Mafia Wars Tips and Strategy Blog

What Features Would You Like To Have Added To Mafia Wars?

Phillip Scott — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:26:21 +0000

I know that many of you are like me in that you love playing Mafia Wars and have ideas that you think might improve the game. Today I am going to share some of the ideas that I think would enhance game play and I hope that you will leave comments sharing some of your ideas as well. Once we have put together a list of ideas I will be sending them to Zynga and posting them on the Mafia Wars Forums.

Here are some of the things that I personally thing could be added to the game to make it more fun and less frustrating at times.

Energy Roll Over

I think that if you reach the end of a level and do not use all of your energy it should roll over and be added to the new amount of energy you receive upon leveling up. If telephone companies can roll over minutes surely it would not be a big problem to do so in Mafia Wars.

12-Hour Stamina Packs

Stamina packs available every 12 hours would be great both for Mafia Wars players and Zynga as well. Think about this. If your business model is based on players buying Reward Points to monetize your game would it not make sense to bring them back every 12 hours instead of once per day?

Mafia Auction House

A feature that would allow players to place items up for sale not for real money but in game cash would be a wonderful addition. Nearly all MMO games have this feature and it develops a thriving player driven economy. If you want 1,000 Satellite Phones just buy them on the auction house. This feature would give players a way to equip their mafia and something to do with the billions of dollars that go to waste when an expansion is completed.

Foreign Exchange Center

When we travel to foreign lands in the real world we can simply visit an exchange center at our destination to exchange our currency for native currency. When we do this we pay a fee but have access to the common currency of the area. Why can we not do this in Mafia Wars?

Weekly Jobs

After a player has competed all of the expansions there is really nothing to do and many players become frustrated and either leave the game permanently or go into hiatus until a new expansion arrives. If Zynga wants to keep these players active and thus be able to earn income from them they need to come up with something for them to do. All they need to do is set up a special tier of missions that offer advanced rewards for loyal players. This tier or “hidden expansion” could offer special loot that does not upset the game balance but gives veteran players recognition for their loyalty.

These features would enhance the game for all. Tomorrow I will continue the list and at the end of the week I will condense all of our ideas and send them off to Zynga. If you have an idea please leave a comment or send me an email so I can get your ideas integrated into the message. Perhaps between us we can make Mafia Wars even more enjoyable.

Mafia Wars Marketplace – Fight Club

Phillip Scott — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:00:51 +0000

If you have looked at the Mafia Wars Marketplace lately you have no doubt come across the Fight Club Items. With Zynga being pretty closed mouthed about fight club it seems odd that they would be offering items for a feature that has not even made it to the live game yet.

Here is list of the items that are being offered for Fight Club.

Item	Attack	Defense	Type	Cost	Requires
Glance	33	72	Vehicle	25	18 Top Mafia
Hazar Gear	35	71	Armor	25	18 Top Mafia
Silenced Sniper Rifle	70	28	Weapon	25	18 Top Mafia
Fight Buff Pack	N/A	N/A	Boosts	25	18 Top Mafia

All prices for Marketplace items are accurate at the time of this article series.

The Cost column in this table represents cost in Victory Coins.

I find it rather disturbing that these items are being offered before the feature has entered live play. Call me old fashioned but I believe in getting what I pay for. While I am not saying that the folks at Zynga are dishonest stranger things have happened in gaming before. Take Sony’s Star Wars: Galaxies for instance and the fiasco that went on with the Mustafar expansion and the New Gaming Experience. In that situation many people paid for an expansion only to have the entire game changed about 2 weeks later.

Zynga thus far has given me no reason to thing that they are running something shady but I will save my money until the feature goes live then decide if I want to purchase.

Mafia Wars Marketplace – Consumables

Phillip Scott — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:00:09 +0000

One of the biggest pains in the butt that you will encounter when playing Mafia Wars is running out of consumable items. Every city has its own consumables and when you are trying to level as quickly as possible there is nothing as frustrating as having to go back and do jobs just for consumables.

