Event: Zombie Invasion

With the second invasion of Zombies, it looks like weekend events are going to be a regular thing. Here's a quick guide to the Zombie Invasion gameplay.

Arm your luckiest Shadow or Arcane Trap combination. Arcane Blast on Magma base works well for me.

Farm Undead Emmental Potions (max 5) at the Mousoleum or Catacombs. You'd want the Zombie and the Ravenous Zombie mice. Radioactive Blue for bait, in case you forgot..

Next, brew the Undead Emmental Cheese from Brie or Super Brie with those potions. And you're set !



Zombots were introduced during the first Zombie Invasion.



Grave Robber mice popped up during the second invasion.




Tips to speed your way to Silver crowns
  • Lucky Shield
  • Antiskele Charms
  • Farm Potions at Mos, hunt Zombots | Grave Robbers at Cats

Final Note: there's a limiting factor built into the event. Once you hold 60 pieces UE Cheese or 5 UE potions, those zombies stop dropping potions. So plan your farming cycles !

Final FINAL Note: Of course, if you're already pleased with your current run and there's still time on the Event, you might want to re-stock your potions and cheese (5 max and 59 pieces) before clearing off the undead muck from your boots. That way, when the Zombie Invasion comes around again, you're all ready to GO!

Final REALLY FINAL Note: And if you're wondering what the codes are to show these two mice on your Favorite King's Crown panel, the Zombot is 284 while the Grave Robber is 337.

OK, I go now.

Show Your Favorite Crowns

Check out my Favorite King's Crowns on my MH Profile.
Isn't it fab to see the main mousehunt bosses?

Wait. They aren't crowned yet !
How did I get them there?
(aside: actually I saw it on Hilary's Profile first, and just had to do the same)

Ok, OK! Stop twisting my arm ! I'll tell you how..

First, go to your own Mousehunt Profile. That's by clicking in the huge MH crest.
Now select the King's Crown tab. Hover your mouse over any one of the mice that you have already crowned. Right-click, then select "Copy Link Location" (Chrome) or "Copy Link Address" (Firefox)..

You need to do this for the "&uh=" code, which is the unique code for your account.

Then go to the browser address line, remove the URL line there. Right-click and Paste.
You should see a line like below appear.

http://www.mousehuntgame.com/canvas/profile.php?tab=2&addToTop=217&uh=zZz999zz (fake &uh here, but you get the idea)

See the "&addToTop=" portion above? The number 217 is for the White Mouse.

To get the same crown display as mine, you need to replace the number 217 with the numbers below. One entry at a time. That is, Hit Enter to place the MHMouse, return to the browser line, paste again, replace 217. Rinse, repeat.

The numbers you want are : 2, 10, 278, 54, 56, 61, 180, 306

Have fun !

Hey, you may also wish to experiment with other mice numbers to develop your own theme of eight mice to display on your MH Profile. You're welcome to add your series of numbers in the comments below.

[update : adding the link for the list of mice and their corresponding numbers ]
[update : or you can remember j.mp/mhmice]

[update May2012 : the devs have modified the code such that you can only now add a mouse to favorite crowns after you have caught at least 1 of that mouse. *sad face*]

Getting Those Last Few Bonus Eggs

We're on the final weekend of the Spring Egg Hunt 2011. How's your mousehunt egg collection look?
If you're stuck, don't forget to check out the Bonus Egg Spreadsheet to find out where you'd need to be next.

Here's a few time-saver tips if you've only recently started (or are dashing for the egg-competitions that some groups hold). Feel free to add more of your tips in the comments.

1) Realm Ripper's egg's probably the most predictable one to collect. Just keep an eye on when the Forbidden Grove is going to close with the MHTimer spreadsheet, hop over there just before does. You'd be done within the next horn (well, unless you failed to catch, but that's just another 15min).

2) Already a Hero and hunting dragons? You'd find that the Elub, Nerg, Derr Eggs are the easiest to loot - great morale booster when you're starting out. And for the JOD Egg, just make a batch of havarti and you'd get it pretty easily. Pygmy Eggs are a sure-thing with Gouda. The Dragon Egg? Well, you're on your own there - standard Dragon trap combination and a lot of Infernos. I actually ran out, so I won't have this :(

3) Monster Egg, I'd prefer staying at the Chocolate Factory rather than going to the Lab or the Mousoleum. It comes more often and it's also a great place to farm gold. Pirate's frequent too, but Burglar not so.

4) Have a good batch of Wicked Gnarly Cheese? Then skip the Great Gnarled Tree, camp out at the Lagoon and be armed for the Silth. More mice now drop the Whisker Woods Egg. The Hydra Egg's also common and dig this - the Black Widow Egg's easier to catch here too. Can't get the Silth Egg? Just whine that you're really after the Hydra.. :) Works most times..

5) Burglar Eggs, I like the Bazaar best. Had spare Gild Cheese. Super Brie works too and the Nibbler tends to join in with his egg too..

6) Warpath Eggs. Wave 2's Sand Calvary and Crimson Commanders have a higher drop rate. One tip is to clear out archers with the charms first, so that their encounters are maximized..

7) Trying to Bronze Crown the four event mice? Arcane/Dark Choc/Gouda are great for building the catch numbers for Egg Painter and Eggsplosive Scientist Mice (and farming MM). Switch to a strong physical trap (like CDB)/Dark Choc/MM and you'd start clocking more Coco Commanders (which also replace the MM) and the Hare Razors..

Have fun. And don't forget to leave us your tips below !
:J

Fiery Warpath: Warmonger Loot Drop Data

FIERY WARPATH MOUSEHUNTERS, WE WANT YOUR HELP !

We're trying to put together a table of Warmonger(WM) catches and their loot. What we're trying to do is to see if there is a pattern for a "sweet-spot" trap combination that improves the chances of what kind of drop.

If you have just caught your first WM (WM1) or your sixth (WM6) or your sixtiethethth (WM60 however it's spelled:)) we want to know about it as soon as it happens!

Please head on over to www.facebook.com/mousehuntguide and drop a comment there. We'd verify it and add your catch to our table.

Thanks in advance !

