Money-Making/Lategame
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Requirements to list a grind or weekly activity:
- 4.0+ EPA
- Fate-locked grinds should be marked as such.
- Requirements above 300 in main attributes and above 10 in advanced skills should be mentioned.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but should list the best grinds and weekly activities that are relevant in the end-game. See the Sources page for an exhaustive list of all grinds.
Optimal EPA Strategy[edit]
This section of the guide describes strategies that are primarily relevant to an overall maximum-EPA play strategy. As such, the information given in this section assumes certain behaviour, particularly making weekly trips between London and the Upper River (London for A Professional Reward, the Upper River to Accept a gift from Balmoral's Castellan). EPA calculations in this section do not separately count the action cost of making this trip, and therefore these calculations may not be applicable outside this overall strategy.
Note for editors: For clarity, when indicating EPA for actions elsewhere in this guide, please note if the EPA calculation assumes optimisation strategies such as Tinned Ham or the Rat Market.
Hinterland Scrip/Tinned Ham Arbitrage[edit]
This conversion should be done in bulk once per week, when moving between London and the Upper River to collect Professional Rewards and gifts from the Castellan.
can be purchased for 125 (the equivalent of 62.50) at the Upper River Exchange, and then sold in London at the Bazaar for 63.50. As part of an optimal EPA strategy, items obtained from any grind should be sold for Scrip if possible, and the resulting Scrip used to purchase Ham to be sold back in London for a profit. This slightly raises the EPA for many grinds, as it results in a conversion factor of 0.508 per Scrip instead of the usual 0.5.
The exception is that do not need to be sold for Scrip, as they already have a favourable conversion factor of 0.83 per Scrip.
Rat Market[edit]
Main article: The Rat Market (Guide)
By the nature of the Rat Market, any grind requires either operating only during the corresponding Rat Season or stockpiling items to cash out all at once when the corresponding season starts. The table below shows when grind products are sellable, and adjusted EPA based on cashing out s for or T2 items to sell at the Bazaar.
Selling 5 items at once: Tier 5 items should only be sold in bulk if your grind is higher than 3.75 EPA, since you’re saving 4 actions at the cost of losing 15 profit.
Fabulous Diamonds: When Moon Phase is Soft and Wind Direction is North, are available at the Rat Market. Assuming you have progressed the Railway to and have 2, you can increase the EPA of any Rat Market grind that week by cashing out in Fabulous Diamonds and trading them (all at once, to minimise travel actions) in the Hurlers. Each trade by itself is 10 EPA: 5 from to conversion, and 5 from 2 x Stolen Kisses.
FaF | LL | CC | WaW | VV | TaT | WW | RaR | NK | KC | SS | DD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crackling Trade[edit]
Items which can be sold for 125 in Khan's Heart can be used to buy Crackling Devices at a ratio of 26:25. These items all have an Echo value of 62.5, but the Crackling Devices can be sold at the rat market for 850 Rat-Shillings, valued at 85. In aggregate, this turns 26 items with 62.5 sale value into 25 items with 85 sale value in the right . All conversions except Rat-Market sales are actionless, and batch sizes are unlimited, so travel costs can be amortized (or combined with collecting ). The whole conversion thus takes 25 actions, or 25/26 actions per item. The value of the input items here is 26x 62.5= 1625, and the result is 25x 85= 2125, at the cost of 25 additional actions. This is relevant for any grind resulting in the following items: , , , and . ( Captivating Ballads can be sold for AKC as well, but they can also be sold directly to the Rat Market for 850 Rat-Shillings, so exchanging 26 of them for 25 Crackling Devices would be a waste.) It is also a decent way to spend outside the Bone Market. This should offer an EPA enhancement for any grind resulting in these sellable items at a rate below 20 EPA, as that is the average added value per action here.
London Grinds[edit]
Professional Activities[edit]
- Requires a tier 3 Profession
- Stat requirements depend on Profession and player progression
- Expected EPA: At least 3.2-4.1, more for certain Professions and Specializations
See Professional Activities (Guide) for details. As the player progresses through the game and unlocks more content, more options will unlock in this wheel, causing it to grow in value over time. Certain rewards can also be exchanged for or , improving profitability.
Hearts' Game[edit]
- Minimal stat requirements
- Best with 20+ and at least one of Complete Account of Croaking Beasts or Unexpurgated Accounting of Aquatic Life-Forms
- Expected EPA: up to 4.73-4.87 directly, or up to 5.31 using the Bone Market or 5.36 using Khanate horsebitrage
See Hearts' Game (Guide) for details. Stats have little effect on this grind, as the player earns regardless of their performance in Hearts' Game. Exploits can be cashed out for various T7 items. Of particular note are the , which can be profitably used in the Bone Market, and the , which can be offloaded profitably at the Rat-Market.
With access to the Bone Market and the ability to create Reptile and/or Fish skeletons, the strategy for Hinterland Scrip grinding detailed here can be used to generate up to 744 over 74 actions, or 10.05 SPA. Using Arbitrage this becomes 393.13 E over 74 actions, or 5.31 EPA.
With access to the Khanate, the strategy outlined in detailed here can be used on the gained from The dusty book to increase its EPA to 5.26.
