What's the way to make cash?

[highwayman]

Okay, I'm probably just dumb and I've only played the game a little bit, but I had a lot of problems on getting echoes. Im super unsure if there is a cargo aspect in this game?

[Gregstrom]

There is, but you can make money by progressing some stories too. This isn't primarily a trading game. Early on, port reports are very useful.

[highwayman]

Originally posted by hulle41:

There is, but you can make money by progressing some stories too. This isn't primarily a trading game. Early on, port reports are very useful.

Thanks for the response, but I've only been geeting 5 or so echoes for each report.

[Gregstrom]

Try some more distant ports
The ones just outside London only give 5, but as soon as you venture out to Venderbight or beyond you get a bit more. Importantly you also get fuel, which is worth an extra 10 echoes. Interactions within each port can set you up to start earning better money, too.

[Painkiller]

The Last Curator in Venderbight and the Principal of Coral in Port Cecil (I think) are great ways to earn money. There is also red honey and sunlight smuggling. But exploring is still the best way to advance.

[highwayman]

Alright, tried to get to a farther away port, but got shredded by some kind of shark.



But thank you very much for the answers, very kind.

[Gregstrom]

That's okay. Death happens a lot in the 'Neath. Your next captain will know more, and live longer.

[aleq_wars]

Try the salt lions, where you'll get like 900 or 1200 echos. And of course, explore a lot, reports cover your traveling costs and then you could do the tomb colonists tour with another 1200 if you can get back with all of them.

[Jakobis]

Here's the ways I've encountered to make money with some amount of efficiency:
1: Port reports. Go to all the ports, get port reports and deliver them to the admirality. It's not super profitable, but besides getting you money and fuel, you will also know where things are for later. Pretty important.
2: Strategic information. Ask the Admiral if there is anything in particular he needs. He will tell you to go somewhere to fetch him som Strategic Information, which can be sold for 150. If you get two (you don't have to sell them to get the next pickup location), you can combine them along with Moves in the Great Game, a Zee-Story or a Memory of Distant Shores for vital intelligence, which can be sold for 350 (or 500 hundred if you sell to the diplomat, which will have consequences for London).
3: Carry sphinxstone. You need 20 cargo space, and a 200 echo deposit, but it is usually fairly close, and you get 500 for a profit of 300 per shipment. You can't keep doing it forever though, but it's good money while it lasts.
4: Treasure in Visage. Go to Visage, and keep taking story options until you get a captivating treasure and have to leave. It only works once, but it's 1000 echoes for doing virtually nothing.
5: Last tour. In Venderbight, after resolving your Tomb Colonist from London, you can do the Last Tour. This consists of taking 12 Tomb Colonists around to see stuff in the Underzee. You get 100 echoes for each that survives and a bonus for bringing back all of them. This can be repeated indefinitely. If you actually lose a colonist, you can always try to fight Albino Morays which will sometimes give you a new colonist.
6: Cargo. This is actually not a very useful tip for early game as you need the cargo ship for it to be viable. As far as I know, there are only two good routes. The first is coffee runs to the surface. You go to the Cumean Canal, and travel to the surface (costs 12 fuel and 3 supplies), and go to Vienna. Here, you can sell coffee to a cafe for a 80 echoes a sack. The offer is limited though, so stick to 59 sacks for the first run, and as many as you could possibly carry in the second. The shop will sadly burn down after this.
6b: The second cargo route is wine, coffee, parabola. Start by purchasing mushroom wine in London (or Adam's way if that's closer) for about 20 echoes each. Take them to the Empire of Hands and exchange them for coffee (this requires acess to the court). Go to Irem and trade the coffee for Parabola Linen which can be sold in Fallen London for 60 echoes a piece. Repeat indefinitely.


However, my personal favorite is Wisp-ways exploration. This is by far the most efficient way of getting money, and for some reason, I've never seen anyone talking about it. The efficiency depends on how close Mangrove College is to Fallen London, but if it's as close as can be, it can be ridiculously profitable. Take all the crew you can get your hands on, along with as many Foxfire Candles you can hold, and head for mangrove college. If you get to the end of the wisp-ways, you will always get a positive outcome, although the exact result will differ. There's three results worth 150-300 echoes and three worth a whopping 1000 (Captivating Treasure, Searing Enigma and Lump of Blue Scintillack). Depending on your luck and the distance to London, you can make good amounts of money over time (you need to depend on the law of averages for this to work, due to the risk of getting less profitable results).

My guide for getting through the wist-ways:
-Never go in with less than 5 candles. 5 may not be enough, but it usually is.
-Most challenges can cost you a crew member. Never take them if you have exactly 50% crew left (you really don't want the debuff).
-The one other challenge will cause you a wound if you fail. NEVER take it if you have two wounds, as it will kill you.
-Never follow the lights. The potential gain is not worth the potential loss.
-Never unleash Blemmigans on Mangrove Island. It will turn an otherwise harmless event into a challenge that can kill crew.
-Remember to use Something Awaits You to gain supplies, so you don't have to purchase them.
-Upgrade to the freight ship when you can afford to. Remember to keep some money for a new expedition.
-Make sure you have a town house in Fallen London so you can heal your wounds.

