I was about to trade my WCS plus cash for a SW comic pro, but today, I got dumped and the Force went with someone trading a POTC, not with me. My son is big on GOTG (maybe a generational difference). I have only played about a game each standing in line at a convention (pre-Covid NWPAS). Now, I am wondering if getting jilted might have been a blessing. From the Pinside comments, GOTG seems to make SW look like a lame imperial stormtrooper. The shaker is no biggie for me. Or am I just thinking of sour grapes? Lots of great ideas on this forum, BTW.

A blessing indeed!

Joined the club at the end of December and picked up a NIB GOTG Pro. This is my first pinball and so far loving it.

Question: the post in the left outlane is at the highest point it can be (done by factory). I was thinking of adjusting because draining on the left outlane from kick from right sling, etc... is starting to drive me crazy. On one hand, I know it will make the games last longer and allow me to progress more throughout the game, but don't want to "cheat" and make the game too easy and I keep telling myself to just get better so I don't get into that situation.

Anyone change the location of that post in the outlane or what is the consensus thought on adjusting games to make them easier?

Any and all feedback appreciated.

Outlane posts made from the factory to be adjustable isn't cheating. It isn't the worst thing in the world to make an adjustment to enjoy your game more, that is why it is your game.

If it were me, I would add a ball, or award a ball on replay and set replay to a lower value, and leave the lane as it is. That way, when you start learning how to play with more technique, the game play will be the same, you will just have one less ball to play with.

They are both great games. If the decision was for me alone, Guardians would leave before Star Wars. Star Wars is really complex and has a lot of nuisances. If family and guests are a factor, it is Guardians, hands down. A very approachable game with great shots. I am fortunate I didn't have to choose between the two.

I am a huge star wars fan but I am not a fan of the pin and would not own it. There were pro's and an LE on location around here before covid and I played the LE weekly in league so I've got a lot of time on the machines. The hyperloop is very cool and when it's dialed in it's probably one of the coolest features during a multiball but that's the end of my praise. Without it the pro feels meh. It's also a drain monster with code that tries to pull you into the risky shots. I just could never get into the progression of it. Turns out I'm just not a fan of how Dwight does rules. Ghostbusters, SW, TMNT, and I own a munsters which I regret as he completely ignored that machine. Just not a fan. I know there are people that love what he does so take that as it is.

GOTG is a great pin for having people over who are not pinball people (as is most of the people that come over). Being able to start with a multiball is exciting and it's not so complex that those that are a little better can't get a bit into it. I see it staying for a while.

The machines are designed to earn on location and Stern defaults the machines to do that. A good OP uses the audits to adjust the machine difficulty based off how it is playing. I don't remember what the most ideal average time is per ball but most of the newer sterns even have settings to guarantee a minimum game time as no one likes to feel cheated for their 1$. The left outlane on this machine is problematic as it can easily come out of the pops and roll right out or hit the right sling and go right out as well. I've had the orb magnet throw it right out a number of times. No way to save that. The metal guides there make it quite difficult to save as well.

As the other person said it is your game, set it up the way you want to. None of my machine are setup the same. Each one is adjusted to get rid, as much as possible, of cheap drains. You won't always find that on location but learning to play with longer ball times at home will make you a better player. You will also get a lot more enjoyment out of the machines.

All that said, I have not adjusted the post on mine yet but I've thought about it given the cheap drains. I'd start with finding a good pitch first. I like to start at 6.5 degrees and adjust for the speed you are comfortable with.

I think mine is set to the middle hole, from the factory.

Made it finally to immolation wizzard.

Just a few shots away from save Xandar. Sooner or later I will make it.

4 ball game. Max 1 extra ball.

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Thought I would share, i added a spinner to the right side of my guardians pro. Was actually able to do it with zero permanent adjustments or mods to the game. I have it tied to the hadron enforcer target. Doesn’t really affect game play all that much but give me a fun spinner to rip.

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I like it. I was thinking about adding them to the orbits. Can you clarify that you added it to the Hadron? How? With a splitter underneath? Then does it award points or make noise?

How about the other side? I recall there used to be something in the Pro code that said "Disable spinners" but figured it wasn't programmed in and wasn't as simple as activating them.

