How do you play Fallen London?

Fallen London
1

I’ve been playing Fallen London since around the beginning of April, and it’s been a great experience so far. However I feel like I play this game quite differently than most people in some aspects. There are four instances in particular where I seem to stand out from the typical player.

Here’s the first thing: I have used no Second Chances (for their intended purpose) and barely any Menace flasks (never bought any and the two free Absolutions I used had little effect before I hit POSI) throughout all the time I’ve been playing. But this is probably due to the fact that I dislike too much risk and generally prefer to do skill challenges at no lower than modest. My standard deck, two conflict cards, and some weird request about a &quotgiant jewel&quot that I occasionally see keep my Menaces under control. The only real issue is Suspicion, because it has a tendency to get up to bad levels (I define ‘bad’ as 4-5) when I’m zailing.

I’ve currently got a bunch of tinctures on me right now, in case I need them for some obscure hunting or Correspondence thing. But at the moment I’d much rather sell them for Echoes.

When I discovered the forums, I was intrigued when I noticed posts about people using their second chances liberally and also genuinely surprised when I heard about people allowing their Menaces to get too high without any benefit whatsoever.

But I suppose that’s a part of how I play the game. I prefer the calm and calculated approach, and I believe rushing into things without the proper knowledge is pretty foolish. Yeah, that’s my character, alright.

Oh, and I also don’t like getting second chances unless I get more than 1 each time. The same goes for scraps. Sorry, benefactor and random devil I don’t know.

Second thing: I became a POSI just by being rich. I’m pretty sure most people here just did all the skill storylines and got them to at least 90 before hitting POSI. Meanwhile, I spent almost all my time at the Flit making my weasel entertain the Topsy King for days on end, turning in rats in bunches after a profitable week. With all the gear I managed to acquire, I was able to enter the realm of influence with enough Shadowy to enjoy Mahogany Hall. My other skills weren’t even at 80.

Thirdly - no Patrons. I actually did want a Patron early on, but I couldn’t find anyone with Exceptional Specialisation. And I discovered the forums long after becoming a POSI. I guess now I’m going to be the guy who taught himself everything he knows. Perhaps he knows a few unique tricks!

Last, fourth - Easy Notability. I succeeded in getting 5 Notability and Crooked-Cross faster than anticipated, and without ever grinding MW at the Empress’ Court. It’s probably due to the fact that I started off with +7 in BDR equipment and eventually got all the cool POSI stuff. I’d like to thank the Sardonic Music-Hall Singer, the Soft-Hearted Widow, the Bohemians, and those most respectable parties for making this possible. I expect to reach Notability 15 within the next two years.

So, I’d like to know, Londoners. How did you utilize your Second Chances and Menace flasks? How did you become a Person of Some Importance skillwise? What’s so great about having a Patron? And did you have any trouble reaching Notability 5?

I’m also interested in finding out if there are any people on the forums who have done the same thing as me. Especially for the first one. There has to be someone out there who also doesn’t use their second chances as second chances or takes minimal risks.

If you’d like, you can also talk about how these particular choices fit with your character. I’m sure many of you would love to do that.

2

So you started playing last year? I see you already have your cider, any tips on grinding echoes? I really want to be goated and am desperate for money.

3

Frankly, I’m in the same situation as knguy. SOMEHOW got all the good loot that’s below 400 echoes in price and went into PoSI with all of my stats at 70 something. Only had a watchful patron, and that’s when the relevant stat was at ~99,9. I have used each type of flask about… 3 times each(not counting the manual Laudanum Addiction, which took a good 15 bottles). I’ve earned my 5 current point of Notability almost right away by abusing sidegrades(and FATE!) and now only need to wait for 3 more Ocelot visits to get to my desired profession. I currently have more than 15 Second Chances of each type, and I often end up cashing them in for stat boosts.

4

He brought it at a real life auction a little while ago.

5

When leveling up, I used second chances for stats for the most part (when I used them at all), although there were a few cases where I made use of them on actions, such as the Nadir expedition.

I don’t use tinctures any more, as there are more efficient Wounds cures. I do still use Ablution Solutions for Suspicion when I need to cure that, as it compares favorably with the social action and doesn’t require me to wait for a response.

My ascent to PoSI status was delayed due to my neglecting Shadowy for some time, which is where patronage came in and allowed me to bring it up to speed in a less grind-y manner. Pre-PoSI, there’s very little useful to do with your free evenings anyway, so you may as well put them to work increasing your stats. I don’t recall having any difficulty reaching Notability 5 after becoming a PoSI, but I had been an Author for a while, which left me with a stockpile of useful materials for generating Making Waves.

6

I’ve been playing for a couple years so many aspects of my play are radically different from yours by now, but from what I remember I did play quite similarly to you at first.

Second Chances are something I often ignored or forgot, especially as few pre-PoSI challenges are both difficult and important enough to warrant regular use. (These days I also only use the couple card options that give one of each second chance; likewise I too don’t use the one-scrap lodging options. In fact I’m currently destroying my character so I can ditch these useless lodgings.)

