Since becoming a POSI I’m finding grinding my watchful and shadowy far too slow. I’ve not been the most social of players as I don’t like inconveniencing people, so I’ve mostly been relying on the options in my lodgings to reduce scandal and wounds, but this has allowed me to easily increase my dangerous and persuasive without too much hassle.[li]
Getting rid of suspicion and nightmares is a royal pain though. For nightmares I have to take trips to Hunter’s Keep, or hope for luck with resting and the Merry Gentleman. For suspicion I have to wait, Ablution Solution is not worth the money, and due to my aforementioned antisocial nature flattery at Dante’s isn’t something I can easily benefit from.
I can’t help but feel there should be some way of lowering these more easily as with other menaces. I understand going to prison wasn’t really an issue before, but with the recent addition of criminal records I’m loathe to return to New Newgate as I don’t know if there’s any way to expunge your record and I’m worried about negative consequences. I don’t want to go to the Mirror Marches as I’m not flush with Memories of Light. As such I’m really feeling impeded.
Am I just being an idiot and missing something here?
Use Laudanum to reduce Nightmares (a Winsome Orphan can provide quite a bit on his opp cards, BTW) as it leaves wounds, which are much easier to cope with.
As for Suspicion, honestly, I’ve had little trouble with that between Long Arm of the Law, An Afternoon of Good Deeds, and "Have a Word with the Chief Constable on the Parthaneum opp card. Others might be able to give better advice here.
Laudanum is pretty much worthless after becoming a POSI, I can make faster progress just spending time in bed and waiting for the Merry Gentleman to show up, and all for free with no habit.
I’m evidently not having much luck with opportunity cards either, they don’t turn up fast enough so I spend days or weeks grinding persuasive or dangerous until my suspicion is back down to safe levels.
If you’re into Fate-locked content, the C.V.R from the Soul Trade has an amazing total menace ELIMINATION option. If you have a great many Souls and Contracts to hand over.
There’s a lot of cards that reduce Nightmares, actually. You can side with the Urchins against the Widow, you can spend a little Rostygold on the Church Faction card, you have the regular Nightmares reducing card, you have Dr. Schlomo’s card (third option), you have another Dr. Schlomo card, you might have God’s Editors’ card if you obtained that item…try keeping an eye out for them.
Suspicion doesn’t have quite that many cards, but for that I just bite the bullet and use 2 bottles of Ablution Absolution whenever my Suspicion reaches 5. You can also check out options using Shadowy that don’t raise Suspicion, like fooling Gullible Spirifers in Spite. edited by Sara Hysaro on 10/3/2014
[quote=Clopper]… I don’t want to go to the Mirror Marches as I’m not flush with Memories of Light. As such I’m really feeling impeded…
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Other people have already covered your question pretty well, so I’ll help you with this one. If Memories are the only thing impeding you from frequenting the Marches, you can easily get them using an exploit in the marches. First, get a Detective’s Business Card and start the case of the Deranged Medium. Lower Mouse to 6, then go about your business.
When you hit nightmares 8, get to the marches. There, you’ll have access to the Ivory Mirror. Play it enough times, it’ll raise your Cat until Mouse 3 or something. (And the Cat is guaranteed–you don’t lose Mouse unless you succeed the luck check.) Once you return to London, you can wrap up the case for p much a guaranteed success (unless you completely bombed the Cat/Mouse stuff in Ladybones). This nets you…30 memories, I think? And some brass if you’re really lucky.
You can also always cross-convert to get memories, if you need some to get the loop started.
I still use the ablution for suspicion at this point, since it’s actually really effective even with the POSI debuff. (It is terrible for scandal though i’d only use it for that if i wanted to do a couple more things before i go to the tomb colonies to grind it off)
Also a way to easily get enough memories of light to fund your trips to the mirror marches is to become a glassman, since it’s really unlikely you’ll need more than 5 in a week. (well, easily once you ARE a glassman) edited by WormApotheote on 10/3/2014 edited by WormApotheote on 10/3/2014
I’d just add that you really shouldn’t worry about inconveniencing people with menace reduction requests. It’s by far the fastest method - several people (including some who have already posted in this thread) indicate in their signatures that they are happy to receive social actions. Others, like me, are happy to be asked even if we don’t have it in our sigs!
