Leveling (Guide)

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What needs work: More information needed on levels beyond 130.

This guide explains the basics of leveling your main attributes— Watchful, Shadowy, Dangerous, Persuasive—and directs you to the appropriate places to grind each attribute depending on your current level.

Leveling basics[edit]

If you're already familiar with how leveling works, feel free to skip this section.

The basic unit of leveling is Change Points (CP). CP is awarded by most attribute-based challenges, as well as certain other types of actions (e.g., finishing major grinds or storylines, trading in Second Chances, and other sources we'll get to later).

For each level of an attribute, you need a certain number of CP to reach the next level. Up to level 70, the CP needed to raise an attribute a single level is the same as the level it's reaching—to go from level 5 to 6 requires 6 CP; from level 6 to 7 requires 7 more CP, etc. From level 70, each successive level only requires 70 CP.

The main sources of main attribute CP, especially early in the game, are attribute-based challenges. These award varying amounts of CP depending on the difficulty of the challenge, which is calculated based on your current level in that attribute:

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


Challenges award CP even if you fail them—and, as the table shows, you can actually earn more CP by failing at harder challenges than by succeeding at easier ones.

This opens up a couple of basic strategies for attribute-based challenges:

  1. Aim for 90% to get 1.9 CP per action. This is ideal if you want to keep progressing fairly quickly through a story, since you'll still pass most checks, but it gives you nearly twice as many CP as you'd get from 100% checks. You'll generally earn more items per action as well.
  2. Aim for 10% to get 4.2 CP per action. If you don't mind failing a lot of actions, and taking longer to get through the story, you get significantly more CP from Almost Impossible checks. This is best done when you have difficult challenges available that don't give Menaces on failure.

We'll look at some additional strategies, such as those involving Social Actions, in a later section.

Note that you can manipulate your odds somewhat using stat-increasing and -reducing equipment. A particularly helpful item for this is the Talkative Rattus Faber, who reduces each of the four main attributes by a whopping 25 levels while equipped—meaning you can continue to do high-difficulty actions even once you've leveled up quite a bit. Once you are sufficiently rich, consider investing in a Weasel of Woe. This little scamp reduces the four main attributes by a respectable 300 levels (and also has other woeful effects) when equipped, so if all you care about is training your stats, wear the weasel and take low-level 0% checks.

If you're aiming for a certain level in an attribute, use the calculator below to determine the total number of CP needed to get there from your current level.

CP Calculator[edit]

 template = Template:Calculator/CP
 form = CPCalc
 result = CPCalcResult
 param = level0|Initial Level||int|0-250
 param = level0cp|+ CP|0|int|0-70
 param = level|Target Level|200|int|0-250
 param = levelcp|+ CP|0|int|0-70
 param = threshold|Level Threshold|70|select|50,70
Calculator loading...


Now that you know the basics of leveling and how to optimize your CP gains, let's talk about which actions are the best for grinding depending on your current levels.

Locations[edit]

This is a quick-reference list of the locations associated with certain attributes, and the general level range of the challenges there. Some of these locations also have challenges based on additional attributes.

Watchful[edit]

Shadowy[edit]

Dangerous[edit]

Persuasive[edit]

Early-game leveling (5–100)[edit]

(Note that there's no formal designation for early-, mid-, and late-game; for the purposes of this guide, we'll call anything up to level 100 early-game, 100–200 mid-game, and 200+ late-game.)

When you first start the game, you shouldn't worry too much about leveling, and certainly not at the expense of enjoying the story. You'll do most of your leveling just by playing through the early storylines, and there are several mechanics built into the early game that make this easier.

Training Professions[edit]

For more information, see Professions (Guide).

There are four professions you can choose from as soon as you have lodgings, each of which is associated with a particular main attribute. Pick your first profession from the storylet Adopt a Training Profession, in Your Lodgings.

Attribute Training Profession
Watchful Enquirer
Shadowy Pickpocket
Dangerous Tough
Persuasive Minor Poet

Each week, when Time, the Healer visits (beginning a week after your arrival), your profession will bring you A Professional Reward containing E 5 worth of items and 250 CP in the associated attribute, up to level 70. Once you reach this milestone, it's time to switch to a new training profession: Resign from your Profession under Your Social Engagements, and then return to the Adopt a Training Profession storylet to select a new one.

Making Your Name[edit]

For a more thorough walkthrough of these storylines, see Making Your Name (Guide).

