Editing Money-Making/Lategame

__NOCACHE__ <!-- been having issues with this page updating; forbid caching-->{{Audience|LatePoSI}}
{{GuideNeedsWork|Reason=Needs updated information following the latest patch.}}
{{ExpiringSoon
|Year=2024
|Month=May
|Day=28
|Detail= The Rat Market will undergo substantial changes. See the [https://www.failbettergames.com/news/upcoming-adjustments-to-the-rat-market blog post] for details.
}}

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 [[Money-Making/Sources|the Sources page]] for an exhaustive list of all grinds.

== Optimal EPA Strategy ==
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===
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.

{{IL|Tinned Ham}} can be purchased for 125 {{IL|Hinterland Scrip}} (the equivalent of {{e}}62.50) at the Upper River Exchange, and then sold in London at the Bazaar for {{e}}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 {{e}}0.508 per Scrip instead of the usual {{e}}0.5. 

The exception is that {{IL|Preserved Surface Blooms}} do not need to be sold for Scrip, as they already have a favourable conversion factor of {{e}}0.83 per Scrip.

===Rat Market===
Main article: [[The Rat Market (Guide)]][[File:Moneymaking_-_endgame.png|center|700px]]By the nature of the Rat Market, any grind requires either operating only during the corresponding {{IL|The Rat-Season:|Appearance=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 {{IL|Rat-Shilling}}s for {{IL|Rostygold}} 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 {{e}}15 profit.

'''Fabulous Diamonds:''' When {{IL|Phase of the Rat-Moon:|Appearance=Moon Phase}} is Soft and {{IL|Direction of the Rat-Wind:|Appearance=Wind Direction}} is North, {{IL|Fabulous Diamond}} are available at the Rat Market. Assuming you have progressed the Railway to {{IL|The Hurlers}} and have {{IL|Hurlers Commercial Development}} 2, you can increase the EPA of any Rat Market grind that week by cashing out in Fabulous Diamonds and [[Trade one Fabulous Diamond|trading]] them (all at once, to minimise travel actions) in the Hurlers. Each trade by itself is 10 EPA: {{e}}5 from {{IL|Hinterland Scrip}} to {{IL|Tinned Ham}} conversion, and {{e}}5 from {{IL|Stolen Kiss|2 x|Appearance=Stolen Kisses}}.
{| class="article-table mw-collapsible <includeonly>mw-collapsed</includeonly>" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="12" style="text-align:center" | {{IL|The Rat-Season:}}
|-
!style="text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Freeze-and-Fall|<mark>}}<abbr title="Freeze-and-Fall">FaF</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Lying-Longing|<mark>}}<abbr title="Lying-Longing">LL</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Candle-Canker|<mark>}}<abbr title="Candle-Canker">CC</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Wink-and-Wane|<mark>}}<abbr title="Wink-and-Wane">WaW</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Vial-Vane|<mark>}}<abbr title="Vial-Vane">VV</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Take-and-Toil|<mark>}}<abbr title="Take-and-Toil">TaT</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Wine-Whisper|<mark>}}<abbr title="Wine-Whisper">WW</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Rise-and-Rake|<mark>}}<abbr title="Rise-and-Rake">RaR</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Nitre-Knife|<mark>}}<abbr title="Nitre-Knife">NK</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Kifer-Caitiff|<mark>}}<abbr title="Kifer-Caitiff">KC</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Skitter-Scatter|<mark>}}<abbr title="Skitter-Scatter">SS</abbr></mark>
!style="border-left:1px solid gray; text-align:center"|<!--
-->{{World Quality Condition|Quality=The Rat-Season:|Value=Dimmest-Dark|<mark>}}<abbr title="Dimmest-Dark">DD</abbr></mark>
|-
|{{IL|Uncanny Incunabulum|Appearance=}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{IL|Storm-Threnody}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{IL|Ratty Reliquary}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Unlawful Device}}|Discordant Ripples - Mouth Law|Moulin Expeditions}}
| colspan="2" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Uncanny Incunabulum}}|Source: Newspapers (4.21)}}
|-
| colspan="2" |{{TableList|{{IL|Night-Whisper}}|Khaganian Intrigue (5.13)|Favour-based Tribute (7.08)}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Parabola-Linen Scrap}}|Spider Symposium (3.82)}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Crackling Device}}|Khaganian Intrigue (4.56)|Fossilised Apes (5.34)}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Captivating Ballad}}|Heists of the Wellspring (4.92)}}
| style="border-left:1px solid gray;" |{{IL|Night-Whisper|Appearance=}}
|-
| colspan="3" |{{TableList|{{IL|Corresponding Sounder}}|Khaganian Intrigue (5.03)}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Scrap of Ivory Organza}}|Hearts Game (4.8)}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Cartographer's Hoard}}|University Laboratory}}
| colspan="3" style="border-left:1px solid gray" |{{TableList|{{IL|Parabolan Parable}}|The Sunken Embassy (4.39)|Khaganian Intrigue (5.09)|Parawar (4.49)}}
|}

