MHWiki:Current events/Archive/2014/February

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Archive for updates taken place in February 2014 in Reverse Chronological Order.
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M400 Prototype Escapes Digby!

25 February 2014

An experimental robotic mouse has escaped the Town of Digby! The prototype known as M400 has hidden somewhere in the Kingdom where it is mass-producing copies of itself to invade Gnawnia!

The M400 Prototype

Digby Scientists had what seemed to be a solid plan: Create a robot mouse to act as a spy and infiltrate the various armies of mice conspiring against Gnawnia. However, their plan quickly turned south when upon activating their creation it immediately aligned itself with mouse-kind, broke free from Digby, and vowed to destroy all humans.

The M400 is now hiding somewhere in the Kingdom where it is producing copies of itself in a plan to overtake Gnawnia. The King considers this threat of the utmost importance and has tasked the most experienced hunters in the Kingdom with tracking down this powerful foe. The M400 is no pushover; hunters require the title of Count/Countess and above in order to begin researching the mouse at the Crystal Library.

Attracting a Mechanical Mouse

The M400 is far from a regular mouse. Its complex robotic make-up and computer systems require specific sustenance. Digby Scientists suspect regular bait simply will not be able to trick the intelligence of the M400 and lure it into a trap. How to create bait capable of attracting the M400 is still widely debated, however, the clue to discovering how to create it may lie with the M400 itself.

Upon escaping Digby, the M400 sought out a power source in the form of a half-technology, half-fondue like cheese. Before going into hiding, the M400 was spotted across the Kingdom, presumably hiding the ingredients for its power-supplying fondue. A new research assignment is now available at the Crystal Library to investigate where the M400 is currently hiding these ingredients in order to craft a batch of your own special bait.

Tracking the M400

Once you have completed your M400 bait research and obtained an ample supply of bait to hunt with, you may begin another research assignment at the Crystal Library to track down where the M400 is currently hiding. Due to limited reconnaissance on the M400's whereabouts, each assignment only has a single clue upon starting it. Follow the trail and hunt mice across the Kingdom to gather intel and eventually reveal the M400's hiding spot.

Once you have finally uncovered where the M400 is hiding, arm your fondue to lure the M400 into a trap. Take warning, though! The M400 was created to stand toe-to-toe with some of the strongest mice adversaries known! Its unique programming and understanding of hunting equipment makes it resistant to all hunting equipment, with only a very small weakness to Physical and Tactical traps. Mustachio, the Charm Master, recommends arming your most powerful charms to help your odds of success. After all, fondue cheese is extremely difficult to gather, so you'll want to make each and every piece of bait count!

Upon capturing the M400 Mouse, its systems will trigger a retreat, causing it to once again go into hiding. You'll need to start another research assignment to follow its trail and find where it's hiding again. Take note, each time the M400 goes into hiding it will likely take a different path, meaning the research assignment to find it will be entirely different.

No matter your strategy, one thing is clear: Make sure you have an ample supply of Fusion Fondue Cheese before beginning to research the M400. If the M400 steals all your bait, you'll need to start tracking it from the beginning again!

With Great Research Comes Great Rewards

Researching the M400 will require you to flex your mind in every way possible! Upon completing your bait research, the librarians at the Crystal Library will reward you with Library Points, Tomes of Wisdom, and Wealth Charms.

Researching and capturing the M400 Mouse will earn you even more rewards! The M400's systems utilizes the unique energy contained within charm orbs. Upon completing your research assignment, the Crystal Library Librarians will extract as many of these orbs as they can from the M400 and place them in your inventory.

Look the Part with New M400 Skins

The M400's unique AI programming includes a healthy curiosity about hunting traps and equipment. The robotic mouse analyzes traps to better understand how to avoid them, and even makes attempts at assimilating trap technology to serve mouse instead of hunter. Upon capturing an M400, you may find evidence of this curiosity in the form of a new trap skin.

In response to the escape of the M400 are two new skins: one for the Sandstorm MonstroBot, and another for the Chrome MonstroBot. The first is adorned in the same metallic coating as the M400 itself, while the second, has been outfitted with a similar propulsion and flight system! They were designed to help further disguise the MonstroBot but the M400 stole the entire shipment, thinking the similar-looking "robot" could aid it. With some luck, you may find one of these two skins upon capturing an M400 Mouse.

