
Change Points
Edit
Step one is to understand the basic mechanic of gaining Change Points. The amount of CP (change points, basically experience) you earn for your main attributes (Watchful, Shadowy, Dangerous, Persuasive) is based on the difficulty of the challenge you're trying (see Table 1).
If your main goal is to get change points, there's nothing stopping you from using reduction gear to get harder challenges, and thus more CP on average. A Talkative Rattus Faber pet is notable as the most potent stat-reducing equipment.
| Table 1 | CP on success | CP on failure | CP on average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straightforward (91-100%) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Low-Risk (81-90%) | 2 | 1 | 1.9 |
| Very Modest (71-80%) | 2 | 1 | 1.8 |
| Modest (61-70%) | 2 | 1 | 1.7 |
| Chancy (51-60%) | 3 | 1 | 2.2 |
| Very Chancy (41-50%) | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Tough (31-40%) | 4 | 2 | 2.8 |
| High-Risk (11-30%) | 5 | 3 | 3.6 |
| Almost Impossible (1-10%) | 6 | 4 | 4.2 |
The CP needed to raise any attribute a single level is typically the same as the level it's reaching. To go from level 1 to 2 requires 2 CP, and going from level 2 to 3 requires 3 CP. The total CP to move from level 0 to 3 is 6 CP since it's 1 + 2 + 3. This means that even though an action dropping you from level 3 to 0 looks like more of a hit than dropping from level 6 to 5, they are in fact the same.
- Once you reach level 70 in the main attributes (Watchful, Shadowy, Dangerous, Persuasive), every level thereafter also requires 70 CP. Attaining level 80 will require 70 CP, and so will level 150. Dropping whole levels from 81 to 80 or 95 to 94 will also be the same amount of CP: 70.
CP Calculator
Edit
template = Template:Calculator/CP form = CPCalc result = CPCalcResult param = level0|Initial Level||int|0-250 param = level|Target Level|200|int|1-250 param = threshold|Level Threshold|70|int|50-70
Strategies
Edit
There are three main strategies to increase the stats efficiently:
- The high item-gain, low-CP route: aim for close to 90% (but never more!) in any challenge. This way you advance quickly through stories or item grinding, but still retain a decent ~2 CP gain for each action (twice from what you would have gotten had you been doing the actions at 91-100% success chance). At exactly 90% chance of success your average CP yield would be 1.9 per action.
- The low item-gain, high-CP route: To get about 2x the CPs you'd get from the above method, do actions at at least High-Risk difficulty, either as close to 30% as possible, or at 10% or less. At 30% success your CP gain is 3.6 per action, and only slightly less if your chance drops a single % or two, while you still gain about 1/4 of the max loot. OTOH, if you can't get near the 30%, try to get to 10% or below instead. E.g., with with 11% success you'll get only 3.22 CP/A, but 10% is a sweet spot with 4.2 CP/A, dropping to a solid ~4 CP/A as you get to 1%; you won't get any noticeable loot this way though. It's best to do this with storylet branches that doesn't penalize you with main Menaces, because it's plainly risky and much more expensive due to the need to reduce them later on. After a while these are hard to find, but e.g. Mahogany Hall has many with a penalty of certain tune going into your head only.
- The 100%-only route: Use social actions to gain CP, and only do challenges when you can 100% them. (If you can't, level more until you can, or until you hit 200.) This is the technically optimal strategy, although some may not find it as interesting. The reason is that at 90%, each challenge takes an average of 10/9 actions to complete, and gives 2 + 1/9 CP. So compared to 100%, it takes an extra 1/9 of an action and gives an extra 10/9 CP, for an incremental gain of 10 CPA. But all the social actions give much more than 10 CPA, so you out-do the benefit by leveling faster and then never having to repeat challenges.
If one accounts for the menaces gained through failure of whatever action is being ground, it should be noted that the efficiency of each of the routes varies, depending on how much actions are required to negate the increase in menaces. To be more precise, CP/A gain rate is maximized at 10% success chance if it takes 1.78 actions or less to compensate ill effects from a single failure, and it gets better at 90% success chance if it takes 1.79 actions or more.
Progress Stat Leveling
Edit
Progress stats, such as Casing or The Hunt is On, or even item-grinding (where the "stat" is items gained), are a little more complicated. Here, the probability of any given result is often a more important consideration than the experience points also generated (with, again, the secondary consideration of Menaces). The type of mathematical calculation used to compare these types of options is called "Expected Value." You multiply the reward for each outcome with the percent chance that it will happen, and then add those results to find the average reward over many actions. (If the action is actually multiple actions, as in Preparing for a Big Score, you will then need to divide it by that number of actions to compare it to single-action rewards.)
So, given two possible results: S%*SR + F%*FR = AR, where S = success, F = failure, and A = average as the number of attempts approaches infinity. Remember that when you're doing math operations, something like "85%" should be changed to "0.85". This can also be written as Σxp(x), but a lot more people can handle the algebra-style way of writing it. If you have three or more possible outcomes, such as a rare success or failure (think cat boxes), just do the multiplication for that too--just make sure all your percentages add up to 1 (in decimal notation) or 100% (in percent notation). Here is a handy Expected Value Calculator; "Event" is the possible reward and "Probability" is the percent chance of it happening (works with both whole and decimal-of-one inputs).
Training Professions
Edit
Training professions are a good way to gain 250 cp of stats, approximately 3.6 full levels, in a single highway stat once a week so long as that stat is no more than level 70. Please note that the level check for whether or not these stat gains are applied by the profession payment checks your natural unmodified stats, not your overall modified stat value including equipment. This changed in February 2014; previously, you could stay in a training profession until your stats were around 100 by using a Talkative Rattus Faber and other stat-reducing equipment to reduce the quality being trained below 70.
