Veilgarden, the Shuttered Palace, and the Court. [/li][li]Shadowy goes through Spite, the Flit, and Mahogany Hall.[/li][li]Dangerous goes through Watchmaker’s Hill, Wolfstack Docks, and the Labyrinth of Tigers.
It’s also worth noting that the Making Your Name storylines (with rare exception) unlock the relevant areas for free once you get to the appropriate point in the story. That can save an appreciable amount of resources when you’re early in the game. (Now, from your list at the beginning, it seems you’ve already unlocked a lot of this, so I don’t know how much will be useful to you. However, I’m sure someone else will read this down the pike, so I’ll say it anyway.)
Also, the Elder God up there is correct: You will need to become a Person of Some Importance before you can set out to Zee, and that will require all of your stats to reach 100 (or at least be able to get there with equipment). Focus on what interests you, by all means, but also look for opportunities to exercise those attributes that you don’t use too often. It’ll save you from grinding so much later.
Finally: Although your character might not care much for the goings-on at the Shuttered Palace, the results of the persuasive Making Your Name path might prove a very interesting twist for him indeed. (No spoilers.) Just don’t rush the final bit.
Now that I’ve started engaging with these new areas, I’ve noticed that continuing Making Your Name further requires a pretty high amount of resources/actions (at least, archaeology and burglary do). Are there any strategies or tricks that would save me many weeks of hard grinding here? Should I avoid dividing my attention, and focus on one prolonged task at a time?
I’d like to continue with The Gift, but that would require becoming a scholar of the correspondence. Getting expedition supplies seems to need getting whispered hints from elsewhere in the city. edited by Malcolm Harris on 1/1/2017
You can get a lot of whispered hints, among other things, by Seeking Curios in the Forgotten Quarter. Just watch out for Nightmares and the Eyeless Skull cards!
Archaeology is a bit of a grind at first. You want to get Archaeologist to 3 for the next Making Your Name step, and different expeditions increase it by different amounts. You’ll probably want to do two Theives’ Cache expeditions to raise it to two, then two Deep Blue Heaven expeditions to get to three. (As the latter gives more CP of Archaeologist upon completion, doing it twice will put you slightly over level three, but that brings you closer to Archaeologist 5 for a much later expedition not on the MYN tracker.)
And yeah, the best way to get supplies is definitely Docks favours. If you don’t yet have Renown: Docks at 5, you can gain favours at the Carnival until it hits 5. If you happen to have any Strong-Backed Labour you could also use that for supplies, but unless you have a lot somehow (i.e. weekly payment for a Ratcatcher) you’re probably better off saving it for after you become a Person of Some Importance. Searching for Curios is probably best for Whispered Hints at your level, though the Nightmares may become a problem. Some of the options there give an Eyeless Skull as a rare success - these add unpleasant undiscardable cards to your deck, but can be sold for 30 or 62.5 echoes to the Bazaar and Revolutionaries, respectively.[li]
A note on becoming a PoSI. When any of your stats are at least 100 including equipment modifiers, you may draw a card to begin the process. As part of it, you’ll need to have all four stats over 100, but again including equipment and only one at a time. There are other assorted requirements but those let you choose what you want to fulfill. edited by Optimatum on 1/1/2017
Another note: if you enjoy the cultured life, do not make too hasty a decision when faced with the possibility of being kicked out of the Court or the University. Just pointing that out because many posters seem to think it is a requirement for becoming POSI.
Expeditions are by far my favorite pastime in the game. To get more dock favors you can have a mynah as a connected pet, play The Gift in a way that leaves you in good terms with the crew of The Galatea, or even purchase the festive story which became available this Christmas. The Mayor’s card also allows you to get a Docks’ favor.
Forum note: Marking a post as the accepted answer turns it bright green and makes it almost unreadable. There’s a browser extension to fix it, but it’s not a feature worth using. (So you may want to mark this unimportant post as the accepted answer instead, so the one with information is more readable.)
Well that has solved one mystery for me, so thanks for that. I haven’t been here very long, and have been rather puzzled as to why certain posts are displayed in an horrendous pallid green that renders them almost as indecipherable as Linear B.
What were they thinking when they came up with that? :) edited by Plynkes on 1/2/2017
If I’m remembering right, the default forum scheme uses a white background, so the green wouldn’t be as obnoxious. Unfortunately the software has customizations for background and font colors but not the accepted answer.