There have been many complaints about the problem on various forums spread across the Internet and Zynga being the consummate business that it is both listened and expanded monetization of their brand by making consumables available in the Marketplace.

Here is a complete list of consumables that are being offered.

Item	Unit	Cost
Untraceable Cell Phone	10	20
Set of illegal Transaction Records	10	20
Set of Blackmail Photos	10	20
Concealable Camera	10	20
Satellite Phone	10	20
Drug Shipment	10	20
Pirate	10	20
Gold Treasure Chest Key	1	9
Parisian Map	10	10

All prices for Marketplace items are accurate at the time of this article series.

The Cost column in this table represents cost in Reward Points.

While I would rather go back and do jobs over and over for consumables there may be some who would rather buy them. If you have a large number of Reward Points then you may want to purchase them to speed leveling, otherwise you will be doing some jobs literally hundreds of times.

Mafia Wars Marketplace – Crates

Phillip Scott — Wed, 19 May 2010 20:00:13 +0000

Zynga has been making crates available nearly since the day that Mafia Wars was released and they are definitely something that millions of players spend Reward Points on. Most of the time the crates are linked to an event, holiday, or even a movie but now you can purchase two types of crates in the Mafia Wars Marketplace.

As with all crates the chances each of these has a chance to grab rare, uncommon, and common loot. Chances are listed below.

Rare – 10%

Uncommon – 30%

Common – 60%

These chances remain the same regardless of purchasing 1 or 3 crates.

Here are the two types of crates that you can pick up in the Marketplace at this time.

Crate	Rare	Uncommon	Common	Unit	Cost
Subterfuge Crate	10	30	60	1	12
Subterfuge Crate	10	30	60	3	35

Subterfuge Crate Items
Item	Attack	Defense	Type	Rarity
Hush Puppy	34	16	Weapon	Common
Fake ID	19	42	Weapon	Uncommon
Con Man	60	35	Armor	Rare
Poison Filled Ring	32	17	Armor	Common
Boot Knife	15	33	Armor	Common
Concealed Armor	22	40	Armor	Uncommon
Spy Plane	31	58	Vehicle	Rare
Stealth Car	41	23	Vehicle	Uncommon

Crate	Rare	Uncommon	Common	Unit	Cost
Stuffed Crate	x1	x3	x5	1	25
Stuffed Crate	x3	x9	x15	3	69

Unfortunately I cannot find a full list of items that are inside the Stuffed Crates. All that Zynga says about it is that it is “Bursting at the seams with regular crate items and a bunch of additional goodies.” When I find a reliable list I will update this post.

All prices for Marketplace items are accurate at the time of this article series.

The Cost column in this table represents cost in Reward Points.

As I have said many times the only thing that I ever spend Reward Points on is +4 Skill Points, but if you are the kind of player who likes to take a chance and possibly get some decent gear then crates might be right up your alley.

Mafia Wars Marketplace – Boosts

Phillip Scott — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:00:32 +0000

For quite some time boosts have been a big part of the Mafia Wars universe. Boosts are acquired by re-vaulting collection items which can sometimes be a pain in the butt. Boosts are a very handy thing to have lying around when you decide to attack other players or are inevitably attacked by other players.

The folks at Zynga have made getting large amounts of boosts possible my making them part of the Mafia Wars Marketplace. Below is a complete list of all boosts that are available in the Marketplace along with the boost that they bestow and the cost involved.

Item	Boost	Units	Cost	Type
Hollow Point	+100 Attack Skill	10	50	Attack Boost
Throwing Knives	+65 Attack Skill	10	33	Attack Boost
Car Bomb	+50 Attack Skill	10	25	Attack Boost
Bola	+45 Attack Skill	10	23	Attack Boost
Liquid Courage	+44 Attack Skill	10	22	Attack Boost
Blowfish Dar	+40 Attack Skill	10	20	Attack Boost
Handy Man	+38 Attack Skill	10	19	Attack Boost
Corporate Muscle	+35 Attack Skill	10	18	Attack Boost
Chisel	+34 Attack Skill	10	17	Attack Boost
War Paint	+32 Attack Skill	10	16	Attack Boost
Black Market Ammo	+32 Attack Skill	10	16	Attack Boost
Flaming Shot	+30 Attack Skill	10	15	Attack Boost
Champagne Bottle	+25 Attack Skill	10	13	Attack Boost
Sting Grenade	+20 Attack Skill	10	10	Attack Boost
Semi-Pro Boxer	+15 Attack Skill	10	8	Attack Boost

