Khaganian Intrigue (Guide)/Opportunity cycles

This is a list of interesting cycles in An Opportunity in the Khanate.

Red edges yield local currency
Green either local or echoes
Other colours yield echoes only.
Pink gives Hillmover,
Blue gives Faction Favours.

Moving along a node is assumed to take 12 actions: one to start the intrigue, ten to grind, and one to finish it. It also takes one Emetic Revelation, which cuts into profits a bit. (For simplicity, we will assume that the player character has a surplus of these they would otherwise sell for 12.5E, if they have to be grinded, I would first have to get the Emissary running again.)

For brevity, cycles are given as a list of nodes/vertices, $(n_{0},n_{1},n_{2},\ldots ,n_{N})$. This means: go from $n_{0}$ to $n_{1}$, then from $n_{1}$ to $n_{2}$, ..., and finally return from $n_{N}$ to $n_{0}$.

Note that 1 x Bottle of Airag, 1 x Salt Steppe Atlas, Much-Needed Gap, and 1 x Oneiric Pearl are considered better than 125 x Khaganian Coins, as they can all be sold for that.

Also, Khaganian Coins (and Oneiric Pearl, Much-Needed Gap) can not be traded for Echoes directly. The best route is through buying Crackling Devices for 130x Khaganian Coins each and then sell those at The Rat Market, but this is limited by Rat Market mechanics.

Some options yield Favours for Hell, Society or Revolutionaries and only 60E worth of items. None of these are very particularly fast options for grinding those Favours specifically. The shortest cycle for Warn the Eagle (Hell) is (1, 2, 4, 11), the shortest for Warn the Revolutionaries is (5, 7, 9, 6) and the shortest for Leak their identities to the Khagan (Society) is (1, 3, 9, 10). All of these are of length 4, so you will spend 48 actions per favour gained. However, those actions are still valuable outside of the Favours. In fact, combining the Favour-giving options with the Favour turn-ins at Jericho yields some of the highest-valued cycles possible.

Notable Cycles

(1, 3, 9, 10): Best Overall Cycle, and Society Favours

Debrief him, and then betray him
Alert the Leopard
Leak their identities to the Khagan
Leak this information to the Khagan

This is the best cycle for overall value if the Rat Market is included. However, Liberation of Night fans might notice that this will lower Advancing the Liberation of Night by 2 CP every cycle, so players who prefer to keep that high might want to interrupt this cycle to play the second best one instead (see below). It is also the shortest cycle that includes Favours: Society.

Rewards are as follows:

• 6 Vital Intelligence
• 1 Parabola-Linen Scrap + 1 Vital Intelligence
• 5 Vital Intelligence + 20 Moves in the Great Game + 1 Favours: Society
• 125 Assortment of Khaganian Coinage + 1 Vital Intelligence

For a total of of 13 Vital Intelligence + 1 Parabola-Linen Scrap + 20 Moves in the Great Game + 1 Favours: Society + 125 Assortment of Khaganian Coinage. Converting KCs to Crackling Devices through the Midnight Market, cashing out Society Favours at Jericho Locks, and selling all to the Bazaar yields a total of 302.625 for the investment of 4 Emetic Revelations. Selling available items to the Rat Market instead yields a total of 393.865 , again for the investment of 4 Emetic Revelations.

Assume that one accrues a total of +8 CP of Taimen's Attention over 48 actions and sources the Emetic Revelations from the weekly report for an extra .2 actions per Revelation. In this case, depending on Rat Market utilisation, this cycle's EPA ranges between 5.17 and 7.05 EPA if you subtract the value of the Emetic Revelation inputs. If instead you calculate with the assumption that acquiring and spending the Emetic Revelations is part of the cycle instead of an input cost- a reasonable assumption if you intend from the outset to spend your weekly reports on intrigues- the EPA ranges between 6.02 and 8.07.

