Polled: Did you buy the Trebuchet or the Rocketine first?

Thanks to the 125 hunters that answered the poll, we have the following numbers.. Trebuchet : 106 (84%) Rocketine : 11 (8%) Skipped both, waited for the Swiss Army : 3 (2%) Adopted, bought both : 5 (4%)

Trebuchet vs Rocketine #2

Townsend Duong (Stanford) replied to Richard's post on Jul 20, 2008 at 12:36 AM Whereas the Treb tries to balance several trap aspects of power, luck, and cheese effect, the Rocketine goes for maximum power at the cost of luck and cheese effect. As a result, the Treb is somewhat weaker than I think you should really want for that stage of the game. The Treb/Stone improves the power but gets little additional benefit from the Stone base's Positive cheese effect. The Rocketine/Stone gets a bigger power increase due to the Stone base's power bonus, which compounds the Rocketine's main strength. Further, the Stone base's Positive cheese effect addresses the Rocketine's main weakness. The result is a trap that still has no luck but is almost as powerful as the Trebuchet/Explosive. From the Rocketine/Stone, players can make the choice of the Explosive base for the only trap combination below Swiss Army to be over 1000 power (not my preference), or save for the Swiss Army while still having over 900 power. If they go the former route, they get a lot of power but must deal with the worst cheese effect in the game by using Brie or SB+, which is fine because you are basically maximizing both power and attraction - not possible with the Treb. If they go the latter route, they can quickly get the Swiss Army because they delay the purchase of the Explosive base. With the Trebuchet, because it is slightly underpowered, you can only make this choice if your hunts turn out lucky. If you go to the Harbour and have poor luck, you'll need the Explosive base upgrade sooner. I think it is the option to maximize both power and attraction as well as the strategic choice of Swiss Army or Explosive first that makes the Rocketine worth considering. Most hunters also point out the cheese effect of the Rocketine, which I think is a bogus argument. The Rocketine/Stone has the same cheese effect as the Swiss Army/Explosive or the DeathBot/Target and better than the DeathBot/Explosive. All 3 of those setups are commonly adopted by the same hunters who denounce the Rocketine for its cheese effect. More importantly, I think the best hunters don't let spoiled cheese become the central factor in their trap strategy.

Trebuchet vs Rocketine

Chris Rindero wroteon Jun 26, 2008 at 7:05 PM Newbie question I am currently trapping with the Stone Base and Mary. I can now afford the Treb and Rock. Any suggestions? Should I upgrade and to which one? Stay in the Meadow with it or stay in town? Or stay as is, switching baits and between town and the meadow. Hardcore newb looking for suggestion/advice. Thanks everyone. Safe hunting, Stopher Townsend Duong (Stanford) replied to Chris's post on Jun 26, 2008 at 7:57 PM Rocketine is underrated, but both are good choices with very similar success in the long run. Personally, I think the extra power of the Rocketine should be given more credit. At that level, you really need all the power you can get, especially now that the Harbour is so much more difficult than it used to be. Remember that the Stone base has a power bonus, which amplifies the difference in power. Or look at it this way: The Rocketine with Stone base has overall power of 928. The Treb with Explosive base has overall power of 963. That means if you go the route of the Rocketine, you can delay buying the Explosive base until you already have the Swiss Army trap. This is a good thing, because the Explosive base would make your cheese effect even worse, and the Swiss Army is a much more significant upgrade than the Explosive base. If you go the way of the Treb, you will have a much easier time with the cheese, but you'll need the Explosive base to boost your power unless you manage to save gold for the Swiss Army.