Early in the game, you'll notice certain storylets stand out due to their gold-bordered images, and titles beginning with the phrase "Making Your Name". Each of the four starting locations has a Making Your Name story that starts there, and each story primarily involves challenges based on the attribute associated with that location.

Location Attribute Making Your Name
Ladybones Road Watchful A Name in Seven Secret Alphabets
Spite Shadowy A Name Whispered in Darkness
Watchmaker's Hill Dangerous A Name Scrawled in Blood
Veilgarden Persuasive A Name Signed with a Flourish

These are storylines that can only be played through once (though some related storylets remain after you've completed the main story). When you complete a stage of one of these stories, you'll get a pretty significant amount of CP in the associated attribute.

Making Your Name is essentially the main storyline of the early stages of the game, and these stories also open up new locations in London with more difficult challenges that will help you continue to level up.

Combined with the training professions, these stories should make it fairly easy for you to reach the first major leveling milestone: level 100 in each attribute, which makes you eligible to become A Person of Some Importance (PoSI). (See the associated guide for more details.)

In addition to the large CP boosts you get for finishing a stage of a Making Your Name story, there are also regular storylets that are ideal for leveling (especially using the high-difficulty strategy mentioned above) without risking Menaces. All the storylets in this list are repeatable, and have no requirements other than the Making Your Name level, if applicable, and access to the location where they appear.

Watchful Challenges
Level Storylet Location MYN Level
13 Frequent the public house across from Clathermont's Tattoo Parlour. Ladybones Road Alphabets 1
15 Note down descriptions of the visitors Ladybones Road Alphabets 1
18 See if you can get the names of the visitors. Ladybones Road Alphabets 1
18 Get casual work sweeping the parlour floor – and listen in Ladybones Road Alphabets 1
21 Snatch a glimpse – and memorise it Ladybones Road Alphabets 1
24 Make clandestine sketches, right there in the shop! Ladybones Road Alphabets 1
57 Watch from the rooftops Ladybones Road Alphabets 4–7
78 A distinctly cautious approach Base-Camp Alphabets 5–7
Shadowy Challenges
Level Storylet Location MYN Level
6 Catch a tabby cat in the alleys of Spite Spite NA
12 Catch a ginger tom on the rooftops Spite NA
18 Catch a white cat: Softly now... Spite NA
24 Catch a grey cat in the nave of the church of All Christs Spite Darkness 2–7
48 Catch a black cat Spite NA
51 Disguise yourself as an invalid Ladybones Road Alphabets 4–7
68 A little light legerdemain The Flit NA
Dangerous Challenges
Level Storylet Location MYN Level
13 Play it safe Medusa's Head Blood 2–7
15 Fight! Medusa's Head Blood 1–3
16 Turn it up a notch Medusa's Head Blood 2–7
18 Take on all comers! Medusa's Head Blood 1–3
39 Jack's claimed dibs! Watchmaker's Hill Blood 3–5
Persuasive Challenges
Level Storylet Location MYN Level
15 Take notes on your experiences Veilgarden Flourish 1
17 "My watch? That's not my watch!" Veilgarden Flourish 1–2
47 Pose as an investigator for the Ministry of Public Decency Veilgarden Flourish 3
64 Publish poetry in praise of the Duchess Shuttered Palace Flourish 4–7
89 Attend courtly functions Empress' Court NA
95 Perform artistically Empress' Court NA

Patrons[edit]

A patron is another player who is a Tier 2 Person of Some Importance, enabling them to give classes in the attribute of their specialisation to a protégé, provided the protégé has a (modified) level below 100 in that attribute. A patron who is a Tier 3 Person of Some Importance, aka a Paramount Presence, do not have this limit. This costs a Free Evening for both participants, and grants the protégé up to 70 CP in the attribute. (The patron gets a few CP of Making Waves for their efforts.) The best way to find a patron is by asking in one of the Fallen London forums.

Other[edit]

For those still looking for ways to maximize CP gains early on, there are a few storylets that are ideal for the high-difficulty strategy mentioned above, as they don't cause Menaces on failure

Mid-game leveling (100–200)[edit]

This section of the guide is a work in progress and needs more information.

Many of the useful grinds at this point take place in locations you opened up towards the middle or end of the Making Your Name stories, or places you need a ship to reach.

