Having discovered this game a week ago I quickly fell in love. But alas, as all free-to-play games are, a more serious investment is highly recommended for serious players. So I got a subscription and bought 45 fate… $17 spent in total. I’ve already used up all my fate, and now I find myself wondering… Is this game worth succumbing to an addiction to it?
I mean, I love this game so far. But I don’t have a job right now, so money’s tight. As I debate buying more fate, I find myself highly tempted by the Rubbery Murders story option thing (I have an inexplicable fondness for those squishy b-stards). Do I go for it? (My stats are all in the low 20’s.)
Also, how do you manage your actions? When I first come online I end up spending all forty actions within half an hour, and I struggle to acquire enough actions to have a decent session (which for me is like ten minutes) without spending fate for the rest of the day.
First of all, welcome! I hope you enjoy your time here.
In terms of Fate stories, well, the Rubbery Murders wouldn’t be my first priority. It’s a cool little story, but it doesn’t have much long-term impact - once it’s over, it’s over. That would be one I’d keep up my sleeve for later, you know. For a story that’s valuable at low levels and pretty much stays valuable throughout the game, with lost of ties to other content, I’d go for The Trade in Souls.
As for managing actions… that is the trouble with having a lot of free time, and wanting more Fallen London, more, more! All I can suggest is that you find something else to do for a couple of hours and let a decent bank of cards and actions build up.
I wouldn’t really recommend the Rubbery Murders. Later on you’ll be able to unlock Flute Street for the same amount of Fate, where you’ll learn way more about Rubbery beings than you would through the Rubbery Murders. It’s repeatable content, too, while the Rubbery Murders are (as far as I know) one-off.
Regarding spending money and managing actions on Fallen London…I also don’t have a lot of expendable income, so I avoid using Fate for anything that I could get for free with time or effort. Waiting for actions does take a while, but given the choice between more actions and more stories I’ll choose the latter every time.
For what it’s worth, you’ll need about 280 Fate to unlock all the content over the course of the game (not counting repeatable Fate expenditures or story do-overs).
I will echo Sir Tanah-Chook’s advice on Fate content; the Rubbery Murders are fairly unsatisfying both narratively and economically, and really don’t involve you much with the Rubbery Men. Much further into London, you’ll be able to unlock Flute Street, which will be far more satisfying if you’re into Rubbery lore. The Trade in Souls is a much better place to start. If you purchase more Fate, I would also suggest doing the Blemmigan Affair and, once your stats are higher, The Gift.
As for managing actions, I like this Tumblr post on the subject the best.
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Hello and Welcome! I have been in the 'Neath for a few months and it is very addictive. I had to make a huge adjustment when I first came here though. I was used to playing games with ‘the end’ as a goal, but Fallen London seems so vast that ‘the end’ is never nigh. I rushed through so much early content, as I was in such a hurry to advance, that I know I missed out on things.
If my funds were tight I would maintain my Exceptional Friendship, as the extra candle and cards are well worth it, let alone the new monthly stories. I have spent fate on some small storylets - shroom hopping is great fun and lucrative - but am saving the bigger stories for when I run out of things to do, in a few years time I imagine! I have found there are no serious advancements in game that require fate locked content.
Take a peek at some profiles of long established citizens, they have wonderful clothes and items and mantlepieces, that show how huge this world is. So I recommend you sit back and enjoy the ride.
With regard to managing my actions, YouTube is now my friend. My favourite channels are ‘Cool Hard Logic’, ‘potholer54’ and ‘The Living Dinosaur’ - although the lattermost is not for the faint hearted. I also spend time here, on the forum, reading posts in an attempt to pick up tips.
I’ve bought just about everything available with Fate (including some rather obscure one off stuff.) I would agree that if you have a finite amount of Fate that this is not the story for you.
That said, while I never turn down a Fate locked branch of a real story (like investigating Jack of Smiles) the game is otherwise quite fun even to play for free. I’d consider exceptional friendship a must-have for the monthly stories, but otherwise you should probably bank your limited Fate for options you only get one chance at (like the Jack case.)
Of course, once you do have a steady source of income, I strongly encourage you to play it all! There’s no such thing as too much content, and every dollar you spend is going to support creating more free and paid content in the future.
Welcome to the game! As someone who started a few months ago and who spent a nice chunk of change on Fate a few times, I’ve still not done the Rubbery Murders given the advice on this forum. Am echoing the others who say enjoy the ride and don’t speed through. This is indeed a very addictive game and the temptation is to spend every moment clicking and trying to get to the "end" of the story. I find it’s most satisfying to log in to a nice bank of almost 40 actions and to take time to think through what I really want to do. My personal favourite story from the Fate page is the Blemmigan Affair. Alas, I sped through the Soul Trade and The Gift too quickly for them to make much of an impact. July’s Exceptional Story is my favourite thus far.
If actions are in short supply, you could go easy on social interactions and opportunity cards. Early on in the game, I found that I spent so many actions on social actions that I didn’t have many left to enjoy the stories. And I’ve only recently been discarding opportunity cards with a vengeance, playing only those that significantly advance my stats and goals.