When your stats are above 70, use the choose a new profession storylet in your lodgings under the main menu of write letters to quit your training profession. If you have no profession quality, then a new pinned storylet will appear in your lodgings to allow you to adopt a training profession. You can enroll in any of the available training profession from this storylet at any time, even after receiving a professional payment. The cash in storylet for professional payments only checks what your current profession is, not what it used to be. Changing professions will not cause you to lose your earnest of payment should you currently have one. For more information on each training profession please follow the links below.
Watchful Profession: Enquirer
Persuasive Profession: Minor Poet
Shadowy Profession: Pickpocket
Dangerous Profession: Tough
Second Chances
Edit
At your Lodgings, you can trade 5 second chances for between 1 to 50 CP in main stat, and 1 CP in two other's stats, for an average of 27.5 CP per trade-in. Relevant actions are:
- Watchful: Attend to Matters of Watchfulness and Nightmares - Every stone
- Shadowy: Attend to Matters of Shadows and Suspicion - Tricks traps and treats
- Dangerous: Attend to Matters of Danger and Wounds - The strength of scars
- Persuasive: Attend to Matters of Persuasion and Scandal - An easy confidence
Notice this means that if an action is spent to gain a second chance the second chance is roughly worth 4.5 cp (4.16 in main stat) per action after trading in. This is better then can be achieved on average from normal adventures, even with the riskiest approach. his means someone focused on CP grinding over income should usually opt for outcomes that lead to second chances whenever possible, and do everything they can to decrease the odds of failing challenges that will yield second chances. In particular the Everyone deserves a second chance option of the A contact in the Great Game has a tale for you card offers 1 of each second chance, plus 7.5 echos worth of items and other benfits, in exchange for two favour: the great game. Other cards exist which allow earning a Favor:Great Game for roughly 1 turn. Thus 2 turns of earning favor, one turn of Everyone Deserves a Second Chance, and (eventually) a turn spent trading in second chances for stats works out to four adventures for four second chances and thus of 4.5 CP per turn while also maintaining a decent echo per turn ratio. This is one of the few options offering close to max CP/turn effiency that doesn't sacrifice income and generally should always be done whenever possible by those emphasising CP growth. Unfortunately as it's tied to cards it can not be reliably farmed.
Patron
Edit
It's possible to receive a class from a patron, which offers up to 70 CP for a single action while the protégé has a (modified) level below 100 in said stat. The attribute that is boosted depends on the specialisation of the patron. This will expend Free Evenings, which are limited to five a week, and also require finding a patron willing to sacrifice an action on training their protege when they receive nothing in return. To find a patron one must Seek a Patron! The best way for finding patrons willing to help is by asking in one of the Fallen London forums.
Social Actions
Edit
These options require a friend, or dummy account, to assist in trading actions, but offer the easiest grinding oppertunity.
Each type of second chance can be farmed via Social Actions. While the mechanics vary slightly depending on second chance generally for each action spent on the relevant CP either multiple second chances or ~10 CP will be earned. All of them average well above 10 CP/A, although the details are complicated and sometimes depend on other qualities.
Since second chances can be traded in for an average of 5.1 CP per action spent earning them, and the CP earned is even higher, this means that trading social actions with a friend can offer some of the highest reliably farmable CP/action. This comes at the expense of not gaining any potential income outside of the CP.
Social actions which require expending Free Evenings exist which offer higher then 1 second chance per turn in rewards. These could theoretically be used to farm further CP if the Free Evenings are not otherwise being spent on training from a patron.
Storylets
Edit
Locations
Edit
Watchful Related Locations
Edit
Ladybones Road ( 1 - 70 )
The Forgotten Quarter (60+)
The University (80 - 110)
Wilmot's End (110 - 120) Wilmot's End is also a Persuasive and Shadowy related location.
Corpsecage Island (120 - 130) Corpsecage Island is also a Dangerous related location.
Bullbone Island (120 - 130) Bullbone Island is also a Dangerous related location.
Grunting Fen (120 - 130) Grunting Fen is also a Dangerous related location.
Hunter's Keep (120 - 130?) Hunter's Keep is also a Persuasive related location.
Shadowy Related Locations
Edit
Spite (1 - 70) & (120+)
The Flit (60 ~ 100)
Mahogany Hall (100 ~ 120) Mahogany Hall is also a Persuasive related location.
Wilmot's End (110 ~ 130) Wilmot's End is also Persuasive and Watchful related location.
Doubt Street (120 ~ 130)
Polythreme Streets (120-130) Polythreme is also a Persuasive related location.
Dangerous Related Locations
Edit
Watchmaker's Hill (1 ~ 70)
Wolfstack Docks (60 ~ 100)
The Labyrinth of Tigers (97 ~ 125)
The Broad Unterzee
Corpsecage Island (120 ~ 130) Corpsecage Island is also a Watchful location.
Ladybones Road, with On the Velocipede Squad (120 ~ 130)
Persuasive Related Locations
Edit
Veilgarden (1 - 60)
The Shuttered Palace (60 - 90)
The Empress' Court (85 - 100) Special location - check the page for more detail.
Mahogany Hall (100 - 120) Mahogany Hall is also Shadowy related location.
The Foreign Office (120 - 130)
Hunter's Keep (120 - 130) Hunter's Keep is also Watchful related location.
Polythreme Streets (120-130) Polythreme is also a Shadowy related location.