About the Angry Birds 2 Arena

[ABeggerToo]

@trash2002 I thought so as well, but if you restart before the stars are counted on an iPad, she is still there. Yhe star count happens when the app restarts.

[trash2002]

So I have to make a force quit immediately right at the end of the game when the star counting is under way? Clarify, please. ) Thanks in advance!

[David Martin]

Hmmm, so it seems Rovio is still paying attention after all? I’ve only reported the infinite spell glitch like five times.

[Angry Beaver]

Seems it works on android too. Collect your winning streak prize but do not return to the Nest. Just force quit the app.

[Kt]

I’d like to report something that brings to question the Game Rep’s statements about eliminating Hackers from the Arena Tourneys. I believed that until this week. I have seen the 1 star players at the bottom of the Leaderboard from time to time. Now I am in doubt.

I play with a group of friends and we post each other frequently. Here is what happened this week. 2 of my friends, “Sylvia” and “Robert” are in each other’s Tourney Groups. Each friend can see the other in their Leaderboard Group. The scores move accurately as each play, and each knows where their friend is on the Leaderboard. They post about it back and forth in friendly rivalry. One evening this week Robert saw that Sylvia, who has been in the #1 position, has been marked with the single star on his Leaderboard and is drifting down to the bottom of the Group. Quite shocked, he posts Sylvia in disbelief and concern. Sylvia posts back that all is well on her Leaderboard and she is still in the #1 position. They take and exchange screenshots of their Leaderboards with each other and then post them to us.

This certainly calls into question the single star designation. I have no idea what, or if, the Game Masters are doing about real Hackers being identified and removed from competition. Sigh.

[ABeggerToo]

Sorry for imprecision in language @trash2002. Finish the match, collect your prize (feathers or spells), then force quit the app while you still see the star count. Do not accept the stars, just force quit at this screen. The stars will still be added to your total when the app restarts.

[Anonymous]

I have come to the conclusion that whoever at Rovio thought it would be a good idea to change spells to a x1 multiplier should probably get fired!

I mean you can use 5 spells on the very first level in arena, and not even fill the destructometer half way. Yet you can use the stupid 3 little blue birds and fill the destructometer twice :/

The scoring is just completely out of whack. I have scored a 20 mil once or twice since the Halloween update, but the majority of time it is lucky to reach 10 mil, and usually I am getting beaten by someone with no spells and less flock power :/

Rovio is certainly making it an easier decision to uninstall if this isn’t fixed soon!

[David Martin]

I’ve noticed that having the spells leveled back down to 1 actually makes it a bit easier to beat someone who used a few of them. They get to fire more shots but don’t make as many points on the spell shots. Of course, that’s assuming your opponent doesn’t have level 20 spells. Still haven’t figured out how that’s even possible.

[kelshe]

My spells haven’t been reduced to x1. They are all x20.

[cognitive]

As a regular visitor to the Temple of Our Lady of Infinite Spells, I would say it depends.

Ducks? largely worthless unless you have a few scenarios that can use a wide swath of cleaning. In trampoline or green sludge river lands they can be quite effective. Points very dependent.

Blizzard? used to be the Terrence of spells (is my writing good or what? :)) but with judicious use of Blues or Terrence it is invaluable against granite. A lot of points can be obtained.

Pepper? not a lot, especially with the topside preference, but it works well for closely clustered pigs.

Pig inflater?very situation dependent.

ME? in the right room, an easy 1-1.5M, in the wrong room, a pittance.

There are strategies you can use to use spells for maximum point gain. An ME at first bird is great since you can get a second ME after only 600k points if playing with 5 spells.

[Anonymous]

There are strategies you can use to use spells for maximum point gain. An ME at first bird is great since you can get a second ME after only 600k points if playing with 5 spells.

That used to be a strategy that would follow that logic, now as I say you can use all your spells in the first level and not even fill up half the meter.

I used to use that strat every game, now it is impossible (at least on my game….I say that as Kelshe mentions having x20 spells, so obviously there are inconsistencies between players games).

[David Martin]

If some folks have level 20 spells despite not doing anything to knowingly earn the upgrade, or to intentionally hack the game, and the rest of us have level 1, then Rovio really fubar’d something in the last update. (Big surprise, I know.)

