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babayaga
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Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Thread Started on Jul 21, 2008, 12:14am »
Hi all,

Although I'm a big fan of MMORPGs, this thread is NOT about the RPG strategy aspects of the game like scrolls, tools, weapons or knowledge. It deals only with the strategies around the puzzle aspect of the game - mining better and more efficiently. Things like the basics around resource manipulation onscreen and figuring out combinations of crystals to get more and more multipliers with each move you make.

Some like to enjoy the game by leveling up fast and getting as many 3-4 crystal combos in as little time as possible. That's one way to play the game. I, on the other hand, like to take my time with the game, preferably playing in the slowest mode, and with a lot of tilting. I like to arrange the crystals in an order which gives me maximum multipliers, sometimes going for a full 15-20 seconds without a single crystal mined ... only to get 80 crystals together with one single move. This is not taking into consideration the 1.1 times multiplier or the tools and weapons (which have not been implemented yet). It's purely an arrangement strategy.

I was searching for a thread which talks about different strategies used in mining, and could not find one. So I decided to list down what I've discovered over the last week on this game. I'd love to hear what you guys have discovered too, so please feel free to share your thoughts.


Babayaga
« Last Edit: Jul 21, 2008, 12:17am by babayaga »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #1 on Jul 21, 2008, 12:15am »
The Basics

There are 5 resources that you can mine - water, wind, fire, moon, plant.

At the maximum comfort level, the screen can take a 6 x 6 matrix of the above 5 resources.


[image]


You can execute a number of moves to get similar resources together so that they disappear and give you crystals. No of resources that disappear = No of crystals you get.

There is an exception to the rule above ... Sometimes, if you make two or more consecutive chains of resources disappear, you get a number of crystals which is a multiple of the resource chain - the multiplier effect.

e.g. The first 3 resource chain you pop, you get 3 crystals. If there is another 3 resource chain immediately following that, you get 3 x 2 = 6 crystals for that chain. For the next consecutive 3 resource chain, you get 3 x 3 = 9 crystals. So if you execute three consecutive chains, you get 3+6+9 = 18 crystals!

The table below gives a summary of how many crystals you can expect to get with each increase in multiplier level.

Multiplier / Resource / Crystals / Total Crystals
1 ……………. 3 …………….. 3 …………….. 3
2 ……………. 3 …………….. 6 …………….. 9
3 ……………. 3 …………….. 9 ……………. 18
4 ……………. 3 ……………. 12 ……………. 30
5 ……………. 3 ……………. 15 ……………. 45
6 ……………. 3 ……………. 18 ……………. 63
7 ……………. 3 ……………. 21 ……………. 84
8 ……………. 3 ……………. 24 …………… 108
9 ……………. 3 ……………. 27 …………… 135
10 …………… 3 ……………. 30 …………… 165


All the above combinations are considering you have 3 resources only on each chain. Obviously, if you manage to have 4 or 5 resources together on higher multiplier chains, the number of crystals mined will be much higher than what I've shown here.

The best one I have executed so far is a level 7 multiplier. Usually, each move I make gets me 4 multipliers, which is reasonably easy to execute once you develop a technique. As you can imagine, getting 30-40 crystals for 10 seconds of work is not bad at all!



Resource Combinations


There are 3 basic types of resource combination that you can do to pop chains to get crystals - the Single, Simultaneous and Consecutive.


1. The Single chain - Get 3, 4 or 5 similar resources in a row together.

You can get 3, 4 or 5 crystals with this move. This is the most common move which is executed in the game, however it gives us only a 1 x multiplier of crystals.

[image]

In the case above, when you move the water cell to the left, you pop 4 water cells together. You get 4 crystals.



2. Simultaneous chain - Get two chains to pop with 3, 4 or 5 similar resources in each chain ... with a single move.

Any move that you make involves two resources ... one that is moving, and one that it replaces. These are the two resource chains that will pop, if there are 3 or more adjacent similar resources.

[image]

In the case above, the wind and fire cells are interchanged. Once the exchange is complete, fire and wind both have 3 adjacent cells. This will give you 3 + 3 = 6 crystals.



Please note that (in the current version of the game) you DO NOT get the multiplier effect for this kind of a move. This is because they are counted as a single move, and the multiplier is only on multiple moves.



