If DoD multiball is as hard to get to as most of you guys are saying, then I say leave it untouched.

Glass off.

It's been mentioned here that for a lot of people the roadblock to Do or Die Multiball is the amount of drones required. How many are actually needed? Forgive me if the question has been answered already--I just got this game today and want to have a general idea of what I need to be aiming for. I notice when I hit the drone targets, it just tells me how many until I qualify War Machine, so the amount I need for DoD is a little vague based on what the DMD says. (Unless you need to hit a certain amount in War Machine? I don't know, I was only able to put a few games on it and so I wasn't paying attention the one time I got War Machine multiball).

Hm.. Yeah, it sounds like a lot. Do the Drone hits during War Machine multiball count towards this? I can see having to rely on the multiball to pound through them. Stacking it into Whiplash especially, then getting the add-a-ball on War Machine later.

Damn. Yeah, that kind of sucks.

It's totally possible, but I think it'd be really tough to tell if you are one shot away if you have to track all 32 shots mentally in your head. I was trying it earlier tonight and lost count pretty early on, haha.

Oh OK, maybe that's what he meant.

There's no shame in doing it with extra balls on. I'm sure few have ever seen Valinor without EBs, for instance. (I did read your older thread earlier tonight comparing the two, and stating DoDMB is harder to reach).

I've only had my game for two days so I'm still getting used to it and figuring out the rules. I'll probably leave EBs on because I would like to attempt to see DoDMB (the most I have earned is two, during a really, really good game).

Yeah, when I first wheeled the game in it was set to award one on a replay. Then I got one through the shield as well. I disabled the one on replay this morning while adjusting settings.

I need to move the outlane posts back to the default position too, but making those easier has helped me pick up on the rules and flow quicker.

After clocking a ton of time into my game over the last week, I think two War Machine qualifications (16 drones) would be sufficiently challenging. It's not like anything asides from Iron Monger is easy anyway--Whiplash is one tough multiball to complete, as is War Machine (hitting those first four drone targets is the hardest for me, before lighting the ramp/orbit jackpots). The Iron Man targets aren't a joke either--it's tough getting to level three of those, which locks in your insert. Point is, 32 drones is overkill for a game that's already challenging enough as-is.

I can live without a better skillshot, but it would be nice to have some more options.

Didn't think I would--even with "easy" outlanes--but I got to Do or Die MB tonight while streaming. Now I'm going to have to open the outlanes all the way and see what's possible.

I still think the setting should be lower on the Drones, but it was a rush getting to it as-is.

Thanks! I know there have been accounts of people doing it, but am glad I was able to get it on video so others know for sure it's possible, even if it's only with the posts all the way in (still a drain monster at that, but I digress).

Funny enough, I actually completed Drones two or three times during that stream session. Whiplash was always the hang up.. One thing I'm not a huge fan of with the rules is how on default settings, the second Whiplash takes 10 hits to start.. Ugh. I know it can be adjusted, but I prefer to play on default software settings.

All right, I'll detail the five main modes and how to finish them to clear things up for anyone else wondering. When I first played the game, some of them were confusing (or at least different from what I was used to in similar rulesets, like Avatar or The Rolling Stones).

Whiplash - Step 1. Collect 5 jackpots (all main shots including Whiplash are lit permanently for jackpots); Step 2. All jackpot shots then disappear and Whiplash must be hit twice; Step 3. All shots re-light and 10 jackpots need to be collected; Step 4. Whiplash lights for the Super Jackpot (hit Whiplash once to collect; Whiplash mode insert moves from being solid to flashing). 18 shots total, not counting what it takes to start Whiplash.

War Machine - 1. Hit all four Drone targets once each; 2. Orbits, ramps and center spinner light for jackpots. Each must be hit once; 3. Super Jackpot lights on War Machine (Hit War Machine once to collect; insert begins flashing).

Iron Monger - 1. Hit Iron Monger a bunch of times, then collect the Super Jackpot on the center spinner (Iron Monger insert begins flashing).

Iron Man - 1. Complete three sets of Iron Man standup targets. Modes must play out/time out before you can start working on the next bank of IRON MAN letters; 2. First set is Fast Scoring; Second set is 2X playfield; Third set is Iron Man Scoring (Iron Man insert begins flashing when third set/Iron Man Scoring is qualified).

