About the Angry Birds 2 Arena

[hamvestor]

@captsternn, thanks much for shedding light on the extent of the potential to exploit the bugs in AB2. I simply had no idea. I wondered, for example, how many of my Diamond League opponents had a full complement of pirate hats, as well as the newer set of 1000-pearl hats, when it would take me forever to accumulate that many pearls, even with my birds maxed out at the top level. I’m 23-2-1 in the Arena, and leading again this week, but given the huge amount of time it is taking to be competitive against opponents with those kinds of ill-gotten advantages, it just isn’t worth it anymore. I had been having my doubts about all the time it is taking to play the game, and you provided the impetus for me to make the move. I’m outta here.

Thanks again for putting it all out there…

[bossywings]

@captsternn

Thanks for the info. I have a android and have no clue how to backup the game to my computer. Probably something really advanced. I just keep playing every 3hs: 1-3 and 4-7. I just enjoy the game and I don´t want to cheat.

[CaptSternn]

You know something, Ham, it has taken a lot of the fun out of the game for me. I don’t want to ruin it for anybody, but there is how to get all the stuff. Having all the stuff really does’t give an advantage any more.

For me it is like playing golf. If I didn’t have fun knocking things over, I wouldn’t be playing. But this is why I avoid this board for a while, reading the pain of others and no longer sharing in it. And then I make my way back.

But enough is enough. I play against people that have level 33 birds and all the hats. So many others must know how to do things that honest players do’t. And no, I am no longer an honest player. My only redemption is having reported it and now making good with my threat to make it public if it was not fixed with the next major update.

[kelshe]

@captsternn
Captain, sent you a PM get back to me when convenient.

[CaptSternn]

Hasn’t come through yet, Kelshe. I will check again in a bit.

[Kt]

@angryplayer

You sound miserable. Are you still playing the Game? And I guess the inevitable question is, if you are still playing, why?

[Penz]

Rovio do a pretty good job of sucking any remaining fun out of this game so don’t worry about it. And you are right about having all the stuff, it doesn’t really help anyway as you face equal opposition who seem able to score heavier. I’m at quite a high level now and the arena can be torturous at times , everything seems to be designed to hinder your ability to score highly in a room.

[Mark Melton]

Ok I’m an older man four months shy of being 59, Having played most of the angry birds game’s it was just a little fun game to pass the time and beat the tar out of my kids ha ha! But all this money business and fixing the game so you must purchase gems to advance or be competitive in the arena is taking the fun out of playing ABs2. I still win many of my matches and DC act without purchasing anything. The bottom line is for me, when it stops being fun and starts being a chore or causing stress a simple uninstallation will cease the problem.

[Katydid]

I just dropped by to say goodbye. I will not be playing anymore. The game has become frustrating not fun anymore. I won’t delete AB2 just going to break the habit. I hope!

[Penz]

Think I’ll be joining you, the arena has become unplayable. Just played streak no 2 against a lower level opponent, took in 3 spells as I knew what was coming , used the free bird video and still lost by 6 million, and that is now happening regularly. I hardly ever lost before, now I’m getting destroyed. My opponents clearly aren’t playing the same levels, I’m often faced with 1st rooms which require at least 2 to 3 birds to clear , by the time I’ve cleared it my opponent is already millions ahead and either maintain that lead no matter how well I play or even pull further away. It’s a joke.

[cognitive]

Hold on people…

What levels are you? According to the latest Poll, my birds are all 25-26, flock power of 175 or so. I rarely get paired with anyone over 170. Some are good, granted, racking up maybe 12-13M points from birds + a spell here and there. Against the full fury of Our Lady, they have zero chance as I win by 2-3M points. Rarely I have a bad day (or I have to chase the cat) and I kind of end up ahead by a little. Once a day maybe the video bird, and once or twice a week the 60 gems.

And mind you, I’m not THAT good. I typically use one bird per structure and as recommended in the past, go for damage more than for cleaning the levels. In my doldrums I may end up with 10M using all 5 spells, usually it’s more like 15-18M.