Fiery Warpath: Tracking Warmonger Loot Drops

We now have consolidated Warmonger trap loot data collection and analysis thanks to Chad Moore (of the splendiforous MouseHunt Timers.) I have been collaborating with Chad on the underlying model for the analysis used in the Warmonger trap loot, so I am not unbiased as to the quality of the work, lol... my indepth explanation of the basis of the work in an extended article coming out as soon as I catch up on some sleep after my recent project and MH comp :)

For the curious, I got sandblasted metal from my first warmonger and traded with a friend for his sphynx crystal. I promptly crafted my pretteh kitteh, popularly know as the SWat (rofl!) I bought an oasis bead from the marketplace, where they are ridiculously cheap and crafted an OWN with flameshards generously loaned by a friend. I did not get trap loot from my second Warmonger, but got a generous clump of Simple Orbs, so was happy. I'm on my third pass now, in which I am exploring profitability.

Spring Egg Hunt 2011

Found a shared spreadsheet of where which mouse drops what eggs..
It'll be updated as each daily egg is found.

The Egg Spreadsheet.

And if you're the "fire and forget" type of player, just plant yourself at the Catacombs - currently the only place to get 2 types of eggs (Green Plaid + Blue Argyle).

[Apr 18 update] Newer eggs are appearing in the higher level areas.. I do hope that there's still something for everyone by the Easter weekend.. :p

Gifted Devs Gift to us: Stable, Sensible Gifting

Just a quick post to say that it looks like we finally have a stable gifting system with a nifty MouseHunt local interface (no need to go through the Facebook notification interface, wahoo!) The number of gifts a hunter can claim each day is still ten (*sob*), and the number of gifts a hunter can send is twenty. Thanks to my buddies in The Alliance of MouseHunters (TAMH) for their help in sorting out how many gifts each hunter can send and checking on the stability of the new system.

Fiery Warpath: Sandtail Desert Mice Visual Reference

A new version of my Fiery Warpath mice visual reference, after two passes through the warpath and well in to the third. This version has the secondary trap type info I found I was always wanting, as well as visual reminders of artillery and caravan guards being less effective across the board. As before, this pic is designed to work with the info (color coding, etc.) in the rest of the Fiery Warpath materials. Enjoy!

FW Strategy Guide - Caravan Guards

Adding Insult to Injury: Caravan Guards

Just as catching a Crimson Commander causes some number of each mouse to retreat, failing to catch a Caravan Guard places you at risk of mouse reinforcements arriving. Whether and how many mouse reinforcements arrive depends on factors most of which we currently understand poorly at best. Using sb+ as bait reduces the likelihood of encountering a Caravan Guard, although it does not eliminate it completely. Catch rates for Caravan Guards are not good, as no trap types are rated very effective or even effective against Caravan Guards (sob!) The following trap types are less effective, which means that they function at less than 100% of the power shown in the trap effectiveness meter. While we do not yet know whether the types farther down the list are even less less effective than the types above them, we do know that they are, at most, equally less effective (sorry, could not resist), as the order in which trap types are listed in the detail display on the adversaries page is significant.

  • physical
  • hydro
  • tactical
Why mouse reinforcements arrive

The greater the number of friends hunting in the Fiery Warpath with you (not friends online, but friends hunting in the Fiery Warpath, as indicated in the HUD), the lesser the chance of reinforcements arriving, although there is always a chance that reinforcements will get through even with 450 to 500 friends.

How many reinforcements arrive
  • Once a mouse has been defeated no reinforcements arrive for that mouse.
  • In the vast majority of reported cases one of each mouse is added back in.
  • When more than one of each mouse has been added back in, the same number of each mouse is added back in.
  • The largest reported number of each mouse added in was six.
  • The smallest reported number of each mouse added in was zero. Yup, you read that right, zero! Georgene Ang failed to catch a Caravan Guard, got the "Failing to catch a Caravan Guard mouse allowed reinforcements to arrive," checked her mouse count, only to find that no mice had been added to her wave! How could she be sure? It was the first mouse in wave three.
  • You can, in fact, end up with more mice in the wave than the starting number of mice. How do we know? Heidi Lynn McKnight encountered almost exactly the same situation, only to have one extra of each mouse added. The only difference was that she was in wave one, so ended up with 36 of each mouse.
Is there a pattern to the number of reinforcements?

Many hypothesized patterns have been suggested, some of which have proven problematic. Here are a few of the more popular hypotheses:

  • Missing a Caravan Guard early in a wave adds more mice than missing one later in the wave. Problem: many examples that suggest otherwise. Until we have a minimally biased data set, this hypothesis will have to wait.
  • The number of mice added back in depends on where you are in a streak. Problem: so many examples of only one mouse added in despite being in a streak that this rule would have to have as many exceptions as French verbs. This hypothesis is very likely wrong.
  • Only mice that have retreated can be added back into the wave. Heidi's data shoots this hypothesis down, as no mice had yet retreated from her wave.

Is there a pattern to how many mice are added to the wave? About the only thing that seems to have gathered any substantial evidence is that most of the time, one of each undefeated mouse is added. Other than that, the more we know, the less we know. Caravan Guards, the mysterious mice of the Fiery Warpath!

Retreat!!

Caravan Guards, like Crimson Commanders, retreat when you have defeated 90% of the mice in the wave. Thus in wave one, the Support mice retreat when there are 10 or fewer mice left, in wave two, when there are 18 or fewer mice left, and in wave three when there are 26 or fewer mice left.

Fiery Warpath - The Walkthrough

FIERY WARPATH (BARON AREA)
[Jester: Swiped this wonderful work-in-progress guide from Hilary, who incidentally, is now one of the authors on MouseHuntGuide !
Hilary: Thanks, Jester, for doing such a great job migrating this guide! You left me free to update and expand, what an amazing gift... ]

The Fiery Warpath is a new (and first) area at The Sandtail Desert for Baron(ess) ranks and above. There's also a whole new gameplay, so there's quite a lot of writing and sharing to be done. Too long for one single post, so we've broken it up into a few smaller chapters. Enjoy

Table of Contents:
Extras:
Acknowledgements

I (Hilary writes) did not track all this stuff down myself! I drew from the forums, friends tracked things down, etc. Special thanks to: Georgene Ang, Nico Cast, James Cha, Chan Ka Chun Patrick, Duran D. Durahan, Abhijit Dutta, Lis Faurholt, Chris Hull, Jan-Marie Kellow, Karina, Ranjan Kumar, Yvonne McFadden, Kirsty McNeil, Jaroslav Neuwirth and Lisa Rosewell. Biggest and best thanks to my friend and collaborator Jester :)

FW Strategy Guide - Gargantuamouse

Encountering a Gargantuamouse

After seven catches in a row, the Warmonger releases a Gargantuamouse in order to break your momentum. With each successive catch your probability of encountering Gaga increases. The probability of encountering Gaga increases by a fourth degree polynomial equation (re: dev Dave on FBF) as the streak progresses. After the ninth catch encountering Gaga is extremely likely.

