iv. Ronza’s 2009 Christmas Visit
Ronza returned again for the Christmas season, this time bringing a whole truckload of traps in tow. The actual update can be found in the “Christmas ’09″ section. Here we’ll simply talk about the traps she brought, and how good they are. Ronza first landed December 23, 2009.
First, she brought two bases.
Candy Cane Base
Stats: 300 power, 0% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 8 luck, Fresh Cheese Effect
Cost: 90,000, Points Required: 110,000
Firecracker Base
Stats: 300 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 4 luck, Stale Cheese Effect
Cost: 90,000, Points Required: 92,000
These bases bear VERY striking resemblances to two other bases: The Aqua and the Explosive Base! However, both are improved in a small way. The Candy Cane base has more power than the aqua base and a better cheese effect, while the Firecracker base has 4 luck while the explosive base has none.
On the spectrum of bases, they’re quite good. The Candy Cane base provides a GREAT alternative to the magma base if you want power and luck without your cheese going stale (Jungle of Dread, anyone?) The Firecracker, on the flip side, provides a little bit of everything, just like the explosive base did.
If you own the magma base and dehydration base already, you may never need these bases, so I wouldn’t fret about missing out on them. However, feel free to buy them. I know I bought mine.
Next, she had three traps. Only one was available immediately- the other two were released later on.
Snowglobe Trap
Stats: Physical-type, 2,350 power, 12% power bonus, 10% attraction bonus, 16 luck, No Cheese Effect
Cost: 341,000, Points Required: 91,000
People have been joking for ages that the NVMRC could be made into a snow globe, and so now we have it! With stats nearly identical to the NVMRC Forcefield Trap, the Snowglobe reminds me of the Partybot, except that the bonuses are nowhere near as big. This time, it’s only a 4 luck bonus. While that’s nice, the trap is also MUCH more expensive than the NVMRC (or the partybot, actually). Which ultimately means that it’s kind of a waste of gold.
Verdict: Very pretty, and good for collectors, but Ronza has better traps available for you to purchase.
2010 Blastoff Trap
Stats: Tactical-type, 2,600 power, 15% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 25 luck, Very Stale Cheese Effect
Cost: 512,800, Points Required: 99,000
As tactical traps go, this looks VERY similar to the Giant Speaker. It trades 250 power for 3 more luck. That means that they should be nearly the same in effectiveness, just like the ancient spear gun when compared with the Kraken. That’s before you take the power bonus into account, though. The blastoff trap gets another 10% over the speakers, which gives the blastoff trap another 260 power, which means there’s virtually no advantage to the speaker, because the power advantage isn’t really there.
Verdict: Buy it if you don’t have the Giant Speaker, and buy it if you can afford it even WITH the speaker. If you have the speaker and can’t afford it, you’ll be fine. If you don’t have the speaker, it’s highly recommended you find the gold to get it.
Chrome Drillbot
Stats: Physical-type, 3,900 power, 20% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 26 luck, Insanely Stale Cheese Effect
Cost: 897,400, Points Required: 544,000
This trap is a monster. It could quite possibly be the single best trap in Mousehunt. It’s got more luck than the partybot, more power than the Chrome Deathbot, and is just a staggeringly powerful combo for physical mice. However, it also comes with an equally monstrous price tag of nearly 900,000 gold. That’s a lot of gold to stomach, particularly for hunters who already own the Christmas Cracker Trap and got it for free.
Verdict: You can’t go wrong owning the statistically-best physical trap, but you may want to think twice about spending all that gold. Unless you intend to spend a LOT of time hunting in the Derr Dunes, this trap may sit on your shelf more than its cost justifies.
