For me, it’s been grinding Bessemer Steel, since Justificande coins are unlikely to be the main roadblock to producing lots of railway steel and are fairly easy to come by if I need more. With an advanced lab setup (able to generate 25+ research from 1 action) and ability to hit 8 monstrous anatomy, I’ve been doing an easy loop that gets me about 2 Bessemer steel per action:
-Start with no eoliths or unidentified thigh bones, and have a healthy supply of Strangling Willow Absinthe on hand
-Petition the dean for supplies: persuasive check, you should be able to hit ~75-80% success rate, success gives unidentified thigh bone
-Begin researching the thigh bone (1 action)
-Generate over 25 research (1 action, watchful check)
-Finish researching the thigh bone (1 action, monstrous anatomy check)
Repeat.
When it’s finally time to turn in all your thigh bones, head to the bone market once and do all of them in one fell swoop. Each thigh bone should snag you 10 Bessemer steel.
I’m wondering: Should I be opting for skeleton building instead? If so, what’s an optimal route to build skeletons for Bessemer steel?
Now that the femurs go for only 10 Steel, building skeletons is definitely more efficient. The highest-value bone is currently the Ivory Humerus, so a skeleton with one Jurassic femur and many Humeri is probably best. The question is which skeleton is ideal for grinding the necessary bone shards…
I am using “A Pedagogically Inclined Grandmother” card in the bone market to get 2-3 unidentified thigh bones, a few times (with the correct BDR and 6 cards, you could got 6x (2-3), assuming success in the skill check, then go researching them.
Skeletons pay out Bessemer Steel at a rate of 50 pence per ingot. 2 Steels per action is low return. Ivory Humeri are good returns per action, and Brass Skulls let you "buy" Ingots indirectly as long as you have ribs.
I’ve been loading up on Oestology items, anything that can be obtained from the bone market, and some of the Parabolan quarries. I have a substantial hoarding tendency, so I’m really only concerned about items that started existing or being obtainable in the last few months.
I grinded up over a thousand Bone Surveys for the Paleontology update last month, and still have over a thousand left, so that taught me a bit about trying to predict future content. That said, I have enough materials to build a Shamefully Rubbery Curator on short notice, enough biscuits and rubbery pies for a large picnic or a small camping trip, and a substantial supply of Rumors of the Upper River (my character has made multiple choices that make this easier). My biggest concern right now is Hinterland Scrip.
I’ve also found it wise for any content update to keep your Menaces low and your Favors high. I have 5 favors with most factions, and will be trying to shed a few points of Suspicion before tomorrow.
I have been grinding Osteology items too, though I didn’t pile up nearly as many Neath Surveys as PSGarak! I have obtained enough components to make (and have made) 85 Railway Steel so far.
On the other hand, I have made relatively few skeletons, feeling frustrated at the difficulty of getting skulls (other than Bright Brass ones). I’m also wondering how I get more Scintillack Knobs other than one at a time (at the Temple Club). Guess I’m going to have to get real familiar with a certain Zailor… edited by Catherine Raymond on 6/24/2020 edited by Catherine Raymond on 6/24/2020
I have a decent supply of Perfumed Gunpowder, 250+ Railway Tracks, Misc. Bone Market supplies, 20+ Strong-Backed Labour, 900+ Bone Surveys, 49,500 Echoes, a Curator Skeleton, and so on. I’m as prepared as can be at the moment.
I am doing absolutely nothing, just grinding echos. But headless skeletons and brass skulls are piling up slowly, so i could convert my echos into new materials on short notice. In worst case scenario i will switch to licensiate for free skeletons and just convert my riches into bone market items. edited by Waterpls on 6/24/2020
Well, I thought I was doing alright with 76 tracks, c.600 scrip, ability to make close to 20 scintillack consignments and 60 surveys remaining. And a few bones.
Yet again I’m reminded of just how professional some of my fellow Londoners are.
Curses.[/quote]
Uh oh… How bad is it?[/quote]
Nothing too bad, selling one skeleton set me right. If you’re starting from absolutely zero, you might need two or three, and ivory humeri are a big boon. It was just mildly annoying because I spent literally all my actions resetting my deck before I drew the card, so even a short trip to the bone market took me a real-life hour. But y’know, first world problem.
Do you have the recipes to manufacture both of those? The supplies can all be obtained in the Bone Market, except for Justificande Coins, which come from a Heist or Parabola. You may need to poke around to find the right buyers. Selling skeletons, while convoluted, is the best way to obtain supplies in bulk.
so… i dont know how to gather scrip or anything necessary to actually start the railway. the options i saw on the wiki are none tat i have seen before. what am i missing?
There’s so much new stuff with the bone market and railway that I halfway feel like just waiting until someone puts together a comprehensive guide to the whole thing before I take things much further.
The uninformed, bumbling and inefficient exploration of new content is a sensation that must be lived, though. It can’t simply be relayed :)
I get the feeling; that’s what I usually do with the one time/seasonal/time-and-resource-limited sort of events. This one looks a bit more lenient regarding irreversible decisions, though who knows when stuff that looks like mere flavour might translate into something quite tangible. We’re only just dipping our toes in.
At any rate, a comprehensive guide for the Railway is probably going to take a lot of time since the construction itself is a lengthy and slow prospect.