A lot of confusion exists concerning how to tell when you will encounter Gaga: watch your streak counter, your trap effectiveness meter, etc., etc. None of these indicators has proven reliable to date. As best we understand it, the facts are these:

  • Gaga is not released until after the seventh catch: reports of release after the sixth catch can be traced to missing journal entries, for example;
  • Once Gaga has been released, the probability of encounter increases by the given equation with no further indicator.

The streak meter always changes color in the same pattern and the trap effectivess meter adjusts as would be expected: when Gaga shows up in the detail display after the seventh catch.

Gaga is not a Support mouse. The Warmonger will still release a Gaga after the Support mice retreat towards the end of each wave when you have defeated at least 90% of the mice in the wave.

Hunting Gargantuamice: How, When and Why
Trap and Base

The catch rate for Gaga with Ice Maiden and Spellbook base as reported in the forums and groups (while we wait for solid data, sigh) has been very good. Catches have also been reported with the Chrome Drillbot.

Bait

Gaga has not shown any particular preference for bait: as the purpose of Gaga is to break a streak, changing as few variables as possible makes sense.

Charm

Switching to a luck charm works well if not using a Warpath Commander Charm: with Ice Maiden, Spellbook base, Warpath Commander Charm and Lucky Golden Shield, catch rates for both Crimson Commanders and Gaga reported thus far have been very good, near to 100%. Without the Warpath Commander Charm armed, the only mouse reported caught with Ice Maiden thus far is Gaga, so it seems to make sense to switch to a luck charm.

When should I switch?

The answer depends on the larger context in which you are hunting your Gaga. If you switch to Ice Maiden before the ninth catch, you sacrifice the chance to cause 6 mice to retreat. Whether that is desirable or not depends on whether clearing the mouse or a better chance at Gaga is a higher priority. I generally switch after the eighth or ninth catch, depending on how many of the particular mouse I have left. I will switch after the eighth or even the seventh catch in order to preserve a second chance at Gaga with the same mouse. Switching does not attract Gaga. Arming a Warpath Commander Charm, however, does seem to increase your chances of attracting Gaga, as the vast majority of reports have hunters catching either a Crimson Commander or Gaga.

Best Gaga hunting opportunities?

Recall that Gargantuamice are released in response to a streak. Thus, the way to attract Gaga is to make streaks. What breaks streaks? FTAs, FTCs and catches of other mice. Late in each wave after 90% of the mice in the wave have been defeated, the support mice retreat, eliminating two of the mice that could break a streak. Scouts are significantly weaker than warriors and archers, so leaving scouts for last in waves one and two creates an optimal environment for Gaga hunting. Note that a full nine streak clears 21 mice, while an eight streak clears 14, for a total of 35 mice, the number of each type of mouse in wave one. Hmmmmm......

Is it worth it?

Gargantuamice drop one to six flameshards in addition to 25000 points and 4000 gold. Given that they can be neatly incorporated in to your hunting pattern, I think the answer is an unqualified yes. The Theurgy Wardens drop zero to ten flameshards and the Warmonger either 100 or 150 flameshards, with each trap taking huge numbers of flameshards to craft, so the extra flameshards are very necessary, especially in an area which is so poor in loot.

4th degree polynomial I'll give some examples in a future update to illustrate fourth-degree polynomials, as well as the difference between polynomial change and exponential change.

FW Strategy Guide - Crimson Commander

Crimson Commander Strategy

After streaks, I have come to believe that Crimson Commanders are the single most important strategic element of the Fiery Warpath. I cover the mechanics of attracting and catching Crimson Commanders below; I want to start by considering the strategic role of Crimson Commanders.

As you make multiple passes through the Fiery Warpath, you gain progressively better control of impact of the Crimson Commanders. You gain this control directly through Warpath Commander charms, and indirectly through the new traps (because the new traps give you better control of streaks, and the farther you are into a streak, the greater the impact of catching a Crimson Commander.)

You can use your growing control of the Crimson Commanders to optimize your path through the Fiery Warpath, as it were. For example, with the Oasis Water Node and super mage charms, Magmarages are moderate. As Magmarages have the most points of any mice in wave three, a hunter wishing to maximize points would do well to begin with the Magmarages, as they may offer the best chance of getting a streak of nine in wave three. Whether to take that streak all the way to nine before trying to attract a Crimson Commander depends largely on how likely the hunter believes getting more streaks of more than six to be. After catch seven, you run the risk of attracting a Gargantuamouse instead. The chances of attracting a Crimson Commander rather than a Gargantuamouse decrease with each catch after the seventh, even with a Commander charm armed.

Switching to a Warpath Commander Charm before the ninth catch sacrifices substantial momentum, however, which is modeled in the game as follows. If you switch to a Warpath Commander Charm, you will attract one of two mice: a Crimson Commander or a Gargantuamouse. You will not attract the mouse you were previously hunting, therefore you sacrifice the opportunity to cause six more of that mouse to retreat for at least another six hunts. Whether the sacrifice makes sense depends on how many other mice are still in play: in wave 3 with none of the mice defeated and a goal of reaching the Warmonger as quickly as possible, switching early is clearly a good idea. In wave 1 on your last mouse, leave the Commander charms in your pocket and switch after the ninth catch as discussed in the next section on the Gargantuamouse.

Crimson Commander Mechanics
Attracting Crimson Commanders

Warpath Commander's Charms At the end of waves one, two and three, you are awarded one Warpath Commander's Charm, for a minimum of three each pass through the Fiery Warpath. The Warmonger drops zero to two Warpath Commander's Charms each catch, so that is a range of three to five charms per pass. If there is a pattern to the Warmonger's drops it has not yet emerged.

Effect of Bait Larry tells us that SB+ attracts more Crimson Commanders and experience thus far supports the scouting report. It is not as dramatic an effect as the use of Maki in the Dojo, however.

