The Mouse Hunt Guide

MH Timer Lite

For the no-frills version of the Mousehunt Timer page, check out:
j.mp/mhtimerlite

Those that still prefer the full suite of additional information together with the regular MH Timer, this is your link:
j.mp/mhtimer

Note that these are my shortlinks and the contents of the MH Timer pages are not maintained by me.
Earlier post here: Mousehunt Timers

What happened with the Layout?

MouseHuntGuide readers, YOU ALL ARE FABULOUS !

We've clocked about 2.5 million pageviews in our lifetime, and you've broken our free template usage. :)

For now, we've switched to a default blogger one, but Hilary and I are planning a whole new website for you guys to call home. Yes, yes, real life does get in the way, but we're still avid hunters, even if we've stopped posting regularly.

We're still trying to figure how you all would like to read and find stuff, so please drop a comment to tell us if you liked the format (if you remembered how it looked before we were blasted down) or if you have any ideas of what kind of information we should be showing.

No ideas? Go ahead and drop a comment anyway, don't be shy. We don't bite.
Much.
:)

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:

Entry Requirements
Fiery Warpath Mice
Waves
Streaks
New Weapons
Crafting Items
Charms
Strategy Guide
1. Introduction
2. Crimson Commander Mice
3. Gargantuamice
4. Caravan Guards NEW
5. Wave 1
6. Wave 2
7. Wave 3
8. Wave 4
9. Advice for passive hunters
10. (see also strategies)

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.

hydro
draconic
physical
arcane
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 :)

Sandstorm Monstrobot

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

Flameshard

dropped by Gargantuamouse, Theurgy Wardens, Warmonger
used to craft Oasis Water Node, Sphynx Wrath, Sandstorm MonstroBot

Warpath Victory

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.

Oasis Bead

dropped by Warmonger
used to craft Oasis Water Node

Sphynx Crystal

dropped by Warmonger
used to craft Sphynx Wrath

Sandblasted Metal

dropped by Warmonger
used to craft Monstrobot

Desert Horseshoe

dropped by cavalry
used to craft Warpath Cavalry Charm, Super Warpath Cavalry Charm

Heatproof Mage Cloth

dropped by mages
used to craft Warpath Mage Charm, Super Warpath Mage Charm

Simple Orb

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.

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):

Caravan Guard

less effective: physical, hydro, tactical

(900 G, 900 P)

Crimson Commander

very effective: hydro, draconic, physical, arcane, tactical

(1000 G, 10000 P)
waves 1, 2 and 3

Gargantuamouse

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:

Theurgy Warden

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

Crimson Commander Mice
Gargantuamice
Caravan Guards NEW
Wave 1
Wave 2
Wave 3
Wave 4
Advice for passive hunters