Filling in the Silhouettes: Rare Mice

So you’ve finished all of the tasks set before you by the main game, but you’re still missing a few mice. What to do? This appendix will attempt to help you to fill in those holes.

Rare mice come in two categories: Mice that are only found with SB+, and mice that are only found using special cheese. We’ll split this appendix up into those two sections.

Mice that are only attracted to SB+

These mice aren’t actually that rare if you’re an SB+ user, but for the rest of us, they’re nearly non-existent. You *can* get them without SB+, it’s just rather hard to do so.

The Black Widow Mouse

The original SB+ mouse, the Black Widow can be found in almost all locations. However, the chance of seeing one is tenths of a percent. While SB+ increases the chances, it won’t help a lot. It will still take ages to find a Black Widow, even if you’re always using SB+.

Our advice for catching a Black Widow is to not worry about it- this mouse is one that you shouldn’t be chasing. Instead, let it come to you. Every hunter finds a black widow mouse eventually; patience is the key.

A long time ago we tested a theory that you can try if you’re just that impatient, though: try SB+ in the catacombs. Almost every time that you hunt you will FTA. However, those times when you don’t, there are only three mice you CAN get- the Zombie, the Bat and… the Black Widow.
The people who tested it got about 1 black widow in 100 hunts. You’ll probably stale a few SB+ along the way, even WITH your freshest trap setup, but if you’re that desperate… do what you gotta do!

The Nibbler Mouse

Named after the late Mousehunt Newspaper, this mouse can be found in several locations. You can go to the Town of Gnawnia, the Town of Digby, the Training Grounds or the Great Gnarled Tree- all are locations for the Nibbler Mouse.
As an indigenous mouse, you can use the most powerful trap that you have against the Nibbler- it’s as powerful as the longtail, so it’s not particularly difficult to catch.

My best advice is to try the Great Gnarled Tree. Of the locations, the mice in the GGT are worth the most. You won’t see the Nibbler on your first piece of SB+, most likely- it took me almost 100 pieces to snag mine. With such a long wait, the least you can do is maximize the returns you get while you wait for the Nibbler mouse.
The other smart option is to go to the Town of Gnawnia, where there are lots of other SB+ mice available.

The Dumpling Chef Mouse

Originally a mouse from the Heart of the Tiger event in the spring of 2010, the Dumpling Chef remained behind after the event in the Training Grounds. However, while it was easily found during the event, it’s a pain to catch now. SB+ is a necessity to find this one.

The Cook Mouse

Found only on the SS Huntington II, the cook mouse is especially susceptible to hydro traps. While you can use other traps, you need to get a hydro trap when you go to the Huntington anyway, you really should stick with either a harpoon gun or a net cannon. Obviously, the Ancient Spear Gun and Kraken Chaos are the best options, if you have them.

The Worker Mouse

Found in the Training Grounds and the Dojo, the worker is not as SB+ exclusive as the Nibbler and Cook seem to be. I know I caught one or two with brie during my stay in Furoma. However, if you equip SB+, workers will rain from the sky. As a furoma mouse, the worker is tactical, which means that you should use a tactical trap if you want to catch one. Even the ordinary Venus Mouse Trap is more than enough to catch them, so you can pursue this mouse whenever you want, really.

However, for the sake of your wallet, don’t go after them until you’ve finished your stay in furoma. You may pick up a worker normally while using brie. If you don’t, then switch over to SB+. You can try hunting for the nibbler at the same time in the training grounds while you’re at.
It’s also worth mentioning that the worker, when found in the dojo, drops blueprints for the ambush trap, so it’s another option for collecting the blueprints, as opposed to going hunting for Hapless mice.

The Farmhand Mouse, The Fog Mouse, The Magic Mouse, The Pebble Mouse, The Silvertail Mouse, The Speedy Mouse, and The Tiny Mouse

I lump all of these mice together into one group because they are all virtually the same. None of these mice serve any particular purpose except for filling in silhouettes, and all of them are easy enough that you should be able to catch them using any trap that you want to use.

This spreadsheet gives you an idea of how to get them even with SB+:

As you can see, it’s a pain in the butt to get these mice. However, it also shows that your best locations are the Town of Gnawnia and the Windmil, so start there and good luck!