3. Consecutive chain - Getting resource chains on consecutive moves. By moves, it could mean cells dropping on other cells to create chains, or it could be tilting the screen so that resource chains are formed in the new arrangements.


Case 1 - Cells dropping on other cells

[image]

In this case, the plant cell is moved to the right. This pops the plant chain, and causes the water cell to drop down. You get 3 crystals for this move.

Now the three water cells are adjacent to each other. This pops them with a multiplier effect. You get 3 x 2 = 6 crystals for this move.

Total crystals = 3 + 6 = 9


Case 2 - Tilting as a move to pop the chain -

[image]

In the above example, when you tilt the phone to your right, the 5 wind cells fall in line and form a chain. If this move follows a previous chain, then you get the multiplier effect for this. You would get an additional 5 x 2 = 10 crystals for this move.




Of the three methods mentioned above, it is possible to get multiples only in the third method - Consecutive chain. It is also the most tricky to execute since you need to spend some time in arrangements. I will explain how to get these arrangements in my next post - My Strategy.

« Last Edit: Jul 21, 2008, 1:12pm by babayaga »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
babayaga
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #2 on Jul 21, 2008, 12:15am »
My Strategy


My strategy consists of the following –


1. Always play horizontal


In horizontal mode, the gravity is perpendicular to the direction in which the rest of the cells are moving (upwards towards the top of the iphone screen). When chains pop, the resource blocks fall down and can create a chance to clear off more blocks. This clears off the row which is getting closer to the end of the screen, giving you some breathing space so that you can work on the next row.

[image]

In the above example, the fire cells clear off giving you room and time to do additional stuff before the game ends.

I do occasionally tilt it vertical, but only to get the blocks in place for the arrangement. When I make the final move, it’s always horizontal.


2. Always play with all the 6 resources present in the top row


[image]

Since I play till the last moment before the screen starts wriggling, I don’t want any loose resources hanging around, ending my game before I have a chance to execute all my moves. Playing with a 6 x 3 matrix at a time maximizes the resources I can use to make combinations.

An example of a loose resource -

[image]

The above picture contains two loose resources

If there are 1,2,3,4 or 5 loose resources, you can always get it to 6 resources again by doing the following –

1 or 4 loose resources – Pop a 4 resource chain to get it to 3 or 6 resources

2 or 5 loose resources – Pop a 5 resource chain to get it to 3 or 6 resources

3 loose resources – Pop the 3 resources to get to 6 resources (should be pretty simple). As long as you keep popping 3 resource chains, you will always have a full 6 resource table to make arrangements on.



3. Making Arrangments

This is the most important part of the strategy ... gettting things ready for the final move to get multipliers.

First, get the basic chain in place -

__2
__1
__1
212

When you move the 2 at the bottom right hand corner to the left, the 1s pop first, and then the 2s ... giving you a 2x multiplier. Easy to execute once you get practice.

Screenshot is given below -

[image]


Next, get the 3rd and 4th chain blocks in place ... These will pop when the row with the chain of 2s disappears -


__2
341
341
212
34_

Here, I have kept three resources each of 3 and 4, but you can even have four each, like in the example below -

[image]

Here, once the 1 and 2 chains pop, the four resource chain of the vertical wind and the vertical water drop to give 3x and 4x multiplier chains. These would give you between 30 and 37 crystals in total.

This is also very doable with a little practice.


Once you're comfortable with getting 4x multipliers, you can go for the advanced stuff.

552
341
341
212
345

or

662
541
341
212
346
355

You can even extend it beyond the first three rows to get additional multipliers -

__8662
__7541
9_7341
878212
9__346
9__355

Possibilities are endless! ... Of course, these are much tougher to pull off, but the rewards are much greater.

An example of a chain existing beyond the first three rows ...

[image]

As in the case above, the first 4 chains will execute. The moon resources will then drop down and complete a chain of 5 resources (5x). Simultaneously, you will need to move the fire resource in the top left hand corner to the right. This will complete the fire chain and you will get an additional multiplier (6x).

In all, the above move will get you 3 + (2x3) + (3x4) + (4x4) + (5x5) + (6x3) = 80 crystals ... With about 20 secs of arrangement time. That's a rate of about 240 crystals / min!

