[request] vid or screens of Ill Alc Ill setup

[quakesocrates]

If anyone not troubled by posting a video or screen shots of how the illusionist alchemy illusionist setup works that would be great.

I find myself unable to beat ghosts (I'm level 40) that actually have a positive ratio by simply setting up 3 illusionist attacks ... just setting up 5 or 6 blocks of the same color 3 times in a row. I get beat .... I know how to start the setup described by " theconfuzed1 " in the "strategy is a must!!!" thread.

Many thanks for reading. Hope this gets answered

[theconfuzed1]

The "set-up," in that thread, was created before AFII, and it did not take tools, for the purpose of dueling, into consideration.

Think of that as a strategy for mining, and practicing to get a high multiplier.

I'll try posting some pics a little later, as that is the strategy that I use for summoning and dueling.

[quakesocrates]

Thanks Confuzed I'm patient there is no rush if you do indeed feel like you have to get it done today.

Right now I'm utilizing the 3 illusionist attacks + the turtle but it still seems that I only obtain possibly a 12x doing this.

I was trying to practice another forum members style of chaining
which involved vertical and horizontal setups but different from yours Confuzed as he did not tilt the iphone to do this. Granted I've only been practicing it for a day or so, but I caught on much better to your style.

So I guess a another question I'd like to know the answer to is how do I utilize the illusionist attack for the 8 seconds. Do I simply stack same colored block on top or horizontally to gain 5 of the same block?

Or do I use those 8 seconds to create chains that will occur down the road after I begin a setup?

regards-
QS

[burtosis]

It depends on what you want to do with the illusion weapon. You get a bonus in multiplier for all matches - matches count as chains. So I would make as many matches as you can which means limiting the blocks to 3. One exception may be that you want 1 match of 5 so that you can get an orb attack, but it won't work on your first illusion unless you wait to pop it (think one brick off to the side) untill after the illusion wears off. Also, you probably want at least one brick to fall and continue the chain. Hope that helps.

I might make a video, though I am pressed for time lately, and post it regarding the alchemy setup.

[quakesocrates]

looking forward to it! thanks, apparently I've come into this game fairly late as it appears there is not much chatter going on.

I'll keep checking back

[firekiller]

Well...im not as experienced as Plus/burtosis in this combo but ill explain it in words :3

Illu Alch is a combo using 2 illusion and 1 alch. Variant: 1 illusion 2 alch (Ask burtosis; i have no idea how to pull off this one)
First, drag up to near-full screen (half a row from top) Use illusion (match 3)
Now, the core of your combo, the alchemist. Make Zero-one match (for a quick multi boost) Make a cross like this
.......|
.......|
..- - E - -
.......|
.......|

The dashes represent four of the five Aurora Feint elemental blocks, fire(red), water(blue), aurora(green), wind(grey/white), and shadow(purple).
Lets say you have minimal Wind blocks onscreen. You
would set up like this:
F=fire
W=water
S=shadow
w=wind
A=aurora

..........F
..........F
...W W w S S
..........A
..........A
Assuming you have few wind blocks onscreen, this will maximize your multi output. Combining this with turtle allows you to easily continue the chain, while using monkey will double your gained multi while reducing your time to think by 10% (monkey maxed)

Now, you have a nice big multi, but if your blocks fall and dont match 3, your multi drops-back to x1. OH NOES!
Simply instapop the dissolving blocks(turtle and monkey make these blocks easier to see) and arrange the blocks to fall into a match, like this:

w
...w w
Only for the really fast and agile:
.......w
w w....w w

There is your orb attack!

Then quickly, QUICKLY drag up, find a match and activate your second illusion(or alchemist). Illusion will make it easy to increase your multiplier, but will likely NOT grant you a second orb attack. If you do hear the mana orb "ready" sound, make a match of 5!

A second alch guarantees a medium-large multiplier payout, but it may be difficult to maintain your multiplier at this point. The alchemist can also be used like this to gain a second orb attack:

OMG MANA ORB IS REDDY

....alch
......^
.......|
S S A F F

Good job! you doubled your multi output(dissolving shadow and fire) AND produced an orb attack!

By this time, you might have used 30-45 seconds. Now, rely on your burtosis-type agility and match-3 skills to pull your multi up.

