iMobsters Game Basics and FAQ What is iMobsters? iMobsters is a MMO developed by Storm 8 that is available from the iTunes store for the iPhone and Touch. How much does it cost? iMobsters is currently FREE What is the objective of the game? There are no predefined objectives for the game. It is up to each player to set their own goals and objectives. This can take many forms including: Character Level Equipment Owned Fight Record Income Stream Missions Completed etc. What are the different character classes available? Your character class is chosen at the very beginning of the game. It can only be changed through Loyalty Points or resetting your character. Tycoon: Gain Cash Faster Muscle: Heal Faster Operative: Gains Energy Faster Character Status Indicators On your main screen, you will see indicators of your character's current condition. (1) Cash: The amount of Cash you currently have (not including amount in the bank). (2) Experience: Your current experience points and the number required to reach the next level. (3) Level: Your characters current Level. (4) Health: Health is an indication of your character's current health status. It goes down whenever you attack or are attacked by another player. If it falls under 27 you are unable to attack or be attacked by other players. (5) Energy: Energy is used to complete Missions. It is automatically regenerated on a timer. (6) Stamina: Stamina is used when you initiate an attack against another player. Each attack requires one stamina point. It is automatically regenerated on a timer. Game Timers iMobsters is a real time MMO that continues to run even when you are not actively playing. Each time a particular game timer counts down to 0, it starts over again. I refer to this as one cycle. Game timers continually regenerate your Health, Energy and Stamina points up to their maximum. You will also receive your current Real Estate Cash Flow Income every cycle. (1) Cash Flow Timer: Receive your income every 60 minutes for Muscle and Operative. Every 50 minutes for Tycoon. (4) Health Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 2 minutes for Muscle, 3 minutes for Tycoon and Operative. (5) Energy Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 4 minutes for Operative, 5 minutes for Tycoon and Muscle. (6) Stamina Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 2 minutes for all character classes. Character Level and Experience What are the benefits of increasing my Level? Every time you increase your character level, you will gain: 3 Additional Skill Points Ability to use 5 additional mob members when fighting Full recharge of your Health, Energy and Stamina points. An increase in level may also: Unlock additional Missions Unlock additional Real Estate Unlock additional Equipment How do I increase my Character's Level? Your level is increased by earning experience points. Each level has an increasing experience point requirement. How do I earn Experience? You can earn experience by completing missions, successfully attacking another player or successfully defending an attack by another player. Skills There are five types of skills: Attack: Increases your ability to attack other players. Initially begins at 1. Defense: Increases your ability to defend attacks by other players. Initially begins at 1. Max Energy: Increases your maximum Energy points. Initially begins at 10. Max Health: Increases your maximum Health points. Initially begins at 100. Each additional skill point increases your Health by 10. Max Stamina: Increases your maximum stamina points. Initially begins at 3. Each additional stamina point requires 2 skill points. How do I increase my Skills? Every time your character increases one level, 3 additional skill points are available for you to allocate as you wish. Once a skill point is allocated, it cannot be changed. Cash, Income and Real Estate Cash is the equivalent of money in the game. It is used to buy equipment, real estate and heal. How do I earn cash? Cash can be earned by completing missions, successfully attacking another play and owning real estate.  Real Estate Real Estate is the primary source of income in the game. Each property that you buy adds to your Cash Flow. Each additional property of the same type costs 10% more than the previous property of the same type. Additional property types become available as you increase your Character Level. They can be sold for 50% of their original purchase price. Cash Flow (Income) Cash flow is an indication of how much cash you earn every cycle depending on your character class. Each property provides a specific income that is added to your Cash Flow Income. Upkeep costs are automatically subtracted from your Income. Equipment Equipment fall under 3 categories (Weapons, Armors and Vehicles) and are used by your character and mob members when attacking or defending against other players. They are bought with cash and can be sold for 50% of the original purchase price. Some equipment have an associated upkeep amount. Additional equipment becomes available as you increase in level. Each member of your mob uses (if available) 1 Weapon, 1 Armor and 1 Vehicle whenever you fight. The best available equipment (for either attacking or defending) will automatically be used. Extra equipment in excess of this number are not taken into account. Upkeep Some equipment has an Upkeep requirement. This upkeep amount is automatically deducted from your Income every cycle (either 50 minutes or 60 minutes depending on class). If you do not have enough income to cover your upkeep costs (negative income) then your equipment will be automatically sold every cycle until your income turns positive again. Missions Missions are one way to earn experience and cash. They each have individual requirements in terms of Energy, Mob Size, Equipment and Level. Additional missions are unlocked depending on your character's level. Fighting By fighting other players, you can earn experience points and cash. You must have a minimum of 27 health and 1 stamina