I’m stuck in a rut. I can’t seem to be able to progress anywhere. I average at about 200e constantly. Do a smuggling run, get paid, buy fuel and supplies, sell port info, do another mission, buy fuel/supplies. I haven’t been able to upgrade my ship or anything because i can’t seem to make more money. Any profit is spent on fuel and food and i’m back to less than 200e. I know I can’t be doing things right because I read threads about people buying new ships and such. I can’t even begin to fathom that! It’s a stretch just to but a new engine! I could use some help. Come captains, lets share a drink and discuss our trade by the candlelight.
What ports are you stopping at on each trip? Smuggling runs and admiralty commissions may or may not cover costs, but the more ports you visit and the more random events you experience, the more chances you have to find some treasures.
Sir Fred is correct, but you should be ahead of the game almost regardless. Assuming starting ship etc., you can do an almost complete tour on say 10 each fuel and supplies, so that’s 200E to re-fit. An Admiralty payoff is 150E and a smuggler payoff is 200E, so you come out well ahead even before any of port reports, trade items, colonists, random rewards, prizes from pirates and creatures, etc.
Maybe describe a typical run for you in more detail?
Did you upgrade your engine?
I found when using any engine besides the starter or 500 echo model the fuel cost will cut heavily into profits.
I hit the same rut.
Sold my 2,000 echo engine,
purchased the 500 echo model.
Started making money again.
Check out the forum on steam. Several Threads already on how to make money.
edited by CPTWoody on 7/17/2014
I usually traverse from Gaidur’s Mourn (Not sure spelling) then up to port cecil, then judging my fuel and food head to palmerston or venderbright then home. Or directly home. I have been doing smuggling runs and admirality missions but I’m still capping out at less than 300e
So to answer CPTWoody, no I havn’t yet because I can’t get that much echo. Also thanks for the steam forums, I’ll check those out to.
You’re missing a few potentially profitable ports there! My usual route - which I don’t pretend is absolutely optimal, but it works for me - is this:
[ul][li]Venderbight - exploration outcomes include an Outlandish Artifact, a random treasure, and (possibly?) the high-risk, high-reward riddling game.[/li][li]Wither - trade Tales of Terror for Supplies, and another chance to play the riddling game[/li][li]Mt Palmerston - pick up cheap fuel, and exploration options include the zee-gods’ blessings and a chance to sell bottled souls[/li][li]Port Cecil - a great place to hunt sharks and pick up Hunting Trophies, supplies, and random treasures[/li][li]Gaider’s Mourn - pirate-frigates are challenging but rewarding, and compiling a port report has a chance to yield Strategic Info[/li][li]Godfall - turn in Hunting Trophies for Zee-Stories (sell in London), Memories (sell in Venderbight), and Tales (trade in Wither)[/li][li]Mutton Island - as well as the rare but valuable Judgement’s Egg, there are a few smaller random treasures to be found here[/li][li]Aaand back to London!
[/li][/ul]
If you are in early game you can take wine to Godfall, 5 bottles sell for 150 E, so 40 E profit. If you fill your start hold it gives you an average of 120 E plus port report 20 E via Mutton Island +4 E, via the Sisterhood another 20+ and Station 3 once 100E for the report and each long box you carry.
Invest in Harpoons when you got the money since, at least at the moment, they deliver devastating 1-2 hit kills to enemy crew and beasties so you can live of the plunder.
The best way to earn money early game is to follow the path of the Admiralty Commissions and Smuggling Requests. Once you are familiar with the game, there are a ton of tricks you can do to earn a little money along the way. Worst case scenario you get 100~200 Echoes. Best case you can earn 1000~2000 Echoes. That’s only if you’re lucky and know what to do, though.
I appreciate all the help! What a great community. I’ve heard about the Godfall route but in my game Godfall has no shops to trade in. Eventually do the Admiralty missions pay better? because I’ve done quite a few and get only around 150-250e…
I’ve learned a ton! Many thanks, Zee-men.
It isn’t shops you’re looking for on Godfall but story. Go to the story tab and one of the options is to trade them wine. You can hand over 5 wine for 150 echoes.
you do not sell the wine in Godfall at a shop. It is in the story section. You sell them in groups of 5.
The admiralty missions pay 150 echoes regardless of port. The port reports range from 5-75 echoes.
Oh! Of course. I do remember seeing that in Godfall.
I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. …See what I did there.
I must test these now.
Be aware that the Godfall wine trading is only valid for the early game. Once your “time passing” quality (found in your journal) rises past a certain level the monks stop paying well for wine (they will still buy it, but at a loss). so don’t count on it forever.
[quote=Toaster]Oh! Of course. I do remember seeing that in Godfall.
I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. …See what I did there.
I must test these now.[/quote]
Yeah, make sure you take as much wine to Godfall as possible with minimum fuel and supplies.
I managed to make alot of money early game with this route (inventory 9 fuel, 3 supplies, 25 wine, 3 tomb colonists) taking tomb colonists to venderblight, selling them, getting the port report. Before I get there I capture a couple of the raider steamships. Then I go to Demeax island, Shepard Isles, Abbey Rock, then Godfall, back the way I came then to Mutton island(Judgement eggs chance) then back home to Fallen London.
Go with Sir Fredericks suggestion, it has the highest profit margin and don’t forget to hunt the Lifebergs by Wither.
Btw Lifebergs, better to use Flee instead of Evade. It’s got 1 second less warmup time (5 vs 6) which makes a big difference because they can Crush you easily if your illumination gets too high. Also run back to Whither to save your game every couple of Lifebergs. It really sucks to kill 4 and have lots of nice loot then get crushed by the 5th.
Has anyone tried hunting bats off Hunter’s Keep?
I had 30+ terror after a run to Khan’s Heart and I went there to reduce it. Sailed with 10 complete fuel units plus whatever was left in the engines, and 6 supplies.
Before I ran out of the 8th unit (so roughly 2.5 fuel) and 1 supply, I’d killed 15 bats. That’s 165 echos in Abbey’s Rock. I reckon I wouldn’t have used more than another unit of supplies and mabybe 2-3 fuel, had I sailed down there.
Now, roughly 60-70 echos in supplies and fuel, for 165 echos, is not too shabby, especially for inexperience zee captains such as myself.
Do you think it’s a viable strategy? (apart from the fact it’s rather time consuming, especially if you go for the +5 fragments per bat pod)?
As a terror-reduction mechanism, bats are great. Lifebergs for me have the advantage that there’s a buoy by which one can sit with lights off and not gain Terror, just waiting for them to come to you, so the only consumable is supplies. I have not yet checked whether that’s possible for bats.
I dropped anchor close to the lightship north of Hunter’s Keep, as I was getting bats coming from 3 or 4 directions there. The lightship’s rotating beam also saves some fuel as you can switch off the light, but not all the time.
I have roughly 40 veils 57 mirrors and 56 iron, on the basic ship, with a basic engine. Would you say the monsters up north (I assume those are the Lifebergs) are manageable, or should I upgrade more before tackling them?
You should be able to tackle the Lifebergs as long as you remember to use flee and keep your distance over 40 meters. Your illumination doesn’t matter as long as you do that really.
Of course if they do hit you it’s an insta-kill.