Mafia Wars Bookmarklet Review

Tips

Written by The Coroner

In mafia wars, I gift..  A lot..  With over 46k gifts sent there is no way we could do that manually given the current lacking interface Zynga provides us.  I have used many tools in the past to simplify the sending of gifts, from spockholms, to enhanced gifter but most of them these days are broken, or work sporadically.  I miss the good old days of begin able to send 50+ of an item to a user at a time in a single click.  A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon the "Chuck a Crap" bookmarklet from Arun.  You can find the latest version here http://arun.keen-computing.co.uk/

The first option on the top, is either to grab the recipients ID from the profile page you are currently on, or choose the User List which allows you to choose a user from your mafia.

Pick the type of gift, and the specific item.  Set the quantity, and start chucking!

Confessions of a Bully

The Coroner's Table

Written by The Coroner

Found this in my travels, it is a little old, but most of it still rings true..

"In truth, I am a pretty nice guy. I am a husband, a Dad and am active in my church. I don't actually take any pleasure in causing pain, but I am certain that opposing players sometimes think of me as a "bully." Mafia Wars is a game that involves fighting and stealing. If you really truly can't stand the idea of having your fictional character beat-up or killed and your fake properties robbed, I suggest you play Farm Town instead. Mafia Wars is about the Mafia after all. I am not an expert on the Mafia, but I do know that they are not nice people. So, in this game, people WILL be mean to you. If you don't like that, FIND ANOTHER GAME.

What is more, the game is designed so that more powerful players can do mean things to you and you are absolutely powerless to pay them back. Take the beat-down and get over it. Do not take it personal. It is just a game. A MAFIA game. Get it?

OK, so let's assume that you are all right with the idea of people occasionally being mean to you in the game, but you'd like to minimize it. That is a very reasonable goal. If you take my advise, it will happen much less frequently. It is important to think like the "bully." Figure out what motivates them.

Let's start with a common scenario: Someone has beaten you up. Perhaps they have attacked you 20 times and eventually you were snuffed. What should you do?

Please pay careful attention to this answer. It is the key to avoiding Bullies: Do nothing. Do not try to hit them back. Do not try to rob them. Above all, DO NOT HITLIST them!

Do Nothing and They Will Go Away!

I absolutely love being hitlisted. I purposely leave my Title as Street Thug, even though my level is in the mid-200's and my attack and defense are approaching 500 each. Nearly every time I am hitlisted, I gain experience points because weaker players attack me and lose. I might lose 6 points for dying, but I often gain 20 or more points in the process. Higher level players LIKE being Hitlisted. Get it?

If you hitlist me, I absolutely guarantee I will keep hitting you. If you are too weak to fight I will rob you - all in an effort to provoke you to hitlist me again. Does that seem mean? Well, go play Farm Town.

Here is another important concept to understand: I have no reason to rob you, except to provoke you to hitlist me or to pay you back for hitting me. I have a couple hundred Billion dollars in the bank. I have zero use for money (in New York) anymore. I am much better off using my Stamina fighting, because of the opportunity for picking up dropped loot.

Let me repeat: I have no incentive at all to rob you, unless you have done something to deserve it. That isn't to say I never rob people. I have nearly enough stamina to put 100+ Casinos out of business in a single round. I have robbed certain individuals hundreds of times. Why? Because they keep hitlisting me!

What do I do when they stop hitlisting me? I might hit them a couple more rounds, but then I get bored and forget about them. Even if they have made me want to punish them, someone else eventually hitlists me and draws my attention. Your "Bully" has no reason to keep hitting you if you simply take the beat-down and move on. if they are truly the vindictive sort, they might keep hitting you for a few days. So what?

If you are getting robbed, I recommend leaving your properties at 30% until the storm blows over. You should still have plenty of cash flow to pay your upkeep.

Here is another key concept: A Fighting Strategy Vs. a Jobs Strategy

Some people choose to put all of their points towards Energy so that they can level more quickly. This is a legitimate strategy, but leaves you open to attack. Others like to put all their points towards Attack/Defense/Stamina. This helps win fights at the expense of doing as many jobs. I like to think of it as Carnivore Vs. Jackrabbit.

I have chosen to make my character a carnivore. I need to fight often - hundreds of total attacks per day to level. This means I end up attacking many, many players repeatedly each day. I realize this doesn't make the jackrabbits very happy, but they had an opportunity to become a Carnivore and chose not to. They have many advantages over me - but along with those advantages comes the cost. They are going to get beaten up fairly regularly. So what?

If you really, really hate being attacked and beaten, start building up your defense until it exceeds your Energy. Yes, it will limit your ability to level as quickly. Life is all about choices, isn't it? "

Welcome to the Site

The Coroner's Table

Written by The Coroner

Welcome to our mafia wars fan site.  This is a place where you can discuss anything Mafia Wars related.  Feel free to browse the forums, or look at out current targets at the top of the page.  Those targets are always looking for some attention.