When to start grinding 12 Notability? (SMEN)

Fallen London
1

I’m currently seeking the name, but as I quit FL for a while before SMEN was re-released, my notability is at a sad 3.

I know you need 12 notability for one of the candles, but also some later options/candles in SMEN might make acquiring 12 notability more difficult.

So what is the best time to get to 12 notability, and by proxy, what is the best method of getting there? I may have drowned half my assets in secrets already.

2

Low levels of Notability are pretty easy if you have near-cap BDR and are fine just grinding actions on side converting.

For high levels of notability, you have to push for a ton of Making Waves in one week, which is usually best done with a Salon, or if you have one, an orphanage.

All that said, you can apparently also get that candle at hallowmas, or at any holiday where you can change your destiny.

3

It’s not that difficult to do, in a relaxed week, playing say once or twice a day I go up one notability point in a week, mostly with bejeweled lenses in my hotel room, and writing compelling stories and up… the orphanage helps me too, but the opportunity card has been harder to get lately

4

I started banking Society / Bohemian connections into my Salon about a week or two before SMEN was released. If you’re in possession of a Salon, sinking your extra Society / Bohemian connections into it won’t hurt anything for various reasons. It’s pretty easy to grab the scraps of connections you need for conversions and various checks. I also always happen to have lots of Favors in High Places due to the way I alternate grinding SMEN, grinding Notability, and grinding Echos.

Speaking of cards being harder to draw - I &quotwaste&quot a number of actions drawing Unaccountably Peckish back down to avoid having a lot of useful cards locked out of my hand. I also am an Exceptional Friend, so I kind of have enough actions to waste given my pace toward advancing SMEN. I have a pretty tailored acquaintance / pet setup for Criminal and Docks favours, so having those slots free helps a lot. I also see my Salon card much more often than I would. I can burn it somewhat sooner with more free slots. Menace reduction benefits a bunch, too, due to certain story choices I’ve made. I can hold 2-3 really useful cards, then kinda just zap everything once I get enough burden going.

I’m at SMEN 15, and I’ve accrued 6 (almost 7) Notability again. Beyond 7, even with near-max to max BDR, Notability starts getting grindy and eating a lot more in the way of actions. Having an Orphanage or Salon battery well-charged will help a bunch with popping more difficult levels. This is especially true if, with the Salon, you’ve acquired the various &quotspecial&quot acquaintances and companions from the Feast. They cost more Salon, but they also hit for a lot more in terms of Making Waves. Those acquaintances are a good compromise between, say, the Duchess at her absurd level of Salon required and something like only one Mercy sister.

There’s also getting Nights on the Town for some low-level MW gambling if you feel like it - it’s not super resource efficient, but I’ve used it a ton for the first (under 10 or so) levels of MW as an auxiliary boost with good success.

Grinding Thefts of a Particular Character is considered one of the better ways to get Tales of Terror. The conversion chain from ToT to Uncanny Incunabulum is probably the best conversion chain for CP of MW to Actions spent ratio:

edited by Stygota on 6/24/2016
edited by Stygota on 6/24/2016