I also completely neglected the various menace curing items, which is rather a pity because they’re one of the best methods to do so before becoming a PoSI, while afterwards they substantially drop in efficiency. Aside from Nightmares I did tend to let my menaces get fairly high, though aside from adding a couple cards to the deck it tends to not be an issue with the triangular nature of CP.

My approach to PoSI took a while as my Watchful was significantly higher than my other stats. In fact I ended up reaching PoSI status in large part by doing the Cave of the Nadir expedition and selling the location for lots of money for gear. With said gear and the PoSI items getting Notability 5 wasn’t an issue; the real problem was getting SotC 10.

I’ve never had a Patron, and ironically I may only start needing one now. After all, it’s much harder to unpostpone reckonings with huge hits to Watchful.

7

I use them to go where no one has gone before. (Watch these forums.)

8

Like you, I didn’t use many menace reduction items, as I was rather risk-averse and generally able to keep it low enough for time the healer to deal with it. That is, with the exception of wounds. I used tinctures of vigour liberally, as I was obsessed with the idea of my character never suffering death. Then, hunting the Vake required that Adimarch die. I carefully considered the situation, and determined that I would take the plunge. As a result of this, I became fixated on Hesperidean Cider, so that Adimarch can unlock the secret of immortality. Since then, I have become willing to take any risks in the pursuit of my goals. I’m willing to risk menaces without a second thought, where before I would very carefully weigh the risk to reward. That being said, I still rarely suffer menaces, being stat-capped and very well equipped.

I hit POSI through stats, with the exception of dangerous, which was woefully low and had to be bolstered.

Like you, I never had a patron.

I currently sit at 13 Notability. I’ve somewhat sidelined it in favour of echo grinding.
edited by Israfel on 6/11/2016

9

Mostly, I burn them to further my buffness[li]

I can’t use neither Ablution Absolution, since I have a Criminal Record 6, nor Laudanum, because I hate the laudanum quirk at 33. I achieved POSI at Shadowy 90 and the rest of stats at ~60 due to grinding for Best In Slot items, I don’t remember my patron, since he probably came from SA, aand since I got BDR 20 in a week from becoming a POSI there never was any problem with that.
edited by CALLNXW on 6/11/2016

10

I pretty much exclusively burn them in the Cave of the Nadir.

11

I have used second chances only on very very VERY difficult challenges, that punish you heavily on a failure, like that one action in the nuns’ island. Vake hunters know what I’m talking about. I will still burn them for stats from time to time. No point in hoarding them when I do social actions regularly.

In the start, I would only take easy challenges, but as the stats need more cp to raise, I started to be more reckless to level up quicker. Just before being POSI, I used lots of ‘potions’ to lower menaces while I still could (except laudanum - I never indulged too much on it, rp reasons).

I had four patrons, and they helped a lot to raise persuasive and dangerous. Especially Persuasive, since I kinda made most of my romance in the Carnival to avoid ridiculous amounts of scandal. And I didn’t become POSI by getting rich. I was 100 at everything with a mix of some stats around 80 and cheap equipment (or equipment you get for free in storylets, ambition and profession). My most expensive items were the ones that the University investigation asks for (iron hat and neathglass goggles). No, seriously, without spending too much money, I had +20W in free items, +20D with the mandatory Iron Hat being the most expensive item, +17S with only buying the mittens, +14P in free items). It’s not that I’m a miser, it’s just that I don’t see the point of buying something I don’t think my character would use just for stats.

Even then, I waited before being POSI so I could have patronage until my Persuasive was a natural 100 (at this point, Watchful and Dangerous were already natural 100). Shadowy only became natural 100 much, much later, in Mahogany Hall. I barely had to grind stats at any point of the game, I got them by doing the stories that there were available to me at the time.

My first point of notability was easy, it was the convergence of some lucky circumstances and BDR 8 with itens from the POSI grind and other items that I got in storylets, such as the Neddy Suit, the Grubby Kitten and the Bejewelled Cane. I got it because it was possible, actually, not because I needed. I still don’t feel like getting the next point, because I don’t want to go ahead in the Watcher line. Watcher is ambiguous enough to be part of a detective’s odd jobs. Agent and Midnighter are too spy-y to me. The only reason I haven’t tried to change professions is that I don’t really like the others and the bonus in Shadowy is still sorely needed.

12

For those who are unaware, it’s still possible as a PoSI to receive patronage. It only works up to 100 in the relevant stat - but that’s a modified 100, so if you switch equipment to something for other stats you’re still completely eligible for the lesson. In fact this is one of the major uses of the Talkative Rattus Faber, since -25 to all stats means 25 more levels of patronage. (The other big use I see is tweaking challenge difficulties, as for example succeeding a 90% challenge gives 1 CP in th stat but succeeding an 89% challenge gives 2 CP.)[li]

13

I’ve searched everywhere in my Lodgings and I can’t find the option! I’m 2nd level Significant Individual and I’ve got over 170 in base Shadowy. Someone has got to help me with this.

14

Iirc Patrons, aka those with 200 in a stat and a PoSI specialization, are the ones to send offers for both adopting protégés and individual lessons.