Catching Crimson Commanders

The following trap types are very effective against Crimson Commanders. While we do not yet know whether the types listed farther down the list are less effective than the types above them, we do know that they are, at most, equally effective, as the order in which trap types are listed is significant.

  1. hydro
  2. draconic
  3. physical
  4. arcane
  5. tactical

Crimson Commanders are one of only two mice that have any very effective trap types in the Fiery Warpath. (The other is the Gargantuamouse, who we will explore next.)

The fact that draconic is listed second has led to a highly successful strategy when switching to a Commander's Charm after catch seven. Arm your Ice Maiden and Spellbook base (you really should not be in the Fiery Warpath without one) with the Commander's Charm. That way you are prepared for either the Crimson Commander or the Gargantuamouse.

Retreat!!

Crimson Commanders and Caravan Guards, the Support mice, retreat when you have defeated 90% of the mice in the wave. Thus in wave one, the Support mice retreat when there are 10 or fewer mice left, in wave two, when there are 18 or fewer mice left, and in wave three when there are 26 or fewer mice left. When planning a Crimson Commander strategy, keep in mind that they are not always around.

Mousehunt Timers

Ever had a URGH moment when you wondered "What Time Is It Now?" for the Forbidden Grove Closing, or what the current tide is at Balack's Cove, or the current season at the Seasonal Gardens?

Help is here !

Chad Moore has compiled a fabulous spreadsheet of all the timed events in Mousehunt. And it includes calendar events like MH Birthday and even a lookout for Ronza's return.

For convenience, I've added this as a link on the top menu of this Mousehunt Guide blog.

And if you're really in a hurry, just type j.mp/mhtimer on your favorite internet browser.

[updated : Typing "Jump mhtimer" or "jump mousehunt timer" on Google will bring the hunter here. "j.mp/mhtimer" will bring you to Chad's spreadsheet.]

Breaking News! Monstrobot Crafted!

James Cha's Monstrobot
[ see also Fiery Warpath Walkthrough ]

While yours truly was catching up on some desparately needed sleep, James Cha crafted the first monstrobot. Ah, Mousehunt, you snooze, you loose (or miss something, in this case :)

  • Power: 8000 physical
  • Power Bonus: 20%
  • Attraction Bonus: 5%
  • Luck: 27
  • Cheese Effect: No Effect
Recipe
  • 1 set of DeathBot Parts
  • 1 set of Digby DrillBot Parts
  • 1 set of RhinoBot Parts
  • 2 pieces of Sandblasted Metal
  • 400 Flameshards
  • 1 set of Sandstorm MonstroBot blueprints

Fiery Warpath - Crafting Items

  • awarded for defeating Warmonger
  • NOT consumable, thus, after the first pass through the Fiery Warpath you are allowed to buy either (or both) sets of blueprints if you can beg, borrow, purchase, etc., the needed trap loot. After the third time through, you can buy the Sandstorm MonstroBot BPs if you can get the trap loot.
  • dropped by Warmonger
  • used to craft Oasis Water Node
  • dropped by Warmonger
  • used to craft Sphynx Wrath
  • dropped by Warmonger
  • used to craft Monstrobot
  • dropped by cavalry
  • used to craft Warpath Cavalry Charm, Super Warpath Cavalry Charm
  • dropped by mages
  • used to craft Warpath Mage Charm, Super Warpath Mage Charm
  • dropped by Warmonger
  • used to craft (Super) Warpath Cavalry Charm, (Super) Warpath Mage Charm

Fiery Warpath - Streaks

[ ^ Contents | << Waves | >> New Weapons ]
Streaks, Explained

A streak is series of catches, of the same mouse in a row. A FTA, FTC or catch of another type of mouse breaks a streak.

For every multiple of 3 in a streak, you cause two extra mice to 'retreat' (they are removed from your wave). Streaks do not appear to apply to Theurgy Wardens, which makes sense as they are the only thing in wave 4 other than the Warmonger, lol.

For example, if you catch three desert archers in a row, two desert archers retreat. If you then immediately go on to catch three more desert archers, four more desert archers retreat. At this point, you have a streak of six desert archers and a total of six more desert archers have retreated, for a total of 12 desert archers removed from the 35 original desert archers that was your goal. If you then go on to catch another three desert archers with no FTAs, FTCs, or catches of other mice, making a streak of nine, six more desert archers will retreat, for a total of 9 catches + 12 retreats = 21 removed from your goal.

Demoralizing mice by capturing a Crimson Commander

Note, however, that you can have a streak of 4 or 5. This fact is important when considering the effect of catching a Crimson Commander.

By capturing a Crimson Commander Mouse I demoralized the remaining mice in this wave! My current streak was 8. 8 of each mouse have retreated!

When you capture a Crimson Commander, wherever you are in a streak, that number of each mouse retreats. We had early reports of catching a Crimson Commander without the demoralizing effect taking place, but none in quite some time, so perhaps that was a glitch. It is possible to clear the rest of a mouse this way (if you have 7 Sentinals left to go and 8 of each mouse retreat you are done with Sentinals.) Ever wonder what would happen if a Crimson Commander is the first mouse you encounter? Lisa R. found out for us; 1 of each mouse retreats.

Crimson Commanders can be encountered at any time, although the probability appears to be quite low. Using sb+ increases the chances of encountering a Crimson Commander.

Caravan Guards: Getting Caught Streaking
Strength in numbers! After I failed to catch a Caravan Guard Mouse, members of my hunting party were able to prevent the mouse reinforcements from arriving!

If you fail to catch a Caravan Guard and you are hunting solo (no friends online), reinforcements will arrive (your target mouse count will increase.) How many reinforcements? Good question! See Caravan Guards for more information.

Your main protection from this dastardly fate is to hunt with friends: if you miss your Caravan Guard, your chances of reinforcements arriving are smaller the more friends you have online. Using sb+ as bait also reduces the chances of attracting Caravan Guards, although it does not eliminate it.

