Was going to post this tomorrow, but since your tournament may be tomorrow, here we go!

Once bridge is complete, you will have a DJ lit at the building. You really don’t want to lose the ball at this point. I would say the 40+ million and 1% increase would not be worth it in a tournament setting. The DJ’s do NOT stack so you will lose this one. The better value is starting tank mb.

During tank mb, 4 jackpots light the super at the maser. Each jackpot advances to the magna post. Every time it advances (left spinner to the right, right scoop and right ramp to the left) you lose some value of the jackpot (believe 250k). I like to start out with a drop catch from the scoop and shoot the right ramp. The next one I want to clear is left spinner because it only takes two rotations to get to the magna post. Once a tank reaches the magna post, you’ll have about 8 seconds to hit it (on first cycle) before it reaches Godzilla and reduces your super jackpot to 100% (2X super) value of your collected tank jackpots. If you collect all four before one ends at the magna post, then you get 3X super value which is 150% of your tank jackpot total. Every tank that ends there reduces the super by an X.

IF you still have your heat ray, do NOT use it until four tanks appear. If you use it at three, you’ll still need to get another tank to light the super. Wait till four, use it and the super will be lit for you at the 3X value. The super is untimed as long as two balls are in play. Take your time and hit it, best case is about 35 million. Keith really nerfed it after a few of us put up 400+ million tank mb’s. Second round requires one additional tank jackpot to light the super and the tanks move faster. Also make note that two tanks can stack on the magna post which requires you to hit twice to collect both.

Now here’s your decision point. Did you play a good bridge mb? I would say good bridge is anything over 80 million total. If so, then you can either choose to go for one tank super and do the following tip or skip the tank super altogether and focus on this:

Tesla can be started and completed in single ball or mb. You need two complete sets of targets to start the roving target. Once that starts, hitting five roving targets will light Tesla on the center spinner. You should always try to play Tesla (or frankly progress Tesla) while in mb. So instead of going for that second tank super, just focus on either lighting the Tesla strike by hitting the roving target (one ball trapped, the other aiming at Tesla) or shooting the center spinner to light the Tesla strike shots. If you have a ball on either flipper, I would leave the right flipper up with the trapped ball. That is because the center spinner will feed the left flipper for a live catch. Seems like a small detail but will make a big difference in your success rate. If you are 10/10 on the live catch, then you should be able to take your time and pick off the remaining shots. I leave left spinner for last since it is the hardest shot with the least predictable return after making it. You may also have another heat ray available depending on where you used it before. The heat ray will only take out one Tesla shot and I don’t know if he made it random or deterministic. Your only goal is to complete Tesla because if you do, you’ll be at 3x annihilation until you drain or collect at the scoop.

If you don’t have a good bridge, then you need to go for a big tank. You just need one of them to be good to really rack up the points. Let’s say you get out and survive, what do you do? We need to get into a mb to rack up those annihilation bonuses. Do you dare go for the mecha targets or ramp out and shoot the building a few times to start GZ… YOU DO NEITHER!

Because you are in your second city, you’ll notice that your ramps are lit to start another kaiju. You hate left ramp to scoop so you will shoot the left ramp first followed by right ramp. Now hold the right flipper up, do the “jet fighter hop” (JFH) and trap the ball on your left flipper. Now hit the scoop to start your tier 2 battle.

Should you do King G that is worth the most… NO. Do you do the third mode that is switch hit based and can have good value… NO! You pick the most worthless mode in the game (on it’s face) with the jet jaguar character… because it is a MB 1:08:00 in the video). Whatever the screen tells you to do, completely ignore it! You are just in there to shoot flashing tank shots, strobing Tesla targets, and most importantly (if you had a good mb) bridge attacks at the magna post. You will be getting triple value for each task you do. Take advantage of the ball save but don’t be stupid about it. Last thing you want to do is drain both balls at the same time. Take your time and pick off tank (if you get two supers) or bridge if you got to the second round of supers. When you get out, you’ll have a decision to make, cash out at the scoop at 5x your total DJ value, Tesla strike collects, bridge collects, and tank collects… OR risk it some more by playing another GZ or starting mecha MB.

Watch the video below for the similar situation I was put in. I had one more mecha target to light mecha mb but it was the most dangerous target of the three. I choose to cash out at 700 mil… but I still think about the what if haha. This is best thing about GZ among all the other fantastic things. He’s constantly daring you to go for more or lose it all! Even before the cash out, you’ll be well over a billion and have won 98% of tournament games. Let me know if you have any questions or would like my advice on specific situations.

One final piece of advice, if you bomb out of one of the three or are on a ball where you already started tank and bridge on a previous ball, then change your city ASAP. Once you drain, your annihilation value for anything you started drops to 20 million regardless on how well you did in any of the three. That’s why it is all or nothing. Good luck in your tournament. Let me know how you do!

