How does the new cat weapon work?

[Infamous_sniper21]

I started playing the new witch character this last update but am confused by her starting weapon. Cats will wander around and seem to sometimes hit enemies nearby them and later create big dust clouds which constantly damage enemies.

However, the proximity of enemies doesn't seem to trigger the cats to attack and I seem to take little bits of damage randomly while using them. I have an awkward 30 seconds to 1 minute at the start of runs with this character trying to kite enemies into the cats until the cats finally attack.

Is there any sort of strategy to using the cats or anything in particular which determines when they'll attack? Do their colors matter? Do they sometimes attack the player or am I just not noticing some enemies slipping past my attacks?

[Sabin Stargem]

There is no real way of controlling them.

Luck is an important stat for the cats, driving their odds of scratching. Their attack power is determined by how many chickens they eat, up to 121 units. This makes the base form of Gatti have long-term potential. Area and duration are friends to Gatti, along with Concetta or Poppea.

When it comes to cats, treat them like birds: an investment that pays big dividends, but painfully sucks up resources while getting there. It is around LV5 or so that the cats start getting good. You probably should primary some other weapon, and focus on cats once you are relatively comfortable.

However, there is the issue of their evolution. It downgrades them, and only inherits the chicken power. That means if you want the mask and Gatti, you should banish the Gatti when the option for LV8 is presented. You lose out on a cat, but won't have to worry about losing them all.

[Koekepan]

I was really disappointed when the cat meowing stopped after evolving the weapon.
Probably would have been fun if the evolved weapon had like really low pitch meows or something.

[jordyexists]

Originally posted by Sabin Stargem:

There is no real way of controlling them.

Luck is an important stat for the cats, driving their odds of scratching. Their attack power is determined by how many chickens they eat, up to 121 units. This makes the base form of Gatti have long-term potential. Area and duration are friends to Gatti, along with Concetta or Poppea.

When it comes to cats, treat them like birds: an investment that pays big dividends, but painfully sucks up resources while getting there. It is around LV5 or so that the cats start getting good. You probably should primary some other weapon, and focus on cats once you are relatively comfortable.

However, there is the issue of their evolution. It downgrades them, and only inherits the chicken power. That means if you want the mask and Gatti, you should banish the Gatti when the option for LV8 is presented. You lose out on a cat, but won't have to worry about losing them all.

I wouldn't call the evolution a "downgrade." It has a specific purpose, which is gold farming. Combined with the disco of gold arcana it is EXTREMELY powerful. It also has the ability to change XP gems into gold, which produces way more gold than a bag from a level up and reduces the number of levels you gain. Decreasing your level ups in the run may seem like a hindrance, but is actually a boon as every level you gain increases the HP of enemies, making them harder to kill. Thus, after you've levelled up all your weapons and passives, gaining levels actually makes things worse.

While the evolution tends to decrease its damage output (as the cat fights cease, which is what makes the unevolved gatti so strong), vicious hunger still does respectable damage and vastly increases your gold for the run. If you're taking the stone mask passive, it stands to reason that you're trying to farm gold for that run, thus it also follows that the vicious hunger evolution of gatti would be useful.

[MxWhiteKnight]

Originally posted by jordyexists:

It also has the ability to change XP gems into gold, which produces way more gold than a bag from a level up and reduces the number of levels you gain. Decreasing your level ups in the run may seem like a hindrance, but is actually a boon as every level you gain increases the HP of enemies, making them harder to kill. Thus, after you've levelled up all your weapons and passives, gaining levels actually makes things worse.

Unless your build is completely screwed and you can only manage 2~3 evolutions and no spinach, you should never be having a problem with damage. And this comes from someone who in one of his Hyper runs was stuck with the 2 guns until 18+ minutes because I couldn't get a Tiramisu to drop on the level ups to evolve them. And I had gone through all my refreshes and banishes up until it finally dropped.

As long as you have a core build of at least 3 weapons that fit your character, anything goes. It's even way easier than before now thanks to arcanas because Slash with Knives and the evolution is insane dps, and it becomes even dumber with the Arcana that adds bounces to the knives. The knife alone now can almost full screen clear with just those 2 arcanas.

[jordyexists]

Originally posted by MxWhiteKnight:

Unless your build is completely screwed and you can only manage 2~3 evolutions and no spinach, you should never be having a problem with damage. And this comes from someone who in one of his Hyper runs was stuck with the 2 guns until 18+ minutes because I couldn't get a Tiramisu to drop on the level ups to evolve them. And I had gone through all my refreshes and banishes up until it finally dropped.

As long as you have a core build of at least 3 weapons that fit your character, anything goes. It's even way easier than before now thanks to arcanas because Slash with Knives and the evolution is insane dps, and it becomes even dumber with the Arcana that adds bounces to the knives. The knife alone now can almost full screen clear with just those 2 arcanas.

If you're gold farming, the most efficient way is to have an excessive amount of curse (from the passive weapons + power ups + eggs) and quickly killing waves to maximise your gold gain, so damage and enemy health still matters; even more-so when it comes to making your gold rushes last longer. Getting a clear of the round is basically expected at such a point and really isn't useful in the discussion of the usefulness of the weapons, as every weapon can be used for a clear, despite each having their own specific uses.