Getting smushed by the Gargantuamouse.
Fearing that I was gaining the upper hand, the Warmonger released a Gargantuamouse, putting an end to my streak.
Our understanding of how Gargantua works is continuously evolving. This explanation reflects my best shot at interpreting the current info, but is guaranteed to be obsolete five minutes after I publish it. HJH

After seven catches in a row, the Warmonger releases the Gargantuamouse in an attempt to slow you down. You have an increasing probability of encountering the Gargantuamouse, until after the ninth catch when it is extremely likely. The chances of encountering Gargantua increase by a polynomial equation (not exponential) as the streak progresses. No hard limit is set on the length of a streak: if you can keep dodging Gargantuas, you can keep going! (For more on Gargantuamice, see the Gargantuamouse entry in the strategy guide.

Fiery Warpath - Mice

Mouse Group: The Marching Flame
The order in which trap types are listed within a category (for example, 'less effective') is significant.

see also Hilary's Visual Reference for the Sandtail Desert Mice

Physical Subgroups: Warrior, Scout and Archer
  • Effective: physical
  • Less effective: hydro, tactical
Warrior
wave 1 Desert Soldier (2400 G, 11500 P)
wave 2 Flame Warrior (3000 G, 18000 P)
wave 3 Crimson Titan (3300 G, 20000 P)
Scout
wave 1 Vanguard (2600 G, 14000 P)
wave 2 Sentinel (3300 G, 21300 P)
wave 3 Crimson Watch (3600 G, 24200 P)
Archer
wave 1 Desert Archer (2100 G, 12800 P)
wave 2 Flame Archer (2700 G, 19900 P)
wave 3 Crimson Ranger (3000 G, 22000 P)
Strike Force Subgroups: Cavalry, Mage and Artillery
Cavalry
  • Effective: tactical
  • Less effective: physical, hydro
wave 2 Sand Cavalry (5200 G, 24000 P)
wave 3 Sandwing Cavalry (6000 G, 26400 P)

drop desert horseshoe: seen 1..3 (thx Praveen!)
Mage
  • Effective: hydro
  • Less effective: physical, tactical
wave 2 Inferno Mage (1000 G, 26500 P)
wave 3 Magmarage (1000 G, 30000 P)

drop heatproof mage cloth: seen 1..3
Artillery
  • Effective: arcane
  • Less effective: hydro, physical, tactical
wave 3 Flame Ordnance (1600 G, 33000 P)
Support Mice (no subgroups):
  • less effective: physical, hydro, tactical
(900 G, 900 P)
  • very effective: hydro, draconic, physical, arcane, tactical
(1000 G, 10000 P)
waves 1, 2 and 3
  • very effective: draconic; less effective: arcane, hydro, tactical, physical
  • drop flameshards!! (seen 1 to 6 dropped)
(4000 G, 25000 P)
waves 1, 2 and 3 after seventh catch in a streak
Wave 4 Mice:
  • effective: physical; less effective: hydro, tactical
(3000 G, 81000 P)
drops 0 to 10 Flameshards
may drop 2 simple orbs
Warmonger Boss Mouse!
  • effective: physical (but only after all the Theurgy Wardens have been captured)
  • less effective: hydro, arcane, tactical (but only after all the Theurgy Wardens have been captured)
(27000 G, 198000 P)
drops zero or one pieces of loot needed for each of the new traps (pattern? drops 1 first catch, harder next catch - use ULC?
drops 1 Ultimate Luck Charm (always?)
drops 2 Ultimate Power Charms (always?)
may drop 1 to 2 Warpath Commander Charms
drops heaps and heaps of flameshards (100 first time, 150 second time?)

Fiery Warpath - Strategy Guide

An Elegant Design

The Fiery Warpath (FW) is truly an elegant design. Many different optimal paths exist, depending on what it is that a hunter is optimizing: points, gold, speed, types of loot and more, as well as the hunter's equipment, style of hunting and many other characteristics. You don't need to become a MouseHunt guru to do well in FW, but there are some essentials that, once internalized, will let you surf the waves repeatedly with growing confidence on each pass. My goal is to provide you with those essentials.

A new concept is introduced in the Fiery Warpath: momentum. In addition, the mechanisms of selective attraction and selective effectiveness, introduced in Zugzwang's Tower, are expanded upon. If you focus on the concepts rather than the mechanics at first, the mechanics will flow.

I assume that you have read (or at least skimmed) the rest of the walkthrough, especially the sections on waves and streaks before you read this guide. I start with an in-depth discussion of Crimson Commanders, Gargantuamice and Caravan Guards, mice which are critical to the implementation of momentum in FW. I then move on to explore the implications for strategies for each wave for various goals.

Table of Contents
  1. Crimson Commander Mice
  2. Gargantuamice
  3. Caravan Guards NEW
  4. Wave 1
  5. Wave 2
  6. Wave 3
  7. Wave 4
  8. Advice for passive hunters

Breaking News!! Scandal in Larry's intel division!!

Update: March 28, 2011, 22:54 UTC. This glitch, Michele Spencer says, has been fixed :) Thanks, HitGrab, that's good to know!

Jan-Marie Kellow caught a Warmonger after catching only two Theurgy Wardens, demonstrating severe deficiencies in Larry's intelligence gathering division.
Be warned that although the Warmonger Mouse can be encountered at any time during this wave, they will be immune to capture until you have defeated all of the Theurgy Warden Mice that guard them.

Jan-Marie's heads-up display shows the Warmonger as defeated and has recorded her first victory. Will she get a second shot at the Warmonger once she has finished off the rest of the wardens? Stay tuned for further developments....

Doh! And the answer is "no!" Talk about anti-climactic, lol. Once she finished off the last warden, Jan-Marie found herself back at Wave 1 of her second pass through the Fiery Warpath.

Our intrepid Jan-Marie demonstrating that Larry's intel on the Fiery Warpath is less than perfect.

Warning! Hunters bumbling about in the dark!

Good grief, what am I doing here?

As Jester told you in the introduction to the Fiery Warpath walkthrough, he has invited me to join him as an author on MouseHuntGuide. What he was gracious enough not to tell you is that I had the temerity to try to invite myself as such nearly a year ago when I knew diddly (a highly technical term) about MH. Luckily, he was sweet enough not to pitch me out of his life on my ear. Now I know at least ten times diddly (for the mathematically inclined, ten times diddly equals squat), but at least I know that I know squat. So I guess Jester decided that meant I was ready to help out.

While we sort out the mechanics of collaborating on Blogger (at present I cannot update my own work-in-progress, ROFL) I'm going to post what I think are crucial updates and integrate them later.

