Though I am very adamant in my belief that hunters can completely SKIP shadow traps until they reach the isles, I will still present all the options, including the early traps that I deem useless.
Stats: 1,025 power, 5% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 0 luck, Stale Cheese effect
Ambrosial Portal
These two traps are nearly mirror images of each other. Both have the same power, both have no luck to speak of. The only difference is the cheese effect and attraction rating. Let’s examine those: when hunting in the Moz, you’re using Radioactive Blue, a cheese that has a lot of attraction anyway. And if you stale the cheese, so what, you’ll need the radioactive sludge at some point down the road. Therefore, the choice is clear: if you DO want to hunt in the Moz with a shadow trap as a Master, go with the Sinister Portal. Since both have no luck, you almost always go with the trap that gives you more power. Both traps are 140,000 gold as well.
Stats: 1,500 power, 0% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 5 luck, No Cheese effect
This trap has always been the odd shadow trap left out. Originally, it was the best shadow trap in the game, and hunters who hunted in 2008 didn’t mind forking out the 673,000 gold to buy it because, after all, the Moz was the best place to make money. However, as more places were released over the years, this trap has fallen on hard times, and under no circumstance should it be purchased any more. The cost is prohibitive to a Master and Grandmaster-level hunter, and players should simply save their gold for the more expensive traps later in the game. The Bottomless Grave only has marginal stats to begin with anyway, and most hunters will not notice a change in their catch rates regardless over the portals.
Stats: 2,000 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 7 luck, Very Stale Cheese effect
If the Gorgon was available pre-isles, it would be fantastic. As it is, it’s not as great. However, the stats are decent-to-good, and at 989,000, hunters who don’t want to drop 2.7 million for the Clock might opt instead to use the Gorgon in the Jungle of Dread, as it will do what you need it to do. However, hunters who want to maximize the JOD and do a lot of Dragon hunting would be better served to skip this trap and save their gold for the next one on the list.
Stats: 2,275 power, 10% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 10 luck, Extremely Fresh Cheese effect
The gold standard of shadow traps in Mousehunt for many years, it will cost you a lot of gold to purchase, 2.7 million to be exact. At first glance, it doesn’t appear to be that much better than the Gorgon trap, but against the JOD mice, every bit helps, and hunters who spend any appreciable time hunting for Firesalt should use this trap over the Gorgon.
It should also be noted that the Clock will be much more helpful in the Fall Seasonal Garden than the Gorgon as well, which might just make your decision of dropping all that gold a little easier. All this being said, it’s possible to SKIP this trap (and use the Gorgon) and aim for the best trap in the game…
Stats: 3,300 power, 10% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 16 luck, Stale Cheese effect
A crafted shadow trap, the blueprints are available once you catch Zurreal the Eternal (which is a very long and arduous task on its own). A very powerful trap, shadow mice run in fear from the RP. The cost is almost identical to the Clock as well (the crafting components), so if you’re in the market for a very powerful shadow trap after the clock, you cannot go wrong with the Reaper’s Perch. It has much more bang for the buck than the Clock.
There are some enterprising folks who say it’s more cost effective to buy the Gorgon, do the minimum required to reach the Seasonal Garden, accomplish the Zurreal tasks and buy the Reaper’s Perch and completely skip the Clockapult of Time. Thinking about this, I can’t fault this logic. If you’re going to spend 2.7 million gold, you’d ideally want to spend it only once.
Ultimately, the decision is yours, though I can’t fault people for doing the minimum and aiming for the stars instead. The Reaper’s Perch was not available to me when I went through that stage of the game, so I didn’t have this quandary. It’s a nice problem to have though.
Stats: 3,900 power, 12% power bonus, 10% attraction bonus, 20 luck, No Cheese effect
Clockwork Portal Trap
Stats: 3,900 power, 12% power bonus, 10% attraction bonus, 20 luck, No Cheese effect
The upgraded version of the Clockapult of Time, the CPT blueprints (Living Garden) cost one Icari and one Fel essence to craft. Not considering the cost that you've already spent on the Clockapult, you'll shell out another 4 million gold to build this trap. But like the Grand Arcanum Trap and the Phantasmic Oasis Trap, this is the best upgrade to use when hunting in specific areas of the Living Garden expansion (Sand Dunes and Sand Crypts).
Limited Edition Shadow Traps
LE shadow traps are typically released every Halloween. Since 2010, the Hitgrab developers have held an event where the prize is a very nice shadow trap.
Stats: 1,150 power, 5% power bonus, 10% attraction bonus, 5 luck, Fresh Cheese effect
A moderately useful early to mid-level shadow trap, the cost is identical to the portals but the use us far greater. The bonuses even make this better than the Bottomless Grave. Early hunters had a great early shadow trap. However, it’s main use was to be smashed and turned into…
Stats: 2,200 power, 5% power bonus, 10% attraction bonus, 12 luck, Extremely Stale Cheese effect
Almost identical to the Clockapult of Time, the Cackle Lantern, through crafting, cost hunters about the same price, but with the added benefit of bonus loot drops of firesalt when using this trap in the Jungle of Dread. Hunters lucky enough to have crafted this trap reaped major benefits of the additional firesalt.
