Tips

## What's this page about?

This page is dedicated to tips about Niche. You may find tips that should help the survival of your pack or even learn new things about the game. Feel free to add your own tips and tricks if you have them!

## Adam and Eve

*Small note: this is somewhat out of date as of 1.0. In story mode Adam is almost entirely static while Eve is almost entirely randomized. The tips though are still useful, especially in sandbox mode where the two starter Nichelings are both randomised.*

Adam is completely static- Eve is randomized, with some genes that do not appear (derp snout, wings, webbed feet, etc). Adam's genes are as follows: medium ears, no horns, eyes (inactive shortsighted eyes), poison fangs, big body, 2 runner legs, hind legs, medium tail, no melanism/albinism, red + yellow fur, black eyes (inactive brown eyes), white horns, black + brown markings, stripes, shape D, pattern density + size unknown

Another static gene is Hemophilia (which though recessive in Adam, it can appear in creatures very easily). Hemophilia is a gene you are going to want to keep recessive and ultimately remove it from your gene pool. To do so, you are going to want to choose your breeding pairs wisely.

*(Note: because the blood type genes are allosomal in the game and only one copy is present in males, Adam can no longer have a recessive hemophilia gene.)*

Right from the start, you are going to want to try and get some kind of horns into every creature. Doing so will provide each creature +1 Strength (no horns provide no benefits). This takes time, however, because horn genes have requirements to be unlocked. The easiest to unlock is Ram Horns because it doesn't require spending time in a particular habitat; you just need to attack anything 50 times.

It is also best to utilize the mutation menu and try to get rid of Adam's recessive short-sighted eyes. Until you find wandering Nichelings, you may have to resort to breeding related Nichelings with opposing immunity genes. This will be useful if you want to keep in some of Adam's genes and, of course, Home Island Immunity.

Identify and keep track of the genes you want to eliminate and be sure to use the mutation menu often. Also attempt anything, as most actions are progress towards unlocking more mutations! Some players may find that using less desirable animals, usually those with the genes you don't want, to perform dangerous tasks (swimming, fighting predators, and clearing thorns) is good for unlocking new genes in the mutation menu.

There are a few genes for the head slot that most players find beneficial, such as Cracker Jaw and Poison Fangs. Cracker Jaw grants cracking ability without taking up a paw slot, while Poison Fangs grant poison immunity and venomous abilities. However, the Three Great Apes are immune to poison as well, so Big Nose is also a good gene, as the scent view is useful for detecting helpful and harmful things. There is also Gills, which grant water breathing.

## Abilities

All abilities are important, speed being considered one of the most important. Depending on your strategy, you may want to have lots of speed, strength, or other abilities.

Giving Nichelings paw genes like Nimble Fingers, Digging Paws, and Claws don't add any speed, so it can be a challenge to travel. A way to fix this is by giving Nichelings Lean Body, although this may be a bit of a challenge if not already in the gene pool, and it can also be hindering if your Nichelings live in a cold place.

Alternatively, giving your Nichelings Runner Legs or Velvet Paws limits their ability to collect food and defend themselves. The latter can be fixed by giving your Nichelings Big Body. Again, this can be a challenge when not in the gene pool or hindering in the current environment.

If you aren't aiming to swim in the waters of the islands, Webbed Hind Legs are useless, as they don't grant much speed, unlike the regular Hind Legs.

## Breeding Traits

Most of the time, it is easier to focus on one trait at a time when breeding healthy creatures.

One of the first mutations you usually want to breed in is Normal Eyes. However, doubling up on mutation may not be as effective as it seems. You can also choose to breed out, say, Low Fertility/Deformed Paws or any other specific genes that hinder your tribe. This is why identifying those hindering genes is important.

Next, you will also want a ton of food to support a new influx of births on the island. Some players like to have a "breeding day" where all their breeding couples have babies on one day, then none for a while. This can be useful to keep population under control. You may choose among these resulting babies which ones to breed in the future, although this can be ignored early on in the game, as most Nichelings are useful then.

When your chosen babies grow up, you can take them to the next island of your choosing. It's best to keep track of immunities and recessive genes, as leaving an island without these genetics effectively eliminate them from your gene pool unless you take on wanderers, decide to have Rogue Male babies, or have babies with Bearyenas.

Immunities are very important, and you will want to keep as many as possible in your gene pool, which is why it's so important to keep track of them. You can only get new ones from outside sources (such as the wanderers and such), but doing so may dirty the gene pool and have unexpected consequences in the future, so you have to really think ahead. Remember: there will always be another chance to get those immunities further down the road.

You can continue to do this until you have the perfect creatures for whatever Island you plan to conquer, whether it be the jungle, oasis or killer islands. And the best tip for survival that people often forget is, if you can't use your strategy to adapt your creatures, then adapt the strategy to your creatures.

In other words, it will be much easier to use a strategy if the genes you need are already there. Don't be afraid to change your strategy if a setback or new opportunity comes. And finally, mixing and matching your strategy may be the best way to go sometimes. If you originally planned to deter predators in the Jungle but have found it better to camouflage, then your Nichelings can have a mix of both.

## For Those Who Rarely Move Islands

Patience is key to playing Niche. Keep breeding your best Nichelings and stocking up on food, and remember to breed with wanderers when you see fit. You can usually breed out their bad genes (if they have any) with mutations. When you eventually decide to move to a new island (if you'd like to), you will need a lot of biodiversity in your Nichelings to be able to adapt to more predators and different climates.