We're taking plans? Let's talk plans.
In terms of majors, there are 3 immediate goals we want to do (Bronze, EPC5, Dragon), one ongoing goal (Zeqing training) and one for a slightly longer term goal (getting Appraisal). Let's look at those.
I'll get to minors later, let's look at those for now.
Majors
Bronze:
By far the most important thing we can get to advance our cultivation. Once it's out of the way we get ~3 major actions/week back, which will make attaching minors much easier.
With 4 actions we're at 56-60% of getting it, of which ~30% are in 2 actions (and the odds of bronze if we do a 3 action week).
EPC5:
We can expect some phys/spirit and yin art cultivation dice, a virtual GSS (if we're lucky), and possibly a new moon quest chain.
The utility of getting it a week early depends on our bonuses there, but overall it's not a very huge xp loss if it's delayed a week. We can, e.g, do a Silverblood week and open a meridian, which together with a mission means only Zeqing training suffers. If we're not bronze then the loss is even smaller.
Getting EPC5 will take 2 actions, either training or mission. If we can choose we should prefer missions since they also give sect points, which are equivalent to tutor weeks later.
Dragon's Vale:
This is, honestly, something we should have done a long time ago. We know there will be narrative benefit to Zhengui and Meizhen's growth, and in hindsight we could've attempted it as early as week 37.
Besides the benefit to our friends and spirits, getting the Vale means we can gain an effective ~14 successes towards spiritual in a week where we open a meridian in the White Room while training spiritual at the Vale.
This makes meridians the best indirect way to work towards appraisal (besides AC training on silverblood, which is a bit stronger), and can potentially shave a week off our time to Appraisal. The current timing for week 43 Appraisal is quite tight.
Slightly longer term, we
definitely want access to the site by week 44 or 45 which is when we'll be ready to do a SLP week. Just the site will give 140 Qi xp per SLP week assuming 6-action ones. Plus, it's a better Wood training site than the one we have and TRF kind of needs all the help it can get.
Zeqing:
Training music arts with Zeqing is likely better than any tutor we can get, and advances our social link with her (and likely Hanyi). It is, by far, the most efficient art training action we can do, and we can do it every week.
The question is, do we want to do it
immediately and delay some of the other major action targets that give permanent cultivation benefits.
To those worrying, there shouldn't be a problem to attain Early Green or even Appraisal level in FVM and FSS. Mission successes from EPC and our naturally high dice allow us to advance music yin arts extremely fast (easily over 100xp/week).
Appraisal:
There are 3 reasons we want appraisal for:
> +1 spiritual auto
> the ability to use 2 GSS on SLP weeks (and other focus weeks)
> ability to train Appraisal arts. Likely one of our music ones.
From messing around with my planner, it turns out we can reach Appraisal in 3 or 4 weeks of training, getting it at the end of 43 ir 44. This requires 2 or 3 spiritual training actions (or free rolls) depending on target week, virtual GSS, and use of tutors on weeks 41 through 43 (with missions so we're not bleeding sect points).
Appraisal arts are iffy since they're a huge action investment. As I see it, rhe main benefit to getting Appraisal early enough is an early SLP week, in which we can try saving an action by opening 2 meridians with one, and the planning flexibility having it out of the way would allow.
All in all, Appraisal is a surprisingly low investment and can be attained very fast.
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Those are major action goals, but what about a specific plan for week 40?
Well, assuming we want 4 breakthrough actions (something most of us agree on I think), here's the basic layout:
> 4x breakthrough attempt actions
--> 2 or 3 is a conditional recovery, the alternative we put here has ~30% chance of happening
--> action 4 is a conditional attempt, and the alternative has ~50% chance of happening
> 5th action is free and allows us to guarantee an action (and also attach minors to)
> 6th action (if we're going closed door): a second guarantee and place to put a minor on
Assuming we prioritize EPC and Dragon site, here's what it means:
> Unless we go closed door we can't guarantee EPC5, ~50% is the best we can get and makes dragon vale unlikely
> If we guarantee Vale, EPC5 becomes ~30% and getting a mission 50%
> Closed door would let us guarantee a mission (sect points!) and have a guarantee and a 50% to decide between EPC5 and dragon, plus a 30% chance of training with Zeqing (or training spiritual/opening a meridian)
That's majors. Now let's talk minors.
Minors
Market is necessary. Perhaps not
super critical if we can get our monthly discount GSS without a visit, but it's priority #1 even without it. Value of information is high and we'd feel pretty stupid if we ignore it only to find out they sell Highsuns or something.
Han Jian, we've ignored him for 5 weeks now, which is a big problem. I hope that minor still exists and that the SL still holds.
MaSu, we've ignored them for 4 weeks, and while it's not as
necessary as Han Jian one, it's a minor to maintain and advance SL with 3 people. We kind of dropped the ball here as well, I hope we still have the option to do it.
Suyin. Sorry Suyin but your workplace and more creepy formations aren't as neglected as our other SL's.
Zhengui. It's possible we won't have Zhengui minor and it will either be a major Gu Tai training action, or a minor that involves both. If we do still have it, I would suggest we seriously consider skipping this week if it means something like getting +1 week at the Vale, or doing one of our neglected SL minors.
Meizhen. I asked yrs about the sentiment behind it in a PM and here's what he said:
its basically just Ling Qi deciding that she wants to contribute something materialy valuable to Meizhen for once
Still kind of iffy but a lot less ominous than we feared. There should be no problem to combine it with dragon major when we take it.
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And that's it for next week our current immediate goals.
My personal plan preference is towards a 5-action week with guaranteed Dragon Vale and a 50% shot at mission, with either 30% EPC training (and thus EPC5) or Zeqing. This likely offloads EPC5 to week 41 to get Vale early, since a 1-week delay for EPC5 is the least important to me.
Minors TBD but preference order is:
Market >> Han Jian ~ MaSu > Zhengui ~ Meizhen (if taking dragon) > else
Attaching 2 of those minors in a 5-action week will be a pain, especially for those reluctant to double-attach, but I'd rather lose an attach minor than do closed door and delay SL's further.