By the end of your 2nd illusion/alch, you should have:
With turtle-a multi between 40-55x
With monkey-a multi between 65-85x(?; untested)

Now, the monkey multi looks soooooo much smexier than the turtle's right? RIIIIIGHT?
WRONG!
Monkey reduces popping time by 50% at lvl 1, 10% at max. The time a multi takes to pop LOWERS, leveling off at about 50-65x(again, untested). Lowering that makes your hands much more sweaty and you much more frustrated.
Turtle UPS the time matches take to pop by 10% at lvl 1, 50% at max.
Now lets say at 60x it takes...0.5 seconds to pop.
With monkey-Time lowers to 0.45 sec
With turtle-Time increases to 0.75 sec.

Now lets say at 80x it takes 0.3 seconds to pop(Note: these are made up numbers)
With monkey-Time is lowered to 0.27 sec(!)
With turtle-Time increases to 0.45 sec.

At about 80x, using these assumed correct numbers, the multi with monkey becomes near-uncontinuable. With the turtle, though, you still have a fourth of a precious second to think.

tl;dr Combining turtle with illu alch is imo a better combination. Using two alchs goes great with the monkey.

Fkin long post, i hope it provided some small help to you. Good Luck.

If you have questions, write on my wall; i will get back to you ASAP.

[firekiller]

d**n it, the post got messed up
The cross should look like the symbol of Christianity. Or a plus sign in math.

[theconfuzed1]

Here you go--

Without making any extra matches, set your four-way Alchemy up, using four different colors, with the fifth color being in the middle. With a quick eyeball, determine which color is the least amount on the board, and use that as your center piece. In a perfect world, you will have one color with only four bricks on the board:



Using Instapop, align the remaining pieces, so that they will fall together. Change one of the bricks into an Illusionist tool:



Pull the board up as high as it will go, and set up another four way Alchemy. Make sure that there is a match somewhere on the board, in order to maintain your multiplier. I will sometimes use this time as an opportunity to set up an orb attack as well:



Now, here's the hard part--Maintain your multiplier, for as long as you can! When you do lose it, concentrate on orb attacks. I consistently score between 10-20k this way, and every now and then, beyond 20k, and in a few instances, beyond 30k.

Have fun with it, and keep practicing!

[Fab_Swiss]

Thanks to all to share your strategy !!! It's really great and make the challenge more intresting every time I spare some time in this forum !

[burtosis]

@ firekiller - I'm not sure I'm quite that good (lol) but thanks.

Also, the variants that firekiller and the confused1 show are both good. I personally use the slightly harder to set up method that Confused1 shows.

One thing to add is that if you use that setup in a duel, matches of 5 get you nothing so substitute a match of 3 in that case instead to get a few extra multi.

Additionally, you want to do just as the confused1 shows and have a full screen for max points. But another method involves leaving the falling blocks to make an orb attack, which is easier if there are alot of bricks. Do it the same way, but have two fall on each side, with the illusion falling in the middle to make a flat line of 5 (xxIyy). If you do this and want a second orb attack, you need to leave that one (arranged with your illusion) off by 1 so that you can trigger it *After* the illusion wears off. If you don't do that it wont count. Though hard to pull off, you can get x50-x65 (x60 to x72 with monkey) and two orb attacks in your opening.

One thing seems to be with the multicolor alchemy is that if you match the bricks early they *DONT* count and you get less multi. If you wait too long, the alchemy pops them and you get normal points. But if you pop them *instantly* before they get alchemy popped, they seem to count twice. This happens naturally if they fall 1-2 squares and the blocks under them have not been insta popped. I haven't mastered this but have gotten x42 in one alchemy - perhaps x50 is possible in one go.

Another variant is if you whiff, and make a 2 or three way to start, or miss your orb attack, you can make a few chains to level out the board and even up the bricks so you get a full screen instead of using your weapon right away. In that case you can sometimes get an orb attack with your weapon still by making a match of 5.

Probably over 50% of ghosts can be beaten by a single multicolor alchemy to start.

[quakesocrates]

I cant thank you fellas enough! I will review this information and burn it into my skull until it becomes second nature.

I'll also post pics of my progress with this information. As of right now all my duels vs ghosts are around 12x multiplier I never get higher. Thats with the 3 illusionist and lvl 5 turtle. So we'll see how I do in the next weeks ahead.

Thanks again Confuzed1, Fire and Burtosis

[theconfuzed1]

No problem.

[theconfuzed1]

I think it makes sense to keep all strategy discussion in one thread. I have updated the main strategy thread with this info.

This part of the discussion starts on page 7.