Yes, if you have the option of both at level 4, whichever you don’t pick will be qualified once your get to level 8. Level 9 is light all ally’s or 2X destruction jackpot. I sacrificed for the group on a massive verified game to confirm that taking destruction jackpot 2X does NOT light a destruction jackpot as well. What a waste haha.

New code update dropped today. I will modify my post this week to achieve Planet X the easy way. @cashmoney, how did you do in your tournament?

Awesome! Work has been crazy but I’ll post my Planet X strategy soon.

Megalon maxes out at 5X which means if you hit 5 shots in a row, then that value is multiplied by an additional X. You don’t get anything more than 5X for consecutive shots six and seven. Erik is correct about any switches between successful shots increase the value of the next shot. If you time out a shot, then you lose the the multiplier (resets to 1X) and both ramps light. Hitting one of the ramps gets you a guaranteed placement of the next shot based on which ramp you hit. Right ramp will light the building and left ramp will light the right ramp. I avoid the pop bumper unless it is lit for a saucer (2 for 1) or you are at least at 3X multiplier. You should never shoot it less than 3X since 5X is the cap (7-2). Also consider shooting the Manila shot instead of the pop bumper. It will spot the shot and give you a ball save. Don’t let Keith trick you!

Great to hear man, congrats! Checkout the tutorial video starting at 32:00 minutes. New code has changed some things but it is still very similar. The greatness of the game is the annihilation bonus and carnage bonus. I go into explanations of both in-depth.

I should be posting my Planet X strat this weekend. Stay tuned!

After much delay, the Planet X strategy is coming in 48 hours. Check out the tutorial video until then (start at 32:00). I will also include my FC Ebriah strat designed for speed and safety!

48 hours has turned into 96… but it’s almost here! Think we can pull this off while only starting 3-4 mb’s for the entire game.

Planet X strat

After a long delay, the Planet X strategy is here.
I will release this in four parts to allow for questions and clarification.

Part 1

This strategy is written for beginner and intermediate players. It will be based on the premium/LE version of the game. The focus will be on getting to Planet X regardless of score. I’m making the assumption that you have watched my video and understand the foundational rules of the game. If you haven’t, then click the video below and start it at 32:00.

First thing you do in ANY GZ game is check to see where those two tanks are. Whichever tank is on the left or center spinner (if either) will be the first shot of the game for you. This is important because you will have a ball save and you want to light the first stage of bridge and collect it if you are early on the left ramp shot. For this entire strategy, you will be plunging for the mecha side lane skill shot. This because it gives you a decent ball save and you should be able to hit it 90% of the time.

Start: Plunge the ball for the skillshot, shoot one of the spinners to light the bridge and collect a tank(if there). Now it’s ramp time. Left ramp is the second hardest shot in the game. If you are going to miss it, then be slightly early and clip the left side of the magna post. Once you have both ramps lit, then shoot the scoop to start a mode.

NOTE: Left flipper to scoop is the most critical shot in the game. You’ll need to learn where it is on the flipper on whatever copy it GZ you play. If you miss it, then you want to be early. The pop has a high probability of random death!

The first mode to start is Ebriah. This is the hardest of the two modes you should play on single ball play (Gigan being the other). I choose Ebriah because of what I call the “Tokyo” rule. Regardless of the progress you make on the kaiju in Tokyo, you have the option to leave the city. So if you lose your ball during Ebriah, then don’t worry about it. During Ebriah, focus on the mecha spinner and center spinner to light your ally. You will ALWAYS choose Mothra for this strat. A half loop is designed to go straight to the left outlane. The protection with Mothra is worth far more than anguirus and we don’t care about score with Rodan.

Keep an eye on your tanks and bridge throughout the game. Ebriah is also a great first choice because one good shot will light your next bridge attack. It takes four bridge attacks to start your first mb. Regardless of whether you succeed in Ebriah or not, shoot the scoop and change to the next city. Try not to light tank mb or you will be locked out of changing cities. Since score doesn’t matter, choose whichever city you want to destroy next. Make note how many tanks you have and how many bridge collects you have remaining.

Leave questions and comments in replies. On part two, should I continue the strategy on ball 1 with a successful Ebriah or ball 2?

Solid guess here. If Planet X is this goal, then titanosaurus and megalon should be played in mb only. Will release part 2 soon.

Can do. I figured out the trick to at least average 400 mil on it. Need patience in the build up stage.

Haha, a bil…. You would need some juiced spinners for that and at least two successful waves on the ramps to even have a shot at it.

