(Topic ID: 221655)

Iron Maiden Tournament Strategies

By skink91

5 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 17 posts
  • 11 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 years ago by Snailman
  • Topic is favorited by 9 Pinsiders

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#1 5 years ago

I try and watch videos of people playing Iron Maiden to try and get a sense for how people go about racking up higher scores... that being said, most of us have significantly less chance of running up a 5 billion score than a Keith Elwin. What are some tips you guys/gals try and focus on for tournament play? For example, do you always try and bring a multiball into a specific battle mode or focus on loop jackpots, etc?

#2 5 years ago
Quoted from skink91:

I try and watch videos of people playing Iron Maiden to try and get a sense for how people go about racking up higher scores... that being said, most of us have significantly less chance of running up a 5 billion score than a Keith Elwin. What are some tips you guys/gals try and focus on for tournament play? For example, do you always try and bring a multiball into a specific battle mode or focus on loop jackpots, etc?

#3 5 years ago

You can't go for specific modes easily since they're random. I just try to sweep the drops and bash the captive ball to get my multiballs, and spell Eddie off the center shots as I do it.

#4 5 years ago

I'm not greatest at the game, but the playfield multiplier (2x, 3x) is obviously huge. Start by lighting the 4 ex's of course. The upper two are tough. Go for those by shooting the center ramp to get an easier feed to the left upper flipper.

#5 5 years ago

Playfield multipliers and loop jackpots. Tried this last week and was surprised by how often I cracked 200,000,000 avoiding modes and just working on loop jackpots.

#6 5 years ago
Quoted from dontpanicflip:

Playfield multipliers and loop jackpots. Tried this last week and was surprised by how often I cracked 200,000,000 avoiding modes and just working on loop jackpots.

I have just started focusing on loops myself in the last week, and it has absolutely raised my average score. I have a lot of room for improvement on them though.

I keep the upper left flipper up for the first two times through to make it easier, and then drop it down as I was told it wouldn’t keep progressing if you continued holding it up.

#7 5 years ago
Quoted from dontpanicflip:

Playfield multipliers and loop jackpots. Tried this last week and was surprised by how often I cracked 200,000,000 avoiding modes and just working on loop jackpots.

This works if you are a loop guy and don't miss. If you aren't, focusing too much on them can be a distraction that will ruin your game. Keep in mind, in every tournament I've played Maiden in so far, the games have been set ridiculously hard with removed posts and rubbers, hair trigger tilts, and of course no ball save. What works at your local dive bar might not help in a tournament.

I've yet to actually do well on Maiden in a tournament, but I believe when I finally do it will be from focusing on and making Eddie shots and playing modes well. Lapsing into loop-land usually causes me to drain so I think I'm gonna stay away from that. It really is all-or-nothing when you focus on loops, and just cause you get humongous boom jackpots on location machines every now and then doesn't mean it's a good reliable strat on tournament games.

-1
#8 5 years ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

It really is all-or-nothing when you focus on loops, and just cause you get humongous boom jackpots on location machines every now and then doesn't mean it's a good reliable strat on tournament games.

it seems like it should be at least ‘part’ of your game, or you are just leaving points on the table.

#9 5 years ago

Hitting loops, and surviving missing them, become significantly harder the more steeply the machine is set up. If a steep setup is part of the game prep for the tournament, I'm ignoring the loops other than when they are lit for modes.

#10 5 years ago
Quoted from stevevt:

Hitting loops, and surviving missing them, become significantly harder the more steeply the machine is set up. If a steep setup is part of the game prep for the tournament, I'm ignoring the loops other than when they are lit for modes.

That is probably a good call.