Without Our Lady, I can still win but not with as large of a margin.

[bossywings]

Well I have to ask. How to get the next sling after gold? Got the party, crown and cowboy. Is the trick to collect all the other hats too? All of x1 and x2? And I know about saving the pearls but there isn´t any x4 hat yet so how can people have other slings than bronze, silver and gold? Thanx

Edit: Nevermind. I got it. Just as I thought: collected the other 20 pearl hats: upgraded the sling.

[Penz]

My flock power is 212 so I’m quite a high level. I go for maximum destruction of pigs and structures, that goes without saying. Just to see what happened , I played for a bit without any spells, I lost 7 games in a row on streak 1, against higher and lower level opponents who didn’t have any spells either. And I mean I got destroyed. I think I’m a pretty good player, I used to be good at working out how to clear 2 or 3 structures with one bird , now due to bird impotence and level design it’s almost impossible. Before the last update I might lose 4 or 5 times in a week, now I can lose that many in an hour even using 2 or 3 spells in each match. I seem to be facing the same opponents over and over and they are playing far easier levels than me. I doubt everyone goes through the same thing,I’ve seen many a person on here complain about the arena while I was flying. Definitely my turn to feel the pain now. I’ve got a decent amount of gems but I refuse to use them when it’s obvious the odds are stacked heavily against me.

[Der Alte]

I am confused and possibly dazed. Some of you are hsving probkems that others do not see.

I suspect that there are differences between the iOS (Apple) and Android versions of AB2. If you could include which version you are playing when you post it might provide some clarity.

[snappy]

I have a flock level of 204 now (will be 205 after the next game). I have not had any opponents so far above 210. I think the upper limit is the max level possible with the same sling level.

I refuse to use spells on levels 1-3. No gems on lvls 1-6.
Use a spell or two as backup on lvl 4.
No spell lvl 5.
Two spells each on lvls 6 and 7.

Most of my losses have been on lvl 1 which now offers up higher level opponents and scores than the later levels. With the updates, I do get better opponents and just need to be more careful aiming than before the update. Still dont see the differences in destructiveness of the birds. They all seem to be the same as before.

Right now, the worst part of the update is the removal of gems from small chests. I use 60 gems typically for KPC and sometimes for DC if I dont feel like trying again.

[Penz]

Like I said, different people seem to have different experiences in the arena. There have been plenty of times when a lot of posters were complaining yet I wasn’t having any problems. But at the moment my arena experience is a nightmare.

As a matter of interest, what level are your spells? Mine are all level 1, @Hank has admitted on a different thread that this is a glitch and should be resolved hopefully soon. But my underpowered spells only explain so much, I never used to use spells on 1,2 and 4, occasionally on 3,5, and 6 and always on 7 to guarantee the big feather prize.

[Anonymous]

I said it before and I will say it again….The Arena is sooooooo NOT fun since the Halloween update!

I have posted many times before pointing out my arena usually goes over the 2000 – 3000 mark each week, this week it hasn’t even broken 300….why? Because it is NOT fun to play since the update.

The level 1 spell glitch (that @hank admitted to, but gave no ETA when it will be rectified) has ruined it for a majority of people and that is reflected in the low low arena scores because nobody is playing.

I have a flock power of 231 (33 x 7 birds) and I am constantly being beaten by flock power of around 200 to 220. Previous to the update, I only lost one game every 30 or so, after the update I lose 1 out of every 3 games…so hanks explanation that we are playing against other level 1 spells is bull crap and not being reflected in the scores or win/loss ratio.

As I also said since the update, you can now use all 5 spells on the first level and barely even fill the destructometer even half way.

@hank this level 1 spell glitch and whatever else is screwing up the arena needs to be fixed now, not in 6 months like the usual way that Rovio deal with things….either that or just lose many customers based on the posts here and on FB!

