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Guard Dogs on the Sleuthetania
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MystieBlue
MystieBlue
Red-Nosed

Aug-6-2008 10:21

I have just lost my map for the cargo hold because I stumbled onto guard dogs 3 time...sigh Too bad I didn't side with the Tigers. I guess their influence extends to the ship's cargo hold. Are the Steepers asleep at the wheel?? Can't they find something to neutralize these dogs!! Darn it wait till I get back to Shangri La you useless Steepers grrrr.

Replies

Aknas
Aknas
Con Artist

Aug-8-2008 03:28

Can we have both? :D

topkebab
topkebab
Lucky Stiff

Aug-8-2008 05:04

Maybe that can be a new super skill costing +++ skill points ... enough charm to suck up to both sides! :D That would be cool

Jesse Hunter
Jesse Hunter
Bibliophile

Aug-8-2008 07:04

"and still most of the boards says that it's better to join with the Steepers, because you need that Hostage Negotiation more often"

With the new easier to avoid pirates and another venue for trap detection, I'm not sure the boards are giving sound advice.

Consider: As recommended, I keep very detailed maps - with pace counts and pattern seeking and comparisons to all my old maps (which I keep) - but I'm still at less than 40% success in the catacombs - 60% failure. Does anyone encounter pirates 60% of the time when they travel? No, the encounter rate is much much lower than that. Raw numbers? I’ve done two VHs and countless multi city treasure hunts since I got access to Cairo and encountered pirates three times. I’ve failed in the pyramids 16 out of 26 attempts.

Forgetting the discrepancy in frequency, the reset cost is what frustrates me the most. “Oh, I’ve encountered pirates! Now I must click on the “Travel to Shanghai” link one more time! Maybe twice!” vs “I trapped out of the pyramids! Now I must work enough cases to gain more skill points, return to Cairo, travel somewhere else, work more cases, return to Cairo again, and map my way through the catacombs from scratch!” Repeating these missions has cost me far more cases lost due to travel than I would have given up to the pirates. Unlike with the new, friendlier pirates, travel costs are non-refundable.

Jesse Hunter
Jesse Hunter
Bibliophile

Aug-8-2008 07:04

I take credit for my decision to side with the Steepers " I’m the one that made it after all. At the time it was an informed decision. I had visited numerous sleuth websites. I had read the boards, which do indeed recommend the Steepers more frequently (mostly for the skill, although the other small perk played a part for at least a few sleuths). With the benefits of Hostage Negotiation recently diluted by the change in pirate behavior and the addition of the cargo holds, I feel obligated to make some noise on the boards. The game has changed, but the “STEEPERS STEEPERS STEEPERS!!” threads remain in archives. It’s not such a clear choice anymore.

On consideration, I will thank Ben for the cargo holds " not because it makes things more fair for Tigers fans " I clearly don’t believe that. But because it make things fairer for those sleuths who haven’t chosen yet. Before this new addition, one had to side with the tigers based wholly on reputation and recommendation (or just at random), since the Shangri La choice had to be made long before one could ever set foot in the pyramids and form a first hand decision on the merits of Trap Detection. That may play a part in why the Steepers started off and remained so popular " nearly everyone experiences a traumatic piracy in their formative stages of Sleuthing. Now the trap experience is available too.

Undecided Sleuths!!! Ride the Sleuthetania; try the cargo holds " several times. Travel the world and get pirated " several times. Know that one of these frustrations can be eliminated, while the other one will continue to trouble you for the duration of your career. Take the boards into account, but make the decision base on YOUR experience.

ctown28
ctown28
Huntsman

Aug-8-2008 07:12

All that being said Jesse, if I had to make the decision today based on the two of them, knowing what I know now, I would still side with the Steepers ans still recommened them over the Tigers to the other players.

topkebab
topkebab
Lucky Stiff

Aug-8-2008 08:00

Jesse, I feel for you, I really do, that's a horribly high failure rate in the pyramids. However ask anyone anywhere "why" and the answer always is "it's like, random man!!!" Of my 2 dets, both have been pirated 7 times... one has TD and been pirated 7 times in 100 trips without HN... the other one was pirated 7 times in 19 trips before getting HN. (Good thing I didn't choose the otherway round, right?!)

That being said, the game has changed a lot even in the short time I've been around, someone always cries for things to be changed and then when they are, someone else disagrees with the change.

Anyway... I personally feel that Tigers give the better deal unless you either don't bother with the pyramids at all, or already have all that you need from the pyramids and hence don't have to bother with them at all.

"Down with the rebels! Grrr"
;)

Aknas
Aknas
Con Artist

Aug-8-2008 08:25

I know a lot of us who sided with the Steepers has difficulty navigating inside the pyramids. What I don't understand is this: What is the use of the map? Why do we have to get the second part of the map if we can't actually use it inside the pyramids?

I will be very thankful if someone can explain that to me. :D

turtledove
turtledove
Gopher to the Sleuth Gods

Aug-8-2008 08:54

I totally agree with you Jessie on the time consuming efforts we put into those pyramid maps only to lose them and having to start all over again. I've given up on them for now although my useless, for now, skill points keep piling up.

As far as the Sleuthetania is concerned I'll sail her for the express purpose of building up my 2 contacts there. As for the maps, I'll just leave them in my Mission bio to be used in the distant future..lol

I just want to say that I still like my Host Neg skill. It does come in handy on those rare occasions when I encounter Pirates...grrrrr

miss snopes
miss snopes
Demon of the Due Date

Aug-8-2008 12:45

While I understand the "randomness" of success in the catacombs, I tend to think it a slightly different "random". I don't believe it's so much a trip specific random as it is random for each det. I may be wrong but things seem to come in shifts for my det. I either have a streak of good avh's or a streak of bad ones. I will have a day working regular cases where everyone clams immediately all day and others where everyone is trying to by my dinner. I never know when these things are going to start or when they will end thereafter but it is definately not a case by case thing-it's either all or none.


In the catacombs....which I loathe at the moment (yep, HN here)....I have had ZERO success. I must not have the patience Jesse has because I've been in 5 times and the ropes are too tight for me to try again anytime soon. On the flipside, Aknas (who also has HN) now has her own office in the catacombs to display all of the wonderful treasures she finds there. Currently, she has been successful 7 of 9 times and is the 2nd top book collector (Ben being the first).


I absolutely do believe this game is random in that noone is behind the wheel deciding who will or won't be able to do things but I do think the game randomly flags (for lack of a better term) dets to associate them with things in the game. These things could be as trivial as similar contacts (my det became associated with notes (pe) & waiters/waitresses & priest/missionary (we)) or something as big as success rate in the catacombs.

woody2
woody2
Old Shoe

Aug-8-2008 13:23

when I first went to the catacombs in cairo I was successful about 1 in 3 times then after 9 trips I went 5 straight where I was successful before I had another failure. I cant even get a chance to go on the ship, I havent got the right favs since I got my contacts. I would love a chance to meet the guard dogs and Im sure if I ever get a chance I wont be successful here as it does seem that the longer you try the less successful you are but Ill be back to try again.

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