The opening of the new location on Labyrinth on the 10th of September, saw great delight, anticipation and excitement among hunters who rush off immediately to test their luck and their newly-bought precious trap, the Crystal Crucible Trap. This article will be analysing not the gameplay, for it can be read up through the ubiquitous hunting strategies and news updates online and on the forum, but will be looking into its impact on hunters, the developers and on the game itself.

With its growing popularity soaring over the years, Mousehunt has attracted numerous hunters who excitedly set up their novice traps in the Meadow, and the average rank, as can be safely said, to be lower with exponential difficulty in rising up the higher ranks. This new location saw a minimum title requirement of Duke, not surprising nor unacceptable, similar to that of its complement, the Fungal Cavern. However, numerous hunters have argued – as always- in opposition of its high title requirement, and that it’ll take years before they may even have access to the location. Personally, this is a trivial argument and a relatively irrelevant one to assume that every location should be made available to a starting hunter at his early stages. With the growing complexity of Mousehunt, it should be seen as a relief that locations and its relative difficulty are categorised and organised neatly in the newly arranged Hunter’s Epic Adventures Book, and milestones carefully plotted out for the typical hunter. It thus comes with logical sense that the requirements should be tailored accordingly with its difficulty; a difficult location which should come after another in accordance with the storyline should unarguably have a higher rank requirement. There are so many other adventures out there. Why frown over this and miss out the other side of the picture? Moreover, if this new location were to be free for all, imagine the disappointment that a novice will experience when he brings in an inferior trap in a futile attempt against the stronger breeds! Dwindling interest will be a definite, and that is not something which the developers desire.

Nevertheless, it is understandable why hunters will feel irritated and perhaps impatient with the seemingly high requirements of this location. With the colourful banners at the top of the page signalling the opening of this location, coupled with the annoying glare of the notice above the travel map, enticing hunters to click on it only to find out to their dismay that they are forbidden to do so. The excitement is undoubtedly palpable in the entire kingdom, with forums overrun with squeals and whines. Hunters want to feel part of the family, a part of this big Mousehunt community, of which they are unfortunately segregated from due to their green horns. Henceforth, the developers should attempt in concealing such alluring advertisements and bright banners for the newly-recruited, while instead, display their next milestone on the travel page to ensure that the appropriate atmosphere is created for each and every hunter. Fewer misunderstandings will arise, and everyone will then truly have a unique game tailored to their progress, based on some simple algorithm. The developers have been actively refining the lower level areas, such as Captain Croissant in the Windmill, to cater to the newbies as well. Perhaps more should be done? But novices must understand the underlying rationale for such requirements, and with a grateful heart, appreciate what the developers have done for them.  Anyway, it is far from an implausible task to achieve the required rank; there’s still a long journey ahead for everyone!

Secondly, this location has been widely criticised for its immense pay-to-win approach. It is with great understanding and sympathy that I am writing this, as this frustration is mutual. The farming for Glowing Gruyere Cheese (GG), the best cheese to equip in the Labyrinth, is terribly time-consuming to obtain. A few pathetic pieces after a day of hunting cannot match up to the immense rate it is consumed in the Labyrinth. Is it all worth it? As we wow at the player who obtained his Minotaur Mouse after a stunning 5 days from the release, there underlies a common understanding- he is a donator, and a huge one as well. Spanning thousands of GG, it cannot be from patient farming. Undoubtedly, donators will achieve a headstart in this game, but it seems to us that this place may seem near impossible without the correct cheese. Failed runs are possible, in fact very likely, and this is exemplified further with the absence of such an essential cheese that is only widely available to the benevolent. The developers have gotten too far this time.

However, we must realise that the notion of a “pay-to-win” approach is still an exaggeration. It may  be difficult and time-wasting, but we must note that this is a permanent location which will not relocate or have its mechanics changed anytime soon. A “pay-to-progress-fast” approach is more apt, as with all other locations. Perhaps it is the competitive nature among hunters that set “5 days for Minotaur” as the benchmark that has since robbed Mousehunt of its patient and passive nature to one that it is fast-paced and active. This location especially trains us non-donators to be resourceful, and be rationing of our limited supply of GG. It is not such a simple case of hit and run (setting up a cheese and just leaving there for mere pressing of the horn widget), but rather one which requires consideration of when to disarm and when to change our cheese. After all, shop cheese such as Gouda have worked well here too, with some hunters exceptionally reaching the boss stage even with simple shop cheese. It is definitely not a must to have GG. Instead, this complex area can sharpen our decision-making skills, and teaches us how to properly ration our limited resources while still achieving the same results as the rich. Why are we complaining about this area, when it has the potential to teach us so much? The developers have explicitly stated that this location is not one for the weak. Having a challenge should be seen as a reward and taken on enthusiastically, not one that is dreaded and criticised against. What have hunters become? In addition, time is a commodity available to everyone. There is absolutely nothing stopping us spending a few test runs in a couple of weeks stocking up on essential goods just for the final boss run, but it appears hunters have changed over the years are now hoping to be spoon-fed. Perhaps it is not the location that is hard, but the patience of hunters has hardened. 