Still fun to RRRRIIIIPPPP!

i will take some more detailed photos and post them. Super simple. It adds minor scoring and does kinda of make a sound. Where it really is noticeable is on antiquities shop since it is also switch hit based. A good rip goes a long way

That left outlane will Borg the hell out of you, if you are getting a lot of cheap drains from the pops (mine does this a lot!) they are almost impossible to save unless you set the tilt super liberal. I don't really like me or anyone else shaking the shit out of my games (good nudging, slap saving, etc. is absolutely fine) so I moved mine to the middle hole. I still gets a lot of drains so and the game will still whoop ass on plenty of games.

My machine only has 2 holes for the outlane posts. What do you all mean by middle hole

Sorry, I mean to say the bottom one.

Stern should officially sell a mod to add spinners.

Does anybody remember the spinner kit a pinsider was making for I believe Metallica pro?and please post pictures of this mod!

Ok call me happily impressed.

Just got my GOTG pro a few weeks ago and added the lenticular instruction cards from youbentmywookie here on pinside,
extra plastic protector at the orb from another pinsider cpr999 as well (original plastic cracked even with sterns updated metal bracket installed from factory) and the colored plastic protectors from ULEK. Wow. What a difference a few simple upgrades can do to the look as well as added protection to a game. Already attached my 100 watt Polk sub with pinnovators adapter I had from a previous Stern. Nice addition for sure. Now I think it’s time for invisiglass and than most likely a translucent purple apron. The wife will never know,

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So as promised some additional info on my spinner mod.

Once you take that plastic off you will see a clear post that can be seen in my photos that i am using to hold it down to the playfield. I solders 2 wires with alligators clips to the spinner switch contacts. You need to remove the light socket but there is room to run the wires down and get the light socket back in place. You then choose which hadron enforcer target you want it tied to and use the alligator clips to hook it up. It is then up to you how you want to handle the plastic you took off. For me i had the groot hands mod so i was able to reposition them to hit the area the plastic went so no need to cut and modify my plastic. I liked this because it allowed me to keep this mod 100% reversible and require no permanent holes or mods to the playfield or plastics.

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https://www.hookedonpinball.com/store/p90/Metallica-Pro-Spinners-Kit-Pinball-Mod.html#

Thanks for positive comments on orb protector- sold a ton of these.

Just a FYI, you didn’t need to reinstall the metal bracket. Doesn’t hurt but that pet-g plastic will take a beating.

I think I'd probably connected it to one of the top inlanes. That might change the game, just the right amount. Most modes sends the ball around (robbing you of the opportunity to complete the inlanes). This would allow you to light both top inlanes with an orbits shot plus flipper. You'd still have 3 more inlanes to light a shot multiplier. So, while easier, it's not a freebie either. It might entice players to play for more shot multipliers.

Just a thought.

Try it, and let us know.

Actually, there is one side effect I hadn't considered: when you complete Escape Kiln, one spinner and you've completed Kiln 2. That may or may not be desirable.

Quick question I was cleaning my guardian's to night and realized there is a slight bump in the playfield where the magnet is. Is this normal?

I own them both but the major drawback for TMNT [FOR ME!!!] is that I cannot ever get a decent game played on the turtles. From the 5 balls I got 1 good one, sometimes 2 good ones but turtles is a drainer. GOTG is just such a georgious machine, good flow and shots, many multiballs, many modes, superb animations, humor.

Turtles is up for sale after 2 months. GOTG is in my posession for more than 2 years now and I still play it every time.

I am a little puzzled by the multiballs.

What’s exactly the add a ball strategy? I know mystery during multiball is an add a ball but I also get sometimes an add a ball without a ball present in the scoop. I have the feeling that there is an extr add a ball to be earned during MB. Especially with Orb multiball. Anyone an idea of my feeing is right?

This may help http://tiltforums.com/t/guardians-of-the-galaxy-pinball-rulesheet-wip/3338

Add a ball normally only applied during multiball. What I think is nice is that whenever you drain you second to last ball during MB and you shoot the mystery you not only get a ball added (if this is the "mystery"), you also get your last drained ball back.

Check that the wires are well attached under the playfield to the switch first. Assuming that is fine, go into switch test and manually activate the switch to see if you can repeat this issue in test. Could be that the actuator arm is not 100% attached to the switch and is flaky.

Anyone have any info on this?

Can not imagine that this is normal. Perhaps overheated once? Is there any discolouring?

No it is smooth and the clear is in good shape. I can just feel a slight bump

So I just looked at it again. I have a spacer under the metal center peice but with it it doesn't touch the bottom of the playfield. Now should the magnet itself be close to the playfield for better catch?