Drones - 1. Hit 32 Drone standup targets; 2. Every 8 Drone targets, War Machine multiball needs to be played to relight the next set of Drone targets. 3. Basically, qualify War Machine multiball four times (Drones insert begins flashing; fourth multiball doesn't need to be played, just lit/ready).

It means you finished the mode and if you drain, the insert will stay lit. Finish all five inserts, and Do or Die Multiball lights on the center spinner.

I don't remember off the top of my head, but I think it was four. I'd have to refer back to the video. After I got to DoD MB and came out of it, I had another EB or two that I ended up playing out afterwards.

"Legitmate" is a grey area when you are talking about an extremely difficult wizard mode to get to. How many have gotten to Valinor or the TSPP wizard modes without extra balls or other tweaks? I doubt many.

In my case, I will be moving my posts all the way out and will see how close I can get to it. Generally I think it's good practice to leave a machine "easy" (not that IM is ever easy) when you are new to a game, especially when the wizard mode is notoriously difficult to achieve. My philosophy is to continually make it harder until you can't quite achieve it.

Hm.. People say that, but I'm not sure. I haven't gotten to Valinor yet. Then again, I haven't owned a LOTR either. One of these days..

It could probably be pitched up just a bit, but more than anything it needs another good cleaning and a coat of wax. I've been playing the living **** out of it, so it gets dirty quickly.

*Edit - something else I forgot to mention is I had been playing the game for about two hours straight before I got to DoD MB, so the flippers were considerably weak by that point.

Yes, upper posts all the way down (fourth slot).

On a side note, I don't know if it's been mentioned earlier in the thread, but does anyone know what the default setting is? I want to change the posts this weekend if possible but don't want to move them to the top slot if I don't have to.

Yeah, that makes sense. When I got Avatar, the prior owner had the lanes on the easiest settings. I had to move them out almost immediately because I was having really long games and got to the wizard mode (Final Battle) on the first night I had it. Iron Man though.. I don't know. It was tough right when I got it, even with the easy settings, thanks to the slings sitting higher than the lower outlane posts. But I suppose it also depends on what sort of achievements we are talking about here.

That's one way to do it. Depending on the machine and how quickly I adapt to it, I'll do it the same way. However, for games that are notoriously difficult, I'm more a fan of going the "Easier, then Harder" strategy, although "easy" for me is usually just adding a couple of extra balls to the mix, then dropping those down by one or two until I have to force myself to do it on three-ball play/tournament style (no EBs). I'd just rather not be wondering for five years if it's even possible to attain a wizard mode.

I never close my outlanes either. I prefer to play a game on factory post and software settings. The previous owner of this machine had the lanes closed off, and knowing IM is supposed to be brutal, I decided to leave them in while getting used to the game. I've had it for a little over three weeks now so I'm going to move them back up to whatever the default setting is, how I like my games set. I'm going to leave EBs on and see if I can come close to DoD MB again.

I'm wondering how long I'll be holding on to this one. No machine this past year has really held my attention for more than a couple of months, but nearing the one month mark with IM, I am still playing the hell out of it. Lots of good challenge involved, and it's a game that always requires skill. That appeals to me and I'm still really digging the machine.

Other dudes beat me to it, ha. I agree with setting Monger to the hardest settings (both the letters and the start shot).

With the Super Pops thing, it was a non-issue for me because they were small points. If I wanted to cash them in, I'd hit the center shot, but I was usually focusing on other things when I played.

Set your game to competition mode with Extra Ball settings on default. Should award an EB on the fourth or fifth mystery award on the War Machine shot. Of course, you have to make sure you're constantly collecting the shields and actually hitting the WM shot, otherwise you will never see an Extra Ball. I saw them very consistently on my machine.

In that case you want to double check your settings and make sure EBs are actually set to award EBs. You can have them award points instead which might be what's happening in your situation.

But yes, make sure to set it to Competition Mode as well. This makes the mystery awards less random (not that it really matters much in Iron Man) and gives a clear progression towards extra balls.

You can earn an extra ball. If the game is in competition mode, I believe it's the fourth or fifth mystery award.

Also, as a side note, Stern is highly unlikely to ever revisit this code. They have a hard enough time keeping on top of the code with their current games.