Hiding Hole

* Big Land (S2)
* Big Arctic (S2)
* Big Desert (S2)
* Old Big (S1; all biomes)
* Small Land (S2)
* Small Arctic (S2)
* Small Desert (S2)
* Old Small (S1; all biomes)

## Release info

The **Hiding Hole** is a type of hiding spot in Mope.io that appears in all biomes other than the Ocean. There are two types; the **Big Hiding Hole** and **Small Hiding Hole**, though the term "hiding hole" usually refers to the former due to it being used by almost every animal. Hiding holes were introduced on October 10, 2016.

## Technical

### Big Hiding Hole

* All players that are not a tier 17 level animal can use big hiding holes. The Honey Bee also cannot use big hiding holes.
	+ Certain special abilities can prevent animals from accessing big hiding holes. For instance, the Fox and Arctic Fox's "Pull From Hole" ability can forcefully eject some animals from a hiding hole.
* There is no limit to how long the player occupies a hiding hole, but the player's bar of either water, lava or energy will decrease inside the hiding hole, so it is impossible to stay inside one forever.
	+ However, an animal's bar will deplete two times slower than it does outside of hiding holes.
* Entering a hiding hole will cause the player's FoV to decrease, and become slightly darker.
* Poison, and shivering from a Giant Scorpion's "Grab and Sting" ability will end faster in hiding holes, and fire will be completely extinguished.
* The hiding holes in the Land biome have a different appearance to those that are in the Arctic. However, both have the same mechanics.
* The player will be able to view other players that are using a hiding hole if the player themselves is inside the hiding hole. However, after being in a hole for about 15 seconds, a notification pops up saying "You're now invisible to other animals in the hiding hole."
* As soon as a player leaves a hiding hole, they will once again be fallible to being bitten by predators or prey, or the effects of Special Abilities. This concept is referred to as "hole-biting."

### Small Hiding Hole

* All of the above points apply to the small hiding hole, except it can only be used by the Cobra, Lion Cub Giant Spider, Blackwidow Spider, and all animals within the range of tier 1 to tier 6 (Mouse to Fox).
* Furthermore, the small hiding hole subtly has a reduced decrease of FoV when players enter it.
* The Rabbit and Arctic Hare's "Dig Hole" ability can artificially create a small hiding hole. However, small hiding holes that are created from this ability will vanish eventually if not used.

## Appearance

Hiding Holes are brown circles (gray in the Arctic), with dark brown in the middle as the cave. They have lighter circles at the edges. The size of them can vary – smaller hiding holes will have less circles. The field of view of the outside world is edged with darkness while animals are inside, and the trait of being able to see animals that were inside the holes was shared by every animal, rather than just the Fennec Fox.

## Strategy

* Hiding holes are extremely useful as a hiding spot to avoid dying. Whenever possible, the player should simply enter a hiding hole when being chased by a predator and wait for the predator to leave.
* If the player's water bar is running low, they should fill it up before entering a hiding hole, otherwise the predator will more likely wait for the player to die of dehydration, eating the player's meat that is left behind.
	+ If the player is running low on water, they should under no circumstances go into a hiding hole and hope the predator leaves. This is because predators that can see the player is on low water (indicated by a small blue dot) will camp and block the player from any nearby water spots, thus leaving the player in an impossible position.
	+ For this reason, when resting in a hiding hole, the player should make sure they can access a water spot or Healing Stone, and if they cannot, relocate completely.
* For hiding holes that are located within patches of mud, if the player's animal has the passive ability of diving in mud, by holding `W` when leaving a hiding hole that is within mud, the player can dive and evade predators, while simultaneously gaining water. Theoretically, this can be done forever, until the predator moves on.
* As a predator, the player should try to force prey away from areas with hiding holes at all costs. Since animals cannot damage other animals for three seconds after leaving a hiding hole, the player is advised to wait outside of a hiding hole and wait for prey to re-emerge.
	+ Physically obstruct water sources so that the player's prey cannot get to one without having to go through the player, and also so that the player can resume the chase without delay.
* Be aware that as a Black Dragon or King Dragon, the player cannot use hiding holes whatsoever. The best way for you to hide is in the Volcano if it is not erupting when chased by non-Volcanic animals, and use Healing Stones.
	+ However, when chasing prey as a Black Dragon or King Dragon, the player can hover over hiding holes, and deny access to any animals that are outside of the hole.
		- Also, if the trapped animal accidentally leaves the hiding hole, they cannot re-enter as long as the player standing above and blocking it.
* Players that are playing as the Pig, particularly a Stinky Pig, can use the Pig's "Stink Cloud" ability to damage all animals within the range of tiers 1 to 12 inside a hiding hole.
	+ The player can stand outside of the hiding hole that they have inflicted the stink cloud onto, and push any other animals that attempt to escape back into the hole. Using this strategy, Pig players can stand to gain meat and level up.
* If the player is a Cobra, Blackwidow Spider or Giant Spider, they can enter small hiding holes, unlike most mid- to high-tier animals. Because of this, when playing as these animals, the player should remember that they can use small holes and hide from predators in them.

## Gallery

### Assets

The Season 2 design of the big Land hiding hole (in-game from February 1, 2022–).The Season 2 design of the big Arctic hiding hole (in-game from February 1, 2022–).The Season 2 design of the big Desert hiding hole (in-game from February 1, 2022–).The Season 1 design of the big hiding hole, formerly used for all three biomes (in-game from October 10, 2016 – January 31, 2022).The Season 2 design of the small Land hiding hole (in-game from February 1, 2022–).The Season 2 design of the small Land hiding hole (in-game from February 1, 2022–).The Season 2 design of the small Desert hiding hole (in-game from February 1, 2022–).The Season 1 design of the small hiding hole, formerly used for all three biomes (in-game from October 10, 2016 – January 31, 2022).
### In-game

An Arctic Fox pulling a predator out of a hole from using its ability.The new appearance of the hiding hole in beta mope.io.A Rabbit near a hiding hole.A freshly upgraded Stinky Pig near a Hiding Hole.An animal inside a hole saying "Weak bd" in the chat.A Chipmunk hiding in an arctic hiding hole

## Trivia

* The hole-biting feature was removed on December 23, 2019. It returned on August 29, 2022 due to popular demand.
* Before the hiding hole was added, there was no way for players to hide whatsoever, other than diving underwater.
* Before the Black Dragon was released, the Dragon, The Kraken and The Yeti could not use hiding holes.
* In the now-removed Viral Pandemic mode, players could remove their infection from the virus by "quarantining" in a hiding hole.

## Footnotes

### Notes

1. ↑ The Fennec Fox has the passive ability of indefinitely seeing animals inside hiding holes, even after the 15 second limit.