NVMRC Forcefield Trap or Mouse DeathBot?

From MHWiki

Seeing as these two traps are of similar price, many hunters are torn about which trap to buy. Both traps will serve the hunters well. However, there are some key differences that are worth noting.

The short answer is that the Mouse DeathBot is more powerful and the NVMRC Forcefield is luckier. Read on to get the facts and draw your own conclusions.

Stats

Shown in the table below are the statistics when combined with the respective Bases. Click on the sorting box beside a particular attribute to do a quick comparison.

Trap Base Power Luck Cheese Effect
Mouse DeathBot Dehydration Base 3,019 6 3Extremely Fresh
Mouse DeathBot Explosive Base 3,240 2 -8Very Stale
Mouse DeathBot Stone Base 3,188 2 0No Effect
Mouse DeathBot Wooden Base 2,800 2 1Fresh
Mouse DeathBot Wooden Base with Target 2,846 2 -9Stale
NVMRC Forcefield Trap Dehydration Base 2,884 16 4Insanely Fresh
NVMRC Forcefield Trap Explosive Base 3,101 12 -9Stale
NVMRC Forcefield Trap Stone Base 3,050 12 1Fresh
NVMRC Forcefield Trap Wooden Base 2,671 12 2Very Fresh
NVMRC Forcefield Trap Wooden Base with Target 2,716 12 0No Effect


Evaluation

The Mouse DeathBot always outdoes the NVMRC Forcefield Trap in power (sometimes by quite a significant amount), but the NVMRC Forcefield Trap has a much higher luck total. So which is better, power or luck?

Luck allows the hunter to capture a mouse, regardless of difficulty. Luck will give you a better chance to catch more challenging and difficult mice like the Bat Mouse, Burglar Mouse, Monster Mouse, and Zombie Mouse. Luck also increases the chance for loot drops, though marginally. Overpoweringly strong mice like the Mobster Mouse are most often caught through luck. However, luck is not reliable -- it doesn't always work and doesn't work anywhere near as often as power does. Power is the more sure and steady way to catch the easier mice, but will not catch the more difficult mice as well.

Additionally, the DeathBot can be transformed into the limited edition PartyBot by hunters who received a Party Hat as a Birthday Gift or bought one from Ronza's Traveling Shoppe during MouseHunt's Birthday Giveaway in March 2009. The PartyBot has higher luck and power ratings than either the ordinary DeathBot or the NVMRC Forcefield Trap, and the latter cannot be enhanced through crafting at the present time.

In the end, it comes down to preference and the likelihood of obtaining a party hat. It is generally not worth buying both traps since many mice beyond the Laboratory have different weaknesses.