point to initiate an attack. You can also be attacked as long as you have a minimum of 27 health whether or not you are online. It is important to understand the way fighting works in order to successfully attack another player or defend against an attack. For detailed information, see the iMobsters Fighting Strategy Guide. My Mob and Recruiting Your Mob plays an important role in iMobsters. Mob members are used whenever you fight. The maximum number of mob members used in each fight is equal to 5 times your current level. For example, if you are level 10 then up to 50 mob members are used whenever you attack or defend. Extra mob members are not taken into account. Mob Code This is a code unique to each player. It is used to recruit other members into your mob. Recruit You can invite other players into your mob if you know their Mob Code. Alternatively, other players can invite you if they enter your personal Mob Code. These invitations must be manually accepted or rejected. My Mob Here you can view the members in your mob and (optionally) remove them. Loot Items Loot items are special items that cannot be purchased within the game. They can be randomly earned by completing specific missions. They can take the form of items that are prerequisites for specific missions or equipment that can be used by your mob. Looted items can be sold. Occasionally, Storm 8 provides special Loot items that can be unlocked by installing products from the iTunes store. Bank You can deposit your current cash into the bank for safe keeping. There is a 10% charge for this service that is automatically deducted from the amount deposited. Cash that is in the bank cannot be lost when you are attacked and can be used for Healing. However, it must be taken out of the bank in order to buy equipment and real estate. Hospital You can recharge your Health to the maximum at the Hospital. Cost depends on your level and must be paid from the bank. Favor Points and The Godfather Favor Points Favor points are spent at The Godfather and can be purchased through the iTunes store or at http://imobsters.storm8.com/buy The Godfather At The Godfather, you have the option to use favor points for: Cash (10 points). Amount you receive depends on your current income. Refilling Energy, Stamina or Health (10 points). Automatically recharges selection to maximum. Add 1 mob member (20 points) Change your name (30 points) Change your class (50 points) News Feed Shows a summary of your recent fighting activity and personal comments left on your account. Broadcasts You can broadcast messages to all members of your mob or view messages from your mob members. Comments You can send or receive personal messages from other players through the Comments section. They do not have to be members of your mob.  iMobsters Fighting Strategy Guide Fighting Overview Fighting against other players is a very effective way to gain experience in iMobsters. Understanding the fight system will allow you to maximize your win % and allow you to dictate the results of most fights. There are several factors taken into account in a fight: Mob Size: Number of mob members brought into the fight by each player. Equipment: The attack or defense point value of the equipment used by the mob members in the fight. Skills: The attack or defense skill points of the respective players. Luck: A random chance factor just to keep things interesting. Excess mob members or equipment, cash, current health (as long as it is 27 or higher) and character level (other than mob size restriction) are not taken into account. Attacking In order to initiate an attack against another player, you must have at least 1 Stamina Point and a minimum of 27 Health. A successful attack generally earns you anywhere from 2 to 5 experience points. Additionally, if your opponent has any unbanked cash, you can earn up to ~2500 * their current character level. A failed attack results in 0 experience but you do not lose any cash. Defending As long as you have 27 health or higher, you can be attacked by another player. A successful defense generally earns you 1 to 2 experience points. You can not earn money by defending. If you lose against an attacker, you can lose up to ~2500 * your current character level in unbanked cash. Calculating Fight Results Although the exact fight formula is unknown, it can be approximated by understanding each of the factors involved in a fight. Definitions: Attack/Defense Points: The total attack/defense point value of the equipment that you bring into a fight. Skill Points: Your character's current attack or defense skill points. Total Attack/Defense Score: The calculated total point value based upon your attack/defense points and skill points. Total Attack Score = Attack Points * (a % of your Attack Skill Points) Total Defense Score = Defense Points * (a % of your Defense Skill Points) Mob Size It is important to remember that you can only bring up to 5x your current level in mob members into any fight. This restriction is enforced both when you are attacking and defending regardless of the level or mob size of your opponent. Example: A Level 8 player with 188 mob members will only use 40 mob members in a fight. Equipment and Attack/Defense Points The number of equipment items that you can utilize in a fight is directly tied to the number of mob members that you can bring into the fight. In iMobsters, each mob member can only use a maximum of 3 equipment (1 of each type). Each of these equipment items has an attack and defense point value that is used to calculate your total attack or defense points in a fight. Attack: Used to calculate your Attack points when Attacking Defense: Used to calculate your Defense points when Defending The game automatically uses the best equipment that you own depending on whether you are attacking or defending. When attacking, equipment with the highest attack points are automatically used - the defense points of the equipment used is not taken into account. Conversely, when defending, equipment