I’ve moved myself into a rather awkward situation and I hope one of you can help me out here.
My goal is to sail north with the Merchant Venturer. I’ve settled all my business in London and sold all my stuff to get the merchant ship and sail away. Now I’m at the Avid Horizon and I’ve discovered I’m not brave enough to go through with my plan: I’m short five Hearts…
The problem is, I’m now almost out of cash, out of secrets or any easy opportunities I know about to raise my stats even a little. I’ve explored almost all of the Zea, got my tatoo, traded away all my items and am now stuck with a ponderous merchant ship that eats fuel and supplies like there’s no tomorrow.
Can anyone tell me an easy way to get my Hearts stat up a little? Any hints are appreciated. edited by Coulton on 2/5/2015
Hm, can you get to Palmerston/Gaider’s Mourn? (Palmerston has cheaper fuel/food.) You could try just sitting in harbor and waiting for ‘The view from above’ story that you get when exploring either of those places - if you have stone’s attention and pray to Stone (which is admittedly inconvenient to get), that would be +2 hearts. If you were a priest and choose to ‘think about your past’, that would get you the +5 hearts all at once.[li]Otherwise, I don’t suppose you have enough fuel to get to the chelonate to punch two lorn flukes? For a Pages challenge you could get 3 secrets investigating each carcass.[/li][li] edited by fortluna on 2/5/2015
Thank you for that, fortluna. I’m a Poet, regrettably, but I might have Stone’s attention still, I’ll take a look.
Is it possible to kill a Lorn-Fluke with just the merchant ship’s deck cannon? It’s the best one you can buy in London, but I’ve just run away screaming from them so far.
(punch it RIGHT on the TUBERCLE) I killed my first fluke in a tramp steamer with nothing upgraded, so I think what matters should be maneuverability and speed - they have (had?) a regrettable tendency to dive down, causing you to lose your firing solution, so getting shots off quickly is pretty vital. [li]
You could try Whither - there is a SAY event that on success raises hearts, mirrors and iron by 2 each. It is a tough hearts challenge but I suppose you could save scum it if you are desperate.
Lorn Flukes aren’t that tough, just keep them at the edge of your firing solution and keep shooting.
Also, it’s not exactly easy, but how’s your officer situation? Some of the upgraded ones have pretty hefty Hearts bonuses. There’s a mascot who throws down +5 right on the spot, on account of being so terribly cute, as well as a cook who can drum up +8 and a surgeon with a cool +9.
The monkey foundling’s not too hard, though it depends on a random event afterwards - go to the empire of hands, explore ash isthmus and join her games, and she should decide be friendly and drop by some time after you set out from there.[li]
I forgot about her. That is probably the easiest way to add +5 to your hearts, unless you already have a mascot who raises hearts equipped. edited by reveurciel on 2/5/2015
I would suggest running the Merchant ship with 22 crew instead of the full 30. And switching the main light on/off to save on fuel. Stocking up on fuel and supplies at Mt. Palmerston/Iron Republic (fuel) is also great. I have been using the merchant ship for a while now and I love it. Upgrading officers is a must in my opinion. The stat boosts they offer are very very good.
Frigate is better. Speed and iron bonus important when fighting high level enemies. Cargo space loss not important with rearranged priorities. Overall more flexible.
Its a matter of choice really. I prefer avoiding combat unless necessary and trading to convert casks of mushroom wine into Parabola linen. The cargo ship helps me sustain the London-Hands-Irem-London trade route with minimal terror gain. With the cargo ship, I have taken out Lifebergs and even the Lorn Fluke.
I might go for the Frigate in the late game to take on Mt. Nomad when I need to.