My character is only getting to the 50s in most of his stats, and already almost everything I do gives him a point or half a point of Scandal, Nightmares, Wounds or Suspicion. I spend half of the money I make on Laudanum and other potions, have to constantly pray for a reduction in Scandal, because most actions now give Menaces rather than reduce them. My main stat is Persuasive, and Scandal accumulates like that. Among the Menaces Nightmares are a particular nuisance, because getting rid of them takes a social action - long in waiting and unrealiable. All in all, if I play twice a day for 20 actions, one of the two sessions I must spend raking the fallout of the other. I must say, a good deal of the fun of the early game is gone because of this Menaces business. I’m not looking forward to high stats if I’m going to regularly sit through the Tomb Colonies, the Boat or that goddamn hotel. :(
edited by Von Prabik on 7/1/2015
- The world is cruel, you know, so do not pretend to be surprised by your hide being rugged.
- Don’t you think that you have developed a habit to spam with topics ?
edited by Andrew Astherson on 7/1/2015
The best way to deal with menaces is to stop doing actions that increase that menace until it’s lower. When my Nightmares got too much to handle I would switch over to Dangerous actions to increase my Wounds so that I could sleep both menaces off using Time in Bed. Switching to a different stat will help keep them even, which will be important later.
Don’t worry, it will get better as your stats get higher. You’ll unlock new ways to handle menaces (the University has a great option for reducing Nightmares), and you’ll accumulate menaces more slowly because your stats give you a higher chance of success.
[quote=Andrew Astherson]1) The world is cruel, you know, so do not pretend to be surprised by your hide being rugged.
2) Don’t you think that you have developed a habit to spam with topics ?
[/quote]
There aren’t any rules regarding the quantity of topics one may post. If someone wishes to create a topic seeking help they have that right, regardless of how many topics they’ve made previously. It’d be a problem if it was the same topic over and over again, but as long as they’re different I think it’s perfectly fine. :)
edited by Sara Hysaro on 7/1/2015
Do you have a Talkative Rattus Faber, by chance? That should drop your stats back down into the high 20’s, and there might be some Menace-safe actions at that level (or at least, easy ways to remove menaces like Suspicion).
I don’t think I’ve had to bother with menaces in weeks, or perhaps months.
At the highest levels, it becomes rather difficult to fail, and you get a wide assortment of opportunity cards that significantly lower your menaces. I often have to discard them because I don’t gain menaces as fast as I lose them.
If you do particularly want to avoid menaces, shy away from failure. There are always easier things you can do.
Yes, you are right. It is just me being a bit predatory sometimes.
There’s no real way around it; Fallen London is a dangerous place. Everyone has given good advice, though. Sometimes you just have to wait for opportunity cards to dribble away a specific menace while you do other things. The Parlour of Virtue card is good for reducing wounds and nightmares both, and the schoolgirl card for nightmares, and acquiring black paintings can help a bit with scandal.
A few specific tips: Bed rest is particularly effective if you’ve just gotten a message that "All shall be well." The Suspicion-reducing potion is ridiculously strong. And the most efficient way to cure scandal, honestly, is to suck it up and visit the Tomb-colonies. I find them very relaxing.
If you’re so inclined, you could also buy the Soul Trade story and become a shepherd of souls, which unlocks the most efficient menace-reducer in the game, as far as I know. Though you might find it a pain to use.
edited by Toper on 7/1/2015
Half your actions is far too excessive. You just need to find a more rational and efficient method of decreasing menaces.
So far, it looks like you’ve chosen the absolute worst ways to decrease menaces. But we’re here to help.
Stop buying Laudanum and other potions. That’s a waste of Echoes and actions.
Find yourself some friends and get them to offer menace reduction. You should, then, offer them menace reduction. In the early stages, this is the absolute best way to reduce menaces. Nothing else comes close.
Keep an eye out for cards and other actions which reduce menace, but provide other benefits. The wiki is your friend here.
Try to find the happy medium between actions which provide stat CP, greater reward and menace, and those which provide lower CP, lower reward, but that you fail less often.
I liked "chancy," but I prefered CP to success. I liked to fail. Fail better, if you will.
You’re also playing at a pretty low frequency, so be prepared for things to take longer for you than for those who spend 100 actions a day. That’s just the nature of the game.
Language.
Absolutely not true (for non-POSI). Laudanum is mechanically okay, if a bit disturbing. Tincture of Vigour is comparable to social actions but much more convenient, and the Absolution Ablution is insanely good.
edited by Toper on 7/1/2015
[quote=Toper]
Absolutely not true (for non-POSI). Laudanum is mechanically okay, if a bit disturbing. Tincture of Vigour is comparable to social actions but much more convenient, and the Absolution Ablution is insanely good.[/quote]
Really? I found them to be far less useful than social actions once the cost of using them and the Echoes needed to buy them was taken into account.
That was also years ago, so the CP might have changed since then.
Still, I never used half my actions to reduce menace. That seems thoroughly excessive.
EDIT:
Best result for Laudanum is -4cp for 1 action, 1 Echo and +1cp of Wounds
Social action gives -5cp and costs 1 action and a sudden insight.