Some preliminary research done by both Digby Scientists and Crystal Library Librarians has secured a quantity of one of these skins, which the King has made available to hunters. However, the second skin, which fits the Chrome MonstroBot, complete with propulsion and flight systems, can only be found as loot when capturing the M400 Mouse itself.

M400 MonstroBot Skin
Outfit the Sandstorm MonstroBot with Metal and Glass!

New Crystal Library Assignments!

  • Research a new type of fondue-like cheese
  • Take on a Library Assignment to locate the M400 Mouse
  • Capture the M400 and claim your reward!
  • Earn points, charms, charm orbs, and two new trap skins!

Travel to the Crystal Library

-- Dave Vanderburg

Carl's Cruise Comes to an End

18 February 2014

Carl's Cozy Cruise has returned to port, marking the end of the celebration.

Spending Cruise Bux

All of the shops on board Carl's Cozy Cruise have been moved to a location in Gnawnia known as the Vacant Lot. If you were aboard the cruise when it came to an end, you'll now find yourself in this location. Make sure to visit the Vacant Lot and spend any Cruise Bux you earned while on the cruise. The shops there will remain open for approximately one week, so don't delay -- shop today!

Toxic Spill in the Burroughs

Last week there was a Toxic Spill outside the Laboratory. Carl's ship managed to cruise right through the sludge and past the venomous mice there, however, the mess still needs cleaning up. If you're up for it, visit the Toxic Spill in the Burroughs to lend a hand in the cleanup efforts. Just make sure to roll up your sleeves while checking your trap. That polluted sludge looks like it may stain clothing!

Spend Cruise Bux at the Vacant Lot

  • The shops there will remain open for approximately one week
  • What will you spend your Cruise Bux on?
  • Looking for another hunting task? Lend a hand at the Toxic Spill!

Travel to the Vacant Lot | Travel to the Toxic Spill

-- Dave Vanderburg

New Orb Discovery and Improved Train Schedule

06 February 2014

New loot drops, gifts, and train updates! Working closely with Larry, we've assembled some info and tips of what's new in the Kingdom.

Mice Carrying Charm Orbs

It appears as though several breeds of mice have taken an interest in collecting Charm Orbs! It must be the shiny glass that makes some mice love picking them up. This means you'll now find various Orbs as loot while hunting in more locations across the Kingdom!

Larry reports that various types of Charm Orbs can now be found in:

- Jungle of Dread (Flawed and Simple Orbs)
- Balack's Cove (Flawless and Divine Orbs)
- Slushy Shoreline (Flawed and Simple Orbs)
- Iceberg (Flawed, Simple, Flawless, and Divine Orbs)
- Claw Shot City (Flawed and Simple Orbs)


If you're an avid charm crafter, make sure to check out these locations and see if you can spot which breeds are now carrying Orbs as loot!

Mustachio's Gifts of the Day

Mustachio is always eager to see hunters explore charm crafting and see what powerful types of charms they're able to discover. His enthusiasm for charm crafting is so great that he has offered his own personal supply of Flawed and Simple Orbs to the King to use as special gifts of the day. Flawed and Simple Orbs will now occasionally appear as a free Gift of the Day. Make sure to check the Free Gifts section regularly to spot when these items show up!

Dreaded Charm Power Shift

The arrival of Charm Orbs in the Jungle of Dread appears to have had an effect on how Dreaded Charms work in the area. Now, instead of a Dreaded Charm being effective against mice of the Dreaded Horde, the charm provides the same power bonus to your trap at all times while hunting in the Jungle of Dread. This subtle change means that you'll now see the effect of the charm on all mice, meaning your trap's power will be visibly higher while in the Jungle of Dread. Mustachio is still investigating this minor shift in power, but you can observe it yourself in the Trap Selector!

Gnawnian Express Train Schedule

A breakthrough in locomotive technology has allowed for a single engine to pull a significantly larger number of passenger cars! What does this mean? Well, each train can now hold more hunters than ever when leaving the Gnawnian Express Station. The train schedule has been modified accordingly with a single train leaving each hour carrying a much larger number of hunters. Feel like taking a wild train ride? Dust off your conductor's cap and climb aboard! Just make sure to buckle up in Daredevil Canyon, I hear it's a bit of a bumpy ride.

Thus concludes Larry's findings from across the Kingdom! Until next time hunters, happy hunting!

-- Dave Vanderburg