How the heck to do it!
The art of working up specific gag tracks by soloing buildings.
Rules of Cogs
First off, know that cogs resistance to gags is partially based on the difference of level of gag verses the level of cog. Basic rules are:
1. It is easier to hit a level one cog with a level one gag than it is to hit a higher level cog. This difficulty increases as the difference increases. The odds of luring a level nine cog with a dollar bill are vastly worse than luring a level one cog!
2. Any gag used that exceeds the value of the cog will probably have a better chance of hitting, but will give no experience. You see noobs all the time killing cogs in one shot with overpowered gags.
3. The way experience is set up, usually any attack on a cog that earns experience will be one that takes a couple of shots to kill it. This means the cog will have a chance to hit you too! This is another reason to only attack the minimum level of cog you need to get the points. They hurt you less than the big guys.
4. The exception to 2 and 3 above comes when you face a group of cogs. Experience for all cogs in a group is based on the value of the biggest cog. This can be of value in that you can take out the lower level cogs in one shot and still get experience for the gag.
That being said, the lower levels of any gag track are developed pretty much the same. For first thru third level, go to TTC and concentrate on that level of cog in the streets. Use first level gags on first level cogs until you get to second level. This usually allows you to carry more first level gags as well as some second level gags. Use them all on the appropriate level of cog. When you get to fourth level move to any of the easy streets just beyond TTC( Barnacle Blvd., Alto Ave., and Elm Street.)
Secondly, Know the nature of your cogs. Each level cog has a different amount of damage it takes to kill it. If you know how much damage your gags do, you can figure the optimum use of them (from one shot kill to minimum damage milking the most points).
Cogs “laff” points by level: one=6 points, two=12 points, three=20 points, four=30 points, five=42 points Six=56 points, seven=72points, eight=90 points, nine=110 points, ten=132 points,eleven=156 points, and The mighty level twelve cog takes a whopping 182 points.
Cogs also generally tend to resist certain gags better than others:
Sellbots and Bossbots tend to resist lure but are easier to hit with drop.
Cashbots and Lawbots tend to resist drop but are easier to lure.
Fat cogs tend to dodge less and are best lured using the magnet.
Thin cogs tend to dodge more and are best lured using the bill.
Using the above example, lets say I was just starting to work on drop. My first choice of cog would be a cold caller (fat sellbot).
Working Buildings
Buildings offer advantages and disadvantages.
The main advantage of buildings is that the value of gag experienced is multiplied by 50% for each floor past the first. Thus, on the second floor a level 2 gag earns 3 points. On the third floor all experience is effectively doubled.
The main disadvantage of a building is that you cannot run until you finish a level, plus you gain no experience at all unless you finish the entire building.
That being said, there are ways to optimize your building to get the most out of a particular gag track.
1. Choose the right kind of building for the gag you are working on.
If you are working on lure (or trap) choose a cashbot or lawbot building. If you are working on drop choose a Sellbot or bossbot building. Sound works well in any kind of building, as do squirt and throw. If you are working on toon-up, you will need to have another toon accompany you, but any building will work.
2. Choose the right location of building.
The street it is on will determine generally the level of cogs inside it. When I solo I tend to go for easy threes. The maximum level of cog you face in these are level 6 to 7 cogs. The easy streets again are Barnacle Blvd., Alto Ave., and Elm Street. Since the game is random, occasionally you will encounter tougher buildings. If you encounter a level 6 or higher on the first floor, chances are this will be a tough building. Keep in mind that you can bail out after you finish the first level.
The main problem with soloing buildings is that you have nobody to toon you up. Since you will probably get hit if you want to earn experience for your gags, your laff point total will determine the level of building you can handle. If I am beat down to less than half my laff before I get to the last floor, I am probably in a building that is too tough.
3. Choose the proper gags to work the building.
Load up on the gags you want to work and any others you may need to survive. Since the highest gag you have is only limited to a few, you will need as many as you can carry of each. Eg: 3 lvl 5, 7, lvl 4, 4 lvl 3 of the track I am working.
Trap
If you plan on working trap, you will also need lots of lures. Traps always work when the lure does, but lure doesn’t always work so carry extras. Obviously, if you don’t have the lure track, you will have to bring along a friend who does.
Lure
If you are working lure alone, you will need other gags to hit the cogs once they are lured. I have found it helps to work another gag track with lure (like squirt or throw). Since drop won’t hit lured cogs, don’t bother using drop and lure. And since sound unlures cogs, don’t bother unless you want to lure them again(after each and every one of them gets a shot at you).
Sound
If you are working sound alone, you may want to take gags like lure and squirt to immobilize and then thin out groups of cogs before you hit them with sound (yes sound will affect them all, but why let 4 cogs hit you before your second or third sound gag kills them).
