I understand that it’s supposed to be a tough opponent, but a 10% chance to ambush it with 9 monstrous anatomy seems a little excessive, doesn’t it?
It kind of feels like the best way to tackle this thing would be to hit it with a killing blow + second chance directly and hope for the best. If you fail, you have to travel back to the lair, but it’s probably still better than trying to wear it down…
Traveling back to the lair is just one action with no skill check if you have Nightmares 5+. Even at a 35% success rate it’s manageable. The wounds pile up, but it’s not terrible for what’s basically an end-game boss fight.
My understanding is that the Ambush difficulty is based on the Ferocity, which the Shark has lots of. I guess it makes sense, but it does make the action least-useful for the quarries where you need it the most.
[quote=PSGarak]My understanding is that the Ambush difficulty is based on the Ferocity, which the Shark has lots of. I guess it makes sense, but it does make the action least-useful for the quarries where you need it the most.[/quote]Yeah, this is what I think is poorly thought out about it. Since the difficulties of both the killing blow and the ambush option depend on the same quality but scale very differently, the result is that there’s basically no sense in trying to wear it down and you end up building your strategy around a hail mary sucker punch. It’s a bit silly.
I agree. The Ambush option is a no-go. I do wish that there is some baiting option. For example, since the Pinewood Shark likes to torment zailors, how about using the Ex-Privateer Charter Clerk as bait? She dies but poisons the shark, and you have to get another clerk.
That said, the Monster-Hunter now has a advantage here, with the harpoon option prior to meeting the shark. Mine has already killed three of them (in addiiton to the first one) before I got bored. Even without any other Monstrous Anatomy gear, the option still has a 50% chance initially. Finally, there’s something in the new content of 2020 that the Monster-Hunter actually has a reliable advantage at compared to the other high-end professions.
edited by Rostygold on 7/12/2020
That’s almost always the best course in Fallen London. There are VERY few rolls that you absolutely have to make the first time and, as such, it’s better to just fail and try again. Even skeleton sales of Chimera are less costly/difficult than actually trying to make real skeletons much of the time.
Despite the poor reported percentage chances of success, I haven’t failed to kill the darn Shark on the first go (3 times so far). I’m not sure what to make of that.
You were flipping lucky, that’s what.
I had a character that failed six re-rolls.
You were flipping lucky, that’s what.
I had a character that failed six re-rolls.[/quote]
Ow. Much sympathy.
And now it’s 50% chance to ambush at Anatomy 7, worth trying.
Doesn’t really feel worth it in terms of what you hunt from it either. Seems more like something for bragging rights.
Well, you hunt second Dangerous gains from it. Worth a try.