(9, 6, 5, 7): Revolutionary Favours, a good deal of Liberation of Night, and an Assortment of Khaganian Coinage

Vouch for the Foppish Revolutionary
Warn the Revolutionaries
Leave him in his state
Proceed as planned; let the Bazaar have these books

This is the fastest cycle for increasing Advancing the Liberation of Night. It is also the shortest cycle that includes Favours: Revolutionaries and Assortment of Khaganian Coinage. Although it is not the most profitable option for Favours: Revolutionaries and Advancing the Liberation of Night. That title instead goes to (3,9,6,5,4) (see below).

(3,9,6,5,4): The same but slower, more profitable, but less Assortments of Khaganian Coinage

Alert the Leopard
Vouch for the Foppish Revolutionary
Warn the Revolutionaries
Snap him out of his daze
Distract the Navy's investigators

An alternative to the (9, 6, 5, 7) cycle for both Advancing the Liberation of Night and Favours: Revolutionaries which is slower at doing both but slightly more profitable overall. However, each cycle only produces 250 Assortment of Khaganian Coinage.

(2, 8, 7, 9, 6): Bottle of Airag grind

Arrange for the Forlorn Captain's desertion
Leak the location of the warehouse to the Bazaar
Proceed as planned; let the Bazaar have these books
Vouch for the Foppish Revolutionary
Leak this information to the Tortoise

This 60 action cycle includes 2 Bottle of Airag, resulting in 30 actions per Bottle. Combined with recruit a A Scorned Diplomat for 15 actions between steps when airs are available (on average once every 2 full cycles), this can be increased to an average 27 actions/ Bottle

(2, 8, 6): Hillmover grind

Arrange for the Forlorn Captain's desertion
Observe without interfering
Leak this information to the Tortoise

This is the shortest cycle that includes a Hillmover. At 36 actions per cycle, however, this will take significantly longer than hunting Warblers in Parabola but it will be significantly more profitable. Unfortunately, it is one of the least profitable cycles overall, and there exist other cycles that include the Hillmover which are more profitable but even longer.

(1,3,9,6,2,4,11): Slower but more profitable Hillmover grind, with some Hell Favours

Debrief him, and then betray him
Alert the Leopard
Vouch for the Foppish Revolutionary
Leak this information to the Tortoise
Tell the Forlorn Captain the truth
Warn the Eagle
Put the Mummified Priest on a London-bound ship

This is the most profitable cycle that includes a Hillmover. With 84 actions per cycle though, it is far from the fastest way to obtain them, but it is one of the most profitable options overall, if you don't mind being away from the London / Upper River card decks for multiple days.

Overview of all possible cycles

The table below lists all possible cycles and their value, as well as any change in Advancing the Liberation of Night (LoN) gained from them. EPA values assume that 130x Khaganian Coins are converted to echoes by buying Crackling Devices at the Khaganian Markets, and that all Favours are turned in at Jericho.

