Spark Run!

[Asen_77]

@optimuspig Definitely spend this 1000 gems. I spend them in the first day possible. Also I will rise two hand for Dead End. He definitely deserves to be spark promoted and to be one of your team. For me he is one of the top bots of the game.

[ramonpontes]

@optimuspig
I agree with @asen. The 4th bot helps a lot completing the runs AND provide a good bonus to the spark run score.

I also highly recommend promoting Dead End. I always start the run with him, and he survives more than half of the run. Sometimes it is possible to reach the astrotrain only with him. He is excellent against flying pigs and WMT’s.

[Optimus_Pig]

@poptimus @asen @ramonpontes

Thanks, guys.

My only reservation about Dead End is that Rovio’s going to NERF him eventually, the same way they did with UM.

[Anonymous]

@optimuspig

For what it’s worth, Deadend isn’t one of my top four promoted bots. I think he might get there soon, because his strength against flying pigs and WMTs is obviously very valuable in the Spark Run, but I didn’t have him at all until the most recent time he was available, so he’s promotionally lagging for now.

My Spark Run bots at the moment are:

– Nemesis Prime: I don’t even try to kill WMTs or flying pigs with him, but he clears everything else SO easily. I enjoy that sort of low-stress blasting, so I start with him and ride him until he gets killed.

– Ratchet: I don’t really try to take out WMTs with him either, but he can kill most of the flying pigs that appear before they have a chance to kamikaze him, and of course he’s great against missiles, and he’s slow and powerful enough to destroy everything else as well.

– Energon Grimlock: Pretty self-explanatory, I think.   =-]

– Ultimate Megatron: He was the first bot I promoted to the (old) max, pre-nerf, so he’s in my Spark Run squad until I can promote a better bot up as high as him.

Candidates to surpass UM some day include Deadend, Blaster, Goldbite Grimlock (hard to justify committing a lot of sparks to him any time soon though, since he’s on the same squad as UM), Greyslam Grimlock, Energon Lockdown, Energon Starscream, Chromia, and Sideswipe.

[ramonpontes]

@poptimus
I think that the pigs and other enemies are worth more sparks than structures. I can’t confirm this, since there is no way to measure it precisely, but when a pig is destroyed there are many sparks flying from it, and when a single block is destroyed, only one spark comes from it. Golden blocks are exceptions.

With that in mind, I try to use the bots that are capable to destroy enemies first. Dead End is the most effective in this case, since he can destroy blocks and enemies easily.

I see that you use Nemesis first. I had the same thought about Soundwave, he also can destroy structures very easily. But I miss lots of points from pigs that are on the ground, flying pigs and WMTs.

Next bots in the spark run are EGL, Soundwave and UM. I will eventually try to promote other bots, but it will take a while, because I will focus on fully promote those four bots first.

[Optimus_Pig]

@ramonpontes

I’d say that pigs (any type) and gold blocks are worth the most spark points.

I’ve noticed that I score lower overall when the underground levels have only 2 gold blocks (which has been happening a lot lately – I wonder if Rovio tweaked the spark run?) than when they have 3 or more.

The balloon pigs are great – you don’t have to kill them yourself, just wait for them to splat on the ground.

[Asen_77]

Whit all flying and balloon pigs UM is dealing great. My UM most of the time survives 2 or 3 parts of the spark run. The only one that he is weak are WMT’s, so is good to get away of their fires. Then as second bot comes Dead End who destroys most of everything. He is great at WMT’s, blocks, flying pigs and all. He is a littl weak in blood, but once you get used with him, there is no problem.

I can say, that from the time I start using UM as first bot in my runs, I don’t have lost and missed Spark Run. Most of the time I am finishing with UM and Dead End. Just a few times I reached to my last bot of the team.

[Optimus_Pig]

Whichever TF I promote next, I’d like it to perform reasonably well in vents and not just in the sparkrun.

How’s Deadend when he’s going up against Unicron, for example?  Does he run too quickly?

[MillForce2k]

@optimuspig Due to his spread fire, Deadend is good against Unicron while taking out other targets at the same time, unless you have to dodge a bunch of falling monoliths. His speed isn’t too much of an issue. At 140%, he’s my go-to bot for events and my number one in the Spark Run.

[Asen_77]

@optimuspig He is fast, but he needs only too shoots to take him back to shield part. Truth is that if there is not bunch of falling towers, he will kill him. In the events I used him only on the WMT’s day. There he is king. On the other days Ratchet is the king. On the Unicron, BP, missel day, all pigs or all blocks. He is always used, if there is no other bot that is x4 for the event – like at this moment when UM is x4 bots.

[Drover’s Dog]

Had spark run crash today, hope it is not the start of many and just a one off.

[MillForce2k]

My process for a successful Spark Run (knock on wood) is to turn off Google play auto updates, close all running apps, clear cache, restart, and charge to at least 90%.

Finished level 101 today. 445% and got 4/5 sparks.

[Optimus_Pig]

I wonder if Rovio reduced the “spark points” earned in the Spark Run in the latest update?

Despite completing the full run, I was only able to earn 27K points, usually I’m up around 31-33K.

[Smitty]

What the heck.  2 pairs of flying pigs killed my first bot in a first sector desert.  2 more pairs of flying pigs took my second bot to 1 heart in the same sector, killed by shark pig in sector 2.  6 flying pigs in the cave separating sectors 2 and 3 to kill my last guy!?  Give me a break.

[Asen_77]

Passed level 150 today with 550%.

[datguygamer]

@asen So 150 is the max now?

[Asen_77]

@datguygamer I read that 160 is max. In the morning I will see, but probably there will be level 151. Actually points are the same from about 120-130 level, so only sparks are more :).

[ramonpontes]

I read somewhere in this thread that the max level is 160.

I will try level 150 today. I have 545 promotion bonus, and most of the time I can reach the 4th threshold. It gives me more than 1200 sparks, so the incoming is very rewarding for higher levels.

[Optimus_Pig]

I’m at L63 and my total bonus is +455%

I can complete the run, but I can’t max out the sparks, I’m always just a bit below the points required for the 5th increment.

[datguygamer]

@asen@ramonpontes Thanks you two.

[Asen_77]

@datguygamer Level today was 151. Continue forward.

[JestaCat]

Had multiple/daily crash in Spark Run since update with crates. So frustrating :'(

Seems to be every time third  bird is lost, before fourth bird appears.

[Asen_77]

Today my run was with 560% bonus ( from today I have 4 bots with purple crown ). Still no chance for full sparks promotion.

[GrimLockdown]

@asen You need 53,571 points before promotion bonus to get full sparks.

Or you need 7 fully promoted (amethyst/purple) transformers.

Or promotion %–age needs (for 4 transformes) to be 2.3 (for each) which means that at least two more promotion classes (colors) are needed.

[Asen_77]

Just played level 160 and with 560% get 3/5 part and win 1000 sparks +. I was at the border of 200k points to get 4/5 parts. Tomorrow continue forward, and as was mentioned level 160 should be last at this moment. Tomorrow will confirm.