How to Catch Crickets in Scroll of Taiwu 1.0 (Cricket Hunt Guide)

Short answer

Catching crickets is a timing minigame called Cricket Hunt, and the part that frustrates most new players is simple: when the net snaps shut and the cricket "escapes," that escape animation just means you missed — you were not doing anything wrong with clicks, your timing was off. Wait for the chirping to get loud, then lay the net.

The other thing to know up front: crickets only exist in autumn. If you cannot find any cricket tiles at all, it is almost certainly not the right season yet, not a bug. Everything below is verified against the in-game 1.0 English Taiwupedia (Adventure → Cricket), not old Early Access guides.

• Cricket Hunt only happens in autumn — months 8, 9, and 10.
• You need Bug Nets equipped; each search consumes one.
• Catch when the chirping is at its loudest to raise your success rate.
• The "escape" animation = a miss, not a wrong input.
• Rarer catch spots (Grave, Cave, Brick Tiles) hold the best crickets.

When and where crickets appear

Every autumn (in-game months 8, 9, and 10), crickets appear on the tiles of each Region — with the exception of Eroded Regions, where they do not spawn. Outside those autumn months there is nothing to catch, which is the single most common reason new players think the system is broken.

Cricket tiles show up in groups of three, but only one tile in the group is an actual capturable cricket. Move onto the tiles to find the real one; when you land on the capturable tile you can enter the Cricket Capture interface. Each time you search a tile you consume one Bug Net, so carry a stack.

• Season: autumn only (months 8, 9, 10).
• Spawns on Region tiles, but never in Eroded Regions.
• Tiles come in groups of 3; only 1 is the real catchable cricket.
• Each search costs 1 Bug Net — bring several.

The Catch Spot minigame (how to actually catch one)

Inside the Cricket Capture interface you see several Catch Spots. Once the round begins you have 30 seconds to pick a Catch Spot and lay your net — fail to lay it in time and you lose the attempt. The Catch Spot where a cricket is hiding emits chirping sounds, and crickets of different tiers and types chirp differently. As a rule, the higher a cricket's tier, the louder it chirps.

Captured crickets still have a chance to escape, and this is where the frustration comes from: laying the net when the chirping is at its loudest is what raises your success rate. The loud, escape-animation miss simply means you went too early or the roll failed. A useful tell: when there are about 6 seconds left, all crickets across every Catch Spot chirp simultaneously, so you can compare which spot is loudest before committing.

• You have 30 seconds to select a Catch Spot and lay the net.
• The spot with a cricket chirps; higher-tier crickets chirp louder.
• Net on the loudest chirp = best success rate.
• The escape animation means a miss, not a wrong click.
• At ~6 seconds left, every spot chirps at once — use it to compare.

Getting better crickets, not just any cricket

Cricket quality is tied to which Catch Spot you net. The Taiwupedia Catch Spot Overview lays this out: common spots like Bush appear often (around a 32% appearance rate) but overwhelmingly hold low-grade White Crickets and Dullards (the junk "cricket" that is really an inanimate object). Rare spots — Grave (about 1% appearance), Brick Tiles, and Cave — appear far less often but carry the highest odds of top-grade crickets.

Roughly, cricket grades run Cyan > Yellow > Purple > Red > Black > White, with Dullard being trash. So if you want a fighter rather than a collection filler, prioritize the rare catch spots when they show up rather than netting the first loud chirp you hear in a common bush.

• Catch Spot determines quality, not just whether you succeed.
• Common spots (Bush) = mostly White Crickets / Dullards.
• Rare spots (Grave, Cave, Brick Tiles) = best odds of high grades.
• Grade order: Cyan > Yellow > Purple > Red > Black > White; Dullard = junk.

Cricket Affinity and the rare "Champion Cricket"

There is a hidden Taiwu attribute called Cricket Affinity that affects how often a Champion Cricket (the top-tier prize) shows up in your Catch Spots. It works like a pity counter: every non-Champion cricket you catch raises Cricket Affinity, and each Champion Cricket you catch lowers it again. Coming up empty on a search also randomly raises it by 6–13.

Cricket Affinity also influences the Legacy Points you earn from successful catches and the small chance of Taiwu or Taiwu's wife having an "Anomalous Birth" of a cricket while pregnant. If you are chasing a Champion, the Royalty Aspiration skill "Grand Dream" can instantly grant a large amount of Cricket Affinity.

• Cricket Affinity = a hidden pity stat for Champion Cricket odds.
• Catching normal crickets (or failing searches) raises it; catching Champions lowers it.
• It also affects Legacy Points and the pregnancy "Anomalous Birth" chance.
• The Royalty Aspiration skill "Grand Dream" boosts it instantly.

What crickets are for (and keeping them alive)

Crickets feed into cricket dueling and the broader cricket system, so a good one is worth the effort. Buy Bug Nets from the Oxback Caravan, and buy Cricket Pots from the Pavilion of Wonders. Pots are how you store and display crickets in your village.

In Taiwu Village, the Cricket Chamber building displays crickets, restores their Durability, and earns Prestige. Crickets on display must sit in cricket pots; higher-tier pots restore Durability faster (and have a chance to heal a cricket's Injury). Displayed crickets grant Prestige each Month of Rooster (August), scaling with the cricket's tier and its duel record — so a strong, well-kept cricket pays you back over time.

• Bug Nets: buy from the Oxback Caravan.
• Cricket Pots: buy from the Pavilion of Wonders.
• Cricket Chamber (Taiwu Village) displays crickets, restores Durability, earns Prestige.
• Higher-tier pots restore Durability faster and can heal Injuries.
• Displayed crickets grant Prestige each August, scaling with tier and duel record.

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