Ah yes, using Wilmot’s end is expensive, but you didn’t look at everything people said on this thread as the Sidestreets were also mentioned as a cheaper alternative. the math given for getting Labour via the Bazaar Sidestreets (180 comp docs and 600 intriguing gossip and 12 actions to get each labour) is (1,100 intriguing gossip and 14 actions), or (4,200 Stolen Correspondence and 25 actions), or 245 actions assuming no rare successes on robbing the couriers. With rare successes, you could sell the touching love story and buy 25 Stolen Correspondences, cutting the actions needed by 1 for every 4 love stories you sell this way.
Alternately, you could try getting 5,000 Cryptic Clues and 1,800 Stolen Correspondence, which takes 215 actions (190 to obtain the items, 25 to convert the Clues into Tales of Terror and then into Compromising Documents and the Letters into Gossip). I’d recommend this route because you would need 120 rare successes to get enough Love Stories to make the pure Stolen Correspondence method faster, and since you’re spending 2 actions at a time to rob the couriers this is impossible. Either way, both routes are faster than Wilmot’s End for getting Strong Backed Labour.
(edit) …darn, I could have sworn that when I did this math it was telling me that I only needed 12 strong-backed labors for the zub. But now that I went and got those 12 it’s telling me the actual number I need is 20.
edited by Andrew Zelinske on 4/17/2012
Collated Research is the easiest to get. All you need are Tales of Terror! and Visions of the Surface.
Pursue the Case of the Fidgeting Writer. After two actions, turn your Glimpse of Something Larger into Collated Research. If you fail along the way, pursue it again. I spent an average of six actions per two Collated Research, which is the same as one Research per three actions, which is very good.
[quote=Tricket]Collated Research is the easiest to get. All you need are Tales of Terror! and Visions of the Surface.
Pursue the Case of the Fidgeting Writer. After two actions, turn your Glimpse of Something Larger into Collated Research. If you fail along the way, pursue it again. I spent an average of six actions per two Collated Research, which is the same as one Research per three actions, which is very good.[/quote]
It’s even easier than that: You can convert 50 Memories of Distant Shores (which are easily earned in Polythreme) into 10 Collated Research via storylet.
[quote=Patrick Reding][quote=Tricket]Collated Research is the easiest to get. All you need are Tales of Terror! and Visions of the Surface.
Pursue the Case of the Fidgeting Writer. After two actions, turn your Glimpse of Something Larger into Collated Research. If you fail along the way, pursue it again. I spent an average of six actions per two Collated Research, which is the same as one Research per three actions, which is very good.[/quote]
It’s even easier than that: You can convert 50 Memories of Distant Shores (which are easily earned in Polythreme) into 10 Collated Research via storylet.[/quote]
I am currently pursuing this for my collated research, though it’s only a viable option if you haven’t been kicked out of the university! I have, so I’m hard at work regaining my credentials so I don’t have to spend a portfolio of souls every time…
I’m glad to hear there are easier ways to get Strong-Backed Labour, but the gym remains a woefully inefficient way of farming rostygold, requiring the card to show up hundreds of times before you break even. It seems far overpriced for a bit of ambience with no mechanical purpose or story content.
I assume the Dangerous training has a better stat:menace ratio than failing a typical “almost impossible” challenge, but the benefit still seems unexciting. Keep in mind you’ve spent a fair number of actions in your inventory and/or Wilmot’s End without gaining stats – you’re not as far behind as you are in potential rostygold, but you still have to get the card many times before you can break even and start getting a minor advantage.
At least the Gym could give Dreaded+1 and the Library could give Respectable+1, to suggest an easy pseudo-fix.
edited by TheThirdPolice on 4/9/2012
After getting kicked out of Court, I had over five thousand Stolen Correspondence, because I am an exceptionally romantic soul. (I also gained approximately twenty levels of Persuasive, making me quite lopsided in my attribute spread for the first time since I started playing. I’m still endeavoring to correct that.)
It took many actions to change them into Intriguing Gossip and Compromising Documents, and still more actions to convert them into the needed Strong-Backed Labour, but I now have a crew for my ship and am now on the final step (probably) of obtaining a swift-clipper. Additionally I am the proud owner of a Clay Sedan Chair (I do so enjoy the looks of envy cast my way by the groundwalkers. I’m quite certain the expressions on their faces are impotent rage rather than horrified fascination.).
That was eleven Strong-Backed Labour in total, and I still have over a thousand Stolen Correspondence. I may have to fashion a rolodex.