The first of those is a strategy update for wave 2.

While Zugzwang's First Move (ZFM) would be preferable over Rewer's Riposte (RR) if you have Cavalry charms, the first pass through wave 2 all but the wealthiest hunters will not. Once you have defeated the Archers, Scouts and Warriors you will be left with roughly twice as many Cavalry as Mages. If you are lucky and encountered a Crimson Commander at an opportune time, you will not face the full count, but the ratio will remain the same. If Sand Cavalry and Inferno Mages are equally attracted to your bait, the odds favor arming a tactical trap and a luck charm as, on average, two out of three encounters will favor the tactical setup.

Here is the light bulb (ding!) that went off over my head today while whittling away at those dratted Flame Archers (how embarrassing, archers....) In that first pass through wave 2, without charms, choose your RR rather than your ZFM. Why? Because we are always told to arm our luckiest trap when we do not have the right trap type. In this case going with the luck setup is the smart choice as it will improve the outcome for the balance of the encounters, for which the tactical setup is less effective. Not to mention that the usual argument in favor of power (consistency) is not in play without charms.

A second, much smaller update is that I have downgraded Summer Mage (and therefore the anticipated Winter Mage) to unverified, as I have yet to receive a single documented drop.

Aha! Looks like we're making technical progress. Yayyy!

More to come....

Hilary

Fiery Warpath - Entry Requirements

[ ^ Contents | >> Fiery Warpath Mice ]

Although you need to be a Baron(ess) to travel to the Fiery Warpath, you can complete all the preliminaries beforehand.

  1. Preliminaries: First, you must prove yourself ready to be called up to the battle by completing two preliminary tasks. You may complete these tasks in either order:
    • Catch the Silth (arm HB/DDA with Magma/SBB and Wicked Gnarly)
    • Catch the Technic and Mystic Kings
  2. Collect a Sandtail Call to Arms
Preliminaries
Catching The Silth

The big question that I get asked is whether to arm the HeatBath (HB) or Double Diamond Adventure (DDA). We do not have a large enough unbiased set of data (I'll talk about bias in data collection in another post) to give a definitive answer based on statistical analysis. Models such as the Furoma model, while useful, are always least reliable in answering questions at the extremes, especially when the differences in outcome are quite small.

That is the important piece of information to remember. Catching the Silth is difficult, and ultimately an exercise in persistence. Ignore your friends who tell you they caught it on their third hunt and just keep at it. Oh, right, HB or DDA? My pick is DDA, not necessarily because, for every fifty hunters who follow this advice, one of them will catch the Silth two hunts faster as a result (statistic chosen at random), but because you will get more loot from the other mice while you are hunting for the Silth. Goblins drop flawless orbs, Cyclops and hydras drop simple orbs and harpies drop divine orbs, not to mention various other goodies that get dropped. So use your DDA and collect the loot. Which base? Your Spellbook base. What? You don't have a Spellbook base yet? Are you nuts? If you venture into the Fiery Warpath without a Spellbook base you will be fried to a crisp. Off to Zugzwang's Tower with you....

Catching the Technic and Mystic Kings

You must be joking, right? That is a different walkthrough, folks!

Collecting the Sandtail Call to Arms

The Sandtail call to arms is dropped by specific mice in the seasonal garden. You must have caught your Silth and one each of both Kings in ZT before the mice with drop the Sandtail call to arms. Note that the setup advice is all first-order guesswork and is guaranteed to be at least somewhat wrong!

Spring
  • Spring familiar (high probability of drop, although not 100%)
  • Puddlemancer (low probability of drop)

Craft your Enraged Rhinobot and use that, as you'll want it anyway. Use it with Spellbook Base (SBB) (1st choice), Magma Base (2nd choice), Molten Shrapnel Base (MSB) (3rd choice).

Summer
  • Summer mage
  • Firebreather (decent probability of drop)

The Rewer's Riposte (RR)'s catch rate is pretty terrific and the Firebreather's drop rate is pretty good, so use your RR if you have one, as it has much higher luck and will thus increase the likelihood of the drop. Fallback option is Zugzwang's First Move (ZFM). Don't go into Fiery Warpath without ZFM. Use either trap with Magma (1st choice), MSB (2nd choice).

Fall
  • Fall familiar (high probability of drop, although not 100%)
  • Harvest harrier (low probability of drop)

Seriously? Haven't you learned any patience playing this game? Wait until Winter! Oh, all right... Use your Cackle Lantern Trap (CLT) if you have one, or Clockapult of Time (COT), if not. Otherwise, go collect Simple Orbs until Winter. You'll thank me. Meanwhile, go write your mother a nice thank you note. And call her. When was the last time you called your mother, anyway? Use CLT with Magma / MSB and COT with SBB.

Thanks, Karina, for the heads up on the fall mice. Nice to know when I got a guess right :)
Winter
  • Bruticle

Here it depends on your bait and whether you own a Magma base. If using Gouda, go ahead and use your Double Diamond Adventure (DDA) or Kraken Chaos (KC) if you have one, with either Magma or MSB. If using SB+, use HeatBath (HB) by preference, falling back to DDA and KC. With HB, stick with MSB. You might even consider using SBB.

Fiery Warpath - Waves

[ ^ Contents | << Fiery Warpath Mice | >> Streaks]
A streak of three desert soldiers after returning to the Fiery Warpath during Wave 1. The area is NOT like Zugwang's Tower; progress is not reset upon leaving.
Most of the Fiery Warpath mice come in waves, although some of the mice are administrators ("support mice") and so are around all the time. One mouse, the Gargantuamouse, is released only on specific conditions, described in Streaks. To move on to the next wave, you have to defeat a specified number of each mouse in your current wave. In wave 1, your initial goal is 35 of each mouse, although that number can both decrease and increase as described in Streaks. Your progress is displayed in the HUD display.

see also Hilary's Visual Reference for the Sandtail Desert Mice

Support Mice (administrators!)
  • Caravan Guard
  • Crimson Commander
Wave 1:
  • 35 Desert Soldiers (warrior)
  • 35 Vanguards (scout)
  • 35 Desert Archers (archer)
Wave 2
  • 40 Flame Warriors (warrior)
  • 40 Sentinals (scout)
  • 40 Flame Archers (archer)
  • 45 Sand Cavalry (cavalry)
  • 20 Inferno Mages (mage)
Wave 3
  • 50 Crimson Titans (warrior)
  • 50 Crimson Watch (scout)
  • 50 Crimson Rangers (archer)
  • 60 Sandwing Cavalry (cavalry)
  • 30 Magmarage (mage)
  • 20 Flame Ordnance (artillery)
Wave 4
  • 12 Theurgy Wardens
  • 1 Warmonger
  • no support mice!

