My goal, for such a long time now, has been to advance from the Author profession to Correspondent. Little did I know, this was the hardest Tier 4 profession to achieve, and raising A Scholar of the Correspondence is maniacally difficult in the later parts of the game. I have been banished from the Empress’s Court, and I’ve left behind the relevant University story-lines. If only I had known! I now have the quality at 7 by doing Shadowy Business at the University, but I’ve just discovered that the requirements for that option mean that you need to raise Watchful by increments of 10, and for me I’ll have to grind it up by another 30 levels, not something I’m excited about doing.
Does anyone know of a faster way to raise ASotC up to 10? I’m desperate, I hate repetitive grinding and I’m open to using Fate-locked options. Help a Scholar out?
Yeah, breeding the beasts in the labyrinth is by far the easiest way. Corresponding Ocelot and Bifrucated Owl each add a “+1SotC up to 10” card to your deck, and you can have both at once.
I’d recommend against the Skin of the Bazaar option if you’ve got anything better to do with your time. I keep an aggressively thin deck and it took me months.
Correspondence Symphonies, Shadowy Business, and the VERY rare Sidestreet’s card Skin of the Bazaar are the only repeatable non-fate ways to raise SotC to 10 that I know of. With spending fate, the Corresponding Ocelot and Bifurcated Owl both have options on their (relatively common) cards that raise SotC up to 10, though the Owl option requires succeeding at a 50% luck challenge. The Ocelot requires the Empyrean Redolence fate continuation of the Labyrinth and the Bifurcated Owl requires the Hound of Heaven, a bunch of research notes from the scientific expedition, and all four other creatures found in the Empyrean Redolence expansion - including one bred from the Rubbery Hound, which can only be obtained by paying fate to unlock Flute Street. (Note that Flute Street can only be done after completing the university, so you would have had to do that anyways.) Empyrean Redolence and Flute Street are some of the best fate-locked stories anyways, so they’re quite worth it. I also think Uncovering Secrets Framed in Gold, purchased from an opp card about a black painting (and cheaper when acquainted with the Forger), gives a few points of SotC along the way and the option it unlocks on the Skin of the Bazaar gives some as well iirc. USFiG is an excellent story as well.
Also, if you’re interested in raising your SotC past ten for whatever reason, I think only the Shadowy Business option actually works at that high a level. I’m not sure if you actually need SotC over ten for anything, but getting it to the max of 21 is quite an achievement and needs some combination of Extroardinary Mind specialization, moods, or an Overgoat/Ubergoat.
The option that USFiG unlocks on Skin of the Bazaar actually requires 10 SotC, it doesn’t give any. I spent a month trying to draw that card and when I finally did I had to sit on it for another week grinding symphonies.
All of the other above options work, though - I’d recommend getting the Ocelot if you don’t mind paying fate, and supplementing the University grind with its opportunity card. The Owl is worth getting as well if you don’t mind buying Flute Street too (in addition to its opp card it also gives more combined B/D/R than any other pet, making it great for Notability).
[quote=Zantumall]The option that USFiG unlocks on Skin of the Bazaar actually requires 10 SotC, it doesn’t give any. I spent a month trying to draw that card and when I finally did I had to sit on it for another week grinding symphonies.
All of the other above options work, though - I’d recommend getting the Ocelot if you don’t mind paying fate, and supplementing the University grind with its opportunity card. The Owl is worth getting as well if you don’t mind buying Flute Street too (in addition to its opp card it also gives more combined B/D/R than any other pet, making it great for Notability).[/quote]
The Ocelot is definitely the easiest method of increasing SotC since the gain’s guaranteed if you choose the right option on its card, and it only gives you a couple CP wounds in return. You’re wrong about the Owl having more BDR than anything else though - it’s tied with the Ubergoat as both have 2 Dreaded and Bizarre :P
“Something… perilous”, a bundle of oddities range, gives out SotC (1 cp up to 10) as well as 18 correspondence plaques, and if you’re alright waiting until sacksmas, using a Semiotic Monocle to examine a pail of snow gives 1 cp up to 15 (but requires SotC 10 in order to 100% the challenge). The option in question is mostly used for increasing PtPt: Lacre however.