Watchful[edit]

Menace-free challenges

Non-challenge sources

Shadowy[edit]

Menace-free challenges

Non-challenge sources

Dangerous[edit]

Menace-free challenges

Non-challenge sources

Persuasive[edit]

Menace-free challenges

Non-challenge sources

Late-game leveling (200+)[edit]

This section of the guide is a work in progress and needs more information.

Main attributes are initially capped at 200 and require the completion of certain quests to increase them further, up to 230. See the main article Raising Attribute Caps (Guide).

All attributes[edit]

  • Gain access to Hearts' Game (200 base Dangerous and any Tier 2 PoSI required) and obtain a Weasel of Woe. With the companion's -300 penalty to the main attributes, many menace-free storylets are usable for training (e.g. Go Mudlarking), but Hearts' Game is the most profitable, since every action accrues Exploits, which can be cashed in.
  • Join Hearts' Game and aim to select Accomplices that can be used to train your target attribute. Some luck is required, since the selection of possible accomplices is dependent on card draws. On the first draw, chance of a hand containing an accomplice checking any one of the four attributes is about 56%.
  • Equip the Weasel of Woe and put on or take off other equipment until the desired odds of succeeding on the accomplices' cards are met.
  • Accomplices with checks:
    • Watchful:
      • Knight of Flames ( 180)
      • Knight of Skin ( 200)
      • Page of Lures ( 200)
      • Priest of Magpies ( 180)
    • Shadowy:
      • King of Spines ( 200)
      • Knight of Livers ( 200)
      • Page of Gambits ( 190)
      • Queen of Cod ( 190)
    • Dangerous:
      • King of Knuckles ( 200)
      • Knight of Ribs ( 200)
      • Page of Teeth ( 200)
      • Priest of Smiths ( 200)
    • Persuasive:
      • Fool of Audacities ( 180)
      • King of Roses ( 200)
      • Page of Papers ( 200)
      • Priest of Briars ( 200)
      • King of Motley ( 200)
    • The remaining accomplices check advanced stats or have no checks.

Other actions[edit]

Shadowy[edit]

In The Dome of Scales, you can trade various items for a significant amount of Shadowy CP, depending on who is controlling this part of Parabola.

A ready source of Sightings of Parabolan Landmarks is guiding dreamers in the Viric Jungle. (Sightings can also be converted to Glass Gazettes and Vitreous Almanacs.) For most options that end the dream, the payout is 15 Sightings per Duration of a Dream. Therefore, you should alternate between Lend power to the dream and Observe and learn, as the latter has a chance of granting 2 x Duration instead of just one. You should not spend Sightings to Draw in another place, or choose More! Further!, as these prioritise Intensity of the Dream and make it harder to build up Duration. The per-action payout of Sightings is better the longer you can keep the dream going, since you spend fewer actions on cashing out than with multiple shorter dreams.

Directly grinding Sightings is likely best if the Cats control the Dome of Scales. If it's the Red-Handed Queen, you may have better per-action rates getting Glass Gazettes from other sources compared to converting Sightings; see this comment.

Persuasive[edit]

Menace-free challenges:

Watchful[edit]

Menace-free challenges:

Other sources[edit]

Favours[edit]

See Raising Favours (Guide) for more information on where to get these.

All favours, except Favours: Rubbery Men, can be spent to train a specific attribute on their specific Faction Card. The rate is ~20 CP per favour, making this quite efficient for training.

Epistolary Matters[edit]

Exchange letters with your acquaintances. These actions gain a large amount of CP, initially comparable to masterclasses from a Paramount Presence, that is reduced with each letter you read (tracked by the Mired in Mail quality, which is reset each week by Time, the Healer). The following table shows the amount of CP given at each level:

Mired in Mail1–456789≥10
Attribute CP70696342211514

Second Chances[edit]

At Your Social Engagements, under the Attend to matters of... storylets, you can trade 5 second chances for 1–50 CP in the associated attribute (and 1 CP in two others), for an average of 27.5 CP per trade-in. Relevant actions are:

Attribute Storylet Cost
Watchful Every stone 5 x Sudden Insight
Shadowy Tricks traps and treats 5 x Hastily Scrawled Warning Note
Dangerous The strength of scars 5 x Hard-Earned Lesson
Persuasive An easy confidence 5 x Confident Smile

This works out to about 4.16 CP per action in the main attribute, even if you count spending an action to gain the second chance—comparable CP to doing the hardest-difficulty challenges on regular actions.

Some sources for second chances include: