Wrinkler

Wrinklers are twitchy leech-like creatures that, in normal gameplay, only start appearing during the Grandmapocalypse. While they at first appear to reduce CpS (cookies per second), they actually provide a massive boost to cookie production in the long run.

There is a 0.01% chance a Shiny wrinkler will spawn instead of a normal wrinkler.

OverviewEdit

Upon reaching the big cookie, a wrinkler will begin to feed upon it, withering the total CpS by 5% each. A total of ten wrinklers can feed on the big cookie at once; twelve if Elder spice has been purchased. Each additional wrinkler withers another 5% of CpS – two wrinklers wither 10% CpS total, three wither 15%, and the maximum of twelve wrinklers withering 60% of the total CpS. While the output of manually clicking the big cookie is unaffected, having enough wrinklers will appear to halve the cookie production of every building and upgrade.

A wrinkler can be popped, or exploded, by being clicked three consecutive times. The game hints at this property by having a wrinkler continuously shake when hovered over. When exploded, it will drop 1.1 × the total number of cookies withered during its life and may unlock seasonal upgrades. While offline, wrinklers are dormant, and do not wither CpS or collect cookies. The stats menu displays how much of the current CpS is being withered, as well as the number of popped wrinklers in the current ascension. If a wrinkler is popped before reaching the big cookie, it will not drop any cookies or upgrades.

If the Grandmatriarchs are appeased, whether via Elder Pledge, Elder Covenant, or by selling all grandmas, all the wrinklers on the screen will automatically be exploded, and will not begin to appear again unless the Grandmapocalypse is restarted.

CpS multiplierEdit

Because wrinklers store a percentage of the total wither rate, each additional wrinkler adds a larger bonus than the previous one. The net increase in CpS is 0.5% with one wrinkler, rising to 832% with a maximum of twelve. The twelfth wrinkler alone increases net CpS by more than 120% of the pre-wrinkler base value.

To calculate the effective CpS multiplier, assuming N wrinklers present, the formula consists of:

• $ N \cdot 0.05 \cdot 1.1 \cdot 1.05 \cdot 1.05 $(withered CPS for each wrinkler. Each wrinkler hoards 5% times number of wrinklers present. Hoarded cookies are then amplified by a flat factor of 1.1 (10% gain after popping), an additional 1.05 (5% more cookies) with the Easter Season Wrinklerspawn upgrade and additional 1.05 with the Heavenly Sacrilegious corruption upgrade.)
• $ 1-N \cdot 0.05 $(Remaining unwithered CPS)

Put together, this is

• $ N \cdot (N \cdot 0.05 \cdot 1.1) + (1 - N \cdot 0.05) = N^2 \cdot 0.055 - N \cdot 0.05 + 1 $without wrinkler upgrades.
• $ N \cdot (N \cdot 0.05 \cdot 1.1) \cdot (1.05) + (1 - N \cdot 0.05) = N^2 \cdot 0.05775 - N \cdot 0.05 + 1 $with 1 wrinkler upgrade.
• $ N \cdot (N \cdot 0.05 \cdot 1.1) \cdot (1.05 \cdot 1.05) + (1 - N \cdot 0.05) = N^2 \cdot 0.0606375 - N \cdot 0.05 + 1 $with both wrinkler upgrades.

From the above formula, we can draw the following CpS conclusion:

Spawn RateEdit

Each empty wrinkler slot has a (re-) spawn rate of 0.001% (0.005% with "Unholy bait") per Grandmapocalypse stage per frame (the usual framerate is 30 fps). The Skruuia, Spirit of Scorn and Garden plants can also alter the rate.

For example, if you have unholy bait and 3 Wardlichens in the garden when in Communal Brainsweep stage, the spawn rate will be r= 0.001% * 2 * (1-0.15*3) = 0.0011%. On average, collecting all 12 wrinklers takes:

$ \frac{1}{r}\sum_{k=1}^{12} \frac{1}{k}=\frac{1}{r}\frac{86021}{27720} $ frames

$ \approx\frac{0.10344}{r} $ seconds

• On average, it takes 57 minutes and 28 seconds (11 minutes 30 seconds with "Unholy bait") for all 12 Elder Pact (speedup factor is 3) wrinklers to spawn, from a starting point of 0 wrinklers. For Communal Brainsweep, it takes 3/2 of that time, about 86 minutes (17 with "Unholy bait"). For One mind this is three times as long, which is about 172 minutes (34 with "Unholy bait").
• Upon opening the Cookie Clicker page (includes refreshing page) and regardless of their previous location, all actively withering wrinklers will be moved to upper right around the cookie in a clockwise pattern. The total amount of withered cookies will also be averaged and reallocated between each wrinkler.

SeasonsEdit

HalloweenEdit

Main article: Halloween Season

Halloween Cookies are unlocked randomly during the Halloween season by popping wrinklers. The unlock rate is 5% to 91% depending on achievements, upgrades, dragon auras, heavenly upgrades, pantheon gods, garden plants, and wrinkler type (normal or shiny).

EasterEdit

Main article: Easter Season

All Easter upgrades are egg based in theme and can be unlocked randomly when clicking a Golden Cookie or Wrath Cookie, or by popping a wrinkler. At base, a Golden/Wrath Cookie has a 10% chance to unlock an egg and a wrinkler has a 2% chance to unlock an egg. Achievements, upgrades, dragon auras, heavenly upgrades, pantheon gods, and garden plants all increase the chance to unlock an egg.

ChristmasEdit

Main article: Christmas Season

The appearance of wrinklers change during Christmas season, but Shiny wrinklers don't change.

AchievementsEdit

Wrinkler achievements
Icon	Name	Description	ID
	Itchscratcher	Burst 1 wrinkler.	105
	Wrinklesquisher [note 1]	Burst 50 wrinklers.	106
	Moistburster [note 1]	Burst 200 wrinklers.	107
	Last Chance to See (shadow achievement)	Burst the near-extinct shiny wrinkler. "You monster!"	262

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Unlike most "number of actions" achievements, the Wrinkler and Reindeer achievements are counted in a single game, not all time: Ascending will reset the counter.

To help keep track of how many wrinklers you have popped, go in the "Stats" section, then look under "Special".

TriviaEdit

• In the game's code, next to the code that tells the wrinklers to return 110% of their withered cookies is the comment "cookie dough does weird things inside wrinkler digestive tracts".
• The "Moistburster" achievement is a reference to the Alien Franchise's Chestburster.
• The "Last Chance To See" achievement is a reference to the book and radio documentary series about species extinction by novelist Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Cawardine. There is also BBC television series that followed.
• Prior to the v1.0453 update, Wrinklers disappeared when you closed the Cookie Clicker window or exited the browser.
• The Wrinkler may be a reference to the Mosquito Larvae or the Wriggler.

Interactive Objects
Big Cookie					Golden Cookie					Wrath Cookie
Wrinkler			Reindeer			Santa			Krumblor			Shiny wrinkler
Category:Interactive Objects This box: view • talk • edit