So…for now I have been traveling the UnterZee on my trusty Rusty Tramp Steamer. I am not interested in high speed (Swift Zee-Clipper) or in silly Zee ballrooms (the Titanic / Majestic Pleasure Yacht)
But I may be interested in going to new locations.
Does the Zubmarine give you the possibility to explore underwater ports? Or is it only in Sunless Sea or something?
If not, then I can hardly find a reason to get any ship but the basic one. All the others require an immense amount of grinding, for little payoff
You can’t go anywhere in Fallen London with a Zubmarine that you can’t also go to with all the other ships - the difference is just in their stats and the different options you get on some cards while at zee.
The Zub and Yacht indeed require a lot of grinding, but if you ever plan on grinding for high levels of Notability, getting them is worthwhile. Every point of BDR helps.
Exactly. When the time comes for a better profession, a stat increase or anything really, you cherish every BDR point.
Plus the yacht has a profitable card in the zee deck.
As others have said, having every point of BDR later game is important. So keep that in mind.
That said, near end-game you’ll have a lot of BDR from various items, clubs, tattoos, etc. Will having one more point from your ship matter? Yes, but not so much that I would select another over my personal favorite.
So…Zub it is for me. I have no problem will a little extra making waves grinding.
This is all personal opinion, of course, but I would say that that’s the point where it matters most of all - because at that point, you’re going to be eyeing grinds like the Paramount Presense, or coughHallowmass confessions for N8cough, and those are vastly more painful than just getting to N5 once for your top-tier profession, and every point of BDR saves a lot more MW CP. Some numbers: getting to N5 with 0 BDR needs 36MW. I think it’s easy enough to find your first few points of BDR - God’s Editors is extremely easy to get, the connected pet might be the first companion you get in the game, the Ratskin Suit isn’t very expensive, boom that’s 6BDR - so let’s say 30MW, or 465CP. Then an extra point of BDR saves you 30CP for the final step, or 110CP overall. At that stage in the game, I can’t think of any other good use for Notability, so that’s the one-time saving you’re going to make.
Compare that to getting to N15 with 28BDR (which already requires a lot of fate investment, and - without a Yacht - both tattoos). That’s 48MW you need to grab in a week - or 1,176CP. That’s over 2.5 times as hard as when getting your first profession, so you’re going to be down to the wire, and an extra BDR will save you 48CP at that last step, or 312CP throughout the grind to 15, almost three times as much as the benefit you get getting to N5 (and as an extremely quick and dirty estimate, worth around 2-3 full days of grinding on average if using the side-conversions grind. Or one and a half Crooked-Cross invites - that’s ~23CP of Salon Scheme, or 4-5 Favours in High Places plus 10-15 society favours, plus drawing the card 6-7 times). And for PP, you’re going to have to do that four times - plus the comparatively "easy" hops to N12 between each, plus making it easier to get to N7 for drawing the Presumptious Opportunity or N5/N8/anything like that for repeatedly buying confessions during a time-limited event etc. etc., and you’re gonna save thousands of CPs of MW just with that single extra point of BDR.
Mind you, at 28BDR, the only remaining points available to you will be the Seven-Fold Knock, the Rubbery Consort (or some different spouse, which will give less BDR and cost about as much Fate IIRC) - or the Yacht.
Of course, this all assumes you’re going to be playing through this end-game content and caring about Notability. If that assumption is wrong, and you don’t want PP and don’t care about maximising Hallowmass confessions and all that, then indeed the BDR you can get easily from the Side-Streets and assorted free sources is more than enough for, say, getting up to N9 once and keeping it there (for the Unsigned Message card). Nor am I by any means saying that you should definitely buy the Yacht and getting the zub is wrong, though I realised that’s what I sound like - no, all I’m doing is arguing that the Yacht does make a significant difference. If you care enough about the zubmarine that you’re willing to live with that, good! I, for one, decided to remain a bachelor in-game, essentially forgoing three times as much BDR as passing up the yacht costs you, so I’m not one to judge or advise on roleplaying decision. edited by Dudebro Pyro on 8/1/2018
Thanks for the answers, they were very informative.
I do not need that much Notability right now (I have only 2 for a profession. The next tier needs 5). If I ever need to, I will consider one of the ships mega-grinds.
Dudebro Pyro - yes, we’re saying the same thing in different ways. Ultimately, knowing how the mechanics work means that any player can make an informed decision about any potential sacrifices or setbacks they may have in favor or other things such as story enjoyment, role playing, etc.
I’m as maxed out on BDR as I’ll be, with the exception of the extra point from the Yacht.
My dear sir or madam, I think you will find yourselves gravely mistaken. The best madcap adventures have a dash of silliness to them, and it is entirely regrettable if one finds oneself mid-adventure with a grumbling stomach and, worse, a lack of good company. A fine yacht is good safeguard against both!
May I turn the tables and point out that there is nothing zillier than a zubmarine? Also, the yacht allows you to zail infinitely (for no purpose), which is hardly an adventure at all.