Fiery Warpath - New Weapons

[ ^ Contents | << Streaks | >> Crafting Items ]
Trap Loot

Each time you defeat the Warmonger, among other goodies, you are awarded a warpath victory. It turns out that the warpath victories are not consumable items (credit: James Cha), which is great news! Thus, you could craft both the Sphynx Wrath and the Oasis Water Node after your first pass through the Fiery Warpath even if the Warmonger did not drop any of the trap loot if you were rich enough to buy the necessary loot in the Marketplace. Very interesting, yes?

The pattern in which the Warmonger drops the trap loot continues to evolve. So far the pattern seems to be that he drops one of:

on the first catch. It is far more difficult to get him to drop one of the above on the second drop (try ultimate luck charms), although it is possible.

Enraged Rhinobot: (NOT smashable)
Digby scientists were hard at work trying to improve upon the already amazing RhinoBot when a fluke of chance led to the creation of the Enraged RhinoBot! The pure platinum cogs make it practically indestructible and a machine of pure raging power! It is hard to say whether the scientists think their masterpiece a success or a failure because since the Enraged Rhinobot has emerged from their labs, no one has been able to discover their whereabouts.
The Ragebot is not loot from the Fiery Warpath so much as a trap needed to hunt there. It is also a wonder in Derr Dunes for those hunters not possessing a Chrome Drillbot.
  • Power: 5900 physical
  • Power bonus: 10%
  • Attraction bonus: none
  • Luck: 20
  • Cheese effect: Insanely Stale
Recipe:
  • 3 Rhino horns
  • 6 Platinum bars
  • 1 Rhinobot parts
  • 48 Stale SB+ (Runic, when staled, becomes stale sb+)
Working with some clever trapsmiths and the oasis bead you were able to create a tunnel of water and give it a mind of it's own. While on standby the trap simply looks like a still pool of fresh water in a beautiful desert oasis, however any mouse it encounters will be snatched up and rocketed through the water tunnel to whatever destination you've set, be that Davy Jones Locker or another continent. If this were big enough for a human and much safer, one might consider using it for a more cost effective travel method...
  • Power: 5200 hydro
  • Power bonus: 12%
  • Attraction bonus: 10%
  • Luck: 20
  • Cheese effect: No effect
Oasis Water Node Blueprints (1 warpath victory, 800,000g)
This trap design may appear as a beautiful desert oasis, but below the sand is a masterfully crafted tunnel full of water brought to life by a thousand Living Shards. A splash of coconut milk has been superheated using Flameshards to produce a unique cheese-bearing palm tree that provides a healthy attraction bonus.

Having read this guide, you have been hoarding your flameshards and spending your nights in Digby collecting living shards, so you'll be set to craft your Oasis Water Node, using the recipe discovered by Paul Chambers:

  • 1 Coconut Milk
  • 1000 Living Shards
  • 150 Flameshards
  • 1 Oasis Bead
  • 1 set of Oasis Water Node Blueprints
The intention of this trap was to pay homage to a mythical creature known only for it's unparalleled mouse hunting prowess. Outfitted with a slew of clever traps it came as quite the surprise when the trapsmith who designed this tool of destruction found it utterly destroyed by it's [sic] own means, the statue untouched. It is believed the simple traps were insult enough to the spirit of this creature that they simply destroyed themselves in it's [sic] presence.
  • Power: 6100 tactical
  • Power bonus: 10%
  • Attraction bonus: 10%
  • Luck: 25
  • Cheese effect: very fresh
Sphynx Wrath Blueprints (1 warpath victory, 900,000 G)
These blueprints outline how to encase a rare Sphynx Crystal in gold leaf to unleash a fearsome feline mouse adversary. Upon a mouse approaching the mighty sphynx, the power of Flameshards summon her to sentience, unleashing an unrivaled tactical mouse adversary.

Sphynx Wrath is invaluable against the Sandwing Cavalry in Wave 3. Use the recipe discovered by Sharon Nakauchi.

  • 28 Gold Leaf (thanks, Alan!)
  • 200 Flameshards
  • 1 Sphynx Crystal
  • 1 set of Sphynx Wrath Blueprints
Encased in metal that has stood the test of extreme weathering and time, the Sandstorm MonstroBot is outfitted with the most advanced technologies. Should a mouse be lucky enough to escape its heat sensor tracking and turbo lasers, they are still left to face its sheer size and hardened fists. One MonstroBot alone could take out three Digby DrillBots at once...easily. Thankfully, its tastes are of the more furry rodent variety!
  • Power: 8000 physical
  • Power Bonus: 20%
  • Attraction Bonus: 5%
  • Luck: 27
  • Cheese Effect: No Effect
Sandstorm MonstroBot Blueprints (3 warpath victories, 999,000 G)
In the midst of the Santail [sic] Desert battle, the most experienced of the local trapsmiths have drafted plans for a massive physical trap of unmatched power. The Sandstorm MonstroBot harnesses the power of Flameshards to fuse heavy pieces of rare Sandblasted Metal to RhinoBot Parts.

Recipe (credit James Cha)

  • 1 set of Digby DrillBot Parts
  • 1 set of RhinoBot Parts
  • 2 pieces of Sandblasted Metal
  • 400 Flameshards
  • 1 set of Sandstorm MonstroBot blueprints

Fiery Warpath - Charms

[ ^ Contents | << Crafting Items | >> Strategies ]
Overview

The regular charms increase the encounter rate of that particular subgroup of fiery warpath mouse to your trap. They are helpful in wave 1, but fare poorly after that.

The super charms 'significantly' increase the encounter rate of the specified subgroup and add a subgroup-specific power bonus as well.

Neither type of charm reduces FTAs!

All the charms are only consumed when they attract a mouse from the correct subgroup.