Upper River Grinds[edit]
The City of the Tracklayers[edit]
- Expected EPA: 5 to 5.20, with the Rat Market up to 6.20 EPA
Requirements
Moulin Expeditions (and monographs)[edit]
- Expected EPA: 3.97 to 4.71
Requirements
Take the Bandaged Navigator and Renegade Claw with you, equipping a Kataleptic Toxicology item, up to 3 Shapeling Arts items and as much Persuasive-reducing stuff as possible if you have a Transfixing Squirrel. If you don't have a Transfixing Squirrel, instead equip up to 3 Shapeling Arts items and as much Shadowy stuff as you can. While on the expedition, play any A Lesser Find cards you get, use obstacle cards to get out to Distance 8 before digging and heading back, making up any shortfall in supplies with Convince your team to keep going. For a list of which obstacle cards to play, and the order of preference for them (as well as a more detailed explanation of the grind more generally) see Moulin Expeditions (Guide).
This gives an EPA of between 4.18 and 4.43 depending on what equipment you have. If combined with writing Exceptional Monographs, which for 9 actions and 75 echoes worth of expedition materials give 119.5 echoes worth of various resources, EPA rises. If you can 100% relevant challenges (require 10/12, 10 or 10 depending on challenge), it gives an EPA of between 4.59 and 4.70. For a more detailed explanation of writing Monographs more generally see Writing a Monograph (Guide).
Larcenies with Parabolan Casing[edit]
The cycle
- In your , repeat the following sequence 9 times:
- Find the weakness in an opponent's defences
- Apply your own knowledge (Glasswork) or Allow your Acicular Squirrel to lead you (Kataleptic Toxicology)
- Sneak forward
- Case the place
Each subcycle yields 28 CP , so repeating 9 times is 252 CP for 36 actions.
- Enter .
- Do seven second-tier larcenies.
- The option on the Larceny at Balmoral card (Ambush a courier) is the most profitable, yielding 25.4 from the after Tinned Ham Arbitrage.
- The next best choices are on the Larceny at Jericho Locks card (Seize a jewel smuggler's boat) and the Larceny at the Magistracy card (Break into the offices of Baseborn & Fowlingpiece), both yielding 25 of items.
- Ignore the cards for larcenies in Ealing Gardens ( 24.4) and/or Burrow-Infra-Mump ( 22).
Total payout depends on how often can you draw Larceny at Balmoral. Without Burrow, this happens 1/2 of the time: the average payout is 25.2 per larceny, or 176.4 for 43 actions, a total of 4.10 EPA.
With Burrow, this happens 1/3 of the time: the average payout is 25.13 per larceny, or 175.93 for 43 actions, a total of 4.09 EPA.
Options at Zee[edit]
Khaganian Intrigue[edit]
By setting up a Cover Identity and zailing across the zee, you can play a number of Intrigues at Khan's Heart - however, you need to ensure that your Cover Identity and your chosen outfit permits you to 100% the challenges to increase you Intrigue in all hours in the Khanate day cycle. See the guide for details on such outfits. The main intrigues for earning money are:
- Sabotage a power plant: This requires 1-2, costs , takes 77 actions (1 to start, 75 to progress, 1 to finish), and yields (312.5 ) + 10 CP .
- Plant a mirror: This requires 4, costs , takes 15 actions (1 to start, 13 to progress, 1 to finish), and yields (62.5 ) + .
- Expand your network: This costs , takes 15 actions (1 to start, 13 to progress, 1 to finish), and yields a T6 item - which one depends on a specific agent/ range. Academic, Thief and Diplomat give , and respectively, each worth 62.5 . Dissident gives worth 125 (63.5 ). Tailor and Engineer give , and Physician gives , each worth . Since you can buy for 130 coinage, 125 can be abstracted as 60.096 . Aristocrat, Officer and Soldier give . Currently, it can only be cashed out though Cover Identities, spending to gain with Embed your cover identity in the story of a terrible humiliation option. Simplest way is to just Fence this identity, which gives per 5 backstory points (essentially 2.5 per 1 point). Since there’s no cap on backstory, the actions/additional rewards for raising Elaboration/fencing can be removed from calculation, and cashout can be abstracted as 1 action/65 per Mortification. Therefore, on average you spend additional 3 actions and gain 626.288 per 10 agents/0.3 actions and 62.6288 per 1 agent. Also, any recruited agent raises by 1.
All of these intrigues cost s, and there are two ways to get those:
- Intercept a cablegram: This takes 4 actions (1 to start, 2 to progress, 1 to finish) and yields + worth 25 (12.7 ).
- Tap a telegraph cable: This requires 10, takes 15 actions (1 to start, 13 to progress, 1 to finish), and yields + worth 25 (12.7 ) + either or , both worth 50 (25.4 ).
Possible combinations include:
- Intercept a cablegram - 4 actions yielding + 12.7 . Sabotage a power plant - costs , takes 77 actions, and yields 312.5 . In total - 81 actions, yielding 325.2 , which is 4.015 EPA.
- Tap a telegraph cable - 15 actions yielding + 38.1 . Sabotage a power plant 10 times - costs , takes 770 actions, and yields 3125 . In total - 785 actions, yielding 3163.1 , which is 4.029 EPA.
- Intercept a cablegram twice - 8 actions yielding + 25.4 . Plant a mirror 5 times - costs , takes 75 actions, and yields 312.5 . In total: 83 actions, yielding 337.9 , which is 4.071 EPA.
