n00b to n00b: Cashbot HQ Mint Tips

[lulubelle]

I just recently came back to TT after an almost year-long hiatus and got my first glimpse at the Cashbot HQ about two weeks ago. WOW!! Was I intimidated!! I must say that after a ginormous amount of trips through the mints I have gained a little experience and I learn more every day. This is what I've amassed from TTC and the Mint "school of hard knocks."

Practice makes Perfect
After reading a tip here I picked an uncrowded district and ventured into the mints all alone. There are room guides posted in the TTC forums which tell you what's on each floor. I've used those but sometimes it's nice to just go exploring. As long as you don't engage a cog in battle you can leave at any time. I also use this to build up on gags if I'm low on jellybeans. Yay! Free gags! At least I think they are....

The Dreaded Boiler and "Big Gear" Rooms
These rooms have caused a myriad of problems for a plethora of Toons. On my maiden voyage into the mints I ended up in what I like to call the Jumpy room. Hoo boy. Bad stinkin' luck. I tried jumping a couple dozen times and couldn't make any progress. Fortunately, the Toons I was with were very kind and somehow someone got me up to where I needed to be.

The biggest problem with these more skilled moves is anxiety. I panicked big after falling on my bootay 100's of times in the jumpy room. I was so nervous about holding up the group and feeling guilty for being inept. That's where the practice pays off. Go solo. Make sure you have no pressing time constraints, no other Toons to worry about....just you. And after you practice and get a good feel for the difficult rooms, you can journey into the mints with your friends, at ease and ready to tackle anything. I'm not kidding....I wanted to pee my pants every time I saw the jumpy room and the giant gear room, but now I love them. Go figure. There are glitches abound but it's much sweeter to know you've got the goods and can go through the old-fashioned way, rather than the matrix-y way.

Be Kind to Each Other
After countless trips into the mints I've only had one group who was impatient with me. This, of course, was before I learned about practicing. Tonight we had to wait for a Toon with lots of laugh points, but not much mint experience. We all encouraged the troubled Toon with positive comments (but not too many as that would be overly distracting). We also went back on the floor to help her get through. I can remember that on my 2nd or 3rd trip that someone walked me through the tough rooms and jumps. I will never forget how sweet I thought that was. I think I fell in love with that rabbit that night....

Watch, Listen, Work Together
It takes some time to get the hang of which gags to use when, and I am sooooo not an expert here. I usually let someone else pick first, then follow their lead. There are gag guides here at TTC...do a little reading if you are shaky on your gag skills. The same Toon we walked through tonight used sound on full-strength lured cogs several times. This is hard to deal with as luring the big cogs is very hit and miss as it is.

Jumping
The best advice I read for jumping (or falling with style, in my case) was not to run and jump. Boy did this save me too. I make sure that my camera angle is comfortable for me (hit your tab key to change your views). I get close to the edge (butnottooclose!!), hit the control key and then arrow for direction. You have some steerage room in the air if you need it. This, plus taking my time and practicing solo, improved my jumping drastically.

The Big Guys were n00bs Once Too
Keep in mind that everyone had their first mint run same as you. Sometimes it's scary to see those 100+ laughers and wonder how you will keep up with them. Don't worry. They were falling on their heinies same as you. You are not less than them; you only lack experience. Most Toons will help you - after all, it's easier taking out a group of cogs with more Toons to help.

Join The Cold Callers Guild
I didn't use the CCG for Cashbot HQ but they got me through my first successful VP run at Sellbot after having about 40 million failures. I heart them for that! And I will join them as soon as I get enough cog parts to battle the CFO. Can't wait!

Read, read, read
There's lot of material here to read through....in fact I'm not saying anything that's not been said before. I just wanted to let you that if the mints are getting you down, there truly is hope for you! I was a mint-n00b just a handful of days ago, and now I'm Super-Mint-Queen Lulu.


You can do it!!