Fiery Warpath Charm Shoppe
Regular charms: 1 ionized salt and 350 gold per piece
Super charms: 1 magic essence and 100 gold per piece
Crafted Fiery Warpath Charms
FW charm base:
  • 1 simple orb
  • 2 charm bits
  • 1 ionized salt
FW super charm base:
  • 1 simple orb
  • 2 charm bits
  • 1 magic essence
All that is left is to add the appropriate crafting agent to produce the desired charm:

Warpath Cavalry CharmSuper Warpath Cavalry Charm
  • 1 desert horseshoe
Warpath Mage CharmSuper Warpath Mage Charm
  • 1 heatproof mage cloth
Charms dropped as loot in FW
Warpath Commander's Charm:
  • Awarded for completing a wave
  • Hang on to these at least until wave 3 of first pass, possibly until second pass
  • This charm assists in attracting Crimson Commanders of the Marching Flame, increasing how often they're encountered. This charm is consumed upon encountering a Crimson Commander Mouse.
Ultimate Luck Charm

Ultimate Power Charm

Fiery Warpath - Strategies

[ ^ Contents | << Charms ]
First, some general comments.
  • The Fiery Warpath is not an area in which a hunter can pick a single setup and stick with it throughout and expect an optimal (or even near-optimal) result. The screenshot below provides an object lesson in this principle: with only Desert Archers left, using charms is wasteful.
  • We are all still learning our way through, so read lots of guides, take what you like and leave the rest. Enjoy the game and do what *you* think you should do.
  • I am just finishing up wave 2, so the later stuff I have sorted out by collaborating with friends who are further along, an understanding of tactics in general, games in particular, etc... YMMV. :)
  • Read the rest of this guide, but especially the sections on Waves and Streaks, before reading this section.

[placeholder:image]
Late in wave 1, your faithful scribe has dispensed with charms altogether and dropped back to gouda, taking advantage of knowledge gleaned from her betters. No need to scramble for every opportunity to catch a Gargantuan mouse when Theurgy Wardens will drop flameshards by the handfull.

I. Active Hunter Strategies:

Streaks are important; so is the 'demoralizing' effect of catching a Crimson Commander; and collecting loot is important as well. How to balance out these various goals?

Which mice should I target?  On the first pass through wave 1, rotate through the mice in the wave, rather than clearing all of one mouse and then moving on to the next.  Try to keep the number of each mouse you have left to capture roughly the same. Obviously, never break your own streak. On the first pass through wave 2, rotate through the archers, scouts and warriors first, as catching a crimson commander will cause cavalry and mages to retreat as well and you have no charms for those mice. You'll end up tackling some Cavalry and Mages at the end and will end up with drops for charms which you can then use in wave 3.

[placeholder:image]
In wave 2, everything is challenging!

What bait / charms should I use?  Vary your bait and charm setup depending on where you are in a streak as well as where you are in a wave.

For example: For wave 1, start out using gouda and no charm and see what you catch. Then arm the regular charm for that kind of mouse, staying with gouda through the third or fourth catch. If you have six or more of that mouse left to go in the wave, switch to the super version of the charm after the fourth or fifth catch. After the sixth or seventh catch, switch to sb+ as well....

In wave 2 (first pass through), I always armed a charm until I was done with the archers, scouts and warriors. I started out with gouda / regular charm for the first two catches, switched to the super charm after the second and switched up to sb+ after the fourth catch. This strategy was combined with ragebot / runic while using gouda, then switching to SBB when switching to SB+. The idea was that I had more invested in the streak as it progressed, so it was worth expending more resources to maintain it.

Another consideration is that sb+ affects the encounter rates for Crimson Commanders and Caravan Guards, which is a possible argument for a sb+ / regular charm setup, especially for hunters with fewer MH hunting friends. "According to the King's scouts, SUPER|brie+ is known to attract more Crimson Commanders and less Caravan Guards."

How do / Should I catch the Gargantuamouse?

Why not just always switch after 6 and avoid the Gaga? Because it drops flameshards, which we believe will be needed to craft the Oasis Water Node, Sphynx Wrath and Monstrobot. On the other hand, the Theurgy Wardens also drop flameshards by the handfull, so you will have to decide for yourself. Once we have the recipes for the new traps, I can give better guidance to this question.

You can tell when the Gaga has been released by watching your streak meter - when it turns yellow, the Gaga is loose. No need to switch setup before then for horn calls. That means that if you have a trap check coming up after your seventh catch, I'm not sure quite what you should do, as trap checks are reported at your designated time (mine is at 0:30) but do not necessarily occur at that time (hence the MouseHunt knows what is going to happen effect). Personally, I think I would be tempted to unbait for the things at present...

The chances of encountering Gaga increase by a polynomial equation (not exponential) as the streak progresses. (I'll give some examples in a future update to show what this means). A possible strategy might be to switch to, for example, a strong hydro setup if the streak meter turns yellow before the ninth catch during the first three waves (hydro being 'less effective' for both Gaga and archers, scouts and warriors), switching to your Ice Maiden (IM) after the ninth catch. With IM and Spellbook base, you have a good chance of catching Gaga. Switch to a luck charm, as you will not catch anything other than Gaga with IM armed.

What trap / base should I use?  Your trap and base depend on what wave you are in, what mice you are targeting, and where you are in a streak (see above.) A strong physical trap is your best friend for wave one, with the exception of when you target Gaga. The ragebot (Enraged Rhinobot) is an ideal trap for the active hunter, as this location rewards consistency, so the ragebot is very likely to outperform the much-beloved Chrome Drillbot, as strength is more consistent than luck. Ragebot / Spellbook base appears to be a terrific physical setup for the location. In waves two and three, you encounter mice that require hydro, tactical and arcane traps. Following the strength over luck in order to maximize streaks approach, we would pick HeatBath (hydro), Zugzwang's First Move (tactical) and ACRONYM (arcane), again paired with Spellbook Base. The Ice Maiden is the only option for Draconic against Gargantuamouse.

II. Passive Hunter Strategies:

Passive hunters will really not be able to manage streaks effectively, so our best thinking on the topic at present is to ignore charms entirely and just collect the mice in the first two waves as they come, recognizing that it will take longer that way. Passive hunters can still benefit from having lots of friends in the area at the same time as they are there, however, preventing reinforcements from arriving.

What about flameshards? You'll get flameshards from the Theurgy Wardens and they are for sale in the marketplace, whereas many items are not... Passive hunters thus have many options to collect flameshards :)