- Tap a telegraph cable - 15 actions yielding + 38.1 . Plant a mirror 25 times - costs , takes 375 actions, and yields 1562.5 . In total: 390 actions, yielding 1600.6 , which is 4.104 EPA.
- Intercept a cablegram twice - 8 actions yielding + 25.4 . Expand your network 5 times - costs , takes 76.5 actions, and yields 313.144 . In total: 84.5 actions, yielding 338.544 , which is 4.006 EPA.
- Tap a telegraph cable - 15 actions yielding + 38.1 . Expand your network 25 times - costs , takes 382.5 actions, and yields 1565.72 . In total: 397.5 actions, yielding 1 603.82 , which is 4.034 EPA.
With 20, An opportunity: (Opportunity) becomes available, which takes (12.5 ) and can yield 62.5 worth of items for 12 actions for ideally 4.17 EPA. The upside of this method is that the sequence of Opportunities is deterministic and good cycles exist which only give you sellable items. The downside is that you need s to do this. If you grind them by using options which yield Khanite currency, convert that into light bulbs and sell these in London, one Revelation will take about 3.66 actions. This will lower the efficiency of that grind to just about 4 EPA.
Favour-based Tribute[edit]
Requirements
- Requires a ship
- (from Port Carnelian)
- Spends favours
Expected EPA: 5.54 (6.48 with Rat market)
- Using opportunity cards, gain Favours with either the Docks, Bohemians, the Church, Society, or Criminals.
- Every time you have 7 favours of the same faction, exchange them for 23 Tribute. Assuming 1 action/card per Favour, you get 241-263 Tribute in 88 actions, depending on leftovers from previous trips.
- Zail to the Court in 6 actions.
- Turn 260 Tribute into 812.5/875 worth of items in 52/56 actions, depending on whether the tribute 260 or more.
- Return in 8/7 actions.
The 260 Tribute case occurs in 4/20 or 1/5 cases, so on average 147.8/148.8 actions for 825 - 5.54/5.58 EPA. Options which give more than 1 Favour per action and/or give additional profit (e.g. A Visit, More Larks with the Young Stags, The Calendrical Confusion of 1899, fate-locked Restoring souls from A Trade in Souls, The Tower of Eyes if you have Augmented Electrostatic Machine, professional payments, etc.) will increase the EPA further, while options that consume items and/or give menaces (faction cards, for example) will lower the EPA.
The Maze-Garden[edit]
- Located in Polythreme
- and ship recommended, but the tramp steamer also works.
- Modified and 200 is an advantage
- 1 recommended per cycle.
Expected EPA: 4.36-5.08 See The Maze-Garden (Guide) for full information on the carousel.
Options in Parabola[edit]
Forcing Stalemates[edit]
Expected EPA: 4.27 for midnighters and 4.05 for others
Gathering cycle:
- Remain current Colour
- Recognise an opening because of your professional affiliations
- Open with a familiar move
- Play a move you learned from the Boatman 5 times
- Choose an epaulette mate or Choose a queen mate
9 actions for a (5 ), mate (50 ) and 138 s. Per 60 cycles you spend 540 actions for 3300 and 8280 s.
Spending cycle:
- Remain current Colour
- Recognise an opening because of your professional affiliations
- Open with a familiar move
- Sabotage your side
- Play a move you learned from the Boatman 4 times
- Force a Stalemate (+125 scrip, -360 pawns)
9 actions and 360 s for a (5 ) and a (125 ). Per 23 cycles you spend 207 actions and 8280 s for 2990 scrip.
With 60 gathering and 23 spending cycles you have no leftover pawns, spending 747 actions for 6290 Scrip/3195.32 echoes - 4.277 EPA.
If you are NOT a , the value is lessened somewhat at 13: you lose the Vienna Opening and gain 10 (for a total of 148) Well-Placed Pawns. At 90 cycles (810 actions), get 4500 (in Queen and Epaulette mates) and 13320 s. Spending cycles (37 of them) are 333 actions and 37 s worth 4625 scrip. 1143 actions for 9125 Scrip/4635.5 echoes yields 4.055 EPA (7.983 SPA). This decreases with less aPoC; 12 aPoC gives 4.026 EPA (7.925 SPA). [NOTE: If you find the loss (or gain) of distasteful, you can use the Endgame 'Betray' action to switch to the opposite side. You can stay on those pieces as long as you want--the AtLoN check won't apply.]
Options tied to the Rat Market[edit]
Publishing Newspapers (Rat Market)[edit]
Expected EPA: 4.21
You can grind Uncanny Incunabula to sell during Skitter-Scatter, Dimmest-Dark or Freeze-and-Fall. Since the exact calculations are relatively complicated, they require a spreadsheet - below is a brief summary:
- Out of 104 copy editions, The finest kind of madness is the most efficient since all gained items can be upconverted into Incunabula - however, it requires you to have built a station at . Per two newspapers you spend 37 actions to get and . Accounting for spending (assumed to be gained through through buying Flasks of Abominable Salts and directing grants) and additional items (in particular, Storm-Threnodies are assumed to be sold on Rat Market as well) on successes and rare successes (assumed 10% chance with Journals and 5% chance with Implications, for the 54/6/40 and 57/3/40 success/rare success/failure spreads respectively), upconversion of those items and selling them in bulk in addition to newspapers themselves can be abstracted as 48.959 actions for 203.804 - 4.162 EPA.
