I just failed my latest heist. I kept on getting cards that only offered my options that were just a matter of chance and I failed every time. Now I have a criminal reputation that prevents me from using Absolution Solution and I’m wondering if I’d just be better off quitting a starting over again?
It’s almost never worth starting over. Well, normally it’s a simple fact that you will pretty much always gain more from playing than you might lost from landing on a failure, so restarting is almost always detrimental, but the criminal record is one of the very very few exceptions in that it’s permanent (mostly - there was a limited-time opportunity to clear it last year, which may come back at some point this year or perhaps later).
Now, is it worth restarting over this? Almost everyone here will give you the same advice, which will be a resounding “no”. In the end, it’s purely your choice - do you care about not having a criminal record, for roleplay reasons, enough to abandon all the progress you’ve made so far? Only you can answer that.
From a gameplay perspective, however, it’s not worth it at all. I personally never used the Absolution Solution and similar items in my three years playing the game (I found them a waste of money). If I remember correctly, after becoming a Person of Some Importance these items become a lot less effective anyway, so it’s not a huge loss. Certainly not worth restarting everything.
That said - you could always start another character while still keeping your main active. There are quite a few people who are actively playing several characters.
"Opportunism in Spite" is my go-to for reducing Suspicion. No point wasting money when you can get rid of it for free. Yeah, it’s an airs option that isn’t always there, but you can get lots of free weasels while waiting for it to cycle around and it never seems like more than three or four clicks away.
Quitting and restarting can become a crippling habit if you’re not careful. I’ve seen it in MMOs as well as Fallen London. Some people never get to see what a game has to offer beyond its starting areas because they get stuck in this mode. My advice? Don’t go down that road.
well… whether you restart or keep this character now you know: dont spam most high risk options!
It’s not too hard to avoid prison if you ask others for help with suspicion and don’t force things. Natural opportunities to reduce Suspicion will occur. If your Suspicion rises too high, focus on different activities.
The discussion of suspicion management isn’t helpful for failing heists: that instantly raises your suspicion to 8 even if it was at zero. It’s also avoidable: prepare an escape route and you can safely bail out. And more sneakily (which is appropriate), you can use an Absolution Solution from the screen where your suspicion is bumped up to 8 but before you get sent to New Newgate to drop suspicion just enough to avoid incarceration. It’s a handy workaround for several situations that can send your menaces too high, including not paying enough attention.
On heists, I’ve always found it worthwhile to have a backup – usually inside information, rarely a key or an escape route purchased in advance. Some of the cards are just bad and best not played at all. It’s a while since I did any heists, but I thought you could always abandon the heist – ?
Like others here, I’ve never bothered much with the absolution and frequent Spite for suspicion reduction – you should see my weasel menagerie! It can also help to wear suspicion-reducing kit.
If you’ve reached the Flit, you’re really still in the shallows of the game. I don’t think the character is seriously impaired by having a criminal record unless for role play reasons.
Purely on Suspicion, you might want to play A Trade in Souls, a Fate-Locked story. If you choose to become a Soul Shepherd, it leaves your deck with a card that gets rid of all your menaces for a price.
During heirsts, having one inside information or an escape route is a good choice, though luck is always a factor.
I would suggest you keep on to your character and take either the Spite route to clear up suspicion, or the Trade in Souls if you are Fate-inclined. Eventually, another opprotunity to get rid of your record will come up.
I failed a heist, put on the Suspicion-reducing dress and returned to London safe and sound. For going between locations, I’ve had my deck size doubled, to its max of 6, and of course I immediately clicked the deck to make space for more cards. I got the bazaar lodgings card. You can guess what happened next.
That’s right, it has a difficult Persuasive check, so I went to my profile and changed into a Persuasive outfit. Bam, imprisoned.
Ι think the player’s problem is that they cannot use the Absolution anymore.
Fortunately, as many people have already noted, absolution is not very useful compared to the many other suspicion reducing options (suspicion reducing clothes, Opportunism in Spite, TtH, and suspicion reducing social actions)
My theory is, criminal reputation’s only vaguely annoying and it gives your character, well, character, so you may as well enjoy it
I more or less bribed Feducci to scrub my record last Hallowmas. I’m not sure such an opportunity will arise again, however.
As did many others, my lad!