Mechanical Critters Version: Retail V1.12 Game Type: Any Suggested Maps: Any Recommended Heroes: Any Recommended Skill Level: 1-8 Author: Nightmyre

Mechanical critters were one of the additions to Frozen Throne that had so many people excited. The ability to create very cheap mimics of critters, in order to spy on your enemy, had such endless potential in the planning stages. However, the current form they have taken seems to be fairly lacking. This short tip entry will detail some possible uses for these critters.

1. Patrolling expansion spots and choke points.

Since they don't trigger the attention of creeps, they can be placed hiding within trees, or off to the side in a hard-to-see place at a expansion spot or a major choke point. Due to their extremely small sight radius, they can't be effectively used to cover large areas, however in enclosed spaces they could provide you with some intel, especially if you can manage to keep the critter hidden from their vision.

2. Combining with mass teleport.

If you can manage to sneak a critter into the enemy base, you can mass teleport your Archmage and army to the critter. Don't count on being able to use this more than once per game, and if they kill the critter before you teleport, your spell will fail. Nonetheless it can make a useful sneak attack, especially if your opponent is busy watching elsewhere.

3. Patrolling through enemy bases.

If your opponent isn't paying attention to the critters on the map, you can perhaps successfully plant some sheep within his base on random patrol routes. Should he not notice this as it is moving in, theres a good chance that he will never notice it during the game. This could provide you with valuable intel on the enemy base, without him knowing.

One thing to note about mechanical critters is that they leave a different mark on the mini-map to normal creature ones. Therefore on small maps where the mini-map units are quite apparent, you might have to hide the critter within a mass of other units to avoid the enemy simply picking it off from the mini-map then locating it on the main map.