- With slight editions, you spend 38.73 actions for and (0.8 ). Accounting for additional factors as described above, upconversion and selling in bulk in addition to newspapers themselves 52.606 actions for 221.414 - 4.208 EPA.
Mr Chimes' Grand Clearing-Out Unveiled activities (Rat Market)[edit]
Expected EPA: Up to 4.39
Each of the five activities has at least one reward that can be sold or converted into a sellable item.
- The Sunken Embassy with Give an inordinately enormous stack of documents to the Brass Embassy can produce either and for 18 actions (using Seek out spy-holes, requires 297 to 100%), or for 26 actions (using Peel fact from falsehood, requires 10 to 100%). Every 5 Revelations you can Compound your revelations into a Parabolan Parable (requires 12 to 100%) and then Sell a Parabolan Parable for 4000 Rat-Shillings, spending Revelations and 2 actions for 400 . 92/132 actions for 404/400 - 4.39/3.03 EPA.
- Underclay can produce:
- With Send an Unfinished Man to Mahogany Hall - and for 22/23.4/27 actions, using Commingle fact and falsehood (requires 15 to 100%), Provide a reference (requires 147 to 100% and assumes combination with Enter the house (White))/Stage an introduction (requires 209 to 100%) and Invent fabricated histories (requires 147 to 100%) respectively. Additional action to Sell a Captivating Ballad for 850 Rat-Shillings, turning Ballad into 85 . 22/23.4/27 actions for 87.7/86.2/85 - 3.98/3.68/3.14 EPA.
- With Send the Unfinished Man to teach Third City history - and for 7 actions, combining Extract confessions from the Calcified Men (requires 209 to 100%) with Commingle fact and falsehood/Provide a reference or Stage an introduction/Invent fabricated histories. Additional action to Sell a Storm-Threnody for 200 Rat-Shillings, turning Threnody into 20 . 8 actions for 22.6/22/21 - 2.82/2.75/2.62 EPA.
- Spider Symposium with Accept some of the finest linen can produce and for 22 actions (using Posit that language makes reality, requires 300 to 100%). Additional action to Sell a Parabola-Linen Scrap for 850 Rat-Shillings, turning Scrap into 85 . 23 actions for 88 - 3.82 EPA.
- L.B. Industries can produce:
- With Accept old coins as a reward - (each sells for 125 shillings/12.5 and 0 actions) and for 10 actions (using Assist with assembly, requires 297 to 100%). 10 actions for 27.1 - 2.71 EPA.
- With Accept a reverent thanks for your labour - and for 6 actions (using Assist with assembly, requires 297 to 100%). Additional action to Sell a Ratty Reliquary for 200 Rat-Shillings, turning Reliquary into 20 . 7 actions for 21.8 - 3.11 EPA.
- With Ask for a Crackling Device as payment - and for 22 actions (using Assist with assembly, requires 297 to 100%). Additional action to Sell a Crackling Device for 850 Rat-Shillings, turning Device into 85 . 23 actions for 88 - 3.82 EPA.
- Old Newgate with Taste honey from an inordinate amount of bees can produce either and for 24 actions on average (cycling between best randomizer options, Betray both sides/Hunt a swarm of drones/Commune with the bees, requires 209, 7 and 10 to 100% all three), or for 26 actions (using Set an ambush/Sow carnage, requires / 147 to 100%). Every 5 Revelations you can Compound your revelations into a Parabolan Parable (requires 12 to 100%) and then Sell a Parabolan Parable for 4000 Rat-Shillings, spending Revelations and 2 actions for 400 . 122/132 actions for 404/400 - 3.31/3.03 EPA.
Khaganian Intrigue (Rat Market)[edit]
- Expected EPA: Up to 5.135
Many intrigues and other activities have rewards that can be sold or converted into a sellable item. You can:
- Grind s to sell during Freeze-and-Fall, Lying-Longing or Candle-Canker.
- Intercept a cablegram twice - 8 actions yielding + 25.4 . Obtain a Corresponding Sounder - costs , takes 77 actions, and yields . Sell a Corresponding Sounder for 4000 Rat-Shillings - costs , takes 1 action and yields (400 ). In total: 86 actions, yielding 425.4 , which is 4.946 EPA.
- Tap a telegraph cable - 15 actions yielding + 38.1 . Obtain a Corresponding Sounder 5 times - costs , takes 385 actions, and yields . Sell a Corresponding Sounder for 4000 Rat-Shillings 5 times - costs , takes 5 actions and yields (2000 ). In total: 405 actions, yielding 2038.1 , which is 5.032 EPA.
- Grind to sell during Take-and-Toil, Wine-Whisper or Rise-and-Rake.
- Intercept a cablegram 4 times - 16 actions yielding + 50.8 . Expand your network 10 times - costs , takes 150 actions, and on average yields (62.5 ), (85 and 1 additional action to sell), (), (/63.5 ), (), (), (195 and 3 additional actions to sell as outlined in basic grind). ) can be abstracted as 3.846 , with 3.846 additional actions to sell them for 326.923 . In total: 173.846 actions, yielding 783.723 , which is 4.508 EPA.
- Tap a telegraph cable twice - 30 actions yielding + 76.2 . Expand your network 50 times - costs , takes 789.23 actions, and yields 3664.615 (as outlined above). In total: 819.23 actions, yielding 3 740.815 , which is 4.566 EPA.