Nevertheless, the developers should do something about this too to slightly lessen the difficulty level for non-donators, to slightly narrow the difference between the playing field but definitely not even it. For instance, small amounts of Nightshade should be dropped in the earlier sections of the Farming Areas, and very rarely by hallway wonderers who are omnipresent everywhere, to give some incentive for us to hunt there. It can be a very unrewarding experience in the Labyrinth, with possible disappointment in Zokor, but there should be something that keeps players in the Labyrinth, in the hope that they can farm more GG even in a dismal run. GG can even be available on the Marketplace, letting players use virtual gold, albeit at a likely high equilibrium price due to high demand, to purchase such cheese. It should not be limited to only something that can be bought easily using real cash, but rather one that can be bought using in-game stuff as well to compensate active players.

Thirdly, many hunters have stood agape at the immense trap powers of the new traps released, with some dismayed after having spent so long in the Living Gardens collecting powerful Shadow and Arcane traps only for them to be outshined by their counterparts in this new area. Furthermore, there are few mice which are prone to Arcane power types, with none prone to Shadow traps. Why is then that such a powerful trap is released, when it is completely useless in the new areas? An annoying attempt to “troll”, or irritate hunters by reducing their time and effort to dust in a heartbeat? In addition, many of these traps have been argued to have their high powers limited to within the Labyrinth and Zokor itself only, and should not be expanded to the other areas for fear of overpowering all the other traps and making it too easy for experienced hunters in the lower areas. I half-heartedly agree with this. It is true that mice will become easier, but not to the extent that it becomes effortless. Acolyte mice are still overpowering, and anyway, why will hunters continue to hunt in low-profit areas when they can access much better locations? For tournaments, it may be in favour to the experienced, but is that not the main point of tournaments- to separate the good team from the inferior? These arguments are not justified and should be taken with a pinch of salt in these aspects. A small modification which can be done, however, is to increase the number of mice prone to both Shadow and Arcane traps, to justify for the existence of such high-powered traps for both power types. Nevertheless, could it be a hint for other areas of similar power types in the near future? Only time will tell.

It is also important to note that the nature of Mousehunt has made it obvious that mice difficulty and the numerical value of the traps will exponentially increase. We may soon see a time when traps are at a whopping 50,000 power boasting hundreds of luck, which makes Mousehunt seem like an endless abyss with no end to how it can continue growing. Are numerical values really that significant anyway? Mousehunt should consider coming up with new power types, such as the recent Rift power types which once again see power values being reduced to below 1000- back to the old days! This is evidently a case of developers trying to increase potential for introducing more Rift traps which show a gradual increases in their power, rather than an impressive, but useless sharp increase to a 5 digit number. Additionally, the developers can consider releasing a different dimension to this game. No, not the Rift areas, but a completely new town where a hunter is exposed to completely new areas and locations, and where the current traps experience a great drop in power. This can be a potential way for developers to expand this game in the future without extreme exponential increases in difficulty and trap power.

Lastly, this new location has been, as all will agree whole-heartedly, a tough one. There is no denying that the risk of failure is high, but the attraction of the handsome reward upon capturing the Minotaur mouse far supersedes it. Nevertheless, I personally believe that future locations should not be any more challenging, or at least for the current ones. Though Mousehunt is tending towards the path where strategic thinking is of utmost importance, it must realise that it ultimately is a passive game that should be enjoyed by everyone, whether an active hardcore gamer or not. This location has had its fair share of active and passive moments, where developers were understanding and came up with passive-friendly mechanics such as not obtaining any clues in a hallway, and the extinguish of the Labyrinth Lantern in a hallway to avoid wastage of hard-earned fuel. Nevertheless, it still requires constant checking and cheese-changing, especially for an average non-donator as aforementioned. New places should see new mechanics, but still maintaining a passive nature. This may be the most challenging place in Mousehunt for now, and it should stay this way at least for a couple more years.