Stealing is half a grab and half a return. The official loop is to take an egg and reach your base without lava touching you. Servers cap at 7 players, so someone else can reach the same egg.
Before you leave the plot
- Confirm a free pen slot. A perfect steal you cannot place is stuck inventory. Open hatch animals if the pen is full.
- Equip the trail you already own that helps this biome. Do not detour into the shop mid-lava. Priority is in upgrades.
- Look at the lava. If the path home is already flooded, wait for the next calm window. Timing habits are in survive lava.
- Pick a biome you clear at least half the time. The ladder is Grass through Mythical.
- Know the exit before you touch the egg.
Grab
Approach from the side that leaves the exit open. Take the egg as soon as the prompt is there. Hovering invites the other players in a small lobby. Once the egg is in hand, stop looking around. If two of you collide on one nest, leave and use another spawn.
Return
The walk home is harder than the pickup.
- Use the path you chose before the grab.
- Prefer high ground and lanes you have already walked.
- If lava has cut the only bridge, drop the attempt. Dying with an egg wastes more time than walking home empty.
- On a crowded lane, a slightly longer clear line is safer than a stall on a bridge.
Place the egg the moment you reach the plot.
How greed shows up by stage
- Grass: Learn the prompt and the lava rhythm. Almost any egg is fine.
- Desert: First real step up. Extra treadmill time first. One egg per run until the return is clean.
- Beach: Longer paths. A ledge that looks safe can close when the lava rises.
- Underwater: Vertical mistakes are common. If jump or Speed feels thin, fund yourself on Beach instead.
- Arctic: Chokepoints punish a late grab. Leave earlier in the cycle than you did in Desert.
- Jungle: More traffic and shorter sightlines. Rotate nests.
- Ancient and Mythical: Only with spare Speed, a trail that already saves runs, and an empty pen slot. Warm up on the previous biome in the same session.
Rules that keep the pen growing
- One strong egg in the pen beats three lost on the way home.
- After two deaths in a row, train before you retry.
- Stop stealing when the pen is full until you sell a weak animal or buy space.
- If a faster player owns your biome, drop one stage or change servers. Do not stand on an empty spawn.
Practice once without picking the egg up: touch the area and come home. If that works and the real run fails, you are hesitating after the grab. Turn toward the exit before you commit.