- If you have a large number of , or already have a large then you can grind from the Sunken Embassy approaching 380 per action in large batches. From there you can head over to the Khanate to grind a large to use in the action Commission the manufacture of a Crackling Device which can be found in the Iron quarter of the Khanate. To source the coins you can use an Opportunity in the Khanate cycling through 5, 7, 9, and 6. This should give two items sellable for and along with about 60E of other materials. To source the Emetic Revelations you can buy from the Graphite Quarter and sell them back in London. Abstracting the numbers you get 10.61 actions to get the brass, 7.86 actions to get the coins (after accounting for actions to get coins to buy and sell bulbs for revs to continue grind), 1 action to commission the device and 1 to sell it resulting in (85 ) and 11.88 from other rewards. That gives a total reward of 86.88 /20.5 Actions which is is 4.725 EPA.
- Grind s to sell during Kifer-Caitiff, Skitter-Scatter or Dimmest-Dark. Besides the basic intrigue setup, requires 12 for maximum efficiency.
- Intercept a cablegram twice - 8 actions yielding + 25.4 . Plant a mirror 5 times - costs , takes 75 actions, and yields . Compound your revelations into a Parabolan Parable - costs , takes 1 action and yields . Sell a Parabolan Parable for 4000 Rat-Shillings - costs , takes 1 action and yields (400 ). In total: 85 actions, yielding 425.4 , which is 5.004 EPA.
- Tap a telegraph cable - 15 actions yielding + 38.1 . Plant a mirror 25 times - costs , takes 375 actions, and yields . Compound your revelations into a Parabolan Parable 5 times - costs , takes 5 actions and yields . Sell a Parabolan Parable for 4000 Rat-Shillings 5 times - costs , takes 5 actions and yields (2000 ). In total: 400 actions, yielding 2038.1 , which is 5.095 EPA.
- Grind s to sell during Dimmest-Dark, Freeze-and-Fall, Lying-Longing.
- Intercept a cablegram - 4 actions yielding + 12.7 . Sabotage a power plant - costs , takes 77 actions, and yields . Sell a Night-Whisper for 850 Rat-Shillings 5 times - costs , takes 5 actions and yields (425 ). In total - 86 actions, yielding 437.7 , which is 5.089 EPA.
- Tap a telegraph cable - 15 actions yielding + 38.1 . Sabotage a power plant 10 times - costs , takes 770 actions, and yields . Sell a Night-Whisper for 850 Rat-Shillings 50 times - costs , takes 50 actions and yields (4250 ). In total - 835 actions, yielding 4288.1 , which is 5.135 EPA.
The Court of the Wakeful Eye (Rat Market)[edit]
- Expected EPA: Up to 4.58 (6.48+ with cards)
You can grind s to sell during Dimmest-Dark, Freeze-and-Fall, Lying-Longing:
- Winsome Dispossessed Orphan grind gives you for 148/146 actions and 1296 . Additional 25 actions to Sell a Night-Whisper for 850 Rat-Shillings 25 times, turning them into 2125 . 173/171 actions for 829 - 4.792/4.848 EPA
- Mountain-sherd grind gives you for 924/920 actions. Additional 49 actions to Sell a Night-Whisper for 850 Rat-Shillings 49 times, turning them into 4165 . 973/969 actions for 4165 - 4.28/4.298 EPA.
- Favour grind gives you for 147.8/148.8 actions on average. Additional 12.2 actions to Sell a Night-Whisper for 850 Rat-Shillings 12.2 times, turning them into 1037 . 160/161 actions for 1037 6.481/6.441 EPA. Options which give more than 1 Favour per actions and/or give additional profit (e.g. A Visit, More Larks with the Young Stags, fate-locked Restoring souls from A Trade in Souls, The Tower of Eyes if you have Augmented Electrostatic Machine, professional payments, etc.) will increase the EPA further.
Combination Tribute Grinds[edit]
The above three methods all have disadvantages: Favours has the highest EPA but relies on card draws which limits realtime output, Orphans requires a large amount of starting cash, Mountain Sherds is fully grindable but has lower EPA, and both orphans and sherds have some inefficiency due to not getting 13 items on every trip. However, they can be combined in various ways to maintain full efficiency for each voyage while reducing some of the disadvantages of each individual tribute source, and to provide flexibility.
Requirements
- Same as above three
- The Minister of Culture
The below table assumes that all tribute is turned in for Night-Whispers, which are then sold to the Rat Market during the weekends that it buys them. Actions are listed for twenty tribute cycle/trips, including zailing with a zub or yacht (14 actions); for the zee-clipper, subtract 1 action per trip, and for the tramp steamer, add 2. Favours are assumed to require 1 action each, and have no other cost; in reality, occasionally drawing A Visit (or, after finishing Associating with a Youthful Naturalist, The Seekers of the Garden) will slightly reduce total actions for favours, but this will be balanced by the minor item/menace costs for many of them. Below table is for 20 cycles, with leftover tribute applied each cycle. If Favours are applied to top out at 260, 261, 262, 263--with the over-cap 1,2,3 tribute being discarded prior to the zail--the EpA increases somewhat.
