As far as I can tell, recertifying armfuls and double-armfuls both have expected value of +1 scrap per action, which isn’t much …
If you have someone to invite from the surface try the Dangerous option at your lodgings - you get 1 scrap if you are lucky but you don’t have to wait for cards and get some surface currency either way.
The option Ciel (as well as a few others) mentioned is actually quite profitable. A success grants you 1.35E + 1 Scrap and a failure gets you .6E of Surface Currency and no scraps. The challenge is luck-based (pretty good odds), so more often than not you’re turning a profit. As an experimental grind, I wound up with 21.45 echoes of SC after 18 actions. I don’t remember the total of scraps I collected, but I’d say it’s worth it for the cash alone.
You can move to the K&C lodging via a 7-win streak while playing on the moon league. Opp card appears at 3 streak
I didn’t know the dangerous invite potentially gave scraps, thanks! :D
I’m necroing this to say that I have tried the Dangerous option suggested by several in this thread (invite a friend from the surface), and have gotten a "success" message three times, but only 25 surface currency with each success, no scraps. And I presume the "Lodgings Card" mentioned earlier is obsolete, or anyway I have no idea what it is. I have suffered a long run of bad luck with the Relickers, and basically have no Scraps at all, so it would be nice to know what options currently yield them.
– Mal
The “Lodgings Cards” are the cards you get when you own a lodging, simply! The more lodgings (keys) you have, the more of these cards you draw. Every card has an action that can grant you scrap.
Only doing this, with a lot of time, I’ve reached 1500 scraps as to now.
The Dangerous option (plus all Opportunity card options that formerly gave out scraps) have all been changed to not give scraps. This was because of widespread spamming of fake emails and MPs’ public emails. Scraps can only reliably be got now through the Opportunity cards from each of the lodgings (almost all of which are ‘The X Tower’), plus one or two other cards like Call in Favours in the Flit, which uniquely is a card not a pinned storylet.
Ah, so! Then I can stop spamming my brother to join FL. (although a few Surface Currency come in handy)
– Mal
A Sulky Bat is useful. The card gives either 3 scraps or connected Great Game and there is a rare success where you get a Bat with Attitude, they have no use yet but they can be sold at the Bazaar for 12.5 echoes.
edited by reveurciel on 11/12/2015
People actually spammed their MP to join Fallen London? Oh, that would have been so much fun to do with some of the clowns we have infesting the U.S. Congress. Then again, it would be horrid if one of them accepted…
– Mal
Upon realizing I couldn’t reach 500 Spirit of Hallowmas I opted to bury as many confessions as I could. You get two pieces of scrap per confession so by the end I received a few hundred.
As a non-POSI, Miss Davidson, I didn’t have many confessions to begin with, and I have been having terrible luck with the junkmen, so those I did acquire melted away.
– Mal
edited by malthaussen on 11/13/2015
It is my strong recommendation to those who hope to eventually gain the top-tier Relicker items, don’t choose the gambling options at all. If you get on a bad luck streak, it can wipe out months of effort in fairly short order, since even with all the Lodgings cards, scraps trickle in pretty slowly. Instead, slow and steady accumulation seems to pay off better in the long run.
I respectfully disagree. Recertifying a double armful of scraps will yield 20 on success and lose 18 on failure, and it appears to be a 50% chance of success. In the long run, it’ll average out to one scrap per card. You just have to make sure to take pleasure in your lucky streaks instead of dwelling on the unlucky ones.
You’ll definitely earn in the long run, but I personally don’t find 1 scrap per card worth putting up with the RNG. Min-max players seem to avoid the 1 scrap options altogether, so that group probably wouldn’t be gambling much with the relickers either. If you are going to think of the long term, however, I strongly recommend you put off recertifying until you have a good enough supply that an unlucky streak won’t blow through it entirely.
I would recommend avoiding the recertifying options entirely if you don’t have enough scraps to continue recertifying after a couple unlucky tries. I have a bit over 2000 scrap so I’m in no danger of running out, but losing a few times in a row often means the inability to play the options any more.
My luck with the Relickers is more like 10%, not 50%. So accordingly I’ve given up on them.
On the plus side, if you can’t stand the randomness of recertifying, you know ahead of time to not even mess with the Fidgeting Writer.
I don’t have any tips on getting scraps, but what I can say is that with effort, there are alternative sources for most scrap-traded items:
Starstone Demark is available from the Urchin storyline at Christmas, or selling Nadir to them
Intriguer’s Compendium is available at Hallowmas, at 250 to 500 Spirit
Coruscating Soul is available via Fidgeting Writer
Night-Whisper is available via Fidgeting Writer
Parabola-Linen is available via Expedition and via giving gift to Mr Sacks
All other items: Purchasable at the Bazaar or available for crafting
The only items that must be acquired by Scraps are the all four top-tier items AND the Ivory Organza.
So if you seek to have one of each, the goal should be 13480 Scraps.