Hello, delicious friends! I have recently managed to find my way to that most singular place after much searching for supplies and an Eyeless Skull, and my first visit left me with little to return with but irrigo and regret.
How can I make my subsequent trips more profitable? I probably went overboard on the irrigo, since I left with 9 and had to take a nasty stat drop to make my way out. I saw a few possibilities for profit, like the card that allows the conversion of various forms of amber into a Fluke Core, but I didn’t have the necessary items to make anything of that. I’m told it’s a very lucrative place if you know what you’re doing, and I’d appreciate some advice on how to make next week’s visit more useful.
I reccomend bringing second chances on your next visit and looking for a card called "The end of battles"(sorry if I said it incorrectly but you will probably see what I mean on your next visit), other than that there is an extremely hard persuasive challenge that gives you a good item, but with the change to second chances it probably isn’t worth it, other than that there are quite some items you can "change"(check the wiki, there is a guide for the cave of the Nadir that should specify them), and the last…and probably the least, you can get a special companion from a card with a coffin picture, can’t say I know any other cards that are any good.
Ahh, here I was writing an answer and totally forgot to send it for 2 hours!
You mainly need two cards: “The end of battles” and “An unlikely garden”.
“The end of battles” gives a 62,5 echo item for 3 second chances. You can sell it or hoard for later ingame needs.
3 sudden insights -> Fourth City Airag (needed for Tears of Bazaar and Master’s Blood)
3 hard-earned lessons -> 1 Pulsating Amber
3 confident smiles -> 1 Searing Enigma (needed for Impossible Theorem)
3 Hastily Scrawled Warning Note -> Collection of Curiosities (can be traded for 62.5 echo worth of items on Tomb-Colonies card).
“An unlikely garden” gives a Searing Enigma if you pass a very difficult Persuasive check on option “Where did the rosers go”. You can use second chance here either for second try or to ‘perhaps not’ out of a card without gaining Irrigo.
Side note: after recent changes every try after backing out costs progressively more second chances.
“Woods in winter” will give 1CP of Dramatic Tension on option “Dance goes on”, but it opens only after you investigated intrigues of Clathermont family at the Feast of Exceptional Rose.
“Do you recall how they came to that place” gives an opportunity to grind Fluke Core, but it’s really a long, luck-based grind, and it’s not profitable (Core costs ~same as materials required to make it).
“Losing” is also a decent one. If you choose “Dubious attribution” you’ll exchange 0.5 echo item for 12.5 echo item.
Time, The Healer just came for me and cleared all my Irrigo quite conveniently, so I’ll be heading back down there once I have enough actions.
Many thanks for the advice - I’ll be sure to look out for those particular cards. I checked out the items that can be ‘irrigoed’ down in the Cave, and bought some Hushed Spider-Silk Slippers with the proceeds from the bottle of Masters’ Blood I got from selling the location of the Nadir to the Calendar Council. (I know, it’s one hell of a hard thing to get, but I value the echoes more highly than having something nice to display on my mantel).
On my first visit I did manage to get some Irrigo Goggles, which was nice, but I don’t think I’ll be upgrading my Parabola-Linen Suit for a while yet since I need it to become a Legendary Charisma once I get my Persuasive to 200.
The Cave of the Nadir is such an interesting place - it’s a shame that visits there are so brief!
[quote=the truthseeker](the truthseeker)
I did as much as one could do in the Nadir, and am here to tell you what I discovered…but I forgot![/quote]
Holy crap, that is comprehensive, and then some - nice work.
I have only one thing to add - if you have taken a POSI specialisation (An extraordinary mind, or the equivalent), and go into the Nadir, the inevitable stat loss, even if you are sensible and it is not a whole point, will be permanent.
It takes a long time to irrigo-away 215->200, but it will happen!
That isn’t specialization you’re thinking of there, but rather the ‘overclocking’ available on the An Unsigned Gift card that lets one cash in their Notability level for points of stats, to a max of 215. But yes, it’s a good thing to be aware of for those who went through all that effort!
