View source for User:WINTERDAWN/Fox Hunt and Pixie Hunt Guide

This is a mechanical guide to the [[Fox Hunt]] and [[Pixie Hunt]]. It is formed through player research and Discord comments by GM Wyrom.

The first item of note is that '''the Fox Hunt and Pixie Hunt are identical'''. Next is that the Fox Hunt and Pixie Hunt are not complicated events. A cursory understanding of how they work, and an understanding that '''"no signs" is your typically desired outcome''' (more on this below), are all you need to be able to play. Lastly, '''nothing you do in the hunt will affect your chances of finding a bugle or morning glory as it is completely random and will appear in your reward sack'''.

== Things to Know ==

* Use OBSERVE if you have more perception than survival. Use TRACK if you have more survival than perception.

* Training is based on 0x/1x/2x/3x levels. A level 30 character with 3x perception will have an easier time than a level 100 character with 1x perception.

* When you enter the hunt a room is chosen at random to contain the fox/pixie. Searching in that room will reward you with finding them (and the 150 raikhen reward). Be aware that blind searching this room will only work if you've observed/tracked to "no signs" elsewhere (more on this below). When the guide comments on the fox/pixie being "in the room" this is what that refers to.

* The fox and pixie cheat. A lot. They not only will lead you away from this room, but they have access to shortcuts that the players do not. However, there are some restrictions in place to prevent them from skipping from one side of the map to the other.

* You only see the fox/pixie move away. You'll never see them come in. They wander around very fast.

* The fox/pixie will not be seen moving away if you're in the room they're in. Thus, if you see the fox/pixie move then the room you're in is guaranteed to not be their room.

* This is part of the messaging that you get when you observe/track, and this also determines your raikhen reward when you search...

:- '''150 raikhen reward''': ...and find many signs of a fox/pixie in this area. (called "many signs" in this guide)
:- '''125ish raikhen reward''': ...and find no signs of a fox/pixie in this area. (called "no signs" in this guide)
:- '''100ish raikhen reward''': ...and see "paw prints of a small animal" / "incredibly tiny footprints" in the area. (called "paw prints" or "footprints" in this guide)

* You can get "paw prints / footprints" in the room with the fox/pixie as your first observe/track. To be truly sure a room does not contain the fox/pixie you need to observe/track it to "no signs" (or "many signs" if you're lucky).

* You are only ever in one of two states: base or increased. When you enter the hunt you are in the base reward state (100ish raikhen). When you observe/track and get "paw prints / footprints" then you remain in that state. If you get "no signs / many signs" then you switch into the increased state (125ish raikhen (or 150 if you found the fox/pixie)). These states only change when you observe/track.

:- If you go in and never do anything but search, you will get 100ish rewards every time.

:- If you go in and observe/track to "no signs" and then spend 90 seconds roaming around without doing another observe/track, you will get the 125ish reward when you search.

:- You can go in and observe/track to "no signs", go to another room and blind search that room, and find the fox/pixie.

:- You can go in and observe/track to "many signs", observe/track back to "paw prints / footprints", search, and end up with a 100ish reward despite being in the fox/pixie room.

:- You can go in and observe/track to "many signs", go to another room and blind search that room, and end up with a 125ish raikhen reward. You need to be in the increased state to find the fox/pixie AND be in the room the fox/pixie is in.

* Auto searching because time ran out is the same as manually searching.

== Methods of Play ==

=== The Bugle / Morning Glory Hunt ===

If all you care about is getting the bugle or a morning glory then you need to run the event as much as possible. It's a numbers game. The more you play, the more chances to hit the jackpot. However, this method requires you to be accepting of getting the minimum reward every single time as you will never toggle yourself out of the base state. This also means you will never find the fox/pixie, even if you're in the room they're in. This method can churn through entries extremely fast.

With this method you go inside, blind search, empty your reward sack, and then repeat. The benefit of this method is that you're only spending a handful of seconds each attempt. The drawback is that farm mode (more on that below) may only be 5-10 seconds longer, and farm mode will also guarantee the 125ish reward each time.

=== Farm Mode ===

Finding the fox/pixie is extremely rare. Thus, the standard reward is the 125ish one as you can get that every time. Remember that you enter the area in the base state (100ish reward) and so you need to observe/track to "no signs" to get the 125ish reward.

The premise of farm mode is to forget about trying to find the fox and just get the 125ish reward as fast as possible. The time this takes is dependent on how quickly you can observe/track a room to "no signs".

With this method you go inside, observe/track the starting room to "no signs", move to another room, search, empty your reward sack, and then repeat.

An explanation is needed for the "move to another room" part...

When you observe/track a room to "no signs" then that guarantees the fox/pixie is not there. Your reward state doesn't change until you observe/track again. So first, why would you search in a room that you know does not have the fox/pixie? Second, since the reward state doesn't change you can try your luck in another room that might have the fox/pixie in it.

This minor tweak to the farming process will not dramatically increase the chances of finding the fox/pixie, but it only costs 1-2 additional seconds to move rooms and the tradeoff is likely worth it as most Fox/Pixie Hunt farming is not aggressive enough to make those 1-2 seconds add up to any serious length of time.

=== The Intended Way ===

The intended way to play the Fox/Pixie Hunt is to go in and observe/track a bunch of rooms looking for the fox/pixie room. You'll see the fox/pixie roaming around and follow after it, hoping it's leading you to the room it's in and not away. Remember that a room is not fully checked off the list until you observe/track it to "no signs".

There are many ways to do this, and it's all fairly subjective. Here is one method that has proven fairly successful, and limits the level of frustration encountered...

Pick a starting room in the area (preferably a room with many exits so there's more chances for the fox/pixie to come in). Observe/track that room to "no signs", and then start roaming around. Focus on spending a little time in rooms that have a lot of exits (again, increasing the chance of the fox/pixie coming into that room and thus letting you see them leave it). Your goal is to try and see the fox/pixie moving around.

When you see the fox/pixie move, follow it. Remember, the fox/pixie will not move out of the room they're located in and so by you seeing them move it means they're not there. Don't even bother observing/tracking the room you're in, in that situation.

Follow the fox/pixie to the next room and stand there for a moment or two to see if you see them move again. If you don't see them move again then it's worth checking that room to "no signs" (or hopefully "many signs"). Remember, as long as you stay in the "no signs" state you'll at least get the 125ish raikhen reward when time expires. Only if you observe/track to "paw prints / footprints" will you take yourself out of that state.

If you're very good at being able to get "no signs" quickly, you can increase the number of rooms you observe/track in, particularly the rooms with many exits that you're pausing in to see if you spot the fox/pixie moving. With 1x perception training you can run into some very lengthy strings of "paw prints / footprints" and so I, the author, tended to not observe/track unless I felt I was really sure I was in the fox/pixie room. I feel this is where the enjoyment of the Fox/Pixie Hunt comes in as you're creating your own style and methods of tracking the fox/pixie, versus just running around randomly.