The Spring Familiar and Fall Familiar

Found in the seasonal garden, these mice are found in the spring and the fall (of course!) and are generally only found when using SB+.
They’re not difficult, so there isn’t an overall strategy here- if you’re using SB+ to increase your amp anyway, this makes for a nice bonus!

Mice that are hard to find

These mice are not attracted to SB+, but they are rare and so people often miss them and are forced to go back and search for them later. The best strategy for ALL of these mice is Patience. People that cannot get this mouse are simply impatient- you must be ready to sit in an area for hours or even days if you intend to catch it.

The Cherry Mouse

When I say that mice are hard to find, normally I just mean that the attraction rate is low. But then there’s the Cherry mouse- this is by far the biggest nuisance of all mice in mousehunt.

To get the cherry mouse, you must start at the Calm Clearing. Equip whatever cheese tickles your fancy, and sit until you get either a cyclops or an eagle owl mouse. As you probably know, both of these mice are quite rare in the Calm Clearing. Fortunately, you need a cyclops anyway, so at least you won’t have to wait around after you get the map to the Great Gnarled Tree. The point of catching those two mice of course is to get a piece of loot they drop- a Cherry Potion.

Once you have a cherry potion, convert your cheese into cherry cheese. Then equip this cheese and sit in the calm clearing until you attract and catch the elusive cherry mouse (unfortunately, cherry cheese does attract mice besides the cherry mouse). If you don’t manage to attract one with your set of cherry cheese, you have to start the cycle over again.

Exceedingly annoying, but unfortunately the only way to get a cherry mouse. They’re worth a good amount of points & gold for a journeyman, so that’s a plus. But overall it’s a mouse that you really only want to get once!

The Mole Mouse

This is the most classic example of a rare mouse. Found only in the Meadow and in the Town of Digby, the Mole Mouse is very uncommon. They don’t serve much purpose, although they do drop pages of Plankrun’s journal in Digby.
There are two ways to get the mole. The first way is to head to Digby and wait for the Mole- you’ll be getting a mousoleum map there anyway, so you have time to sit. The other way is a “clever” way: craft some white cheddar and go to the meadow. While not as useful as it once was due to the increase in indigenous mice in the meadow, white cheddar will remove all white, grey and brown mice from the equation, meaning that the odds of seeing a mole will go up.
Don’t try white cheddar in Digby, and don’t listen to anyone who says the mole is more attracted to marble, or to swiss- it’s not. Use whatever cheese you want and you will have the same results.

The Abominable Snow Mouse, Frosty Snow Mouse and Frozen Mouse

Released in late 2008, the abominable always gets very festive around Christmas time. The Frozen and Snowman Mice are both relics from the following year’s 2009 Great Winter Hunt. During the rest of the year these recluse mice can be found on the Mountain. Incredibly rare, they have frustrated MANY hunters since their release. The easiest way to fill in the silhouettes is to wait until Christmas time, but barring that your best option is to bring a LOT of cheese to the mountain and sit. No other strategy, really. As with most of the mice on this list, you simply must wait.

The Burglar Mouse

To most hunters, the burglar isn’t all that rare- typically you’ll get one by the time you reach Furoma. However, for those of us who have not gotten it, head to either the harbour, the laboratory or the bazaar and equip brie cheese. Burglars love brie cheese and they will come to your trap fairly quickly with it equipped.
Seeing as you need one to get the gilded cheese for the master burglar, thankfully they’re not all that rare compared with others on this list.

The Foxy Mouse

Found in the Calm Clearing and the Great Gnarled Tree, the foxy mouse is just rare all around. Like the others in this category, your only option is to wait it out. Do not fall for the false claims that Swiss cheese will help. Despite the fact that  the foxy mouse drops Swiss, there is absolutely no evidence that it makes any difference in your attraction rate. Of course, having said that, Swiss is probably the best cheese to use in the calm clearing and great gnarled tree anyway, it’s kind of irrelevant. Still, should you choose to use brie, gnarled or some other cheese, your results will be the same.

The Assassin Mouse

One of the top mice in Furoma, many hunters can finish the entire map of Furoma without ever catching an Assassin. It’s a combination of the mouse being rare, but also being very tough to catch. There’s not a strategy for this mouse- best to just wait it out with a good tactical trap in the dojo and hope for the best.

