Talk:Prepare for an Expedition in the Forgotten Quarter/@comment-178.0.69.0-20180806202833/@comment-25597633-20180811164231

Agreed. If you have excess favours to spend, this is where to spend them, but otherwise the labor is the way to go. My analysis assumes that, like me, you have about a bajillion unused whispered hints and the other random items already.

I went the recruiting clay men route. It's only 10E worth of items, which I have already in bulk. It costs a bit to get in the Clay Quarters, but that's negligible if you buy in bulk. Further, the recruitment raises Ruthlessness by 3CP, which you can sell off (Repent your ruthlessness) for Direful Reflections.

I assumed actions at a value of 2E, and came out with 2.17E per crate going this route. (Actions: Buy clay man (1), burly guards and porters (1), repent (0.3).  Echos: Buy clay man (10), repent (-12.5*0.3=-3.75).  2E/A * 2.3A + 10 - 3.75 = 10.85E for 5 crates)