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'Shellnut' Guide

A guide from Baron rank onwards, outlining key traps, bases, and areas to focus on.

Zafiast's "Ranks beyond MHBasics in a Shellnut". Refer to this if you're lost about what to do at your rank. If you spot anything missing from earlier ranks, clear those first if appropriate. For earlier ranks, see MHBasics. For specifics, see the Reddit guides or ask in the Discord.

Companion guide: Traps & Bases Analysis. Check if your Limited Edition (LE) trap lets you skip any standard traps. There's also a printable Shellnut Checklist.

Baron

  • Once Baron, head to Fort Rox. ACRONYM throughout, unless Clockapult at twilight only (Chrome or better charm). Use only Crescent/Moon Cheese at night.
  • Do Frox until you have the Droid Archmagus Trap.
  • Go to Fiery Warpath, catch Warmonger, build Sphynx Wrath.
  • After FW, go to Muridae Market (MM): rebuild General Store → Charm Shoppe → Cartographer (or buy Artisan with KC to rebuild Cartographer directly).
  • Back to Frox, upgrade until you have the Interdimensional Crossbow Trap.
  • Go to Living Garden, farm Dewthief Cheese & A essence.
  • Head to Sand Dunes, trigger a stampede with Bonzana Charm, buy Chow charms from the shop, farm 15 C essence with IDCT.
  • Buy a Rift Detector to complete the adventure.

If you're still not Count at this point: do Frox until you get the Meteor Prison Core Trap (optional), rebuild whatever's left at MM, and farm more Living Garden essence for the Living Base later.

Collect before moving on: Queso Dowsing Rod, DAT, IDCT, Rift Detector. Prep for next rank: as much SB as you can.

Count

  • (Optional) Snipe in Queso River for SB (MPCT or Judge Droid Trap).
  • Leech Queso Canyon Grand Tour maps (Bland Queso, Hot/Flamin'…).
  • Catch lots of Nachous (preferably with Tonic) for Nachore.
  • Buy the Overgrown Ember Stone Base (skip if your LE base does well enough — check CRE) & Blazing Ember Spear Trap.
  • Upgrade your Pump to level 6, clear the Inferna adventure.
  • Buy the Queso Geyser map piece.
  • Do small/medium/large eruptions, trigger an Epic eruption.
  • Do 1 hunt for the Kalor adventure, buy the Queso Fount Trap.
  • Go to Gnawnia Rift: use QFT/OESB to get Riftiago potions → Riftiago cheese (or buy potions with KC). Use Riftiago cheese to farm Resonator cheese.
  • Catch Goliath Field Mouse, buy the Crystal Tower.
  • Snipe & leech until rank up, or do the Sunken City adventure.

Collect before moving on: OESB, BEST, QFT, CT, Fungal Cavern Map Piece. Prep for next rank: Cherry/Gnarled/Stagnant Charms, Super Rift Vacuum Charms, Glowing Gruyere Cheese, Forgotten Charms, King's Credits, Essence of Destruction, Enigmatic Core.

Duke

  • (Optional) Do Whisker Woods Rift, get the Fracture Base. Use at least Brie String Cheese for all Rift areas.
  • Do Burroughs Rift, get the Null Gauntlet.
  • Clear the Fungal Cavern adventure, get the Labyrinth map piece.
  • Enter the Labyrinth, do a 49-clue-or-less Treasury run (do not reach 50), buy the Labyrinth Base (the Compass Magnet Base is NOT a replacement!). Glowing Gruyere Cheese is basically mandatory for all Labyrinth/Zokor hunts; use KC to buy Shuffler's Cubes as needed. See the Labyrinth & Zokor guide.
  • Do 3 Labyrinth/Zokor runs (1× Scholar, 1× Fealty, 1× Tech at 80+ clues), build the Endless Labyrinth Trap.
  • (Optional) Do 1 more Tech run, upgrade ELT → Infinite Labyrinth Trap.
  • Do 1× Scholar run, build the Event Horizon Trap.
  • (Optional) Do 1× Fealty run, build the Temporal Turbine. (Not recommended due to cost.)
  • (Optional) Farm Burroughs Rift, get 50 Rift Circuits to buy the Multi-Crystal Laser.

Collect before moving on: Fracture Base, Null Gauntlet, EHT, Moussu Picchu Climbing Route. Prep for next rank: 3× Ful'Mina Tooth, Chrome Stormwrought Ballista Upgrade Kit, Quantum Quartz, Portal Scramblers, Portal Rekindling Keys, Enerchi Charms, Ancient String Cheese, Fire Bowl Fuel.

Grand Duke

  • (Optional) Unlock Ancient String Cheese in the King's Calibrator with extra KC.
  • Go to Moussu Picchu, farm potions:
    • Raise Wind (Arcane) intensity to max, farm Arcanevines (100/0).
    • Raise Rain (Shadow) intensity to max, farm Shadowvines (0/100).
    • Raise Wind again to 50/50.
    • Use Dragonvine Cheese to max both together.
  • Complete the Ful'Mina adventure, buy the Chrome Storm Wrought Ballista Trap.
  • (Optional) Buy the Dragon Slayer Cannon outright if you can afford it.
  • Complete an earlier Epic eruption.
  • Go to Bristle Woods Rift, get the Riftstalker Codex.
  • Go to Furoma Rift, repair Battery 4, get the Attuned Enerchi Induction Base. Repair Batteries 7/8, get MYNORCA (if no Laser).