Parabolan War (Rat Market)[edit]
- Expected EPA: 4.49
You can grind s to sell during Kifer-Caitiff, Skitter-Scatter or Dimmest-Dark. The strategy is largely the same, except that since Yourself campaign doesn’t give Parables, the next best thing is The Cats (for Parable you need to Encourage the Prince to reject the King's offer) - this campaign only adds two extra actions. Adding third to Sell a Parabolan Parable for 4000 Rat-Shillings makes the total 89 actions for 400 - 4.494 EPA.
Heists of the Wellspring (Rat Market)[edit]
- Expected EPA: 4.92
Requirements
Beneficial
By running expeditions to The Wellspring of Moulin with the Bandaged Navigator and the Miniature Major-General, you can gain in exchange for (on average) 21.96 actions and 10 . These flasks can be converted to via Search Parabola for a Place in the Neath, for an average of ~5.09 actions each with 280 , 12 . Gaining from Search Parabola for a Place in the Neath (average 4.07 actions, plus 1 and to enter Parabola) and then doing heists of The shaded estate on Hemlock Row (average 10.11 actions with 11 and 10.04 with 12, ~0.001% chance of a heist ending in failurea and thus ~0.0005% chance of a heist resulting in jail time without a quick switch to an outfit with -2 , or some social actions followed by a -1 outfit) gives and . Selling the at the Rat Market gives a total profit of 511.58 per expedition[1], for an EPA of 4.92 with 10 in the heist outfit and marginally higher EPAs with higher .
- ↑ Taking into account the A Lesser Find and profits from the expedition
Hearts' Game Atlases (Rat Market)[edit]
- Expected EPA: 5.21-5.35
In the right Rat-Season, playing Hearts' Game for 650 actions, taking the payout 26 times (26 actions) and using Crackling Trade (an additional 25 actions) makes 2125 E in Rat-Shillings plus 1625 E directly from selling Puzzling Maps. This is a total of 3750 E over 701 actions (zailing excluded), or up to 5.35 EPA. If zailing is included, a single cycle is 5.21 EPA, though this improves with stockpiling, piracy, and any other reasons to visit Khan's Heart. Spare Docks favours can also potentially be used to upconvert s for a hypothetical increase in EPA (maximum 5.46), but the opportunity cost is probably greater than the benefit. Note that the significantly quicker and simpler Bone Market grind gets 5.31 EPA, so it's better unless you're already going to Khan's Heart.
The New Mammoth Ranching / A New Pope[edit]
Wiki note: Due to changes on 23/02/2024, this grind is now much less profitable. Current EPA is unknown.
A multi-faceted grind with highest efficiency (overall EPA above 6.0) and steep requirements: A New Pope Guide
Weekly Actions[edit]
A Professional Reward[edit]
With a tier one profession, over 8.125EPA. With a tier three profession, 15EPA.
Every four weeks, you can assemble four Professional Perks to get one Trade Secret, which yields 125 for 11 actions, for a total of 11.36EPA.
The Rewards of Ambition (easy)[edit]
This gives at least 62.5 every four weeks after you have finished your ambition.
- Owners of A Vast Network of Connections, A Winged and Taloned Steed, or A Palatial Holiday Home receive items which can be sold at the Rat Market for 85, an additional 22.5 at the cost of another action.
- A Vast Network of Connections additionally gives 5, for a total of roughly 87.5.
- Owners of A Kitten-Sized Diamond will receive a if they have an (which is consumed), for a total of 74.5.
Accept a gift from Balmoral's Castellan (easy)[edit]
Requirements
All Castellans give you a gift worth 63.5 after Tinned Ham Arbitrage. If you fail the checks for the 2 actions traveling to/from Balmoral, 15.875 EPA. Succeeding those is worth 5, raising EPA to 18 EPA.
Receive the latest 'reports' from your 'agent' (easy)[edit]
- 107.5 over 28 actions at 3.83 EPA EPA Improved through Piracy to 6.41-6.59 EPA
Somewhat low yield compared to other weekly actions. Note that challenges in the Snares and the Salt Steppes can have very high requirements.
Requirements
- , the current end of Khaganian Intrigue (Guide)
- Sufficient stats to 100% challenges in the Snares and the Salt Steppes. With piracy, 14+ is needed for the snares to be worth considering. Having a Zubmersible or is an advantage due to safety.
- A source of or .
The Cycle
- Gain 510 x or 30 x (worth ~15E)
- Travel to the Khanate from London via Trace a route through the Snares (at least 9 actions, approx. 10, 9 of which have Zee-EPA (Using 4EPA as Zee-EPA))
- Pay for cargo in Surface money or Pay for cargo in Khaganian money (3 actions)
- Enter Khan's Heart
- Receive the latest 'reports' from your 'agent'
- Return to London via Trace a route through the Snares (at least 9 actions, approx. 10, 9 of which have Zee-EPA)
- Deliver the crate to the Widow 3 times
This results in 107.5 for 28 actions, for a total of 3.83 EPA plus whatever you happen to pick up at zee. This assumes you're able to get either Surface Currency or Khaganian Coinage at sell value. This can be done by selling the occasional skeleton to The Trifling Diplomat while passing by or by selling skeletons to A Dreary Midnighter in London when he is the Occasional Buyer. Buying with is slightly preferable, since can be used to buy Crackling Device and cashed out in the Rat-Market during its appropriate seasons. In fact, additional profit can be made by assembling a skeleton to sell to the Diplomat for Coinage for this purpose on your way to pick up the report.