These are my best

[highwayman]

Originally posted by Jakobis:

Here's the ways I've encountered to make money with some amount of efficiency:
1: Port reports. Go to all the ports, get port reports and deliver them to the admirality. It's not super profitable, but besides getting you money and fuel, you will also know where things are for later. Pretty important.
2: Strategic information. Ask the Admiral if there is anything in particular he needs. He will tell you to go somewhere to fetch him som Strategic Information, which can be sold for 150. If you get two (you don't have to sell them to get the next pickup location), you can combine them along with Moves in the Great Game, a Zee-Story or a Memory of Distant Shores for vital intelligence, which can be sold for 350 (or 500 hundred if you sell to the diplomat, which will have consequences for London).
3: Carry sphinxstone. You need 20 cargo space, and a 200 echo deposit, but it is usually fairly close, and you get 500 for a profit of 300 per shipment. You can't keep doing it forever though, but it's good money while it lasts.
4: Treasure in Visage. Go to Visage, and keep taking story options until you get a captivating treasure and have to leave. It only works once, but it's 1000 echoes for doing virtually nothing.
5: Last tour. In Venderbight, after resolving your Tomb Colonist from London, you can do the Last Tour. This consists of taking 12 Tomb Colonists around to see stuff in the Underzee. You get 100 echoes for each that survives and a bonus for bringing back all of them. This can be repeated indefinitely. If you actually lose a colonist, you can always try to fight Albino Morays which will sometimes give you a new colonist.
6: Cargo. This is actually not a very useful tip for early game as you need the cargo ship for it to be viable. As far as I know, there are only two good routes. The first is coffee runs to the surface. You go to the Cumean Canal, and travel to the surface (costs 12 fuel and 3 supplies), and go to Vienna. Here, you can sell coffee to a cafe for a 80 echoes a sack. The offer is limited though, so stick to 59 sacks for the first run, and as many as you could possibly carry in the second. The shop will sadly burn down after this.
6b: The second cargo route is wine, coffee, parabola. Start by purchasing mushroom wine in London (or Adam's way if that's closer) for about 20 echoes each. Take them to the Empire of Hands and exchange them for coffee (this requires acess to the court). Go to Irem and trade the coffee for Parabola Linen which can be sold in Fallen London for 60 echoes a piece. Repeat indefinitely.


However, my personal favorite is Wisp-ways exploration. This is by far the most efficient way of getting money, and for some reason, I've never seen anyone talking about it. The efficiency depends on how close Mangrove College is to Fallen London, but if it's as close as can be, it can be ridiculously profitable. Take all the crew you can get your hands on, along with as many Foxfire Candles you can hold, and head for mangrove college. If you get to the end of the wisp-ways, you will always get a positive outcome, although the exact result will differ. There's three results worth 150-300 echoes and three worth a whopping 1000 (Captivating Treasure, Searing Enigma and Lump of Blue Scintillack). Depending on your luck and the distance to London, you can make good amounts of money over time (you need to depend on the law of averages for this to work, due to the risk of getting less profitable results).

My guide for getting through the wist-ways:
-Never go in with less than 5 candles. 5 may not be enough, but it usually is.
-Most challenges can cost you a crew member. Never take them if you have exactly 50% crew left (you really don't want the debuff).
-The one other challenge will cause you a wound if you fail. NEVER take it if you have two wounds, as it will kill you.
-Never follow the lights. The potential gain is not worth the potential loss.
-Never unleash Blemmigans on Mangrove Island. It will turn an otherwise harmless event into a challenge that can kill crew.
-Remember to use Something Awaits You to gain supplies, so you don't have to purchase them.
-Upgrade to the freight ship when you can afford to. Remember to keep some money for a new expedition.
-Make sure you have a town house in Fallen London so you can heal your wounds.

These are my best

Wow, thanks!
I'll try those later and thank you very much for your time.

[Specific Beef]

Best quick way at the start:

If there's a bandaged colonist who wants you to take him/her from London to Venderbight, take the job. Load up on Mushroom Wine (you won't earn much from this in Venderbight, but it's something). Sell your Captains' Guide for more cash. Collect News from your lodgings.

Go North. Drop off the colonist (this may result in a special event, netting more money - if not, sell the colonist). Sell wine. Get port report via exploration of other options. Anywhere along the way with a dock (circle of light) is worth a visit to get more port reports, if it's not too far out of your way.

Go South-East. At the Salt Lions, collect sphinxstone. Take it to London, find the contact, sell it. Submit your port reports, get the rewards. By now, you should have quite a lot of cash but you might want to do one more trip for sphinxstone first (there will be a new event when you reach London, however). It's time to buy a new ship, or make improvements.

In my experience, you are going to wish you had better guns, but it's better to dodge/stealth your way past enemies than to use guns, and the money you would have spent is almost always better spent elsewhere. You might need a townhouse or mansion for certain story-related advantages too.

The above loop is not infinite and will break down, but it's definitely the first thing you should exploit.

[highwayman]

Thanks for the tips! Cheers!

[Aleccia Rosewater]

explore, explore, explore. There are a LOT of one-time large-sum-of-money oppertunities out there. I know the unterzee is scary, but you probably won't personally die if your captain does. Don't just putter around in safe(ish) waters near port.

They say there are some things man was never meant to know. But if you believed that, you won't be down here in the Neath.