Item	Boost	Units	Cost	Type
Mr. Hot Sauce	+100 Fight Defense Skill	10	50	Defense Boost
Bullmastiff	+65 Fight Defense Skill	10	33	Defense Boost
Berlin Wall Section	+46 Fight Defense Skill	10	23	Defense Boost
Smoke Grenade	+45 Fight Defense Skill	10	23	Defense Boost
Temporary Tattoo	+42 Fight Defense Skill	10	21	Defense Boost
Flash Bang	+40 Fight Defense Skill	10	20	Defense Boost
Boxer	+38 Fight Defense Skill	10	19	Defense Boost
Shave & A Haircut	+30 Fight Defense Skill	10	18	Defense Boost
Sandbag Wall	+35 Fight Defense Skill	10	18	Defense Boost
Pepper Spray	+35 Fight Defense Skill	10	18	Defense Boost
Hyper Alert Sentry	+32 Fight Defense Skill	10	16	Defense Boost
Injunction	+25 Fight Defense Skill	10	13	Defense Boost
Bulldog	+18 Fight Defense Skill	10	9	Defense Boost
Tripwire	+10 Fight Defense Skill	10	5	Defense Boost

All prices for Marketplace items are accurate at the time of this article series.

The Cost column in this table represents cost in Reward Points.

As most of you know I reserve Reward Points exclusively for +4 skill points but if you are having problems with other players and need to defend yourself or kick someone’s ass then you now have access to boosts that might give you the upper hand.

Mafia Wars Marketplace – Bundles

Phillip Scott — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:43:51 +0000

You can purchase computer bundles, software bundles and much more so why not Mafia Wars Bundles? Zynga have long been very good at marketing various items within the Marketplace and as most business do, they offer a “bundle” of items all for a single price.

Bundle	Items	Attack	Defense	Cost	If purchased Separately
Attack Bundle *	+4 Skill Points	N/A	N/A	99	14
	Set of Twin AK-47s	52	26		35
	Spetsnaz Operative	38	32		25
	Personal Watercraft	40	14		25
Defense Bundle *	+4 Skill Points	N/A	N/A	99	14
	Howler Monkey	20	37		35
	Chinese Tiger	26	48		35
	Iron Bull	28	42		25

All prices for Marketplace items are accurate at the time of this article series.

* Represents Items that are currently on sale at a 20% Discount (79 Reward Points)

The Cost column in this table represents cost in Reward Points.

If you are trying to get a leg up on the competition then these bundles might just be the ticket you are looking for. These bundles really are a good by for the price. If you purchased the items separately they would cost 99 Reward Points for each but with the 20% discount you can get them for as little as 79.

Personally I have never been one to purchase these type items from the Marketplace since I think that the only thing you should be spending Reward Points on is +4 Skill points but all in all the bundles are pretty good deals.

The Mafia Wars Marketplace – Weapons, Armor, Vehicles

Phillip Scott — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:59:31 +0000

In today’s post you will find all of the currently available weapons, armor, and vehicles in the Mafia Wars Marketplace.

