In Search of Magnificent Diamonds

Recently I’ve taken upon myself the task of gathering 20 Magnificent Diamonds to gift to the Merry Gentleman. So far I have 19 and only need one more, but it seems that it’s proving quite difficult to reach the last piece of my goal. I tried searching on expeditions on the Seek a thieves’ cache option for a wooden mask to get 2 of the shiny beauties, but after roughly 10 goes through the Forgotten Quarter I Just. Can’t. Find it. At first I chose the expeditions because I figured waiting for an Implausible Penance would take too long, but the wait is taking a lot longer than expected. What are the best ways of getting Magnificent Diamonds, and if Favours will be the best route of choice in receiving them then how would you suggest I go about attaining them?

Go to the Bazaar Sidestreet and buy bags of low-quality diamonds with Cryptic Clues until you hit the rare success. Even if you are not hitting the rare success it’s still 1.4 EPA.

Thieves’ Caches are 1.48 epa (if you’re doing them right), and there’s a ~20% chance to get a Wooden Mask, I’d say you’re about due. I’d recommend to keep doing expeditions (and they’re so much fun too!).

Bags of low-quality diamonds… epa is a lot lower. As in, it’s 0.47 epa kind of low (including the actions getting the Cryptic Clues).

Thing is, he just wants one diamond. And probably has a massive stash of cryptic clues lying around, because they do tend to build up. It would almost certainly be quicker to get that one diamond from the side-streets rather than repeated forays out to the chaches.

Actually, you’re right. It certainly would be faster. I wasn’t thinking about the action cost. Still, it’s up to them.

If you have 7 Favours: Criminals you can easily get one or two Magnificent Diamonds for them via the An Implausible Penance card (by choosing Pugilism and politics and then Beating the minister).


edited by dov on 9/5/2015

Hmm, looking at his profile, Sir Joseph found his gem in the side streets, and a greater prize from a somewhat melancholic merry gentleman. Congratulations, Sir Joseph.

Careful there. Probability doesn’t work like that. Don’t fall for the gambler’s fallacy.

[quote=Cecil Palmer]
Bags of low-quality diamonds… epa is a lot lower. As in, it’s 0.47 epa kind of low (including the actions getting the Cryptic Clues).[/quote]

Since when is 540/5=47?

[quote=xKiv][quote=Cecil Palmer]
Bags of low-quality diamonds… epa is a lot lower. As in, it’s 0.47 epa kind of low (including the actions getting the Cryptic Clues).[/quote]

Since when is 540/5=47?[/quote]

That’s a good fucking question how the hell did I mess my math up that bad.
I was going off my notes, which said I calculated this at 0.47 epa. What the hell. I actually math it at: ((.1245).95+(.1244+12.5).05)/(1+200/60)=1.39epa.

What the hell.

Sorry for not replying sooner, I hadn’t expected for this thread to receive more than a comment or two in my less profitable of pursuits. I would have continued my grind in the Forgotten Quarter, I was in need of the Watchful grinding anyway. After one too many disappointments, though, I had to try my hand at a different (and thankfully more fortunate) approach. Even still, I kind of ran out of Favours, like, a loooooong time ago. Worked out in the end, though, and I got my prize from the Merry Gentleman. Not my most profitable prize, but the text was simply delicious and it felt worth it to work up to a single goal for so long. Thanks for the help everybody!

[quote=Cecil Palmer][quote=xKiv][quote=Cecil Palmer]
Bags of low-quality diamonds… epa is a lot lower. As in, it’s 0.47 epa kind of low (including the actions getting the Cryptic Clues).[/quote]

Since when is 540/5=47?[/quote]

That’s a good fucking question how the hell did I mess my math up that bad.
I was going off my notes, which said I calculated this at 0.47 epa. What the hell. I actually math it at: ((.1245).95+(.1244+12.5).05)/(1+200/60)=1.39epa.

What the hell.[/quote]

And that’s when you actively grind clues with the intent to turn them into diamonds. If you just have them as sideeffects of whatever else you do, then you are comparing (unless you have a realilable money source better than AotB)
a) sell 200 clues and spend an action in AotB: 4.00+1.64=5.64 echo
b) spend an action to turn 200 clues into diamonds: ((.1245).95+(.1244+12.5).05)/(1)=6.019 echo
(reduce both results by 4 echo if you believe that having X worth of items is the same as having X worth of money)

This means: if you are already clued in, it’s more profitable to turn them into diamonds than to sell them for pennies.

A tangent, but I’ve been trying to keep notes on which items should never be sold directly if they can be converted. So far my rough calculations have found:

Cryptic Clues: Sell 200 (4€) vs. convert to diamonds (1 action) and sell (~6€)
Collection of Curiosities: Sell 1 (6€) vs. sell to Tomb-Colonists for Puzzling Maps (1 action) and sell (62.5€)
Strong-Backed Labour: Sell 1 (2.5€) vs. emancipate a Clay Man (2 actions) and sell (10€)
Rat on a String: Sell 1700 (or more) (17€+) vs. convert into Rostygold at the Dept. of Menace Eradication at 10:11 rate) (1 action) and sell (18.7€+)
Most (All?) Tier 2 Items: Sell 50€ worth of items vs. &quotmass convert&quot to Tier 3 items (1 action) and sell (52.5€)
Tier 3 and 4 items: Sell 25€ or 62.5€ worth of items vs. convert to higher tiers (1 action) and have a chance at bonus items which usually averages out to > 1.64€

Converting Tier 1 items, and small-batch conversion of Tier 2 items, doesn’t seem to pay off relative to Affair of the Box. Sound right? Is there anything else that follows a simple &quotdon’t ever sell directly&quot rule like this?
edited by metasynthie on 9/6/2015

[quote=metasynthie]
Converting Tier 1 items, and small-batch conversion of Tier 2 items, doesn’t seem to pay off relative to Affair of the Box. Sound right? Is there anything else that follows a simple &quotdon’t ever sell directly&quot rule like this?
edited by metasynthie on 9/6/2015[/quote]

Trade secrets are the obvious answer to that question. There may be others, though.

Isn’t that 5 actions?
So sell x rats and 5 actions (@164 ppa) vs. 5 actions (@0 ppa) and sell x1.1 rostygold; x+5164=x1.1; x=105*164=8200 rats to profit

My estimate for that is 1 echo for 3to4 conversion , 2 echo for 4to5 conversion. This will probably change significantly as favours enter the calculations.

You’re completely correct about the 5 actions, I’d managed to overlook that! So yes, 8400 or more rats to be sold and you start to profit by converting them into Rostygold first. Or you could work until you have 1,038,457 rats (like Spacemarine9 does) and take that branch for 207.69 EPA.

I’d also forgotten the connection cost for the higher-tier conversions. I assume that’s based on cost to gain those connections, not sale price via “calling in…?” Makes sense; only the highest tier conversion is profitable off of luck/rare bonuses. But interestingly, the mass conversion of 2to3 is also profitable.