Well it's good to hit some of the basic shots right off the bat, that way each shot will be worth more items, and you get to CIU quicker. That's basically the goal, to get to CIU ASAP. I like to light some shots, then work on a MB or 2. For me, Grave is an easy one, so I get some progress on Sparky, then start Grave, then my just doing grave (adding a ball obviously), you should have CIU lit (or close) when you're done. The goal for me is to get through CIU, and then when I come out have a MB waiting for me, So I can get right back to CIU.

Here's a neat trick: on most machines if you do a full plunge while holding the left flipper and then let go when the ball is at the top of the machine, it will bounce off the left flipper, then the right flipper, then land in the scoop. It's great for if you have it lit.

Yeah CIU is the big points, and you have to make sure to double it on the way out. But MBs being quadrupled can be worth some points.

I don't know what the shots themselves are worth...I've never even thought aboot it. To me if nothing is lit there really isn't a reason for shooting it...unless you're setting up another shot or something.

Watching that video is a must. But quickly, Hitting all 4 pick targets when your in MB lights the snake for double points (also adds a ball in all but coffin? MB), then getting all the fuel standups all the way up lights the piston to double it again, going in to 4X. Then you can hit a super jackpot and here the most addictive call out ever. So...it's nice if you thin aboot you pick status before starting MB.

In CIU Fuel is the only way to double it. Save it fo right before you go out and activate it. I thnk it technically only increases it by 1/3...but whatever.

Gotta try some of these..good stuff!

To clarify for rai: you don't have to "get all the fuel stand ups" -- any hits to the fuel stand ups will add another FUEL letter. Spell FUEL (not filling the fuel meter) lights the piston dead end for double scoring.

AFAIK, double scoring doubles your points, not an increase of 1/3. Why did you say that? Curious. And 2x scoring in CIU, if you can keep 2x running from beginning to your CIU cash-out, you actually increase your total scoring by 3x:

Single scoring: 10M CIU scoring, and cash out a 10M CIU collect at the end = 20M.
Double scoring throughout: 10Mx2 CIU scoring, and a cash out of 20Mx2 = 20+40M = 60M.
This is a rough approximation... I realize there is other slight scoring in CIU.

10m CIU = 10 mill + 10 mill completion = 20 Mill CIU total.

10m CIU Doubled = 20 mill + 10m completion (get completion score, not doubled completion score)

No? Basically 1/3? I realize there is other slight scoring?

To clarify, I was referring to the "collect" -- the value you choose to collect when shooting the scoop with the qualified blue light on top.
I don't recall if the "completion" is doubled -- where completion means that you've hit enough shots/switches to get the ridiculously volume-spiked fanfare along with 10-15M (I think?) completion award.
The "collect" is where the big points are at.

CIU **collect** scores get doubled if you have 2x running when you shoot the scoop and choose to cash out.

Right, I agree...this below is what I'm not sure aboot. Your points might be doubled inside CIU, but you don;t get 2 times your CIU total...if you catch my drift.

Unless something has changed in recent code, 2X scoring applies to all CIU scoring including individual shot jackpots, the 'collect' jackpot, and the completion bonus.

This is my basic plan when I play:

-Master the fuel lane and mystery scoop shoots. Tons of potential points rely on you being able to hit those two shots!
So here is a typical "good" scoring game for me
-I shoot for lighting the inserts toward CIU on the ramps and loops right away. Complete those and lock them in. You will get to CIU way faster. ie. The big points.
-I go for the coffin locks first. I often accidentally hit sparky enough to start his multiball first. During this multiball I usually get the extra ball lit from coffin bashing.
-At this point I'm usually ready for a CIU. I go for FTB or FWTBT first.
-During CIU try to hit sparky, snake, cross and coffin to light the mystery scoop. Hit several shots and then go for the fuel lane. This gives you 2x scoring. Hit the scoop. Collect the cash out option on the CIU and you get double points. It's not uncommon to get over 100mil from cashing out on the CIU 2x jackpot.
-At this point I'm usually close to coffin and I try to stack immediately with sparky or cross when I start coffin multiball.
-Then you are usually close to another CIU, Seek and Destroy, Blackened, etc.
-On a really good game I will at least reach the above goals.
This game is so much more than bash sparky/ rinse/ repeat. Truly one of the greatest games IMO.
Hope this helps and gives some goals to aim for. I am absolutely positive that you can find other/better strategies but this is just my fair to middling strategy.

Untrue. You can add a ball in coffin, then stack in another multiball on top of coffin, and then add ANOTHER ball!

Don't forget, once you collect at the scoop and exit out of CIU, you can collect another 25% of your collected jackpot after you complete all spider arrows and hit the Mystery scoop again. This opportunity lasts until you lose the ball.