You do need a specialization to set each associated stat over 200, however, so it is definitely related even if you need to take an extra step to actually get the stat up there.
Pretty sure that’s incorrect. I believe the loss is still extant, just substantially reduced.
Also, note that you can use second chances to discard any challenge card where you have a good chance of failure, with perhaps not. Frequently, this is the best option in the nadir, so bring a talkative rattus faber for the less worthwhile challenges- Second chance Failing and perhaps notting at the urchins with "an altarful of strangers" lets you try again to draw something better (and if you "succeed" the check, it only gives you 1 point irrigo for 2.5 echoes, which is still as good as most 1 irrigo alternatives. if you’re in there for a specific prize, very worthwhile), as with an unlikely garden (Though you should try your best at the garden, you should probably use a second chance and perhaps not until the cost gets too high.)
Old sins’ "look into the water" is probably still not worth doing, even with the discard chance, since the challenge will keep getting more expensive, and it’s a bad 2 irrigo option. Still, if you have a high failure rate, it’s a tolerable way of discarding, if you really need a bit of cash. probably not worth grinding, though. edited by Grenem on 12/29/2015 edited by Grenem on 12/29/2015
One of the things I recommend doing in the Nadir is flagging useful actions as Plans. It means that when you go back there next time, on any card you draw you can see at a glance which actions are helpful and which are not. Saves a lot of guesswork or referring to notes when it’s been a week since you last visited that place.
As for the stat drop, I don’t really worry about it. Over the course of a week I usually build up my Attributes to make up for what was lost. (I haven’t spent Notability to go beyond 200 as I presently have no reason to do so.)
I overstatted my Watchful a while back to max SotC, and I still have not quite lost all of it to the Nadir. As long as you aren’t straining yourself to gain Notability, I think a modest amount of overstatting is worthwhile (depending on the stat) while still doing the Nadir. edited by Kaigen on 12/29/2015
After months of fruitlessly searching for an eyeless skull, having given up for a while and turned my focus to other pursuits, d-mned if I didn’t fall over one of the things when wandering the quarter for unrelated whisper harvesting. Having tired of the skull constantly hijacking my deck while I held onto it, I went ahead and entered the nadir. So far all I have accomplished there is acquiring a violet Amber and a bunch of irrigo, which I look forward to losing when tth comes my way. In the meantime, a certain lady in violet is badgering me for the location. If I sell, will I be locked out of further nadir exploration? Or will I retain the rights of entry and just make a pretty profit on the side? I don’t want to lose what I waited for so long to find, but I am not opposed to sharing information if it benefits me.
yes, that’s why I want to make sure to not lock myself out - I know there are many goodies in there waiting for me, Im just not ready to dedicate myself to searching them out quite yet.
On the subject of selling the location of the Cave - the Revolutionaries and Great Game buyers will offer a substantially more valuable item than the Urchins and Devils. The Revolutionaries will give you a vial of M_____s’ B___d, and the Great Game will give you a Reported Location of a One-Time Prince of Hell. They can be used to unlock a 5-card Lodgings (Spire-Emporium and Brass Sanctum respectively) outside Sacksmas, or sold for a substantial amount of echoes (around 1500, I believe).
Thank you for the advice all - i’ve opted to tip off February to the location, and look forward to dipping my toes in the Nadir once a week- with this guide, i should be able to make the most of it. I have enough ToL this sackmas to get the Spire-emporium when the wicket opens, so now i just need to decide if i should hold onto my vial for other possible uses down the line, or cash it out and put the funds toward getting the necessary gear to become an extraordinary mind once i round up my watchful…decisions decisions…
One correction to something earlier: only one ending of the fate-locked A Daughter in the Shadows storyline unlocks the Old Bones option for Dramatic Tension. Specifically you need the ending that gives a unique companion.