please help w taste of lacre

Fallen London
1

So, I have been playing since last January or so, and this is the 1st I have been through any Xmas content. Generally I hate to spoil things for myself, but the combination of very confusing mechanics and once a year opportunity left me reading spoilers for what to do w/ xmas-time stuff. I decided I very much wanted a 5 card lodging, as many as I could manage. So, I examined a bucket of ‘snow’ with the monocle, then dipped two souls into the next 2 buckets.

Then, I apparently got a taste of lacre from the advent calendar, and not understanding quite what happened, just examined my next bucket with the monocle. This of course wasted the bucket since the advent lacre threw off my entire plan.

So now I have taste of lacre 6 and would like to ask what I need to do with the other buckets I get, so I can hopefully still salvage getting at least one 5 card dwelling.

Thanks in advance for your assistance, I am a bit unhappy with how things have gone so far but I only have myself to blame, I do hope there is enough buckets of snow left on the way to fix things as they sit now

RaleighTSakers in game

2

[quote=RaleighTSakers]So, I have been playing since last January or so, and this is the 1st I have been through any Xmas content. Generally I hate to spoil things for myself, but the combination of very confusing mechanics and once a year opportunity left me reading spoilers for what to do w/ xmas-time stuff. I decided I very much wanted a 5 card lodging, as many as I could manage. So, I examined a bucket of ‘snow’ with the monocle, then dipped two souls into the next 2 buckets.

Then, I apparently got a taste of lacre from the advent calendar, and not understanding quite what happened, just examined my next bucket with the monocle. This of course wasted the bucket since the advent lacre threw off my entire plan.

So now I have taste of lacre 6 and would like to ask what I need to do with the other buckets I get, so I can hopefully still salvage getting at least one 5 card dwelling.

Thanks in advance for your assistance, I am a bit unhappy with how things have gone so far but I only have myself to blame, I do hope there is enough buckets of snow left on the way to fix things as they sit now

RaleighTSakers in game[/quote]

You wasted one bucket, but overall you should be in a fine position, so don’t stress too much.

The 12 days of Sacksmas (series of 12 opportunity cards involving Mr Sacks that begin arriving on 12/25) should easily get you to a total of 9 lacre (or more) which would give you the most expensive 5-card lodging (Bazaar Spire.)

You still have options, even if you ignore the opportunity cards mentioned above (the +lacre is indeed missable on those cards, which can each only be played once.)

When the Wicket (at which you spend your Taste of Lacre) opens on January 6th, you can take an option &quotTake the Air&quot which reduces your lacre by 1. This should put you at 5, at which point you qualify to use the monocle again (+3, to total of 8.) This would let you afford either of the other 2 5-card lodgings. Remember if your Scholar of the Correspondence is less than 10, you have the potential to fail on your pail and lose it with no gain in lacre.

3

You need to go through the 12 Days of Mr Sacks before you can enter the wicket to get those 5-card lodgings in any case, and during the 12 Days there are more options to acquire Taste of Lacre – enough for you to get any single 5-card lodging. For a guide, check this post:

http://community.failbettergames.com/topic21014-christmas-in-the-neath-a-guide.aspx?messageid=116550&Page=1#post

4

thanks much for the quick and informative replies guys, i really appreciate

5

I have 2 thanks to the advent bump and the robe. I also have SotC 10 and a monocle, so what should I do? I assume using the monocle once to 5 and then once to 8 should be okay.
What I’m not certain about is what happens when you buy something at the wicket. Say I want one remote lodging and to upgrade the Beth, if I buy the 3-card, will my ToL be reduced accordingly, or go away? I assume one can only have one ToL at a time.

– Mal

6

Reduced accordingly: any excess taste of Lacre remains: i.e., you had 8 ToL and bought the Suite, which costs 7, and are now left with 1.

7

Two buckets of snow for six Taste is worth 300 echoes of materials from the Urchins, so it’s not notably profitable from an echo point of view. However each conversion of Airag to Tears costs 125 echoes of Airag extra so it is definitely more efficient to use up spare Taste on Tears if always gaining 3 Taste at a time with a monocle.

8

Since I did this last season (spire) I’ll vouch for it. Whether using excess ToL for tears in the nadir post season is good or not I cannot say
[li][/li][li]
edited by the truthseeker on 12/22/2015[/quote]
It is if you have no plans to go after a noman tattoo next year- 150 echoes will be worth far less next year, at least to you. (i, for instance, was so new 62.5 echoes was a vast fortune last year. now i’m almost to an overgoat, and could get one if i were willing to give up my tears stockpile: currently at 11, will increase to 18 before febuary with luck. Any new player should cash it in for the tears, as they can always get the ToL back next year- unless they sold the pails to de gustibus instead, which is marginally more profitable for those without the monocle and SOTC 7+) Additionally, It’d be possible to get every 5-card lodging in 1 christmas, at no cost besides oppurtunity cost, assuming you don’t try for a noman next christmas.
[/li]
edited by Grenem on 12/22/2015

9

It’s possible though difficult to get literally everything in one Neathmas. Last year I got the Brass Embassy Sanctum and a Long-Box, and this year I’m getting both other 5-card lodgings, all three Remote Addresses, and a Noman at the initial cost. According to my calculations I shouldn’t need more than the three or so buckets I’ve already bought.

10

I meant using only the max # of free buckets- not even spending a single whisper of darkness on the setup! with a little effort, they could get the remote lodgings free too, though they really should’ve gotten 1 this year.

11

RaleighTSakers, if it makes you feel better - I wasted my first TWO buckets thinking that SoTC 8 is good enough odds for special edition Christmas items. The RNG’s punishment was swift and brutal.

Thankfully, I have a stockpile of Storm Threnodies and Night Whispers, and have bought more to make up. But the loss, the loss!

12

I was able to get all three remote lodgings last year and a rare pet using just the available buckets, with 3 ToL leftover.

Don’t ask me how it happened. In retrospect I’m a bit flabbergasted by my imprudence in trying for everything!

13

[quote=malthaussen]I have 2 thanks to the advent bump and the robe. I also have SotC 10 and a monocle, so what should I do? I assume using the monocle once to 5 and then once to 8 should be okay.
What I’m not certain about is what happens when you buy something at the wicket. Say I want one remote lodging and to upgrade the Beth, if I buy the 3-card, will my ToL be reduced accordingly, or go away? I assume one can only have one ToL at a time.[/quote]

The more dangerous thing about ToL is that you need at least ToL 3 to go back to the Sundered Sea to buy more things, so it is possible to accidentally locks yourself out with 2 ToL or less.

Luckily, ToL persists to next year.

14

[quote=navchaa]RaleighTSakers, if it makes you feel better - I wasted my first TWO buckets thinking that SoTC 8 is good enough odds for special edition Christmas items. The RNG’s punishment was swift and brutal.

Thankfully, I have a stockpile of Storm Threnodies and Night Whispers, and have bought more to make up. But the loss, the loss![/quote]

If you don’t have the monocle or are worried about SotC RNG, the best thing to do with your first pail is eat it (Really? Really?) You normally gain +1 Lacre (same as &quotdip a soul in it) but on a success you will go up to level 2 with just one pail.