Opportunity Cycles

Cycle	Length (Actions)	EPA	EPA without Rat Market	LoN
(1,3,9,10)	48	6.89	5.1	-2
(1,3,9,10,11)	60	6.86	5.08	-2
(1,2,4,3,9,10)	72	6.79	5.1	-2
(1,2,4,3,9,10,11)	84	6.79	5.08	-2
(3,9,6,5,4)	60	6.69	5.11	10
(1,3,9,6,5,4,11)	84	6.66	5.12	10
(9,6,5,7)	48	6.66	5.09	16
(1,2,8,6,5,4,3,9,10,11)	120	6.63	5.11	3
(1,2,8,7,9,10,11)	84	6.62	5.08	-1
(1,3,5,7,9,10,11)	84	6.62	5.07	4
(1,2,8,6,5,4,3,9,10)	108	6.62	5.12	3
(1,2,4,3,5,7,9,10,11)	108	6.62	5.07	4
(1,3,9,6,5,7,10,11)	96	6.62	5.08	15
(1,2,8,6,5,7,9,10,11)	108	6.61	5.1	9
(1,2,4,3,9,6,5,7,10,11)	120	6.61	5.08	15
(1,2,8,7,9,10)	72	6.6	5.1	-1
(1,3,5,7,9,10)	72	6.6	5.08	4
(1,2,4,3,5,7,9,10)	96	6.6	5.09	4
(1,3,9,6,5,7,10)	84	6.6	5.09	15
(1,2,4,3,9,6,5,7,10)	108	6.6	5.09	15
(1,2,8,6,5,7,9,10)	96	6.59	5.11	9
(1,2,4,11)	48	6.59	5.13	0
(1,3,9,6,2,4,11)	84	6.57	5.11	3
(2,4,3,9,6)	60	6.55	5.09	3
(1,2,8,7,9,6,5,4,11)	108	6.52	5.11	11
(1,2,8,6,5,4,11)	84	6.45	5.14	5
(1,3,5,7,9,6,2,4,11)	108	6.44	5.1	9
(1,2,4,3,5,7,10,11)	96	6.44	5.07	5
(1,3,9,6,2,8,7,10,11)	108	6.43	5.08	3
(1,2,8,6,5,7,10,11)	96	6.43	5.1	10
(3,9,10,11,8,6,5,4)	96	6.42	5.14	3
(1,2,4,11,8,6,5,7,9,10)	120	6.42	5.15	9
(1,3,5,4,11)	60	6.41	5.12	0
(2,4,3,5,7,9,6)	84	6.4	5.08	9
(1,3,9,6,2,8,7,10)	96	6.39	5.09	3
(1,2,4,3,5,7,10)	84	6.39	5.08	5
(1,2,8,6,5,7,10)	84	6.39	5.11	10
(1,2,8,7,10,11)	72	6.39	5.08	0
(1,3,5,7,10,11)	72	6.39	5.06	5
(1,2,4,11,8,7,9,10)	96	6.38	5.14	-1
(8,6,5,7,9,10,11)	84	6.36	5.13	9
(2,4,3,9,10,11,8,6)	96	6.33	5.13	-4
(1,3,9,6,5,4,11,8,7,10)	120	6.32	5.14	10
(2,8,7,9,6)	60	6.32	5.09	4
(1,2,8,7,10)	60	6.31	5.09	0
(1,3,5,7,10)	60	6.31	5.08	5
(1,3,5,4,11,8,7,9,10)	108	6.3	5.14	-1
(3,5,4)	36	6.29	5.09	0
(8,7,9,10,11)	60	6.28	5.13	-1
(2,4,3,5,7,9,10,11,8,6)	120	6.27	5.11	2
(1,3,9,6,2,4,11,8,7,10)	120	6.25	5.13	3
(4,11,8,7,9,6,5)	84	6.24	5.16	11
(1,2,4,11,8,6,5,7,10)	108	6.23	5.15	10
(2,4,11,8,7,9,6)	84	6.14	5.15	4
(1,2,4,11,8,7,10)	84	6.13	5.15	0
(8,6,5,7,10,11)	72	6.08	5.14	10
(1,3,5,4,11,8,7,10)	96	6.07	5.14	0
(2,4,3,5,7,10,11,8,6)	108	6.07	5.12	3
(4,11,8,6,5)	60	6.04	5.21	5
(2,8,6)	36	6.03	5.13	-2
(2,4,11,8,6)	60	5.88	5.2	-2
(8,7,10,11)	48	5.83	5.13	0

Closing Remarks

There is no Hamiltonian cycle for An Opportunity in the Khanate. The longest cycles have length 10, (1, 3, 9, 6, 5, 4, 11, 8, 7, 10) is one of those.

As all of the nodes have even in-degrees and out-degrees (both are two for every node), and FBG thankfully made the graph strongly connected as well, the existence of an Euler circuit is guaranteed. Visiting the vertices (1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 8, 7, 9, 6, 2, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 9, 10, 1, 2, 4, 11) in that order is an example of such. It should take 264 actions to traverse, longer than writing the initial version of this article did.