#11 5 years ago

My strategy is pretty flexible but I try to do the following:
1. go for the regular super-skillshot (upper right target). Even if you miss you can still usually knock off one or both of the upper multiplier targets. If you have ball save time, concentrate on shooting the lower left spinner towards progress on "Revive" and toggle the mode to hopefully one that will benefit you.-I like to start with one of the multiball modes just to give you a better feel for the game shots and also to do what i mention in tip #2.
2. When playing in Aces High or Mariner modes focus on getting "revive" lit if it isn't already and on hitting the multiplier targets vs. completing the modes.
3. Save your multipliers towards the more lucrative single ball modes like FOTD or HBTN.-or Icarus if you have a good feel for the ramps. If you can complete one of these modes with a mulitiplier and have extra time it's a great time to cash in your first tomb award for either 30 or 45 million.
4. Go for the bank sweep on the drops to light your locks for Trooper. If you can bring FOTD or HBTN into Trooper and have most of your multiplier shots picked off that is ideal.
5. I'd only go towards loop jackpot strategy if you have the left outlane lit for revive as the left outlane can be deadly if you miss late on the big loop.

#12 5 years ago

I avoid loops because I'm not that great at them. If you can't for sure hit 3 or 4 in a row on most of your attempts, then I don't think it's worth it. (And agree with the above that maybe you should only do it when revive is lit, if at all).

If it starts on Icarus, a mode I never score well on, I like to start with the standard skill shot (or a soft plunge) and then go for the left spinner to change modes and work towards Revive. If you've still got a ball save, hit the captive ball. My scores have improved the more I focus on Mummy, as captive ball hits don't seem as dangerous as you'd think (and you can sometimes get multiple hits in a row if done really early with the upper flipper)...and Mummy MB can last a long time if you get your add-a-balls.

Aside from that, lots of Eddie letters up the middle, and holding the upper flipper to get drops on the way back down...assuming the return off them is safe. Stack modes and multiballs when you can, but there are lots of situations where you can't because the mode itself is a multiball.

Know the add-a-ball rules for each multiball, they're all different.

In most games, your object is just to start a mode and then pick up the shots accidentally as you do other stuff. Not so in Iron Maiden. Scoring seems to get better the deeper you get into modes (and multiballs). So don't just start them - play them well.

If I have the first tomb award (15m), I'll try not to collect it until I have 2x running, especially since you're likely to light it on ball one or two, and it stays lit...so you can delay collecting it until it's worth more.

Also be aware of power jackpots once you've been playing for a few minutes. You can end up in a situation where hitting a few extra shots to complete other objectives in the power pyramid will really post your jackpot. Playfield X is a big factor in that as well.

#13 5 years ago

These last two posts are gold for me - thanks guys!

#14 5 years ago

dont know how many times on like the third loop when its coming around quick i miss and flip it straight into the left outlane. Im multiball with 2x or 3x all day.

older code I would short plunge then with the ball saver (if there is any) i would go for the spinner to move the mode to hopefully a mb mode or 1 away. I plan on playing atleast two modes but when it starts you at the bottom and you have to play 2 modes to get to the mb one its a stretch.

with the new code I sometimes short plunge and shoot it up the middle for the 6 mil skill shot then on the return hit the captive ball / drops / maybe a multipler x with the upper flipper

you can usually play 2 mummys and 1 real mb in a game if you focus on it, but you need to play em with a 2x or if lucky 3x depending on how the shots fall

#15 5 years ago
Quoted from zacaj:

You can't go for specific modes easily since they're random

Pretty sure when the game is set into tournament mode proper, the modes light in a fixed order.

#16 5 years ago
Quoted from DNO:

Pretty sure when the game is set into tournament mode proper, the modes light in a fixed order.

Tourney mode only makes the starting lit mode the same for all players. It’s a separate operator adjustment that allows for selecting which mode that will be for all games in the tourney.

#17 5 years ago

Stacking modes with multiballs isn’t nearly as important or lucrative as on other recent modern pins. The one mode I’ve found more consistent success in stacking with a MB is Hallowed.
FOTD: more often than not, I accidentally trigger a lit spinner on an errant shot in MB.
Icarus: alternating successful ramp shots is difficult enough in single ball. If you can pull it off with two+ balls at once ala Scared Stiff MB, then more power to ya!

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