Once I get the telescope...should I go back to the Catacombs to farm gold or should I head to Cape Clawed? I have about 100,000 gold right now.

It's entirely up to you at this point, and really depends on what you want to do next. Cape Clawed is not a very good location for gold, and is really only there for two reasons:

A: It's general store has all of the necessary things to do well in the tribal isles. It's trapsmith sells new traps and bases (you might consider crafting the tiki base if you have enough money, Chloe!), and it's cheese shoppe sells Gouda; the cheese necessary for the Isles.

B: The elder mice of each tribe inhabit Cape Clawed, and each of them has a special loot drop that is necessary to upgrade many traps. The Grandfather Mouse drops the thorned vine which allows you to craft the Thorned/Horrific Venus Mouse Trap. The Aged Mouse drops the rhino-horn which allows you to craft the rhinobot, and the Elder mouse drops the ancient spear, which allows you to craft the ancient spear gun. All three of these are great traps (although the HVMT is not as good as the Rewer's Riposte).

That being said you're going to find that the Tribal Isles are pretty pricey to begin with. Gouda cheese is 600 gold per piece, which makes it more expensive than any other purchased cheese in the game (and more expensive than most crafted cheeses to this point too). To craft specialty cheeses (Gumbo, Crunchy and Shell) you're also going to need ionized salt (AHHHHHHH), curds and whey, and coconut milk (which is also pretty pricey!).

Using the Candy Cane Base with the Rewer's Riposte does pretty good in Nerg Plains, and you should make a decent profit as well. My suggestion though right now; start getting some more gold (either in Nerg or in the Catacombs) so that you can buy the tribal base (which, after purchasing some blueprints off of the marketplace, can be upgraded to the tiki base). The Tiki base is just awesome! It has an INSANE power bonus, and has increased luck when used in the tribal isles.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but the Tribal Isles is a complicated (albeit very fun) area.

No problem for all the info. I need it.

Okay...so I will head back to the Catacombs. And then I shall form a battle plan.

@Chloe, I second DiGs's advice on Cape Clawed. Skip it for now and come back when you have Gumbo, Shell, and Crunchy cheese to catch those three mice.

the Elder mouse drops the ancient spear, which allows you to craft the ancient spear gun.

The Ancient Spear Gun is equivalent to the Explosive Toboggan Trap. Just so you know.

Using the Candy Cane Base with the Rewer's Riposte does pretty good in Nerg Plains, and you should make a decent profit as well. My suggestion though right now; start getting some more gold (either in Nerg or in the Catacombs) so that you can buy the tribal base (which, after purchasing some blueprints off of the marketplace, can be upgraded to the tiki base).

I'm not as big of a fan of the Tiki Base as DiGs is. Having watched my brother play quite closely, I still like the Candy Cane Base better than the Tiki Base when paired with pretty much every trap at this level, except for the Rhinobot. Plus you have to have 14,000,000 points to get the Tribal Base anyways. Did you get the Tiki Base Blueprints when Ronza was here?

So I'm going to offer some slightly different advice than DiGs... I'd suggest hunting in the Nerg Plains and Elub Shore as opposed to the Catacombs again.

Nerg mice offer an equivalent amount of gold and points (and a nice amount too!) and you may find yourself making almost as much as you would in the Catacombs, plus you'll start your collection of Savoury Vegetables .

Elub mice are heavy on the points and lighter on the gold but since points become very important now, it's a great place to go while working on leveling for a new trap/base/whatever.

And finally, Derr is heavy on gold, light on points, but the mice there are so hard that you don't turn much of a profit, let alone catch a lot of mice. You will probably want to craft the Onyx Mallet Trap before you attempt this area... unless they give away some uber physical trap for the MH birthday party.

To craft specialty cheeses (Gumbo, Crunchy and Shell) you're also going to need ionized salt (AHHHHHHH), curds and whey, and coconut milk (which is also pretty pricey!).

No, just regular salt. The only cheese that requires ionized salt in all of the Tribal Islands is Vengeful Vanilla Stilton that you use to catch Balack.

@DiGs, congrats on getting all the gold you need. I hope you get those scrap metal fast! I was going to tell you over the past week, my brother tested out luck charms in the Forbidden Grove and Catacombs area. It seemed to get him like five more runes or scrap metal per day when he equipped a luck charm, so I thought I'd let you know.

In other news, I am up to 97.93% of the way to Countess.... should easily break 98% today. However, it is now Fall in the Seasonal Garden which is probably my worst season (though Winter is still rather annoying as well) so if I cap my amplifier, I'll probably hit Zugzwang's Tower again for that extra level boost.

I post in this thread way too much

The Ancient Spear Gun is equivalent to the Explosive Toboggan Trap. Just so you know.

It is? I didn't know that! If this is the case, then definitely don't waste your time crafting the Ancient Spear Gun, because the Ancient Spear Gun cannot be smashed, where the Harpoon Gun, and Net Cannon can be smashed. You need the launcher parts from these to craft the Heat Bath (meaning that if you craft the ancient spear gun. . . you're out another 664 thousand gold ). The ETR also has better luck than the Ancient Spear Gun, meaning that you'll accrue seashells more quickly.

I'm not as big of a fan of the Tiki Base as DiGs is. Having watched my brother play quite closely, I still like the Candy Cane Base better than the Tiki Base when paired with pretty much every trap at this level, except for the Rhinobot. Plus you have to have 14,000,000 points to get the Tribal Base anyways. Did you get the Tiki Base Blueprints when Ronza was here?