Unless of course they deliberately downgraded the folks who straight-up admitted to taking advantage of the exploits they left open for months and months. If so, then I suppose I deserved it.

[Katydid]

My spells are all level 19 at present. Not sure how they figure their power counts.Chucky and David your’s sound like an error. Contact Rovio and ask how they figured the power for each spell. I don’t use the glitch. I seldom use spells in the arena. I am kind of a purists and want to win on my playing not luck of the spells. I have not seen any players with level 1 spells so I do think Rovio owes you a fix. Spells are close to useless anyway now that Rovio “fixed” them to do the least amount of damage possible! Ducks that only make towered wobble a little, and peppers that only land on the top pig, Even t he. Eagle only removes the pigs and leaves structures intact! Not good advertisement if the want to sell them I must say!

Good luck getting a fix!

[ZoomRhonda]

@david-martin

I had friends for almost a week who said their spells went to only 1 and I wasn’t sure what they meant then it happened to me…Maybe you have to get above a certain level to go to only level 1 spells..I don’t know!

[trash2002]

@abeggertoo
Many thanks for your swift and detailed answer! :)

[trash2002]

@david-martin
Hmmm, so it seems Rovio is still paying attention after all? I’ve only reported the infinite spell glitch like five times.

Please, stop reporting about it again. :) Rovio is a cruel money-making machine. I already spent more than 1500 USD and deserved normal attitude to paying customers from them. After each their update I suddenly loose a great deal of my saved arena tickets and spells. Wrote them a pile of letters with a request to restore them. What did I get back? Absolutely nothing. :( They don’t give a sh^$#$t. Let ‘The Old Lady’ be alive, ok? :)

Sorry for my poor English.

[Davetv]

In my opinion rovio has shot themselves in the foot with this update. I’m sure the majority of players don’t know about the spell issue. So now how can they sell spells that don’t work? Also since all of my birds are at level 31 all I get is blizzard spells in my free chests. Anyone else having this issue. I haven’t seen the three gem chest or any other spells. The scoring is all screwed up again and my spells are all at level 1 as most are reporting. I also don’t like how rovio forces you into the update. I think rovio does all of this on purpose because no reputable business could screw up this many times and continue to be profitable. As far as I know there has never been a consistent rule of thumb for anything in this game since it’s inception.

[James Peden]

I paid $10.00 for this gem letter bologna and I am supposed to get 104+ gems everyday for 30 days and it stops after 2 days. What gives fix it or return my money. Had anyone else had this problem.

[Kt]

@chucky-2 @kelshe @david-martin @davetv @angryplayer @adbjester

My Level 19 spells were all transformed into Level 1 spells on the day of the Halloween download and have remained so. Trick or Treat!

Kelshe, I have occasionally met an opponent in the Arena bringing in 1 or 2 Level 20 spells. However, when I am in the match and that Spell comes up in their hand, it is no longer Level 20 but Level 1 and scores like x1, not x20. This has happened 3 or or 4 times now.

Perhaps you have noticed if you use a spell first in a round of the match, any subsequent bird used that touches whatever the level 1 spell affected no longer scores its multiplier, but the multiplier of the spell which is x 1. So using spells to start a round very much reduces your potential score and eliminates the value of the bird(s) that follow that touch anything effected by that spell.

I have adapted my strategy since all my spells are Level 1 and use only Chili and ME in each match. They both easily clear away one or 2 lingering birds without spoiling the potential star count and allow me to move to the next panel with my remaining birds where there is more opportunity for a real score. I have also used ME near the end of a match to clear a panel that my remaining bird(s) could not damage (like the blues against stone.) hoping the next panel will offer greater potential for score and often does.

So here’s the thing, everyone here is still playing the Game. Some of us have played for a long time and we have seen many permutations with the many downloads. So ADAPT. To play this Game, you have to adapt. I have offered some observations about the Level 1 spells and how I have adapted my Game to them. I use the advantages that I learn as part of adaptation. When advantages disappear, I look for new ones or ways around the new obstacle, like the new way to retain spells. Make part of your Strategy with this Game ADAPTATION. Make that part of the fun when you play the game. If it is just too hard and too frustrating, stop playing…. till you have a new strategy.

[AngryPlayer]

@james-peden no big shock, considering we know Rovio has trouble following through on its promises. I learned my lesson about buying bonuses after that crown/gift box fiasco right at the beginning of this whole circus.