Zailing around through and with a Clipper would make the challenges more manageable, but would add 3 zailing actions both ways for a total of 12 one-way. Assuming a Zee-EPA of 3.5, this gives an EPA of 5.76. Using a zub would give around 5.57, though this could be increased by taking the route through the Snares on the way back. If you're doing other things on your journey and can discount parts of the trip, this will increase further. Discounting the distance from London to Shepherd's Wash both ways (e.g. when doing tribute runs) would give the EPAs 6.29 and 6.09 respectively.
Board Meeting Dividends (moderate)[edit]
If you have a Pro-Labour Railway Charter, you can use Furnace or Cornelius in lieu of The Vicountess's 200 check. However, this will lower the final payout by 10 and lower EPA by 0.52.
The cycle
- Boomerang the Tentacled Entrepreneur
- Invite the Tentacled Entrepreneur to the Board
- Vote the Tentacled Entrepreneur off the Board
- 5 actions to convince your board members and declare victory
- Voting for dividends 2 times
- Vote a dividend to the shareholders
- 5 actions to convince your board members and declare victory
In the absolute worst case scenario (Ealing, no Luxuries, Pro-Labour Charter), this yields 100.08 for 19 actions (after Tinned Ham Arbitrage), a total of 5.26 EPA. Note that using will allow you to repeat this but lowers efficiency slightly to 5.13 EPA. With the Recommended qualities, this yields 156.08 for 19 actions, for a total of 8.21 EPA.
Board Meeting Charity (complex)[edit]
Requirements
Additionally at the start of the Board Meeting have:
Recommended
The cycle
- Propose special consideration to certain charitable groups
- Propose paying a dividend to the poor of the Hinterlands
- Propose special consideration to certain charitable groups
- Propose paying a dividend to the poor of the Hinterlands
- Propose special consideration to certain charitable groups
- Vote the Gracious Widow off the board
- Close the meeting
- Gain another 10CP Banditry to raise it to 8 (e.g. 5 x Feed information to the gang, net gain 17.5 ).
- When Rising Reports of Banditry autofires, select Ticket sales are going down.
- Invite the Gracious Widow to the Board
- If debt remains, get rid of it (via e.g. Raise funds for the railway, -12.5 )
In total, you have six items on the board agenda, each of which should take six actions. Combined with the rest of the actions this should take in total 42.66 actions.
Your net gain will be 196.66 Echoes, on average for 4.6EPA. If the are sold at the Khaganian Markets for s according to Money-Making/Lategame#Crackling Trade, the net gain increases to 254.35 at the cost of 2.88 actions, increasing to 5.6EPA.
Board Meeting Assistance to Parabolan War (moderate-complex)[edit]
If you're engaged in a Parabolan War campaign, you can use your weekly board meeting to fully advance one stage in the war. It also causes 8 x , but the weekly Time, the Healer is enough to remove those.
The following is slow: advancing one stage of the war per week, for a cash-out only after 5 weeks. So you'll only spend on average 8 actions per week, but those few actions end up being very profitable.
Requirements
- 3 other Board Members who are OK with Parabolan Warfare (e.g. The Drummer, September, or the Gracious Widow)
The cycle
Assume we start already at the end of one of the stages of the Cats campaign (i.e. is already 24), with no Ravages:
- Move into Parabola. Costs 100 x (only 50 for Silverers)
- Progress your campaign to the next stage.
- If you've just completed stage 4 (Along the Smoking Shore), ensure to Encourage the Prince to reject the King's offer.
- If you've just completed stage 5, collect your reward and start a new Cats campaign (no general).
- Return to London (0 actions)
- Assemble a board meeting:
- Propose you deploy your train in the Parabolan War on behalf of Cats
- The Viscountess automatically agrees.
- 4 extra actions to convince the other board members and declare victory.
- Wait for Time, The Healer to remove Ravages of the war.
This involves 5 board meetings (costing just 5 actions each), 5 entries into Parabola (costing 500 x Drops of Honey, which can be bought from the Bazaar for 20 Echoes), and 10 extra actions in Parabola to start a campaign, progress between the stages, and to collect the reward. The reward is a , worth 312.5 Echoes. So we have (312.5 - 20) Echoes / 40 Actions = 7.3125 EPA (or 7.5625 for Silverers).
The Rat Market
If you wait for Kifer-Caitiff, Skitter-Scatter or Dimmest-Dark, you can Sell a Parabolan Parable for 4000 Rat-Shillings (at the cost of an additional action). This means: (400 - 20 ) Echoes / 41 Actions = 9.268 EPA (or 9.512 for Silverers).
The Waters of the Wellspring (complex)[edit]
Somewhere between 4.55 and 4.8EPA, but only for es.
The basic cycle
- Travel to Moulin
- Pay off your Assistants with Hinterland Scrip if necessary
- Recruit a Miniature Major-General
- Recruit a Bandaged Navigator
- Set off
- Move away from Moulin and deeper into the Waste (5 actions)
- The Wellspring, at Last
- Bathe in the waters
- Collect some Wellspring water
- Cross the Threshold
- Look for the fingerking
- At some point, Sell your Wellspring water to a honey-den 4 times
You should always be able to make it to the Wellspring without incurring menaces. The basic cycle yields 48.20 and for 19 actions, for a floor of 2.53EPA. This is much lower yield than other weekly actions, but playing A Lesser Find and Something Nacreous will raise EPA to something around 2.8EPA.
