Tea party strategy

Tea Cup

Tea party buffs that are both useful and easy to attain in Hardcore.

Hats are listed in roughly the order they're encountered during a run. Utility for a given hat/buff combo depends on both the hat and the buff. A buff may be listed more than once if multiple hats provide it or if there are multiple sources for the hat.

Speed Ascension Buffs

Buffs that directly help with quests or otherwise lower your turncount, and whose hats can be acquired without spending turns in non-quest zones.

Effect	Hat	Source (HC)
+5 Familiar Weight	sombrero-mounted sparkler	The +5% CF daily hat option at the Underground Fireworks Shop (in the VIP lounge)
	Baron von Ratsworth's tophat	Dropped by the Baron von Ratsworth if your Monster Aggravation Device is set to 9
+3 Familiar Exp	wax hat	Multi-using crayon shavings from 7 Black Crayon monsters
+40% Meat	Daylight Shavings Helmet	Auto-pulled IOTM
	fedora-mounted fountain	The +20 ML daily hat option at the Underground Fireworks Shop (in the VIP lounge)
Monster Level +20	no hat (req: 150 mox)	Summoned via the skill Ceci N'Est Pas Un Chapeau
	pail	10% drop from Ninja Snowman Janitor in their Lair
	fire	Dropped by Burning Daughter, summoned via the sizzling desk bell found in Cargo pocket 517
+10 Sleaze Damage	football helmet	The Armory and Leggery (1125 meat)
+10 Cold Damage	seal-skull helmet	chewing gum on a string
+10 Spooky Damage	Hollandaise helmet	chewing gum on a string
+10 Hot Damage	Kentucky-style derby	The Armory and Leggery (30 Meat)
+10 Stench Damage	knobby helmet turtle	Turtle Taming at the Outskirts of Cobb's Knob
	Boris's Helm (askew)	Free pull in AoB
+30% Weapon Damage	goofily-plumed helmet	The Armory and Leggery (525 meat)
+30% Spell Damage	mariachi hat	chewing gum on a string

Useful Buffs

Buffs that may not be optimal for no-path, but still provide utility in various situations, or are good but require extra turns to find the hat.

Hat	Effect	Source (HC)	Notes
snorkel	Moxie +10	The Armory and Leggery (30 Meat)	survival for low-skill players
bugbear beanie	Max MP +25	The Degrassi Knoll Bakery and Hardware Store (70 Meat)	Used to increase max MP for Ode/Inigo's, or food conjuration as Jarlsberg
bum cheek	Muscle +10	The Sleazy Back Alley	save MP in combat by letting attacks hit, or reduce damage taken with Hero of the Half-Shell
viking helmet	Maximum HP +50	Outskirts of Cobb's Knob	Used to survive first hit of high-ML monsters (e.g. drunken rat kings)
helmet turtle		Born TT or chewing gum on a string
f3d0r4	Familiar Experience +3	The Valley of Rof L'm Fao	Used for leveling up secondary fairies

Combat/Misc. Buffs

What to use if you don't have anything better.

Hat	Effect	Source (HC)	Notes
ravioli hat	Myst +10	Born PM or chewing gum on a string	could be used in a pinch to increase max MP for Ode/Inigo's, or food conjuration as Jarlsberg if bugbear beanie is unavailable
basic meat helmet	Spell Damage +15	200 Meat + one Innabox-able smithing	Maximizing spell damage to kill faster
mariachi hat	Spell Damage +30%	chewing gum on a string	Maximizing spell damage to kill faster
maiden wig	Weapon Damage +15	The Degrassi Knoll Bakery and Hardware Store (80 Meat)	Maximizing weapon damage to kill faster
BRICKO hat		Summon BRICKOs or BRICKO chick familiar
Crown of the Goblin King	Weapon Damage +30%	The Knob Goblin King	Maximizing weapon damage to kill faster
goofily-plumed helmet		The Armory and Leggery (525 Meat)

Notes

• You can still get a Tea Party buff while falling-down drunk.
• Tea Party buffs last for 30 Adventures.

See Also

• Full list of Tea Party buffs
• Hats

Ascension Strategy
Rankings:	HC Skills - HC Familiars - HC IotMs
General:	Class selection - Familiar usage - Lucky adventures
Paths:	BHY - Fist - AoB - BI - ZS - AoJ - BIG! - KOLHS - CA2 - AoSP - SS - HR - Picky - Ed - Random - AoWoL - Source - NA - GN - LtA - L.A.R. - PF - G-Lover - DD
Additional Paths:	DG - 2CRS - KoE - PotP - LKS - GG - Y,Robot - QT - WF - GY - JM - FotD
IotMs:	Tomes - Faxing - Copying - YR - Garden - Correspondent - Workshed - Tea party - Florist