Don't you love it how different people have different gaming styles? The reason I favour more power over more luck is due to the fact that power is the direct link to whether or not you catch a mouse. Now given, if I'm going after a tough mouse, I'm going to use a high luck setup, because luck increases exponentially, whereas power increases linearly. As a general rule of thumb, I find that 1 Luck is roughly equivalent to 100 Power.

For example:

ACRONYM With Candy Cane Base:
Power: 4592
Luck: 26
Attraction Bonus: 0
Power Bonus: 12%
Cheese Effect: Extremely Stale
Effectiveness (Catacombs): Medium

ACRONYM With Tiki Base:
Power: 5200
Luck: 18
Attraction Bonus: 5%
Power Bonus: 30%
Cheese Effect: Stale
Effectiveness (Catacombs): Strong

I find that both of these trap setups works very well in the catacombs. (Notice that they are separated by 800 power and 8 luck )

Another good thing about the tiki base is that in Nerg, Derr, and Elub, it boosts luck by 6 points. Therefore, instead of sacrificing 8 luck (when hunting with the candy cane base), you're only sacrificing 2 luck, and you're gaining a TON of power.

And if you didn't buy the blueprints for the tiki base from Ronza, you can buy them on the marketplace for about 200K.

And finally, Derr is heavy on gold, light on points, but the mice there are so hard that you don't turn much of a profit, let alone catch a lot of mice. You will probably want to craft the Onyx Mallet Trap before you attempt this area... unless they give away some uber physical trap for the MH birthday party.

I saw that Princess Rosario was using the Digby Drillbot in Derr, and was actually doing "decently." So that might be an option for you as well, Chloe. Beware though, Derr is the bane of my existence

I was going to tell you over the past week, my brother tested out luck charms in the Forbidden Grove and Catacombs area. It seemed to get him like five more runes or scrap metal per day when he equipped a luck charm, so I thought I'd let you know.

That's good to know, but as I only need five more scrap metal, I'm not in any hurry

Okay, so I won't try to craft the Ancient Spear Gun.

I didn't get the blueprints for the Tiki Base. I don't think I had enough gold...Now I'm conflicted about whether or not I should try crafting it... Thanks, guys.

Hmm, I think I'll head to Nerg after I stock up on some Gouda. As for a trap, I should use the Rewers Riposte, yeah?

To craft specialty cheeses (Gumbo, Crunchy and Shell) you're also going to need ionized salt (AHHHHHHH), curds and whey, and coconut milk (which is also pretty pricey!).

No, just regular salt. The only cheese that requires ionized salt in all of the Tribal Islands is Vengeful Vanilla Stilton that you use to catch Balack.

Phew! I'm glad it's just regular salt! Hehe. Guess I should stock up some salt and curds & whey, too...

As for a trap, I should use the Rewers Riposte, yeah?

Uhm. . . . . . . . . . . . . YEAH !!!!! Seriously, I spent a good part of the weekend in there using RR + Tiki Base and was bringing in about 6,000 gold an hour profit (before factoring in the cost of cheese, it was closer to 10,000 per hour). You should experience similar results using the Candy Cane Base.

Uhm. . . . . . . . . . . . . YEAH !!!!! Seriously, I spent a good part of the weekend in there using RR + Tiki Base and was bringing in about 6,000 gold an hour profit (before factoring in the cost of cheese, it was closer to 10,000 per hour). You should experience similar results using the Candy Cane Base.

Ooh, shiny gold. Okay, good to know.

Now I need the telescope...

I saw that Princess Rosario was using the Digby Drillbot in Derr, and was actually doing "decently."

She may beg to differ. Having suffered through Derr myself with nothing but the Digby Drillbot (the Onyx Mallet was not available at the time) I do recommend the Onyx Mallet Trap. Though you're right DiGs, it can be done without it if you don't want to farm more Onyx Stones.

I don't think I had enough gold...Now I'm conflicted about whether or not I should try crafting it...

LOL, my comment was NOT intended to steer you away from getting it. Definitely get it. My comment was to make sure you test out both bases and see which one works better for you.

I post in this thread way too much

You started the thread, so you're obligated. I got everybody except shastastwin and Lady Arwen hooked on this game either directly or indirectly so I'm obligated as well I think.

LOL, my comment was NOT intended to steer you away from getting it. Definitely get it. My comment was to make sure you test out both bases and see which one works better for you.

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood. I'll try both, then.

I moved to the Lab this morning with my Bacon Base and ETR, + about 85 pieces of Radioactive. I've gotten around 4500 gold so far and plenty of points. A monster mouse just crippled my courage, though.

Well I'd figure I'd test my luck at the lagoon. Apparently I'm not very lucky

@EtJ, yep Monster mice will do that. If you don't want to attract him though, just switch to swiss or brie and he won't bother you anymore. Though he's worth a load of gold, points, and other goodies if you do catch him.

@wolf, with just the Venus Mouse Trap, I can't say I'm terribly surprised. Did you catch anything at all?

Woot! I got the telescope!

I crafted the Ocean Navigation Kit, but I'm going to stick around and catch the mice that I haven't caught yet....I still need to catch the Swabbie, Cook, Squeaken and the Shelder.

The Cook is a SB+ only mouse. Just fyi. The Shelder Mouse is ridiculously rare so you may or may not have trouble with that one as well.

Congrats on the Ocean Navigation Kit!

The Cook is a SB+ only mouse. Just fyi. The Shelder Mouse is ridiculously rare so you may or may not have trouble with that one as well.

Congrats on the Ocean Navigation Kit!

Thanks.

Yeah, I just discovered that on the Wiki. Ah, well, I'll come back for them later, then. I don't want to use my SB+ just yet.

I'll see where I'm at in an hour or so (gotta do some cleaning), if I haven't caught anything new, maybe I'll go try my hand at the Nerg Plains and come back later for the others.