Item	Attack	Defense	Cost	Type
African Lion	58	36	35	Weapon
Silverback Gorilla	35	57	35	Weapon
Hephaestus Cannon	56	26	35	Weapon
Cupid’s Hit Squad	47	22	25	Weapon
Gator 11-EK	46	29	25	Weapon
Jaguar	45	24	25	Weapon
Russian Bear	22	45	25	Weapon
Last Call	45	33	25	Weapon
Sneak Attack	43	22	25	Weapon
Anaconda	42	23	25	Weapon
Guitar Case Machine Gun	41	26	25	Weapon
Crazy Dragon	41	17	25	Weapon
Curare Gun	40	12	25	Weapon
Ballesta de Muneca	40	20	25	Weapon
Manhunter Shotgun	40	24	25	Weapon
Frogman	40	24	25	Weapon
Rainy Day	38	22	25	Weapon
Rabid Parrot	35	28	25	Weapon
Lumberjack *	39	18	25	Weapon
Meatgrinder *	37	14	25	Weapon
Howler Monkey *	20	37	25	Weapon
RU-44 SMG *	36	20	25	Weapon
Taino Vomit Stick *	36	22	25	Weapon
Exploding Cigar *	35	25	25	Weapon

Item	Attack	Defense	Cost	Type
Armadillo Gear	24	53	35	Armor
Chemical Gas Mask	29	48	25	Armor
Chinese Tiger	36	48	25	Armor
Alligator	37	48	25	Armor
Temple Guardian	37	45	25	Armor
Guerilla Bodyguar	25	44	25	Armor
YetiSkin Ghillie Suit	26	43	25	Armor
Set of Veteran Dog Tags	40	42	25	Armor
Tesla PD Gun	18	42	25	Armor
Dillinger’s Overcoat	22	40	25	Armor
Spetsnaz Operative	38	32	25	Armor
Pair of Sharkskin Gloves	38	37	25	Armor
Pair of Nitro Skates	19	36	25	Armor
Jetpack Prototype *	38	7	25	Armor
Ranger Body Armor *	15	38	25	Armor
Paratrooper’s Gear *	36	15	25	Armor
Panama Hat *	18	35	25	Armor
Off Duty Cop *	22	18	25	Armor

Item	Attack	Defense	Cost	Type
Sled and Dogs	53	25	35	Vehicle
Royal White Elephant	34	48	25	Vehicle
Getaway Plane	19	47	25	Vehicle
Rising Sun	28	46	25	Vehicle
Kodiak	44	28	25	Vehicle
Iron Bull	28	42	25	Vehicle
Fugama Gureihaundo-X	22	41	25	Vehicle
Personal Watercraft	40	14	25	Vehicle
Inferno SAM Launcer	40	25	25	Vehicle
Stolen Police Car *	21	39	25	Vehicle
Escort *	21	39	25	Vehicle
Reinforced Cement Mixer *	38	19	25	Vehicle
Rhoenix Hang-Glider *	38	15	25	Vehicle
Zepplin *	18	36	25	Vehicle
Pair of Pet Tigers *	28	12	25	Vehicle

All prices for Marketplace items are accurate at the time of this article series.

* Represents Items that are currently on sale at a 20% Discount (20 Reward Points)

The Cost column in this table represents cost in Reward Points.

The Mafia Wars Marketplace – Stat Items

Phillip Scott — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:59:50 +0000

Over the three years that Mafia Wars has been available the game has undergone many changes. New items have been introduced with each expansion and on special holiday events. Many of these items have migrated to the Marketplace and may be purchased with Reward Points. Today’s post combined with the following 6 will present every item that is available in the Marketplace at this time and in one case the near future

In this post you will find all of the Stat Items.

Item	Attack	Defense	Cost	Type
Class Change	N/A	N/A	15	Stat item
Energy Refill	N/A	N/A	10	Stat item
B$50,000 Baht	N/A	N/A	10	Stat item
10 Extra Mafia Members	N/A	N/A	20	Stat item
+4 Skill Points	N/A	N/A	14	Stat item
Health Refill	N/A	N/A	2	Stat item
New Name	N/A	N/A	15	Stat item
+50 Yakuza Faction Points	N/A	N/A	10	Stat item
+50 Triad Faction Points	N/A	N/A	10	Stat item

All prices for Marketplace items are accurate at the time of this article series.

The Cost column in this table represents cost in Reward Points.

For a very long time players were not able to change the class of their character in any way. If you started as a Maniac you were stuck with it. Zynga heard their player base and added the Class Change option recently.

Though many of the Stat Item purchases may seem appealing any player that is serious about leveling should only purchase the “+4 Skill Points” option and apply the points to Energy if you are an energy character or Stamina for a character based in that stat.