The Mermaid Mouse and Shelder Mouse

I lump these two together because both are the rarities of the SS Huntington II. Both are for collections sake, and both have frustrated many people, ESPECIALLY the Shelder. Thankfully, there is good news: using gouda will increase your attraction rate of these mice. Not much, but it’s better than nothing.

The Reaper Mouse

Found in the Forbidden Grove, the reaper is a pain in the butt to get. While not hugely rare, the problem is that the forbidden grove is on a timer, and so you can’t hunt there all the time. If you could hunt there regularly, this mouse might only be slightly difficult to find. As it is, I hated finding mine and I’ve only gotten one to date. Having said that, typically in the process of collecting runes for one’s Ice Maiden, you can snag at least one reaper. If not, do some forbidden grove cycles, cross your fingers and hope for the best.

The Nugget Mouse

If you’ve been down to Digby to try for the Dirt Dwellers and been there for a while, odds are that you’ve gotten all of the mice there… except one. The Nugget mouse consistently provides enormous frustration to hunters that are after it, particularly since the limelight cheese is so difficult to obtain.
Unfortunately, I have no advice- all I can do is assure you that you’re not alone, and that the nugget mouse is just tough to get. Best of luck!

Mice that are tough to get

These mice are rare, but they’re also difficult to catch, and since it’s never required that you catch them, it’s easy to overlook them altogether. There are three of these mice: the Silth, the Dojo Sensei and the Monster Mouse.

The Monster Mouse

The original super-difficult mouse, the monster can be found in the laboratory, the mousoleum and the catacombs. As one of the strongest mice in the game (and THE strongest at the time of its release), the monster was an easily missed mouse by virtue of the sheer power required to snag it. On top of that, it was a physical mouse which meant mousoleum hunters were fighting an uphill battle in trying to catch it with their meager sinister portals.

The best way to catch a monster mouse is to actively pursue it. To do this, you need to equip Radioactive Blue cheese in the laboratory. With RB equipped, the monster will come out of hiding in the lab and will approach your trap. Equip your best trap/base combination (don’t worry about attraction or staleness: RB has SB+ levels of attraction in the lab). The Arcane Capturing Rod of Never-Yielding Mystery is a strong standard with its high luck/power combo, although the Ambush, NVMRC and Mouse Deathbot work pretty well, too.

It does take patience- the monster mouse is powerful and will escape even the best traps. However, it shouldn’t take more than a day or two to do so.

The Dojo Sensei Mouse

Hidden in the Pinnacle Chamber, the Sensei gets quickly overlooked due to the menacing Master of the Dojo that also inhabits that space. However, once you have captured a few Mojos, you may be wondering what the heck to do with those extra onyx stones, yes? Well, you have two options:

1 Ionized Salt + 1 C&W + 1 Onyx Stone= 1 Unstable Curd, which when poked on the item menu, will transform into a random cheese of some amount.
6 Ionized Salt + 60 C&W + 1 Onyx Stone = 3 Onyx Gorgonzola

This second option is the one we’re interested in right now. Make some gorgonzola cheese, equip the same stuff you used to catch the Mojo, and head back to the Pinnacle Chamber. The Sensei is the only thing you’ll attract, but it’s a tough mouse, so as with the Master, be prepared to go through a lot of cheese. In catching it, what you really want is some Onyx Mallet Blueprints. If you’re lucky enough to get them, you can craft the Onyx Mallet. While not hugely useful (powerful, but less than the Rhinobot), it’s a fun collector’s item. Just be warned that you’ll need 12 more onyx stones, so if you used ALL of it on Gorgonzola, well… have fun collecting more rumble!

The Big Bad Burroughs Mouse

While this is technically covered in the Dirt Dwellers section, the BBB is part of a trio of mice with the Silth and Dojo Sensei, so it’s worth mentioning here.

The BBB is as tough to get as the Silth, but in a different way. While the Silth is difficult and rare, the BBB is actually pretty common, but VERY hard to actually catch. To catch it, you really need a hands-down powerful trap. Get the most powerful trap that you have, equip the most powerful base, and cross your fingers. So far, I’ve tried Chrome Drillbot w/ the Magma base and I’ve missed 6 so far. Hopefully your luck is better than mine!