If you keep track of when Viric Fades is going to trigger (by e.g. adding Bathe in the waters to your list of plans and adding a note stating the last time you did it), then you can arrive at the Wellspring shortly before Viric Fades, Collect some Wellspring water, and wait for Viric Fades so you can Bathe in the waters as normal. This allows you to gain an extra four flasks of Wellspring water, gaining 50 at the cost of 5 additional actions, raising the basic cycle to 4.09EPA.
Recommended
- Instead of Bathe in the waters, Dip your Cross in the Waters
Eventually
- Lend inventively to exchange for
- Noisily subvert the entire process to exchange for
This cycle yields after THA 95.63 for 21 actions, for a floor of 4.55EPA. Again, the true EPA will be slightly higher at around 4.8EPA.
The Heists of the Wellspring (complex)[edit]
About 6.0 EPA, more for some professions.
Requirements
- A willingness to risk imprisonment
- An outfit that grants 12 Monstrous Anatomy
Recommended
- An Alliance with the Big Rat
- Being either a Silverer or a Crooked-Cross
- An outfit that gets you to both 12 Glasswork and 12 Monstrous Anatomy (Monstrous Anatomy is more important)
- Max level Parabolan Defences or a willingness to use social actions.
There are two basic components to this grind: Getting Flasks of Waswood Wellspring Water and turning them into Hiding Places of Peculiar Items, then stealing those items.
Step one: The Expedition
The basic cycle for a Wellspring expedition is as follows:
- Travel to Moulin
- Pay off your Assistants with Hinterland Scrip if necessary
- Recruit a Miniature Major-General
- Recruit a Bandaged Navigator
- Set off
- Move away from Moulin and deeper into the Waste (5 actions)
- The Wellspring, at Last
- Bathe in the waters
- Collect some Wellspring water
- Cross the Threshold
- Look for the fingerking
Once there, mark the time you made the 'Bathe in the Waters' action. On the following week, arrive just before this time elapses and collect 4 Flasks of Waswood Wellspring Water. Then when Viric Fades triggers, you'll be able to collect 4 more flasks in a single visit.
As soon as you are in Parabola, turn all you flasks into Hiding Places of Peculiar Items via Search Parabola for a Place in the Neath, and perform Find the weakness in an opponent's defences once.
When you leave Parabola, you will be afflicted with That Which Was Taken. Choose the nightmares option and lower it with Hide in your Base-Camp, or choose either wounds or nightmares and lower the menace with social actions.
Step two: The Heist
The goal is to begin the heist with 2 pieces of Inside Information using as few actions as possible. To do that you need Casing... and the best ways to get that are:
Including transportation costs, Purchase some assistance with casing... is the superior choice, even for Silverers. Ignoring them, Find the weakness in an opponent's defences is slightly better. So get your Casing... from Parabola if you're there already or don't have access to the Big Rat, get it from the Big Rat otherwise.
Once you have your Casing... go ahead and start the heist from The shaded estate on Hemlock Row, buy 2 pieces of inside information, and put on your outfit that gives both a Monstrous Anatomy and a Glasswork of 12. Note that passing the Monstrous Anatomy check is more important, so if getting it up to 12 requires replacing some Glasswork items you should still do it.
Once you reach A Prize Achieved, select the Captivating Ballad and sell it at the Rat Market. Repeat the above until you are out of Hiding Places.
Professional Improvements
Monster-Hunters will find it easier to obtain the required outfit.
Silverers will find it easier to obtain the desired outfit and take less damage from The Mirror's Hunger. This raises EPA to about 6.1. They also pay less to enter Parabola, useful for characters without access to the Big Rat.
Crooked-Crosses may Dip their Cross in the Waters for additional resources. With Jericho Library 2 and a Submerged Rector this brings EPA to about 6.3.
Folly
Using Purchase some assistance with casing... only twice and purchasing no Inside Information will net about 7 EPA. While this looks tempting, performing the most difficult heist 8 times a week with no Inside Information will certainly land you in prison eventually. But perhaps you really are the best thief in the Neath.
Using up Bone Market Exhaustion (easy - complex)[edit]
See Assembling a Skeleton (Guide). Your Bone Market Exhaustion drops by four every week, which corresponds to 200E worth of bonus items.
Playing the bone market is rather intricate. Also note that exhaustion can lock you out of profitable non-exhausting use of the bone market for weeks (or years).
Using up Exhaustion is hard in the mid-game, but still profitable. Exhaustion in itself is around 200 per week. If you have from FEAST OF THE ROSE, you can use those, leading to a net gain of 160 for 2 skulls. The exception to the rule is when the Phantasist is around - then you'll be able to spend all your exhaustion through other means.
If you're a lategame player, you could use the least number of actions to use up as efficiently as possible, see Assembling a Skeleton (Guide)/Recipes#Amalgamy Bomb.
The Nadir (complex)[edit]
Highly random, but in the long-term, 8.13EPA.
Requirements
The Nadir can be entered once a week without spending Fate. Players are forcibly ejected from the cave when reaching whereupon it is not possible to return until the next visit from Time, the Healer (unless they wish to pay 50 Fate). Optimal play yields approximately 8.13EPA — see Cave of the Nadir (Guide)#Analysis for details