Of course, being realistic, you will not always pull off such moves one after the other. But if you consistently stick to a plan, learn to recognize patterns and act as fast as you can, you will be looking at incredible speeds. Mining will become much more efficient than randomly putting stuff together.

And this rate is bound to increase once the tools and weapons come into play. With the Strategy (2x) and Furie (3x) multipliers further applied to your existing multipliers, I'm guessing you can double or triple your crystal collection rates. Knowing how to use the base multipliers in mining will be crucial then.

Hope this strategy guide has been helpful to you. Even if you don't follow the exact steps I take, you should start thinking about the power of multipliers. And how to use arrangements better to maximize your efficiency.

I will be updating this regularly, so please keep your feedback coming in. Let me know of any different strategies that you use in your gameplay, and I'll add it into this guide (retaining credit with your name of course).


Babayaga
« Last Edit: Jul 23, 2008, 3:09am by babayaga »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #3 on Jul 21, 2008, 12:16am »
My Best

<to be added>
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auroragb
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #4 on Jul 21, 2008, 10:24am »
Look forward to seeing your strategy.

I generally look for the cheapest out. But I try for 2x or 3x combos when they are obvious, like letting a

x
y
y
yxx
and swapping the bottom yx to get a 2x combo for the x dropping down
or
x y
x y
yxz
dragging the y to under the other y and the x gets a 2x because it was a separate move...
or look for separate chains and make your moves quickly one after the other and the second or third will count as 2x and 3x
Seems that setting up 3x or higher is kind of difficult, so I almost never try for it and just go for the cheap 1x or 2x, if the bonus was more I would consider it (like getting 2x for 2 chains but 4x for 3 chains and 8x for 4 chains), but seems too much work for just incremental gains
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #5 on Jul 21, 2008, 11:46am »
extraordinary article, babayaga !
will be linked in the FAQ :)
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #6 on Jul 21, 2008, 11:57am »
Good write up on tilting and the best uses of it!
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #7 on Jul 21, 2008, 1:04pm »
I got my first 4x today during a staff meeting at work... and I don't use tilting except in rare circumstances. I fully expect to be able to get way higher once the tools are working (especially the one that slows stuff down for combos).
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #8 on Jul 21, 2008, 1:11pm »

Jul 21, 2008, 1:04pm, aardWolf wrote:
I got my first 4x today during a staff meeting at work... and I don't use tilting except in rare circumstances. I fully expect to be able to get way higher once the tools are working (especially the one that slows stuff down for combos).


For sure! It will get much faster after the update according to what I have read. Resource percentage rates will be faster alone, let alone the special "tool blocks"

Nice job on the 4x, I want to get a 10x but I don't think there are enough block to do it?

I get 7x quite a bit, but that is still AT LEAST 21 block exploding and I imagine it is usually closer to ~28-30, which is a large percentage of the screen.

Will be interesting to see what happens after the next update :)
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #9 on Jul 21, 2008, 6:48pm »
I move I do a lot is to turn the device to the side and move similar blocks all the way to the empty side one at a time so I would go from this:
ab
cd
add
bba
to this:
b
cd
dd
bbaaa
Then I would pull the b down. It takes advantage of the empty space.

Another cool trick that you can use is to hold on to blocks when you rotate. Just swivel your device around your finger and you will still be holding on to the block you chose and you can move it in the other direction.
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #10 on Jul 23, 2008, 12:50am »
10x combo is possible...
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #11 on Jul 23, 2008, 12:52am »
Yeah, my screen thing is all messed up. I actually got a 13x combo today, made myself pretty happy!
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #12 on Jul 23, 2008, 12:55am »
proof or GTFO
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #13 on Jul 23, 2008, 12:57am »

Jul 23, 2008, 12:55am, rub1x wrote:
proof or GTFO


I don't need proof, if the update fixes the "Largest Combo" thing from displaying "88..." I would show you. Until then, not a chance.

Take my word for it ;D
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Re: Combinations and Strategies for Mining
« Reply #14 on Jul 23, 2008, 1:09am »
Ahhh... So, if you don't choose proof, then what's left? Oh yeah. GTFO.
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