Sleuth Home - Message Boards - Newbie Questions

Nov-22-2009 04:14

I'm struggling at Really Really Hard and above... I have Advanced Thread and Hair already. I can usually solve RRH, but almost never solve anything harder than that.

I'm thinking that adding advanced foot or handwriting would be very beneficial because I could further narrow my suspect pool, hwever I have heard research is a very useful skill too.

Skill points are coming slowly now, so while I will get all of these somrday, I was wondering which skil everyone thoght would be the most effective to help me gain back some momentum?

Toughness:1
Smarts:6
Charm:6

Skills:
Hypnotism
Intermediate Sweet Talking
Interrogation
Advanced Rule Bending
Advanced Thread Analysis
Advanced Hair Analysis
Flirting

Nov-22-2009 06:23

Your most important skill to get now are beyond any doubt:
Advanced Sweet talking!
(There is really nothing to wonder about)
After that you want to get Research, (as it will let you know about one suspect with false alibi who is not the killer, thereby narrowing down your list of possible killers, without having to use a question)
Also, you will want to adjust your charm score up if you are able to... ;-)

Otherwise, I belive you have been using a pretty wise strategy. - and just the fact that you realize that skill points are comming slowly, and that it will be important what skill you choose is a very good sign :-)

Nov-22-2009 06:25

You may even consider joining an agency. That too might help you with solving cases, or rather give you accesss to share your cases with someone who might help you because they have some contacts...

Nov-22-2009 08:42

I disagree with Irene here. I think the research skill is invaluable, it takes one of your fake alibis and eliminates them, thereby giving you one less person that you have to question and/or get an alibi for. After that I would get the advanced smart skills and then get the the rest of your charm skills. Of course thats just me.

Nov-22-2009 09:58

You will probably get many different answers, because everyone has their own way of doing things.

I'd actually go for the advanced smart skills first, because knowing the detail of the evidence will help you to figure out who it belongs to. Also, the highest amount of 'smart gear' in Sleuthville will not help you if you don't have ALL the advanced smart skills.

I definitely agree with Irene that you need to raise your charm score. If you do, holding off on getting your advanced charm skills won't hurt too much, as long as you do get them before you move up to much higher difficulty cases.

Nov-22-2009 10:33

I would without a doubt get your advanced smart skills first, I think you'll find things much easier if you do. After that I would get the rest of your advanced charm skills and then get research after that.

Again this is just my personal opnion and others will have different ideas. It all depends on how you play the game.

Nov-22-2009 11:00

Firstly,get the advanced smart skills,then research. There's nothing better then a developed analyzer then a researcher who has no clue about evidence. Get your charm levels up with some better equipment and you'll solve those cases in no time!

Nov-22-2009 14:42

get the auto-case solver. oh wait there isn't one of those. nope, I've got nothin'.

Nov-22-2009 17:20

(Luv the pic, Ctown. Thought you said no funny stuff for avatars, Squirrel?? ;-D )

Like Ani said, you're gonna get a billion and one answers here. They're all valid (mostly--ignore Nephi's ;-). You'll need to decide which works with your particular skills, your personality, and your style, and which would prob'ly work best for you. All of these people are highly-seasoned, very exceptional detectives, and are among the best that Sleuth has to offer. So none will steer you wrong. (And even Squirrel's got a whole lot more between 'is ears than nuts, despite the answer he gave you. ;-)

Like Irene, I'm a bit surprised that you're not signed up with SOME kind of agency, 'specially since you're subbed. I think you'll find that it'll make life a whole lot more easy on yourself if you try this road, even if it's only til you get on your feet a bit. Your agency-mates can help you handle cases that you hit a brick wall on, they'll have access to equipment you don't (and may even give you some), and include you in on a whole bunch of new fun stuff that you can't do on your own. They can also hand off cases to you, and help you get those elusive skill points that much sooner (that'd be sweet, huh?? ;-)

As for which skill, I'd say it's a toss-up between the Advanced Sweet-Talking and Research. Adv. Sweet will definitely let you advance up the food chain beyond your Really Really Hard levels currently. Research cuts out one false suspect from your list from each case. Sooo, like I said, it's a toss-up. Either way, both are high on the priority list, I'd say.

Anyway, good luck. If you're lookin' for a job, come see me. ;-)

Hope all that helps.

Breit

Nov-23-2009 16:43

So, I was up pretty early the morning I posted this and actually ended up making my decision before the first reply. I went with the advanced analysis skills (footprints to be specific) and right away this has made a huge difference for me with the IH mysteries. I even solved a SH mystery, although i spent more on bribes than I made, but hey I solved it. I'm making short work of RRH.

My thought process leans more towards logical elimination (I liked games like Clue and Guess Who!) so this works for me. Also I figure that researc will only eliminated 1 suspect, however more Analysis skills can potentially eliminate multiple suspects in a single swoop.

Thanks for all the input though. Seems like a great community. i played both Noir and Shades for about 10 days. Then I decided that despite the excellent production values in Shades, there was something about Noir that I was enjoying more so I decide to get a 3 month sub.

Not really sure how to pick an agency and i wouldn't want to join one just to help myself unless I was genuinely contributing something.

Nov-24-2009 13:49

Well, the best way to pick an Agency is to go have a look at some of 'em. A good way to do that is through three ways:

1. Go have a look on the Recruiting Board. You'll find groups that need people all the time. You can find out what they're looking for (if it's anything specific besides being Subbed), how long they've been in business (tends to be an indication of their reputation and dedication, both to sleuth and to their members), and who's on their Roster board (click on the person who posted the ad, that'll take you to that person's profile, and the name of their agency [that one lights up at the top of the screen in yellow]. Click on the agency name, and voila, you're at the roster. ;-) From there, you can have a look at how active the agency is (if all their members are Unsubbed and Inactive, it's prob'ly not one you wanna go with), how experienced their members are (the more the better), and how old and experienced the Agency itself is (that'll be directly on the Agency page. It'll tell you when the agency was formed, how many fame points it has [basically the equivalent of a detective's experience points], and how many hunts they've solved [most will usually have at least a few under their belt]. From there, you can contact (via PM) the ones you're interested in, see if they're hiring (most are willing to take a look at you, though they may not be actively hiring at the moment), and start getting a feel for the ones you may like.

2. Have a look at the High Scores List. Most people see all the Lists for Detectives, but many tend to miss the ones off on the right side of the screen that deal with Agencies. There's six total, I think, one for each main Sleuth city, and an overall high scores one. These are THE most active agencies in Sleuthville. They do a LOT of casework, hunts, and AVH stuff, but they also tend to expect to expect their members to be active regularly (and will kick out the ones who aren't). Go through the same process I mentioned in #1. Find some groups you like, and contact them. See who bites on the hook, so to