Which trade routes are most worth the time and effort of trying them? The London to Venderbight and back route doesn’t seem to be worth the cost of fuel getting there more than the once to pick up the Neathbow quest - there’s nothing to buy in Venderbight (at least not currently), and the only thing from London that they’ll buy is wine.
Should I be trying to head to Mutton Island instead? Or heading further out into the dark and taking my chances there?
The Venderbrite route was from an old build. As of right now trading isn’t profitable (and never will be) and you would be better off exploring for the Admiralty reports or the Blind Bruiser or both. But there are a few trade routes.
One would be Wine in groups of five to Godfall if your Time The Healer is still low. Another would be the Salt Lions but that means finding them, having 20 hold empty, and about 200 or 300 echoes.[li]
You could also hunt Lifebergs, they are pretty easy to take on if you stay out of their range.
edited by Zee-Bat on 9/25/2014
grinding as many reports and far-flung adventure quests as you can per trip is the only reliable cash-generator in the current build. which, naturally, is set to blow apart any day now when the STEEL update is released. but never mind, because the maps are now randomized. whatever routes or plots you plot today might be rendered moot on the next 'boot.
the eventual plan is that storylines (the majority of which aren’t yet in the beta) will push the game forward and provide the cash you need to do whatever deed and walk away with a little extra hope in your pocket. but don’t expect trade, reports, or other assorted treasure-hunts to ever lead to golden glory. unless you really enjoy slogging it for pennies & pence…[li]
From the top of my head, these are some islands with repeatable trading options:
And a couple of recurring missions will send you to one of a few different ports to fetch a thing:
None of these are all that lucrative individually, especially when stacked up against the your expenses.* But if you can find a well-lit route that efficiently hits several of these islands in one go, the trip starts to be more profitable – especially if you can do it on the way to or from a story destination.
(This is currently the bulk of the "game" for me, at least while it’s still relatively light on story content: it’s about looking at your map configuration and where a task is sending me, and trying to plot a course that hits as many money makers/terror reducers and spends as little time in the dark as possible.)
Don’t underestimate port reports either! The bounties tend to get bigger the further out you go, and if they’re on your way they can do a lot to help offset your travel costs. Even now there’s still a lot going on out in the zee, story-wise and "miscellaneous island feature"-wise, but discovering and figuring all that out is part of the game. (As opposed to confusedly wondering where the money actually comes from, which is more an Early Access thing.)
*Remember the Three 'F’s: Food, Fuel, and Ftherapy!
Lately I have been spending a lot of time in the corsair forest hunting pirates and fleeing that one pesky Kharnate warship. Be warned that I do have High veil so It is fairly easy for me to keep out of their range.
I think hunting pirates in the Corsair Forest is one of my favourite things, you can get some good loot.
But only one Khanate Warship! I frequently see three of them, but once you can defeat them they are useful as they reduce Khanate Suspicion and terror when you let them go. If you aren’t strong enough to fight or evade them a Horsehead Amulet can be very useful.
Hopefully, Steel fixes things. Previously, it was grindy but at least viably reliable that one could get enough money to have the fuel to go exploring (and thus get more money to go do more exploring) but right now, getting the money to get fuel to get out to do any significant exploring is either frustratingly luck-based, or requires grinding to an extreme that becomes equally frustrating as any hope of seeing the rest of the map dwindles.