Stats: 1,500 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 5 luck, No Cheese effect
Better than the Pumpkin Pummeler and the Bottomless Grave, the Soul Catcher cost of 190,000 gold is cheap compared to the Grave, and when used in the Haunted Territories, it receives +10 luck. Still, its main benefit was being smashed and turned into a better trap…
Soul Harvester (2011)
Stats: 2,200 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 12 luck, No Cheese effect
A total cost in parts of around 1.8 million, this trap is a nice, cheaper version of the Clockapult and Cackle Lantern with its own unique properties. Still, from base stats alone, the Cackle Lantern is slightly better due to the higher attraction, but that’s a minor point. The Soul Harvester’s main selling point is its +10 luck in the Fall Seasonal Garden, which makes it THE best choice for hunting in that area, and obviously, a fine choice everywhere else as well. I rank this slightly better than the CL just because of the +10 luck factor, which is better than the occasional special ability to drop an extra firesalt.
It has the same benefits as the Soul Harvester, meaning it adds +10 luck in the Haunted Territories and the Fall Seasonal Garden. With a point restriction of 27 million points, hunters who have yet to access the Tribal Isles will have to wait a little longer to hunt in the Jungle of Dread (assuming they don't want to buy the Clockapult of Time for 2.7 million), considering the Clock can be purchased at 20 million points. But it's only a small price to pay for the best LE shadow trap in the game.
Terrifying Spider Trap (2012)
Stats: 2,400 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 13 luck, No Cheese effect
Unlike the years before it, the 2012 Halloween event only featured one trap instead of two, and honestly, there is not much difference between this trap and the Soul Harvester. It has 200 more power and 1 more luck, which means it IS better. However, what made this trap the cream of the crop was it was completely free. That's right, once you caught the Swamp Thing Mouse, he dropped this trap as loot. No buying from the trapsmith, no smashing and crafting - just a completely free trap. If you're wondering what the value is, based on other traps in the game, this trap is worth around 3 million gold. It has the same benefits as the Soul Harvester, meaning it adds +10 luck in the Haunted Territories and the Fall Seasonal Garden. With a point restriction of 27 million points, hunters who have yet to access the Tribal Isles will have to wait a little longer to hunt in the Jungle of Dread (assuming they don't want to buy the Clockapult of Time for 2.7 million), considering the Clock can be purchased at 20 million points. But it's only a small price to pay for the best LE shadow trap in the game.
Brain Extractor (2013)
Stats: 2,000 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 6 luck, Fresh Cheese effect
By itself, it's almost a carbon copy of the Gorgon Trap. And while it could have use, with just a tiny bit of effort, you can turn this trap into the next one, making this trap only useful for collection purposes.
Manical Brain Extractor (2013)
Stats: 2,600 power, 10% power bonus, 0% attraction bonus, 13 luck, Very Fresh Cheese effect
The best LE Shadow trap in the game comes with an asterisk: while it is better in base stats than anything that comes before it, it should be noted that this trap does NOT have the +10 luck of the Spider Trap or Soul Harvester when used in the Haunted Territories and Fall Seasonal Garden. What it does have, however, is an interesting special feature that breaks into the heads of zombies when you catch them and extracts parts of their brains, giving you brain bits as loot. Brain bits can then be crafted into Brain Charms (which attract more zombie mice and their kin) or you can sell them at the marketplace.
From a general hunting standpoint, this trap is an outstanding Shadow trap that will be your primary shadow trap until you have access to the Reaper's Perch later in the game. For hunters experiencing their first Halloween event on Mousehunt, this trap is a steal.
The best LE Shadow trap in the game comes with an asterisk: while it is better in base stats than anything that comes before it, it should be noted that this trap does NOT have the +10 luck of the Spider Trap or Soul Harvester when used in the Haunted Territories and Fall Seasonal Garden. What it does have, however, is an interesting special feature that breaks into the heads of zombies when you catch them and extracts parts of their brains, giving you brain bits as loot. Brain bits can then be crafted into Brain Charms (which attract more zombie mice and their kin) or you can sell them at the marketplace.
From a general hunting standpoint, this trap is an outstanding Shadow trap that will be your primary shadow trap until you have access to the Reaper's Perch later in the game. For hunters experiencing their first Halloween event on Mousehunt, this trap is a steal.
Stats: 1,200 power, 5% power bonus, 5% attraction bonus, 6 luck, Fresh Cheese effect
Hardly worth mentioning because it was only available for a limited time, this trap is basically the upgrade to the Nannybot. The cost to hunters who did not get the free loot drops (and not many did) was 508,000 gold. An extra 400,000 gold would buy hunters the Gorgon trap, making this a very expensive alternative (similar to how we view the Bottomless Grave). If you were lucky enough to get it free, congratulations, but it’s not like you’re using this trap regardless.