Part 2

Let’s play almost worst case scenario. You lost your ball trying to complete Ebriah, but you at least made halfway progress to qualify an ally. When you plunge ball two, take the same skillshot and use the extra ball save to hit the scoop. You want to qualify Mothra. You can change which ally is lit by pressing the right flipper button prior to the scoop and even right before the scoop registers the ball. Once you hit the scoop, you’ll be ask to stay in Tokyo or change cities. Change your city to whichever you want. If we were playing for score, then you would choose London for the permanent DJ boost.

You need to qualify a kaiju by hitting both ramps. Watch my video to see how to handle 90% of missed left ramp shots. It only doesn’t work when the ball hits the inlane plastic instead of the flipper. Shoot the scoop to start the kaiju. If you lose the ball here, then just restart the game (probably free for ya anyway!)

The next kaiju to pick is Gigan. You are going to want to shoot the right ramp and ski jump the ball over to the left flipper and repeat till you defeat him (8 shots total). It’s no big deal if you have to use a Mothra outlane save here (that’s why you have it). If the ski jump is challenging, then consider shooting the building to get GZ mb ready to go. On a premium/LE, it will change the right ramp return to the left flipper which will makes this much easier. Do NOT start the mb yet. If you have the ball on the right flipper, hit the magna post when attack bridge is lit. You should be about 75% of the way there at this point. Watch my video to see how to barely clip the post on the left to get a consistent dead bounce return to the right flipper or live catch to the left flipper. You will need to defeat Gigan for this strategy to work most of the time. Congratulations, you either have conquered your second city and earned an extra ball, or you have your first city.

At any point jets could start during the Gigan battle since it is asking you to shoot ramps. You can tell which inlanes you need by the plastic inserts with jets on them near your flippers. If you do start jets, then you want to do the right ramp ski jump and just continue to shoot the right ramp. There are three shots that cycle left to right then right to left. Even if the right ramp isn’t lit shoot it anyway. Every time you go down an inlane it resets your hurry up points which gives you more of a chance to make jet shots. You want five jets… because it lights an ally! Guess what ally we want… MOTHRA! If you already have Mothra, then take anguirus for the add a ball help in mb.

This would be a good time to see where you are at with tanks. You are probably 1-3 tanks away from mb. We would like to use tank mb during a kaiju, but we can also use bridge mb or GZ mb. Let’s shoot some ramps because it is time to play a tier 2 kaiju. Tokyo does NOT have a tier 2 kaiju while the other three cities do. If you manage to get ten tanks prior to starting the tier 2 kaiju, then you will need to play tank mb. If that happens, then just make sure you come out of the mb with a ball on the left flipper. Another note, if you hit the final bridge attack prior to mb, then one of your ramps will be lit to start bridge. Again, just make sure you come out of the mb with a ball on the left flipper. Shoot the scoop to start the tier 2. We are going to pick the third battle to start. You should at least have two mb’s almost ready to go, GZ and bridge or tank.

Part 3 coming soon. Leave comments and questions in the post.

Good question. Ebriah is the toughest kaiju to beat based upon the need to shoot the left spinner shot once and on some copies twice. There is no safe return from any of the three shots. The safest is mecha, but most copies have a return that lacks momentum to be trapped on the right flipper after a dead bounce from the left. We want to get this battle out of the way. If you’ve already lost a ball trying to beat him, then why risk the other? Gigan and titanosaurus are much easier to beat and will give you the extra ball after completing the second city. This strategy is only written to get you to Planet X and ignores any scoring goals. Tokyo’s benefit of 1% annihilation bonus is meaningless to this. In part 3, I will discuss why you should never take a shot at the DJ if you are just trying to get to Planet X.

Easiest extra balls are 10 jets, third saucer, and two conquered cities in that order. Rampage is doable for an intermediate player. I find city combo to be the toughest since most combos involve dangerous side action to achieve.

Any two conquered cities will give you the extra ball. It does not have to be Tokyo.

Congratulations!

Instead of posting the next part of the Planet X strategy, I will be doing it live on chromecandy’s twitch stream. In addition to this tutorial, I will be doing a overall tutorial on 1.01 code and tournament strategy for all levels of players. Link to the stream below. Will probably start Wednesday late morning. Dates to be posted when known.

https://m.twitch.tv/chromecandypinball

Ben and I are going to go live on his twitch with a GZ Q&A. Schedule for tutorials to be posted tomorrow morning.

https://m.twitch.tv/chromecandypinball

Instead of making three separate tutorials, we will be doing one all encompassing stream for Godzilla on the chromecandy twitch stream. I will not cover the basics as in-depth as the original since it’s mostly the same. I will highlight important changes from older code. Stream will go live at 9:30 AM eastern. Here’s a link to the original tutorial and the Chromecandy’s twitch stream.

Original Tutorial (0.97 code)

Channel for live tutorial
https://m.twitch.tv/chromecandypinball

Stream will be up within the hour. Apparently I’m still
stuck on central time.

https://m.twitch.tv/chromecandypinball