I would be on their case every single day demanding either a refund or they own up to the purchase. Keep track of how many gems you SHOULD be getting for each day skipped and make sure they deliver every one of them.

@trash2002

Rovio is a cruel money-making machine

BULLSEYE.

I have come to the conclusion that after the recent staff ‘layoff’, the ‘voluntary’ departure of @bankler, and the absence of any activity towards issues on this forum is that Rovio’s large-scale plan is being fulfilled. I’m pretty certain that the intent on AB2 was to create a self-generating, self-healing cash cow that gets attention by an occasional programmer maybe once per two weeks (or whenever updates/fixes are scheduled). Between those times it just runs in autopilot.

Screens build themselves; levels construct themselves; AI manifests itself depending on how advanced the player’s stats are; money-grab pop-ups appear at opportune times, especially when the player is in distress.

Think about it. The ultimate revenue generating machine is one that runs without any manpower required, and simply rakes in the sales on a monthly basis while the system’s users blindly dump cash into it, paid ads send viewing counter values to a cash register tally, and CEOs wring their hands looking at the figures saying to themselves, “mmmmExcellent…”

BTW I am a developer, have been in the game development industry, and am currently employed in a high-finance business world. My thought process on the statement above does not come from paranoia ;)

[David Martin]

But @angryplayer, it takes real effort to come up with all those punny nicknames on “Pig” and “Ham” whenever a new world is introduced! And to think of new and clever ways to make us lose Arena matches. Surely someone must be getting a paycheck for that…

[AngryPlayer]

@david-martin CEOs’ kids will come up with those names for free ;)

[bossywings]

@captsternn

This may be a stupid question but I have to ask. How did you get level 33 on your birds? Is there something I have missed? I have got my birds to level 25/26 (level 19/20 + gold sling + cowboy hats). I collected party, crown and cowboy. To level up more should I collect more of the hats: like all the 20 Pearls and all 100 Pearls?

[AngryPlayer]

@ktcain Playing AB2 is like being challenged to run a race. So you prep up at the starting line.

Next thing you know the race organizers shackle up one of your legs. Then the starting gun sounds and unseen spectators along the track start throwing things at you. You notice huge hurdles with ladders against them that are broken. Then you encounter deep holes filled with quicksand on the route, blinding lights are shone in your eyes and unseen snipers pellet you with paintballs. As you get closer and closer to the finish line, it continues to get moved further away.

All of this can be avoided however if you pay $$$ at each encounter, and none of it was ever disclosed to you at the beginning of the race.

However you are competing against many other runners who seem to know shortcuts that get them to the end of the track in a hurry. The race organizers know this but can only do so much about it.

Along the way the race organizers laugh at you for not succeeding.

Such is the player experience in AB2. There’s only so much ‘strategy’ one can adopt to overcome all of this.

[CaptSternn]

You know what, Bossy, in the spirit of David Martin, I am going to be real specific here. I have tried to be a bit discrete on the Cheaters thread, but to heck with that. I have reported it to Rovio months ago, multiple times, and nothing has been done, so here it is.

I have an iPhone, don’t know how it would with a different device. I use iTunes to back up my device to my local computer. I can spend gems on anything I want and then play a round in the arena. I restore my phone a get all my gems back while keeping everything I spent gems on. It works with tickets, chests, feathers and anything earned from playing on in the arena.

It works the same with pearls. I can use pearls to buy hats, play a round, restore, keep the hats, get pearls back and buy more hats.

It works with the winning streak and that is how I can bank feathers. Climb my way to 6 wins, do a backup, win the 7th round to get feathers. Then restore, keep feathers and back to having 6 wins in the streak. 750 feathers over and over.

It is a little tedious. Takes about ten minutes for the whole process from being at the arena screen to getting back to the arena screen. But hey, 750 feathers every ten minutes, or all those chests … I burn out after about an hour.

I can’t win the arena only because I won’t live in AB2 all day, every day. But I could if I wanted to spend that much time playing.

Edit: It also works with new levels. I can blast through the levels using all the gems I want, play a round in the arena, restore and get all the gems back while keeping progress. One thing that doesn’t work is spending gems on the DC and KPC. It can be a way to win, but restoring makes the pearls won go away. That becomes a choice between gems and pearls.