Surviving the Desert in Mewgenics: Tips and Strategies

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The Desert in Mewgenics opens up in Act 2 and can be quite challenging if you’re not prepared. This area introduces a weather effect called Heat Wave, which significantly impacts your cats. You won’t automatically regain health after battles, and any healing you do receive will be less effective. However, finding water can restore normal conditions, which is why unique water merchants are present in this biome.

After completing the two routes Mewgenics offers, you might find this a surprising twist. While the journey to this point was tough, things are about to get even crazier. There are strategies to navigate this, but even after 100 hours, I still find it quite challenging. Here are my tips for surviving the Desert in Mewgenics.

If you need more assistance, check out my guides on how Mewgenics collars work and a comprehensive Mewgenics breeding guide to elevate your cat ranks.

Venturing into the desert without gear is a recipe for disaster. If you attempt an Act 2 run without equipping your cats, you will likely face significant difficulties. Consider replaying Act 1 to gather supplies that will bolster your cats for the desert journey. The best item you can find is the Water Feeder, which attaches to your cat’s neck slot and keeps them hydrated at all times.

You can purchase water bottles from water merchants, which restore 5HP and grant the wet status effect for the rest of the battle.

These bottles cost 1, 3, and 5 coins for empty, half-full, and full (two charges), while the second merchant raises these prices to 5, 10, and 15 coins respectively. Water bottles can be filled to full capacity by standing on any water tile while carrying one, and empty bottles can be thrown for 1 damage.

Once you unlock the later areas in Act 2, it might be beneficial to push through The Desert and return home to stock up on water bottles for future runs, ensuring you’re better prepared for the challenges ahead. While I don’t believe you can buy it from the water merchant, I also discovered a water jug that contains eight charges of water.

These are incredibly useful for the Act 2 area, The Core, and the home invasion boss Pyrothina, as both present numerous opportunities for accumulating burn damage, which can be easily countered with a bit of water.

The Desert is filled with various cactus plants, but one specific type (short and fat) has a visible health bar. Defeating these cacti transforms them into water tiles. Not only do these tiles wet your cat—restoring its regular healing—but they also refill any empty water bottles your cat holds while standing on a water tile. However, the wet status effect seems to fade after a turn if you don’t remain in the water, unlike with water bottles.

The downside is that cacti have thorns, so attacking them in melee will cause damage, so it’s wise to have at least one ranged unit ready.

Mewgenics features several weather effects. The first time I visited the desert, it was raining at my home, which extended to the desert and completely negated the Heat Wave effects, filled water bottles, and rendered burn status effects ineffective, making for a much easier run.

However, I haven’t experienced a rainy day since then, so if you notice rain at home, even if you plan to go elsewhere, make sure to head to The Desert, as it will be the easiest run you’ll encounter.

Unfortunately, other weather effects that might seem beneficial against the Heat Wave don’t appear to work, as I once faced both a Heat Wave and a Blizzard simultaneously.