So, I started hunting in the Catacombs last night. I'm not entirely sure I know what I'm doing yet. I did buy the Obelisk of Slumber and I have several Radioactive Blue potions so I'm doing okay. Not great, but okay. I am slooowly collecting Ancient potions so we'll see what happens.

Couple of quick questions for the higher-ups:

Is the Onyx Mallet worth crafting?
Should I get the Ambush Trap blueprints?

And.....I think that's all for now.

Not sure exactly what tips the scales in favor of attracting and catching though.

Attracting is almost all about the cheese you're using, and slightly less about the percentage of attraction on your trap as well as attraction charms. Catching is all about the trap setup: type, power, and luck.
If you're attracting the mouse but not catching it, you may be using the wrong trap setup but you are using the right cheese.
If you're not attracting very many mice but you are catching the ones you do attract, you may need to use a better cheese.
If you're neither attracting nor catching mice, you may be doing something wrong.

As a sidenote here, SuperBrie does nothing to increase your chance of catching mice that come by your trap. All it does is help you attract them.

yep, infact if I'm not mistaken, [the Venus Mouse Trap is] the only one I can purchase, definitely the cheapest...

If you can get ahold of 20 Radioactive Sludge, you can immediately upgrade the Venus Mouse Trap to the Mutated Venus Mouse Trap. Radioactive Sludge is stale Radioactive Blue Cheese. You can purposely stale the stuff if you're hunting in the wrong place with a really stale setup.

Currently I'm using the explosive base and swiss army mouse trap, good plan?

The Dehydration Base may work a tiny bit better with that trap, but you might try switching them back and forth to see what you think.

Is the Onyx Mallet worth crafting?
Should I get the Ambush Trap blueprints?

Onyx Mallet trap - Yes, I would definitely encourage you to get this trap for when you hunt in the Derr Dunes.
Ambush Trap - Only if you want it, but Rewers is an infinitely better trap.

I'm really starting to dislike The Acolyte Realm. It seems as if the devs have made this area nigh impossible, even with the Ancient Box Trap. I've went through more than 60 pieces of runic cheese thus far, and have only attracted two acolyte mice, neither of which resulted in success! I have 26 pieces of cheese remaining, and if I haven't caught an acolyte with that by the time it's gone, I may take a break and do something else, because this is ridiculously frustrating (to the point where it's not enjoyable )

10:30 am - Great Gnarled Tree
I checked my trap and found that I had caught a mouse! I caught a 5 oz. Wicked Witch of Whisker Woods Mouse worth 400 points and 2,700 gold.

Hah! I have vengence! Mwahahah!

Ok now for more serious matters...

@FK, actually I have been switching back and forth between those two Haven't seen much difference yet though...

I've also found the Mousoleum to be rather unenjoyable as the last mouse I caught there was 2 hours ago. Run-ins with Mummy and Bat Mice have also been stealing my cheese, money, and points. So for now I'm safe in the Lab.

There are two differing opinions when it comes to the Mouseleum. One is that it is great for gold, and the other is that it's a pain. Both have their merits. On one hand, it's really the first area of the game where you'll experience a significant loss of gold. Monster mice, Mummy mice, Lycan mice, etc. . . : all of these will rob you at some point or other in there. This leads to serious frustration! On the other hand, people generally turn a fairly decent profit in there (it's sometimes just hard to see it due to the frustration of losing money).

I personally disliked the Mouseleum, and hunted in the dojo more.

EDIT: Grrr. . . I missed the Acolyte mouse again! That makes four times!

I personally disliked the Mouseleum, and hunted in the dojo more.

I like the Dojo, too. Though, I'm beginning to get frustrated with the Assassin mouse...I cannot even begin to count how many times I've tried to hunt for her. I haven't even attracted her...So for now, I'm jumping back and forth between the Dojo, Meditation Room, and the Pinnacle Chamber, trying to make as much gold as I can with the more expensive mice in Furoma. Thankfully, traveling is not expensive.

So for now, I'm jumping back and forth between the Dojo, Meditation Room, and the Pinnacle Chamber, trying to make as much gold as I can with the more expensive mice in Furoma. Thankfully, traveling is not expensive.

The Rewer's makes this possible. Back in the days of yore, when I was in the dojo, all I had was the Ambush trap. I remember being left with this hideous void-like feeling when I realised that I'd have to leave the dojo unfinished due to the fact that Ambush just isn't strong enough to catch a Dojo Sensei.

So to those of you who are newer, and didn't get the Rewer's Riposte from Ronza, you'll have a wonderful love-hate-hate-HATE relationship with the dojo at times. . . have fun.

I'm glad to hear that you're doing well in there though, Chloe

I'm glad to hear that you're doing well in there though, Chloe

That's probably because I walk by my computer every 15 minutes and click my Hunter's Horn.

Oh, and I guess the Rewers helps my progress too.

Digs, I've only caught 2 in 30 attractions and we're probably talking about close to 200 pieces of runic. So I know it's annoying, but be patient. You'll catch one eventually.

Well, if I keep on my current trajectory, I will have enough veggies to make 30 to 45 pieces of Gumbo after I use up my current Gouda. I still don't really have a solid plan as to how I'm going to move around this new area, so I dunno where exactly I'll go, or if I'll just stay put. I must say, I do have a bit of "spring fever" from getting into the isles, so who knows.

Any further suggestions as to plotting my course?

I would head to the Elub Shores next, Lady A. Those mice are very high in points (where Derr mice are very high in gold). Plus, a hydro trap upgrade is going to be a LOT cheaper than a physical trap upgrade.

I've decided to go through the gauntlet, because I need a break from the acolyte. I figure that once I build up plenty of tier-2 cheese, I'll head back to the forbidden grove for a while to farm more runes, but I needed a break. I was getting tired of never catching anything

I'm going to have to disagree with Digs. The CCT trap will work great in the Dunes. I'm not sure how the ETR will do in Elub. The DDA will do well there. Elub was the one that drove me nutty even with the Ancient Spear Gun. Always seemed to take twice as long as the other two sections. It really is up to you though Lady A.

I'm going to have to disagree with Digs. The CCT trap will work great in the Dunes.

I disagree with your disagreement ! I have used the CCT in the dunes as my main attack, and it does wretchedly! When it comes to hunting the main tribe, you'll get about a 40% catch rate, and when you're going after the three upper tribesman, you'll only have about a 10% catch rate.

That's not to say that it isn't "do-able." I'm hoping that I'm done with that area (as in. . . PLEASE let me catch a dragon fairly early on!), but an upgraded physical trap such as the Onyx Mallet (which I was advised against crafting, and now have second thoughts), or the Rhinobot, would be ideally suited for the Derr Tribe.

The Ancient Spear gun does decently against the Elub. I'd say you'll have a catch rate of 70% for the regular tribesmen, and probably a 50% catch rate for the upper tribesman.

*personally thinks that the Nerg are the easiest tribe*

That being said. . .

Any advice on how to run this gauntlet? How many of each cheese should I accrue before attempting to run the next tier?

Nerg's only the easiest when you have a decent tactical trap. Horrific Venus Mouse Trap or Rewers. I had an abysmal time in Elub even with the Ancient Spear Gun. I've used the CCT in the Dunes as well and I still bring in 80,000 - 100,000 in gold in a good day. I actually went to the Dunes first. Even with the chillbot, I still can 24 hrs with only one or two catches in the Dunes. The mice are worth it though.