Throw and Squirt
I you are working throw and squirt alone, you may want to include lure to immobilize groups and to make your damage more effective. Your main advantage of being a toon is that you shoot first. If you hit a group of cogs with lure not only can you kill them one at a time, but your damage is increased. Eg: it usually takes 2 berry pies to kill a level 4 but if he is lured one pie usually does it***.
Drop
Since drop tends to miss quite a bit, take lots of extras and if possible, take along a friend who is working on squirt, throw or sound (since drop tends to hit stunned cogs more frequently).
Toon Up
You can’t do this one solo. Best deal is to team up with another toon that needs to work the same track. Go to a level 3 or 4 building and kill everything except the last couple of cogs on the top floor. Then either pass or use toon-up, letting the cogs attack you until you start running low on toon-up.
4. Milk a building for the most experience.
Any Floor
Sometime you can get more experience using two lower level gags instead of one big gag. Eg. Two klaxons(lvl 4 sound) will kill a level 4 cog giving 8 exp. A klaxon, followed by a trumpet, followed by a klaxon will also kill a lvl 4 cog, giving 11 exp.
If you are confronted by more than one cog, keep in mind that you can use gags equal to the biggest cog there, so if I am working drop and I have a level 6, a 5 and two 4 cogs, I can use pianos on all of them. Obviously my chances of hitting the level 4 cogs are better.
If you get confronted by a staggered releases of one or two reinforcement cogs from the elevator, be quick to hit the first cogs so that you can still get the first shot advantage with the second wave. That means more uses of the gag, which means more experience. This happens frequently on the top floor of a building.
Thin the cogs when you can. It is easier to face cogs one at a time than to fight a group. Unless you are working drop, it helps to lure groups and then kill off any extra cogs. Extra cogs include any that exceed the value of the gag you are trying to work.
First Floors
Unless you have lots of a particular gag, don’t waste them on the first floor, and never use your highest level gags on the first floor. Keep in mind that any gag used here will earn the same experience you could get on the street. Save your bigger gags for the upper floors.
Second to Last Floor
Use your next to the biggest gags on the second to the last floor. Obviously, use the appropriate level of gag that will give you experience.
Top Floor
Use your biggest gags here. Try to use them on cogs that are the same level( or lower if an equal is present). You only have a few of them and you want to improve your chances of hitting. Yes my level 5 drop will kill a level six, but the odds of hitting a level 5 are better (especially if it is a fat cashbot).
Here more than anywhere else, this is the place to use as many of thekind of gag you are working as you can. Sometimes that means doing silly things like hitting a lured cog with a really small gag (or choosing pass until he comes out of it).
Be prepared to get hit. If your lure fails here you could get severely whacked, so keep that in mind before you proceed to the top floor. Keep a few big one-shot kill gags in reserve incase you start to get in trouble. If you die on the top floor, the whole buildings experience is lost.
Example:
Working sound: I have the elephant trumpet (lvl5). I load up with as many sound gags as I can carry. Since I am soloing, I only keep a few Toon-ups. This makes room for more sound. I choose an easy level 3 bldg:
First floor: one level 3 cog-I use two lvl 3 trumpets (6 exp). It dies.
Elevator delivers a level 5 cog- I use two level 3, followed by 2 level 4 (14exp). It dies.
Total exp for floor 20 points.
Second floor: two level 4s- I choose the big magnet and lure them, then I hit one with a level 4 squirt and it dies. Now I use my level 4 sound, followed by two level 3 sounds (10 exp).
Elevator delivers a level 5 cog- I use two level 3, followed by 2 level 4 (14exp). It dies.
Total exp for floor 36 points (24 x 1.5).
Third floor: one level 6 boss, two level 5s and one level 4- I choose the big magnet and lure them, then I hit one of the 5’s with a level 5 squirt and it dies. I do the same killing the 4 and the other 5. I leave the 6 to kill with as many sound gags as I can. It will take all 3 shots with the elephant trumpet to kill him giving me 15 points.
Total exp for floor 30 points (15x2).
Total exp for building: 86 points!
Keep in mind that I will be somewhat chewed up, since I have been hit by one shot from a 3, one shot from a 4, six shots from level 5s and two shots from a level 6. This usually means I teleport to the Brrrrgh and eat snowflakes for a while. If I don’t have enough laff points to withstand that amount of damage I will work smaller, easier buidings.
Keep in mind that during cog invasions all experience is doubled. It was not unusual to get 100+ points in drop in a 3 story building.
*** Lure exception: Reinforcement cogs don’t always get the lure knockback bonus, nor do all cogs in the factory. As a general rule any cog that is alone will be subject to the knockback bonus.
Have fun!
Building up gags quickly!
05-23-2008, 03:23 AM
Thanks For The Tips!
Im Behind
Linear Mode
