How to counter Heatwave to survive the desert in Mewgenics

Mewgenics Desert Heat Wave: A blue cat next to a road in the desert waving, stood next to a dead snake. — (Image credit: Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel)

Mewgenics' second act ramps up the difficulty by throwing you in the deep end, forcing you to contend with the Desert's Heat Wave debuff. Heat Wave reduces all healing by one and disables automatic healing after completing a fight, which is a death sentence in a battle of attrition.

Thankfully, with proper preparation, combating Heat Wave and making your way through the Desert isn't actually as annoying as it looks. Below, I'll go over every method you can use to cool yourself down.

How to counter Heat Wave to survive the desert in Mewgenics

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Mewgenics Desert Heat Wave: A screenshot of combat, with various puddles in the ground. There is a red circle highlighting a cactus that you can break. — (Image credit: Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel)

The Heat Wave debuff can only be removed by using water, such as puddles on the ground or drinking water bottles. Yes, it can't even be removed by Cleanse or other purifying spells available to classes like the Cleric.

The first solution is to create water tiles on the ground, which you can do by breaking the short, fat cacti around the arena (this will damage you) or through abilities like Number One, which is available to all classes. Standing in a water tile will make your cat wet, removing the debuff.

Another, much more convenient way to cleanse Heat Wave is to use water bottles. You can purchase these by visiting the stops on the map with a water droplet signpost. Empty bottles cost just one coin, a half-full (or half-empty) bottle is three coins, and a full bottle with two charges is five coins. You can refill bottles simply by standing in a water tile, so it's not too tricky. Just make sure you don't accidentally throw the bottle at an enemy, as this will break your precious vessels.

My recommendation is, if you have an ability like Number One that can create water to refill bottles without requiring you take damage, save money and buy empty bottles for each of your cats. Otherwise, stock up on full bottles to clear the debuff each fight. Whenever you drink from a bottle, you'll also get a small amount of healing.

Of course, you can also bring items into a run with you. I recommend bringing water bottles with you from previous runs, or items like the Water Feeder, which makes your cat wet if you have it.

Otherwise, just hope you get lucky with a Rainy Day weather effect to completely override the Heat Wave debuff.

Rory has made the fatal error of playing way too many live service games at once, and somehow still finding time for everything in between. Sure, he’s an expert at Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and more, but at what cost? He’s even sunk 1,000 hours into The Elder Scrolls Online over the years. At least he put all those hours spent grinding challenges to good use over the years as a freelancer and guides editor. In his spare time, he’s also an avid video creator, often breaking down the environmental design of his favourite games. If you can’t track him down, he’s probably lost in a cave with a bunch of dwarves shouting “rock and stone” to no end.

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