[li]Ok. 131 Watchful. How grind MORE? Any advice?
If you have access to the university investigation, you could use the ‘talk to the porters’ option, which gives one sudden insight. Once you’ve stocked up on insights you can use the option at your lodgings to use 5 insights for a big watchful boost. You can cash in the investigating from the porters inthe Flit (under heights of chicanery) to offset the cost.
Investigation already done.
[li]
What about Hunter’s Keep? Is it good option to grind Watchful on level 131?
That’s a good option, yes!
War of Assassins in the Flit and The Missing Woman in Wilmot’s End provide Watchful challenges that require Watchful 200 for 100% success rate. 180 is optimal, for 90% that provides 2 CP for a success.
I’d like to second the above - I got most of my watchful by grinding Collections of Curiosities.
It helps if you have a bandaged raven to gain Tomb-Colonist Favours, making it easier to cash in the Collections for a 1.81EPA (IIRC) grind. You can also do that in-between doing other stuff, which makes it a lot easier since that stops you from being frustrated whenever the tomb-colonies card doesn’t pop up for a while.
Grinding Collections definitely is the most profitable way to grind Watchful (though getting Dramatic tension with Watchful options is slightly less profitable than Doing Business in Wilmot’s End).
If you haven’t already, consider paying a visit to the various islands at Zee that feature in scientific expeditions. There’s a lot of interesting text and you get a reasonable return for your investment.
[li]So… what’s better in term of speed, not benefits? Should I sail to Hunters Keep or go back to London?
Play chess for Sudden Insights, spend them on “every stone” in matters of watchfulness. Use your Hell, Constables, and Great Game favors on the stat-boosting options on each of those cards.
Dying and playing a lot of chess with the boatman is probably fastest at your level. Just get it up to a point where it becomes an almost impossible challenge, and you get 5 or 6 cp a turn, I think.
Granted this does kill you very very dead.
In terms of speed, playing a million games of chess is the fastest way.
Try asking around the forums for Seekers who blackened their minds.
Chess just got revamped, and it is now awesome. I’m capped on Sudden Insights and Watchful, but I’m playing just for the fun of it. And the quality tracking victories, I suppose.
Anyway, if you need Watchful, find a friend and play Chess a bunch.
Alternatively, if you have a lot of Favours, you can RAPIDLY increase your stats with those these days.
Seconding in the favours thing. Each faction will give you 105 CP for 5 favors (above stat level 70, iirc), so nearly 18 points per action.
edited by Kaijyuu on 8/1/2017
I did most of my watchful grinding in the forgotten quarter, seeking curios and whatnots. It had the key elements I was looking for - challenges that gave more than 1CP/action on straightforward (not often, but sometimes), all in one spot, and varied enough so that it wasn’t excruciatingly dull. Plus you sometimes get something rather, or even rather quite, valuable.
I also hate dramatic tension carousels. Absolutely hate them. So I didn’t want to grind with those.
But I don’t recall what level I was at the time, or what kind of odds you’d face with watchful in the 130’s, so I won’t waste your time by mentioning my likely inapplicable experience.
It feels Favours/Renown gets too much criticism among veterans on the forum, but I think stat increasing is a great example of its real strength: dissuading players from grinding the same action or carousel forever. They represent a massive EPA and a relatively easy way to quickly build stats if you need it.
They also constitute a massive requirement for stats, of course, topping out at a frankly absurd 294 stat requirement to reach Renown 50. I used to think that wasn’t meant to be achievable, but recent content has proven otherwise.
Sorry for the short off-topic speech. In summary, call in your Favours and play chess.
I don’t think that’s quite accurate. From what I’ve seen, Favours have been very well received here. The mechanic is fun and has successfully achieved what it set out to do. The issue is that Renown has completely failed to meet its intended purpose. Hopefully Failbetter will polish it after the conversions are finished.
On topic, the second chance social actions are usually the best method of stat gain. For anyone leveling Persuasive though, the House of Chimes option for a private room is substantially better than coffee - it gives both parties three Confident Smiles and some other stuff. Very useful for Exceptional Friends or those with Exceptional friends.
I don’t think that’s quite accurate. From what I’ve seen, Favours have been very well received here. The mechanic is fun and has successfully achieved what it set out to do. The issue is that Renown has completely failed to meet its intended purpose. Hopefully Failbetter will polish it after the conversions are finished.
On topic, the second chance social actions are usually the best method of stat gain. For anyone leveling Persuasive though, the House of Chimes option for a private room is substantially better than coffee - it gives both parties three Confident Smiles and some other stuff. Very useful for Exceptional Friends or those with Exceptional friends.[/quote]
That’s why I highly recommend Chess: it builds up a bragging-rights quality upon victory, has a few interesting options to choose from, and rewards both Sudden Insights and Making Waves.
Not only that, it rewards more Sudden Insights to the loser, who is more likely to need them, and more Making Waves to the winner, who is similarly more in need of them.
In addition to all of this, it gives a decent Watchful increase outright.
Finally, it doesn’t use a Free Evening, which seems refreshingly in demand after the latest revamp.
[quote=Kaigen] (though getting Dramatic tension with Watchful options is slightly less profitable than Doing Business in Wilmot’s End).
[/quote]
Umm…how so? By my count it takes 11 actions per cp of dt either way.
There’s a rare success to get a couple Compromising Documents using a shadowy challenge in Wilmot’s End.
http://fallenlondon.wikia.com/wiki/Take_a_dip_into_that_briefcase
I don’t know the chances, but it’s pretty small.
edited by Kaijyuu on 8/6/2017