[kelshe]

I haven’t lost in the arena in over 6 months and have not used any gems. My flock is maxed out and my spells were all level 20. Today, I finally succumbed to the hats and leveled up to gold slingshot. All my spells plummeted to level 1. Since getting hats, I’ve had to use 5 spells AND gems for EVERY match to eke out a small win. One opponent had no spells, was lower ranked and matched me card for card to the end. That means that the opponent one-birded EVERY level and got a bird back for EVERY bird he fired. Really? I had to use 5 spells and gems to get 5 points. I have quite a few gems left but when they’re gone,so am I.

[Penz]

It’s not just the spell glitch that’s the problem though, but the fact I now have to use spells in EVERY match only emphasises their weakness. That I now have to use 2 or 3 spells even on streak no1 ,and still getting destroyed regularly even against lower level opponents ,tells me the odds are stacked heavily against me. I’d be far happier knowing I was playing a ‘live’ opponent , at least then I’d know we were playing the same rooms.

[ZoomRhonda]

@kelshe

Welcome to the Thunderdome. Once you are past a certain point it all starts happening.

[snappy]

@penz
My spells are lvl 1 as well but I have had to change spell usage tactics since the update. Too many spells can actually have a negative impact now since you could end up with no viable choices for a good points run if they are bunched together.

[cognitive]

@rhonda90402 nailed it… At the 175 or so flock level against mostly 150 (!) to 180 level flocks and Our Lady it’s basically impossible to lose a round unless someone calls me and the phone goes poof. At 200+ things are different…

[ZoomRhonda]

@cognitive

Thanks for agreeing with me cognitive. Love that pic of Red Bird you are using.

I am not even at the level you mention yet (Just below)…but I have all birds at 27-28. I started playing the game late and rarely played the trail for the longest time due to limited time to play. Also, I have some good friends to get good gifts from. I feel we should all be playing to have fun and not to reach a goal but that is only my humble opinion.

[ADBjester]

Please allow me to play devil’s advocate, people.

I think the Halloween update has made the arena BETTER. It did exactly what it needed to do — diminished the power of spells, while evening out matches through the exact same “flock power” calculations that I illustrated within this very thread a few months ago.

If your reason for it “not being fun” any more is that you don’t routinely get a 7 win streak and 750 feathers…. well, golly, gee, we can’t all win *every* time. And that’s what was happening before. Every match was the original flock of your opponent, vs. your flock of 7 + 5 spells, and often mismatched.

Players were getting not streaks of 7…. but streaks of 70 or more. Losses were rare. It was grinding to keep up with all the other grinders, and wasn’t a challenge. It was a time sink.

Now, it is competitive again. You can load up on spells… but they don’t do you much good. You stand a risk of losing.

Note that spells are *STILL* valuable…. but their optimal strategy has vastly changed. Before, if you had a mighty eagle, you wanted to use it first, because that increased your chances of being awarded ANOTHER eagle. For top scoring, you timed your spells such that you got spells as bonuses. (Note, too, that the long-time complaint about getting a Blue as a bonus is related… as if you hoarde the blue, you’re more likely to get it when you spend it).

NOW, you absolutely do NOT want to use a spell to open a room. They are 1/30th of the scoring power of the flock birds. Use your flock to clear most of the room…. and then if you didn’t strike, use the spells to pick off the stragglers, leaving your flock birds for “first shots” in the next room.

In turn, those “first shots” will score much more highly, and bonus birds will be more likely to be flock birds. Now, spells are BAD to get as bonuses… so you want to spend them while your meter is low.

So, in short, to all the whiners, knock it off. You had it good for a while… and now Rovio has evened up the matches. That’s what you SAID you wanted, but what you really wanted was a way to win without challenge.

Where’s the fun in that?

Jester

[ZoomRhonda]

@adbjester

Well said….But their games are always a bit askew…I lived through the debacle of team racing in Angry Birds GO! And yes, I have mentioned that too much in my posts and I am still bitter about them changing that game….With all that said…I love to play Angry Birds 2 but sometimes it all seems a bit surreal how the scoring goes and wish it were explained to us in some fashion.