Have a look at this key post for improving magnet strength

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/guardians-of-the-galaxy-owners-thread/page/43#post-4420496

Thats where I got the information for the spacer. I think I'll see about getting the actual magnet closer, not just the metal stud. U was worried the stud was pushing up and made the bump, it it was touching

I think mine really grabs 1-2 seconds like 50% of the times the ball coming from the Orb. In 40% it doesn’t really grab it for 1-2 seconds but really alters the path. In the remaining 10% it does a kind of bounce like the magnet is a post and most of the times ends in the left outlane .....

Can be sometimes frustrating.

I recently purchased post sleeves from Titan. I bought 2 Stern Purple, 1 Stern Red and 1 Standard Red. The Standard Red on the the right side of the orb drop target has increased my magnet catches to almost 100% (item = CS-POST-RD). I previously had purchased the cliffy sleeves from Pinball Life and they just didn't have the same kind of softness as the Titan Silicone. I can't recommend Titan enough. While you're at it, get some slings and some flippers. I really like the look of the glow in the dark flipper rings combined with the Laserific green colored sling plastic protectors.

I would like to see how that looks. Can you please post photos?

Interesting. I changed out the sleeves recently with silicone sleeves and I am trying to remember now if I have seen it since

Will keep an eye to it. Never made a relation between the sleeves and magnet grab.

FYI, PinballLife markets their sleeves as "Cliffy's" but I can confirm (have spoken to Cliff himself about this) that this is a lie - they stopped buying from him years ago. I've also done a comparison and the sleeves you get from PBL suck ass compared to Cliffs. It sounds like you already made another purchase of Titans, so the ship has sailed but for anyone else reading this, I'd suggest you reach out to Cliff himself to buy sleeves if you're interested in premium ones.

I posted this about a month ago, but for those struggling with the magnet, here's what I've found:

Ohhh if I could only describe the amount of frustration I've had on this issue. I've tried it all and even things that you won't read on here (like drilling entirely new holes to mount the core at various different angles in an effort to get this to work 100% of the time). After almost 40 hours of dicking around with it, I've gotten it to a place where it will grab it every time, but there's unfortunately not a single fix. It's a culmination of all of these items:

1) Balls: Get yourself some carbon-core balls. They react much more strongly to magnets. I got mine from ball baron.
2) The rubber post next to the chute: This plays a huge part. Order a cliffy blue one from Cliff himself (Don't get from pinball life as they are falsely labeled as Cliffy's but don't bounce as much).
3) Leveling/Pitch: This also plays a big part I've found best success at 6.8 degrees pitch and obviously it needs to be perfectly level left to right. That being said, don't rely on that stupid app people always tout on Pinside. It's worthless. Get yourself an actual digital level: amazon.com link »
4) Waxing: This was the nail in the coffin for me and something that was counter-intuitive to what I suspected for the first 35 hours I messed with this thing.. My finding is that a recently waxed playfield makes the magnet work MUCH better than one that hasn't been waxed in hundreds of plays. In fact, as soon as my magnet starts missing again, the first thing I do is clean/wax the area around it and that does the trick - especially with the carbon-core balls. It grabs those suckers super fast.
5) Put 1-2 washers beneath the core as found on other threads here. You want the actual center piece to be pressed up hard against the playfield - the ring does not matter.

Good luck!

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Got the Rocket & Orb plastic protectors ordered and also the 3D insert cards. What is the consensus on getting the metal scoop guard and a shooting lane protector?

And if so, where do you suggest I get them?

Or, is there any other "must-have" mods that I should be looking at?

I'd buy directly from Cliffy. Guardians is listed in the WIP section. You can see the options available.

https://www.passionforpinball.com/wip.htm

The shooter lane protection is a must have IMHO. I'll be ordering mine soon for 2 of my machines. Basically email Cliffy and tell him what you want and he'll send you the price. Awesome person to buy from. I hear that the scoop protector does mess with the ball trajectory.

Def get the scoop protector. I didn't have one for 2 years and side of scoop started showing wear. Just added one I got it from Mezel Mods.

You have a link for that? I just went to Mezel Mods and couldn't seem to locate it. It is not listed as an accessory under Guardians of the Galaxy (that I could see)

This is where I got my scoop protector:
https://www.pinballlife.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-scoop-protector.html

My bad I confused my orders! I got it from pinball life using the link just provided by C-Note.