with the highest defense points are automatically used regardless of their attack points. Example: I am level 30 and can bring 150 mob members into a fight. I own 150 Poison Gas Grenades (Atk 18, Def 10) and 150 RPG-7 (Atk 15, Def 20). When I attack, I will be using the 150 Poison Gas Grenades for a total of 2700 (150 * 18) attack points. When I defend, I will be using the 150 RPG-7 for a total of 3000 (150 * 20) defense points. Of course this does not take into account any armor or vehicles that you also bring into the fight. This calculated attack or defense point value largely determines the outcome of a fight. The player with the higher value will usually win. Skills Your character's current attack and defense skill points also play a role in fights. Similar to equipment, only your attack skill is used when attacking and only your defense skill is used when defending. Keep in mind that the skills of your mob members do not matter. While the exact formula is unknown, my testing has shown that your skill points serve as a multiplier to your total attack or defense points in a fight.  Example: You have a total of 2500 attack points and 30 attack skill points. Your opponent has a total of 2200 defense points and 40 defense skill points. Despite your higher attack points, you have a high chance of losing this fight. Example: You have a total of 100 attack points and 15 attack skill points. Your opponent has a total of 200 defense points and 5 skill points. You will probably win this fight. Luck While the results of most fights are fairly predictable once you understand how attack points and skills are calculated, there is still some randomness involved. It is not uncommon to win 3 fights in a row against an opponent and then lose the next one (all other factors unchanged). This "luck" tends to play a greater role when the two players are closely matched. Opponent Selection To keep things fair, you can generally only fight against players that are similar to you in level and mob size. This restriction does not apply to equipment and skill points. Also, both players must have a minimum of 27 health in order for a fight to take place. Attacking When attacking, you have a significant advantage because you can choose your opponent. By looking at their mob size and equipment, you can predetermine the outcome of most fights. Generally, the attack process begins through the Attack button on the home screen. Pressing this brings up a list of randomly selected opponents that are similar to you in level and mob size (for exceptions, see Open Season). Each of the opponents has their mob size listed and their name can be clicked on to view their profile. This profile screen contains a list of all their equipment. By analyzing this information and comparing it to your own, you should already have a good idea if you can defeat them in a fight. Defending When defending, you can only rely upon having a high total defensive score. Depending on your current income stream, it may make sense to bank your cash to limit your monetary losses if you find that you are losing a high percentage of fights. Also, keeping your health under 27 prevents you from being attacked. Open Season At the higher levels, you may suddenly see your fight list populated with players that fall out of the normal restricted range. This occurs because there are fewer players at the higher levels and the game automatically extends the range of available opponents in order to populate the list. While this may seem unfair, it is a part of the game and occurs because you have leveled faster than the majority of other players. When this occurs, it is recommended that you maximize your mob size and, depending upon your income stream, buy more powerful equipment. This will increase your chances against higher level opponents. Strategy Tips These are some general tips based upon my own experiences: Mob Size It may make sense - especially at the lower levels - to limit the size of your mob rather than maxing it out. This makes sense because it is much cheaper to fully equip a smaller mob with equipment than a larger mob. This also results in reduced upkeep costs and an increased income stream. The effectiveness of this strategy at your current level can be seen by looking at your fight list. If the players on the fight list all have the same mob size (or less) than yourself, then it should be safe to proceed. However, if you see that most opponents have a larger mob size, then you should increase your mob size to at least match theirs. I personally like to start with 9 mob members and only increase the number if absolutely necessary. Remember that building a large income stream - especially at the higher levels - is critical to your long term success. Skill Points In my experience, skill points can play a significant role in a fight. If your strategy is to focus on building income or camping at the earlier levels, I would recommend allocating a greater percentage of your skill points to defense. This will allow you to fend off most attackers even if they have a superior attack score. Equipment (also see the iMobsters Equipment Guide) It is not always necessary to equip the best available equipment. If you are winning most of your fights with your current equipment, then it may make more strategic sense to not increase your upkeep and allow your income to build at a faster rate. If you are losing to attackers, then focus on buying equipment with the best defense point value. If you are losing when attacking, then focus on buying equipment with the best attack point value. Maximize Your Fighting Potential Because the game allows each mob member (up to 5 per level) to use 1 of each equipment item type when fighting, you should always make sure that everyone has at least 1 equipment item from each category that can be utilized in a fight. It does not have to be the best available equipment item, but they should at least have something to fight with.
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