This guide is purely for people at the end of the game - specifically, those who have access to Ritual Candles.

This won't break down every single location and Monster, nor does it intend to focus on things like "static spawn bootlegs". It will, however, give you some clarity as to what you're after, where to go for it, and your best bets at finding particular Bootlegs.

Ideally, you should also have access to the Gym, Optic Fibre Tapes, and completed the Bestiary for slightly increased Bootleg spawn rates (this needs to be confirmed, however, I can state with clarity I have had more Bootlegs post-bestiary completion (this does not include 5-starring all Monsters)).

I warn again: Reading this guide will spoil some elements of Cassette Beasts and remove some of the magic of Bootleg encounters, turning it into a numbers game and visual queues guide. If you want more general details, a guide already exists, and you can find it here: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2969626908

After experimenting for a while, there is a way to split how you obtain Bootleg Monsters and Bootlegged Types using the Candle.

Rogue Fusions, Fusion Swarms, and even Unstable Bootlegs are all affected by Monster spawn biases. This means the more common a Monster is in an area, the more likely the Rogue Fusion, Fusion Swarm and Unstable Bootleg will take half or more of the form of the Monster found in a zone. This can be manipulated for higher Bootleg Monster spawn.

Take the humble Traffikrab. It is a glorious creature. Its spawn zone is highest around Harbourtown Beach, and Harbourtown Outskirts. If you were to burn a Traffikrab tape, you would find that encounters on Harbourtown Beach and Harbourtown Outskirts (including the Unidentified/Rare Fusion signal) will generate a Bootleg Traffikrab more often, usually of a different typing.

However, encountering one in, say, Mount Wirral, would likely result in a Spooki-Onna, Zeustrike, or Cryoshear of the Plastic typing. This is because Traffikrab cannot survive in cold climates, and has a spawn rate of approximately 0%.

Putting these two lines of logic together, we can then ascertain:

1. Burning a Traffikrab tape and hunting Fusions in its high spawn zones (Harbourtown Beach and Harbourtown Outskirts (among other places)) will result in a Bootleg Traffikrab.
   
2. Burning a Traffikrab tape and hunting Fusions in 0 to low-spawn zones will result in a spawn-zone-specific Plastic Monster bootleg.
   
3. Burning a Monster tape in a zone where an Unidentified/Rare Fusion Signal will contain the bootlegged Monster (I cannot say this is a guarantee, but most if not all of my tests have pointed to this being the case).

Regarding Static Spawns, Rare Monsters, and Magikrab - burning a tape of Kuneko, Glastrain, Miss Mimic, Averevoir, Picksie and even Magikrab will produce a Bootlegged variant in Static Spawn locations.

It should be of note, however: Magikrab follows the same Spawning Logic as standard Traffikrabs, meaning their spawn zones cover ONLY Harbourtown Beach and Harbourtown Outskirts, with your best chance of it being encountered at the Unidentified/Rare Signal spawn right beside the Water Pipe in Harbourtown Outskirts.

While not a comprehensive list, the water in New Wirral Park and the Harbourtown Outskirts Unidentified/Rare Signal spawn zone seems to correlate with the Bootleg typing that has spawned in the fusion.

Some water seems to overlap a little, and I have yet to see every type with every water source. I will post the following, and update when I have more details:


If you encounter a specific water variance with a particular type, comment and I will update this list.

It should be stated, as ever: you should make a safe location for your save file - one before you burn a candle, and one after you have sacrificed a Monster tape.

You can find save files in C:\Users\(YOURUSER)\AppData\Roaming\CassetteBeasts on Windows machines. It will be saved as file1.json.gz.gcpf .

It is important to note: every spot you warp or teleport to will update the save file if Autosave is on. Every Monster Encounter that you complete will also update the save file if Autosave is on.

While it is not a bad idea to disable Autosave for the purpose of grinding, leaving it on may be beneficial if you encounter a wild Bootleg (as these do not consume the Ritual Bootleg spot).

If you walk into a Fusion encounter and find that the Fusion is not of the Type you want, you can simply ALT+F4 the game to cancel the encounter, and reset the spawns.

If you wish to co with a method of replacing your save per encountered spawn by saving inside a building, copying that save, and replacing it after an encounter, you should be aware: Cassette Beasts does not have RNG for saves handled within buildings. Encounters will always be set every morning, so resting twice in the Gramophone Cafe will reset the spawns of the day, but not change the RNG.

The only way to change the RNG is to close the game during an encounter, or when out in the wild when your last save was performed in the wild. Doing this may seem riskier, but it will also speed up the process of hunting for Bootlegs drastically.

All of this has been to say: yes, you can burn that Magikrab tape and encounter a bootleg of it in Harbourtown Beach/Outskirts in the Unidentified/Rare Fusion Signal location, and even in Monster Swarms.

There is a way to guarantee Bootlegged Monsters (to an extent), and it involves using the game's spawning system to guarantee it.

The opposite of course is true: that burning a Monster for their Type means you can hunt a Monster for that burned type in an opposing zone where the burned Monster does not spawn.

I am a very tired person. I hope this guide helps. Magikrab is my favourite Monster and it's my birthday.