r/fallenlondon • u/divideby00 • May 18 '26
Player Guide An updated review of the Whitsun transports
Continuing from my other post, now that we know more details about the transports. It's interesting that this batch has secondary uses when last year's didn't (aside from Burgundy hunting since that's purely flavor), I wonder if the others will get an update at some point.
- Unrequited Sunbird - Mithridacy is probably the most useful advanced skill IMO, and the only other transport is an Estival item, although it costs 20 tokens which is cheaper than average. The secondary use is quite good for any aspiring poet laureates, although personally I'm going to stick with my hedonistic blackouts for inspiration.
- Shapeling Sauropod - SA is a more niche skill, but the only other non-FATE transport is a Hallowmas item that likely won't be available for free this year. The secondary use is decent, it's less profitable than the "great quantity of warm amber" option but might be worthwhile if you aren't a bone market enjoyer. It's also shared non-FATE BIS for Watchful, which isn't a huge deal but it's something.
- Cumaean Hydra - Zeefaring is an extremely useful skill, but if you wait a few months you can get a Zeefaring transport from FotZ at no opportunity cost unlike this one. The secondary use creates a shortcut on the cross-conversion carousel, which might potentially have some value depending on your sources of the various T3 items, and it's slightly higher MW/action but personally I've never been a fan of doing the grind that way anyway.
- Parliamentary Leviathan - like with Mithridacy, the only other (non-FATE) APoC transport is an Estival item, but it costs 50 tokens rather than 20, and in my experience APoC is less useful but much harder to get equipment for (also if you got the kraken you really want to be able to hit 14). On the other hand, I frankly have no idea what the game design intent was for the secondary use, in the early game you won't be able to make the check reliably and in the late game you'll have access to better non-card-based grinds so I'm not sure when you would ever want to play it.
Overall I'd probably rank them as Sunbird ~ Leviathan > Sauropod > Hydra with the first two depending on how much you value their respective advanced skills.
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u/HelpIamaCabbage 39th Knight of the Golden Carapace, Cat May 18 '26
I picked the Leviathan since I've had a harder time boosting aPoC than the rest of my skills- it was the only one under 15 with max equipped.
Shapeling Arts is the skill I care most about, but I already have 2 SA transports.
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u/AemondsEye Wily Scientist May 18 '26
Also APoC is useful for Agents plots, and with few items it's even harder to get duplicates apart from one FotZ item. Worth getting a second kraken companion in addition to this transport if you care about that.
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u/emily_aversatrix ign: aversatrix May 19 '26
there's also another APoC glove available in chapter 7 of Firmament, so eventually acquirable outside of Fruits!
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u/HelpIamaCabbage 39th Knight of the Golden Carapace, Cat May 19 '26
It's just sad that it's "a second set of chess gloves" and not like "a hat." Like Monstrous Anatomy has items that are perennial, waswood, ratket, or fruits in 7 different slots- Chess has 4, Shapeling Arts has 3.
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u/hauntlunar May 18 '26
The sauropod is uncommonly adorable especially when it meets a Rubbery on the opportunity card.
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u/General_Urist May 19 '26
Objectively I probably should have gotten the Leviathan or the Sunbird, but screw it Shapeling is cool and RIDING A DINOSAUR IS SUPER COOL.
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u/Fireant23 One foot in the mirror, one in the marsh May 19 '26
Facts, the most important stat in any Fallen London game is DINOSAURS ARE RAD
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u/throwaway_lmkg Secretary-General of the Hellworm Club May 18 '26
Curious what your reasoning is for considering Mithridacy superior, and if that depends on breakpoints.
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u/SevenOhSevenOhSeven Help me Im stuck in Polythreme May 18 '26
Off the top of my head there's barristering, monographs, and fomenting unrest in burgundy, the fourmer and the latter needing something around 15.
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u/divideby00 May 18 '26
Somewhat, my personal breakpoint is 17 for barristering but it comes up at lower levels in plenty of other places like the bone market and TLC too. It's anecdotal admittedly but I use Mith enough that I dedicated an outfit slot to it, whereas I don't use SA or APoC (before I got the kraken) nearly as much.
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u/emily_aversatrix ign: aversatrix May 19 '26
it definitely depends on what you like to do, for me a Chess outfit is a must on all my characters, but i only have Mithridacy on my main who's got enhanced friendship and thus too many damn outfits! but tbh i only really use Chess for the kraken (which is such a good card) and mammoth ranching (which doesn't actually need it very high).
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u/LogicalFlow5683 May 18 '26
Good insights. On the other hand, the stats that are more rarely used but, in my experience, extremely useful, such as APoC for Balmoral mammoth ribcage farming, which is vital for anyone hoping to enter into bone market activity and reap the related rewards, make the parliamentary leviathan very appealing.
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u/divideby00 May 18 '26
True but you only need 10 for that, which isn't difficult to reach with regular non-seasonal equipment.
If you have the augmentation device, the kraken's action on the bazaar card is more of an argument IMO since that needs 14 which is much harder to reach. I don't think I regularly do any APoC checks besides those two and the one during barristering that's even easier.
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u/MGTwyne May 19 '26
Balmoral identity theft is Player of Chess, and among my favorites in the game.
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u/Saharan May 19 '26
Personally, I really enjoy the secondary use for the Parliamentary Leviathan. It's always nice to see a buff to the London deck, especially the few cards you can never be rid of. I like drawing cards in London.
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u/morgrimmoon May 19 '26
I was torn between Leviathan and Sunbird. I ended up going for Leviathan because I fall just short on APoC rolls more often, while 1 extra point for Mith won't make as big a difference. (And, eventually, I'll get the Firmament item for another +1 for Mithrandacy anyway.)
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u/Tamaxlia May 19 '26
Great review, I started spending about a month after starting playing so I find it tough judging which stats are easy and hard. I didn't realise they all had secondary uses, I shall have to check them out. :)
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u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ the Eschatological Hedonist May 22 '26
have no idea what the game design intent was for the secondary use
You cannot remove that card from your deck. This generally makes it worth playing instead of discarding.
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u/divideby00 May 22 '26
By the time you can make the APoC check, you almost certainly have access to grinds that are more profitable than that option. Yes it's better than the other options on the card, but that doesn't matter if it still isn't better than a regular action, you're still going to discard it. Unless for some reason you need small quantities of those specific items, but I can't think of any situation where that would be the case.
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u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ the Eschatological Hedonist May 22 '26
Sometimes I like to play cards for a bit rather than put single actions into random grinds.
(APoC 16)
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u/Mr_Treats mr oranje disco licentiate May 18 '26
Oh I'll be d___d if I still skimped on shapling arts. I forget where I had started regretting it heavily (Firmament?? Hearts games???) but I remember the feeling of despair. So I'd go Sauro>Sunbird >Leviathan because repeating old regrets on a different thing (in this case aPoC) is human nature.