Bangkok Consumables and Where You Can Find Them

Phillip Scott — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:20:05 +0000

One of the most enjoyable parts of running a blog on any subject is interacting with readers through email. This blog is no exception and I do my best to either respond to my readers through return email or in the case of multiple questions on the same subject, through a blog post to allow everyone to benefit from the answer.

This week alone I have received 4 email messages asking about consumables in Bangkok so I thought I would post a short message today that gives everyone information of them.

Pirates
Pirates are acquired from the Bangkok Business “Privacy Operation”. In order to open up this business you will need to master the “Secure A Pirate Vessel” job which is in Bangkok Episode 3 that is aptly named Pirate.

You will need approximately 619 Pirates to complete Bangkok. If you plan to loot Lloyds Spectres you will need more.

10 Pirates may also be purchased in the Marketplace for the cost of 20 Reward Points.
Drug Shipments
Drug Shipments come from the business “Drug Smuggling Ring” which may be unlocked by mastering the job “Buy Some Chemicals On The Black Market” which may be found in Bangkok Episode 4, Commandant.

About 555 Satellite phones are required to complete Bangkok.

You may also purchase 10 Drug Shipments from the Marketplace for 20 Reward Points.
Satellite Phones
Unlike those consumables mentioned above, satellite phones are drop items. They may be found by completing the job “Hijack A Boat Load Of Electronics” in Bangkok Episode 3.

You are going to need about 470 Drug Shipments in order to complete the Bangkok expansion.

Satellite Phones are also for sale in the Marketplace in units of 10 for 20 Reward Points.

I hope that this detailed report on Bangkok consumables helps everyone finish Bangkok and be ready for Las Vegas.

Abbreviations Found In The Mafia Wars Forums

Phillip Scott — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:31:02 +0000

If you have ever ventured on to the Mafia Wars forums you are undoubtedly confused by some of the abbreviations that are commonly found within the posts. There a great deal of informative information that you can find if you can sift through the jargon. Here is a list of some of the most commonly encountered abbreviations used/

The following list is taken directly from the forums so the credit goes to the original poster. I am merely reproducing it for the benefit of my blog readers.

Common Abbreviations

HEL = High End Loot

MEL = Mid-Energy Loot

MHEL = Moscow High-Energy Loot or Moscow High End Loot

BHEL = Bangkok High-Energy Loot or Bangkok High End Loot

CHEL = Cuba High-Energy Loot or Cuba High End Loot

Special Collections

CNY = Chinese New Year collection

VD = Valentines Day collection

St.P’s/St. Paddy’s = St Patrick’s Day collection

Bangkok

Lloyd’s Spectres = LS, Lloyds or Spectres

Tanto = Tanto

Type-103 Machine Guns = 103s or Type-103s

Satellite Phone = SP

Pirates = Pirates

Drug Shipment = DS

Moscow

Zemeya Carbon Blades = ZCB, Zemeyas or Blades

Zoloto Sports Cars = ZSC, Zolos or Zolotos

Executive Overcoats = XOs, EOs

Konstantin Cargo Carriers = KCCs or Konstantins

Ubijca Assault Rifes = Ubis or Ubijcas

Shturmoviks = Viks or Shturms

Klyk-9s = Klyks

Cuba

Armoured State Car = ASC

TNT = TNT

Gaff Hook = GH or Hooks

Guerrilla Squads = GS

Canonazo = Canon

Camouflage Body Armour = CBA

PC = Politico Corruptos

New York

Untraceable Cell Phones = UCPs

Blackmail Photos = BMPs

Illegal Transaction Records = ITRs

Concealable Cameras = CCs

Panels = Solar Panels

BPG = Bulletproof Glass

CS = Chop Shop Items

Miscellanious

YOTT = Year of the Tiger

Baccarat Shoe = Shoe

Roulette Wheel = Wheel

If you do not visit the Mafia Wars forums regularly you are missing out on some very good information. Now that you can understand the abbreviations you can enjoy the posts as much as I do.