Social actions are also great for increasing stats, via the exchange 5 second chances for a big gain in the relevant state method. So in short - unless you really don’t want to (totally fair enough) I’d recommend getting a few Acquaintances involved in your gameplay! Feel free to send me a Calling Card if you like.
As you mentioned going to Hunter’s Keep you have a ship. There is another place out at Zee where you can completely clear your menaces once you know what you are doing - playing the loop in the Iron Republic until you have a high Changed by the Iron Republic and then using the Oh dear Oh dear option at the end.
Or just start an alternative character for menace reduction only. My alt started that way, but has since caught up with my main in many ways.
As a matter of design choice, the developers have made Menace reducing social actions are way better than their solo counterparts. Perhaps they are inclined to stimulate the "big happy family" feelings and are therefore rewarding the more social inclined among us while penalizing the more solo inclined.
There are several advantages in making an alt as opposed to using other "real" players, not least among which is that you can complete them immediately instead of waiting for the other. Better even, if you are like me, stack up menace reduction requests by the hundred between your main and alt, and use them as needed. Menace has stopped being a menace for me long ago, it’s a bit inconvenient, at most.
Dharthoorn, it’s explicitly against the rules to create an alt to benefit a main like that (section seven of the T&C, if you feel like looking for the clause in question); I’d suggest not advising others to do so.
Clopper, if you’re having difficulty grinding Watchful, feel free to send me invitations to Chess. Using Second Chances to gain CP is by far the fastest way to level up in the game. I’m afraid I can’t make the same offer for Shadowy; I need my Making Waves to obtain my first five-card lodging. edited by Snowskeeper on 10/3/2014
I suppose you mean this part of section 7: [ul][li]use of secondary accounts (‘alts’) to harass other players or gain unfair competitive advantage;[/li][/ul]Having an alt is not against the rules. And does exchanging menace reduction actions with your alt constitute a "competitive advantage"? I beg to differ. It’s rather a symbiosis, not a parasitic relationship. Remember the alt also accumulates menace that my main needs to cover for. Additionaly, since both my characters are fully-fledged in their own right I could argue both are "Main".
Here’s what I think the above rule is for;
Creating multiple alt to dump menace on, and then deleting/deactivating the account(s) ad infinitum would be gaining a competitive advantage.
Otherwise they will have a lot of ip-logging, policing and account deleting to do. Short of someone openlitty admitting to it like I do, it’s a non-enforcable rule anyway.
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. edited by dharthoorn on 10/3/2014
Another example would be creating a bunch of accounts to farm First City Coins to send to your main account. In the past you could do the same for Fate.
Clopper, DragonRidingSorceress is always delighted to receive any sort of request except Loitering Suspiciously, and that’s only because I’m Making Waves at present. You may get Suspicion requests back from me though - the Social actions are really good, and you will still get it down with trading them.
For Nightmares, I like to visit the Somnolent Hyena in the Labyrinth of the Tigers. It’s a bit grindy, but works well.
My apologies for the shocking delay in replying to you all, I’m afraid I’ve been somewhat too busy in the Neath of late.
Firstly I’d like to offer heartfelt thanks for recommending me Ablution Solution - it’s become apparent to me that the value of said solution is much better than I’d originally thought. I also very much appreciated the Memory of Light tip, I know have a satisfactory enough quantity of them that the Mirror Marches are no longer such an issue. I had, however, been somewhat ignorant as to the effect the place would have on my dreams; most unfortunate.
Sincerest thanks, also, to those offering out their hands in friendship. I had made myself a few acquaintances over time but sadly many of them appear to have been new arrivals - as I have been waiting for a response from a good number of them for a while, I can only assume the worst has happened to them down here and they aren’t coming back. I will endeavour to be more sociable, and I shall be pleased to get to know all of you in due course.