In any order: grind 50 Clockwork Cogs in BWRift for the Timesplit Dissonance Trap (max ~10 AAs); buy a Living Base from Gnawnia Rift; complete the Twisted Carmine adventure with the Living Base; farm/buy Gauntlet potions and complete the King's Gauntlet adventure; finish repairing the rest of the batteries (filler until Archduke).

Collect before moving on: CSWBT, Riftstalker Codex, AEIB, MYNORCA. Prep for next rank: Champion's Fire, Gauntlet String Cheese, Cyclone Stones, Bottled Wind.

Archduke

  • Finish farming for the TDT if not complete.
  • Do the Valour Rift adventure and grind until at least TE10 Prestige Base and the Chrome Celestial Dissonance Trap (see the Valour Rift Guide).
  • Grab remaining BiS traps in this order (see the Traps guide):
    • Ember Prison Core Trap (Queso Canyon, basically free)
    • Chrome School of Sharks (Sunken City)
    • A Physical trap: Smoldering Stone Sentinel (Queso Geyser) or Chrome MonstroBot (Fiery Warpath)
    • A Tactical trap: Gouging Geyserite (Queso Geyser, recommended) or Chrome Sphynx Wrath (Fiery Warpath) — may be skipped for a direct Sleeping Stone from FI
    • Dragon Slayer Cannon (Queso Geyser)
    • Chrome Temporal Turbine is not recommended
  • Try to grab at least 1 BiS for each type before Floating Islands.
    • Minimum for FI: SSST/CMB, SW, QFT, EHT, IDCT, SERT(?), CSWBT, EPCT
    • Recommended for FI: SSST/CMB, CSW/GGT, CSoS, EHT, CTT(?), ILT, DSC, EPCT

Floating Islands & Folklore Forest

  • Get Oculus 2, clear the adventure.
  • (Optional) Head to Folklore Forest once the map piece is obtained. Use ME for all FoFo recipes.
    • Foreword Farm (GGT/CSW): alternate Magic Parable Papyrus (coins/papyrus) and Magic Mythical Mulch. MPP must be planted in all 3 plots to attract Locust; otherwise plant Magical Mulch. Condensed Creativity usually OFF.
    • Prologue Pond: Gouda → Grubs → craft & arm Grubbeen → Clams → Clamembert (don't hunt with this) → Stormy Clamembert. Toggle Chum off/on for Coins and Ink. CC ON when arming Stormy, OFF otherwise.
    • Table of Contents: hunt outside / leech FFGT for Draft Derby Curd. Write with 2D cheese as your main Curd source. Gather Papyrus, Ink, Curd → FD cheese. Write with FD cheese for Gnawbels (CC compulsory).
    • (Optional) Buy the Tome of the Mind's Eye Trap.
  • Grind and buy F1, F2, CF2.
    • LAI: Shrine in 1st or 2nd position, at most 1 empty tile (cycle otherwise).
    • HAI: [Oculus 1–3] stack any 3 non-cheese resources; [Oculus 4–7] Cache + 2 of a kind, or 3 of a kind.
    • Once Oculus 8, farm Corsair's Curd at High Altitude (×16) and seals at Low Altitude (2 pirate tiles) while getting Tier 1 Forgotten.
    • Use seals to do pirate maps while grinding the rest of the FI traps.
    • Oculus 9: cycle for 2 Keys 1 Pirate or Cloud Curd for both LAI and HAI; you can also keep doing 2 Pirates at LAI.
  • Sky Palace: get the boosters ASAP — SPs don't interfere with LAI/HAI. [Oculus 1–8] cycle exclusively for 4 Loot Caches (4K); [Oculus 9] cycle for 4 Seals / 3 Key 1 Seal and 4 Pirates mixed for Sky Palace Maps, otherwise stick with 4K.
  • Head to FoFo (with CF2), grind all upgrades (excl. Farm 4 & 7), then Charming PrinceBot and Dark Magic Mirror. Buy the rest of the FI traps (see Traps guide for order).
    • Foreword Farm (with T2): alternate Magical Parable Papyrus (coins) and Magical Twisted Parable Papyrus (Papyrus). The same plant must be in all 3 plots to attract Locust and Midge respectively; otherwise plant Magical Mulch.

Bountiful Beanstalk (Viceroy)

  • Buy the Bountiful Beanstalk map piece. Do not enter BB unless you have the Golden Quill (ToC 6) and Charming PrinceBot.
  • (Optional) Leech BB maps. Farm or buy Beanster Cheese (farm only at Ultimate Zones; do Extremes for your first few runs).
  • Catch at least one Vinneus for your first Fabled Fertilizer (FF).
  • Short Vine → Dungeon Floor: farm Lavish Beanster at Ultimate Zones (use Leaping Lavish to skip Standard/Super). CC optional. Plant Short Vines until you have 12 FF for Medium Vines.
  • Medium Vine → Ballroom Floor: farm Royal Beanster and Golden Harps at Extreme/Ultimate. Return to Short Vines if you run out of Lavish. Plant Medium Vines with Ruby Remover if you have too many Ruby Beans. Craft Leaping Lavish with Harps to speed runs. When you have ~30k Harps and ~4k Ruby Beans, use Harps to trigger the giant in the first room for faster FF. Plant Medium/Short Vines until you have enough FF for a Tall Vine + 12 FF to restart at Medium.
  • Tall Vine: buy a Giant's Golden Key and Golden Goose Feather (one each per Tall Vine). Leap until an Ultimate Egg room, turn on CC and arm your best setup (probably not UCs and Embers). Buy the Legendary KingBot ASAP. Restart the cycle at Medium Vine. Buy the IDMMT when you can.

You have now completed the game. Time to shore. 🎉