===Crackling Trade===
Items which can be sold for 125 {{IL|Assortment of Khaganian Coinage}} in Khan's Heart can be used to buy {{IL|Crackling Device|Appearance=Crackling Devices}} at a ratio of 26:25. These items all have an Echo value of {{E}} 62.5, but the Crackling Devices can be sold at the rat market for 850 {{IL|Rat-Shilling|Appearance=Rat-Shillings}}, valued at {{E}} 85. In aggregate, this turns 26 items with {{E}} 62.5 sale value into 25 items with {{E}} 85 sale value in the right {{IL|Rat-Season}}. All conversions except Rat-Market sales are actionless, and batch sizes are unlimited, so travel costs can be amortized (or combined with collecting {{IL|A Report from the Khagan's Palace}}). The whole conversion thus takes 25 actions, or 25/26 actions per item. The value of the input items here is 26x{{E}} 62.5={{E}} 1625, and the result is 25x{{E}} 85={{E}} 2125, at the cost of 25 additional actions. This is relevant for any grind resulting in the following items: {{IL|Bottle of Fourth City Airag: Year of the Tortoise}}, {{IL|Much-Needed Gap}}, {{IL|Oneiric Pearl}}, and {{IL|Salt Steppe Atlas}}. ({{IL|Captivating Ballad|Appearance=Captivating Ballads}} can be sold for AKC as well, but they can also be sold directly to the Rat Market for 850 {{IL|Rat-Shilling|Appearance=Rat-Shillings}}, so exchanging 26 of them for 25 {{IL|Crackling Device|Appearance=Crackling Devices}} would be a waste.) It is also a decent way to spend {{IL|Carved Ball of Stygian Ivory}} 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==
===Professional Activities===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Professional Activities}}

===Hearts' Game===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Hearts' Game}}

==Upper River Grinds==
===Moulin Expeditions (and monographs)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Moulin Expeditions}}

===Larcenies with Parabolan Casing===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Larcenies with Parabolan Casing}}


==Options at Zee==
===Khaganian Intrigue===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Khaganian Intrigue}}

===Favour-based Tribute===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Favour grind (using cards)}}

===The Maze-Garden===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|The Maze-Garden}}


==Options in Parabola==
===Forcing Stalemates===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Forcing Stalemates}}


==Options tied to the Rat Market==
===Publishing Newspapers (Rat Market)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Publishing Newspapers (Rat Market)}}

===Mr Chimes' Grand Clearing-Out Unveiled activities (Rat Market)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Mr Chimes' Grand Clearing-Out Unveiled activities (Rat Market)}}

===Khaganian Intrigue (Rat Market)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Khaganian Intrigue (Rat Market)}}

===The Court of the Wakeful Eye (Rat Market)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|The Court of the Wakeful Eye (Rat Market)}}

===Parabolan War (Rat Market)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Parabolan War (Rat Market)}}

===Heists of the Wellspring (Rat Market)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Heists of the Wellspring (Rat Market)}}

===Hearts' Game Atlases (Rat Market)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Hearts' Game Atlases (Rat Market)}}

===The New Mammoth Ranching / A New Pope===
{{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: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zjgbbNw_mvDiK_dAY_Ld7lTSDD3QGU1POFAaJ6NXh-8/ A New Pope Guide]

==Weekly Actions==
===[[A Professional Reward]]===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|[[A Professional Reward]] (easy)}}

===[[The Rewards of Ambition]] (easy)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|[[The Rewards of Ambition]] (easy)}}

===[[Accept a gift from Balmoral's Castellan]] (easy)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|[[Accept a gift from Balmoral's Castellan]] (easy)}}

===[[Receive the latest 'reports' from your 'agent']] (easy)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|[[Receive the latest 'reports' from your 'agent']] (easy)}}

===Board Meeting Dividends (moderate)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Board Meeting Dividends (moderate)}}

===Board Meeting Charity (complex)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Board Meeting Charity (complex)}}

===Board Meeting Assistance to Parabolan War (moderate-complex)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Board Meeting Assistance to Parabolan War (moderate-complex)}}

===[[The Waters of the Wellspring]] (complex)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|[[The Waters of the Wellspring]] (complex)}}

===The Heists of the Wellspring (complex)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|The Heists of the Wellspring (complex)}}

===Using up Bone Market Exhaustion (easy - complex)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|Using up Bone Market Exhaustion (easy - complex)}}

===The Nadir (complex)===
{{#lsth:Money-Making/Sources|The Nadir (complex)}}