Let’s say that you’re reciprocating this action and not using an alt.
An additional action to reduce your friend’s Nightmares will give you +1cp Nightmares and a 50p item.
A further action to gain a Sudden Insight will get you 1.5 Sudden Insights and 1cp of Watchful.
That’s -4cp, 50p and +1 Watchful CP for 3 social actions.
You’d need to be getting 1 Echo per action to match this worst case scenario for buying Laudanum to be comparable, once you account for the Wounds. and that doesn’t take the Watchful boost into account.
If you can get some from your Orphan, that’s a different story, but if you’re buying it, Social Actions are the way to go.
edited by Nigel Overstreet on 7/1/2015
On a related note, saving your echoes to buy a Winsome Dispossessed Orphan is a decent idea. Buy 3 bottles of Laudanum and watch your stockpile grow to cover all of your Nightmare needs.
When I was at that stage I generally tried to aim for less risky actions, but also just accepted getting sent to the Mirror-Marches, the Tomb Colonies, and the boat occasionally. Perhaps because of my priorities, Suspicion never really built up much.
It’s definitely not as expensive as developing a laudanum habit, and there are plenty of interesting stories for at least a few trips to the menace destinations.
ETA: you can also often go engage in an activity related to a different stat and menace for a bit while waiting for menace reducers to turn up in your opportunity deck.
edited by marcmagus on 7/1/2015
I just give in to it. There is no point to avoid it and it is a real fun.
I totally feared to go mad/dead/exiled/whatever but now I enjoy it. When I meet Merry Gentleman, I greet him. When I meet implacable detective, I don’t fight the inevitable. I really like gaining some scandal (although I never been to Venderbight, so I am wondering, what’s it like?).
It is just a game and the menace lands are part of this game. So why not? ;-)
The downside is that you can’t communicate with the rest of London. But when you are lucky enough, you get back in less than one afternoon.
P.S. I love my Starveling kitteh and I try to pet it sometimes. It reminds me of a cat my sister has - that one is the real devil :-))
@Von Prabik, if you find your Nightmares are creeping up, send a Invite a friend over to Confess your Fears request my way.
If your nightmares hits 4, two actions should clean it up. If your nightmares hits 5, three actions should do the trick.
(Hint: Send one to each of three different people, then switch which kind of stories you’re doing. That will give you a buffer in case your Nightmares creep up a little in the meantime.)
I can also accept Ask someone for help in laying rumours to rest (Lodgings->Attend to matters of society and scandal), if you’re finding those church sermons are boring you. ^_^
In the meantime though, perhaps either take on less severe challenges, or cycle through them to let them wear off (or have social actions be accepted), or maybe even try using Second Chances if the odds are below 70%.
Alternately, see if you’ve got a chunk of spare Nevercold Brass, Rostygold, or Moon Pearls, and maybe trade some of them in to purchase fancy attire so you’ll have something to wear for those more difficult challenges. :-)
Unfortunately, the game is harsher with menace when your stats are at 50 ~ 100.
Some players will encourage you to just let them hit 8 and explore the menace places - it is not a bad idea, because as you approach higher level your actions become more valuable, but on the other hand you are clearly sick of the Bethlehem.
My personal experience? I made it a point to avoid menace areas as much as possible - I have never visited the Boat Trip, only once to the Prison (excluding tutorial), twice to Tomb Colonies (for Tomb-Lion), once to the Hotel, and twice to the Mirror-Marches.
Scandal / Exile in the Tomb-Colonies is harmless, and is generally more efficient in reducing scandal if you lack friends to spam social actions with - don’t worry about going there.
Suspicion / Prison is very dangerous, but the Ablution Absolution is very good at reducing Suspicion. The main draw of visiting the Prison is to make friends with a Repentant Forger, but the Prison can be reached without earning a Criminal Record by failing to steal from the Brass Embassy later on.
Nightmare / Hotel is… well, since you are sick of it, let us stick to nightmare management instead. Laudanum is expensive, so try to rely on social actions instead.
The conflict card between Urchins and the Widow (A familiar face by the school railings, unlocked with Connected at 5 for both) can reduce Nightmare when you side with the Urchins. This reduces Widow connection by 15 CP, but also increase Urchins connection by 30 CP (and they are generally more useful).
You can easily earn 10 CP of Widow Connection and some Jade Fragments in Spite with the action "An audience with the Gracious Widow", which is unlocked at Shadowy 52. As a bonus, this action doesn’t give Suspicion on failure, only drop 1 CP of Connected: Widow (but you earn 10 back every time you succeed).
Wounds / Boat Trip… Well - Tincture of Vigour is pretty good! Additionally, since the social actions for wound has to be sent from other players, it mean you can stockpile these social invitations and accept them when you do need wounds reduction. Send me a message at 3+ Wounds and I will flood your inbox with wounds reduction.
Do not go to Mrs.Plenty’s Carnival to deal with them. It is generally more efficient to earn money and buy drinks from the Bazaar.
edited by Estelle Knoht on 7/2/2015