Example: If you collect 100 mil when choosing to exit CIU, and then when you go back to regular gameplay, if you hit all 6 lit spiders, you can go back to the scoop for another 25 mil. This only carries over during the same ball, and it doesn't matter whether you have started another MB, FUEL, S&D, Blackened, or Lady Justice. If you hit all six spider shots one time each on the same ball you were on when you exited CIU, you'll collect another 25% of that collected jackpot.

Gotcha thanks...I thought there was a MB that you could not AAB?

It's actually an incorrect percentage on my part. What I meant is the doubling is 1/3 of the score of your CIU total after you leave.
As in - 15 CIU + 15 leaving (x2 when doubled) = 45 Total.
Sorry for the confusion...because math obviously gives me a headache.

I don't think you get two snake add-a-balls on the coffin MB stack. I might be wrong on that but I'm pretty sure the add-a-ball can only trigger once, even if you start another MB. You can relight the snake for 2x scoring/lock but I don't think you get another ball or ball saver (if you had 4 in play already).

If it is possible I would love to see it done. Will try it next time I play MET, but I distinctly remember trying this when the snake lock/add a ball was put in the code and it did not seem to work.

AAB exists in all 4 main multiballs. If you already have 4 balls in play (ie - coffin) it will simply give ball saver only.

I just discovered by accident that you can opt out of CIU and collect 5 million. Not optimal for points, and not really as much fun, but seems like a quick cheat to get to EOTL.

When given the choice in CIU, it defaults to FWTBT. If you hit the left flipper once, none of the CIU's will be highlighted, and then hit both flipper buttons. The ball will kick out, and you will continue to collect your next set of inserts for the next CIU.

Isn't that just one of the choices, 5 million? I never got to end if the line but I assumed you had to finish each of the CIU modes so how does taking the 5m help?

You're right. I thought getting to the CIU choices four times would advance toward EOTL, but it doesn't. No sense in choosing the 5 million.

Yeah the only way to EOL is thru all four CIU modes being played, then lighting CIU again for a 5th time.

I don't know why the option is even there for the 5+ million; one or two jackpots in CIU beats the score choice every time, and it doesn't help progression-wise...

It's been about a year since I've owned the LE, but I believe the spider inserts are all lit solid orange when you exit CIU. You have to unlight them.

On the Pro it's a little more confusing because they're lit solid red, and they might be red (or blinking red) for other reasons. If you have all the spider inserts unlit, and the Mystery scoop still isn't lit, you might still need to hit a blinking red lane. However, the Mystery might light because of pop/outlanes, so if you hit the scoop and it awards Mystery but doesn't award the 25% reprise bonus, you still have spider inserts to complete.

Hope that makes sense.

maybe it's the cancer causing your headache rob (clay told me to tell you that!

I get to Crank it Up and select "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Then I just hit ramp shots and loops over and over for 5,000,000 each. My high score is about 550,000,000.

5 Million each? I'll have to try it out.

Can you, or anyone else explain this?

If I hit an orbit/ramp/drops during FWTBT, I get around 2mil on the first two shots, and then around 4mil on the third, completing it (plane dropping bomb animations). If I continue to hit that shot, I get around 500K (bell ringing animation). Even with 2x going, the fourth shot to a "completed" lane is significantly less than hitting a lane that's not complete, so hitting ramp shots and loops over and over for 5 mil?

Another question: Hitting snake, coffin, Sparky, grave drops qualifies the scoop to collect CIU jackpot. Does completing them a second, third, fourth time, etc. increase the value of the individual lane jackpots or the scoop jackpot?

I noticed today that even though I had qualified the scoop earlier during FWTBT, I had to do it again after completing the mode and collecting the 25mil bonus. I've completed it several times in the past, but I've never noticed having to qualify the scoop again.

This doesn't always work. I won't try it unless I have CIU lit.

I prefer to short plunge and save my ballsave anyway. Worth more to me to get an extra safe shot at the coffin, chair, or graveyard rather than the paltry skill shot award.

Bump. No one has clarification for this?

I have no idea where the "5 million a shot" thing came from. I generally get between 1-2 million a shot till each shot is "finished" and then 500,000 after that. Maybe he mistook 500k for 5 million?

You also get a 25 million bonus for finishing all 5 shots in this mode (the loops, ramps, and graveyard).

That's my experience, as well. So, unless he can explain otherwise, "5 million a shot" is not the case in FWTBT.

After you complete the mode, victory lap scoring like this is plausible (with 2x). Until that point, you cannot farm one shot over and over for much.

Not to my knowledge

I might not be following your question but maybe this helps you:
When you are in CIU: you light the scoop by hitting Sparky, Snake, Coffin, Cross. This will light it to give you a change to collect (and exit) or keep playing. If you choose to keep playing, the scoop will (should?) stay available and you won't have to qualify it. I think the actual blue flasher might stop annoying you (?) but the scoop is definitely supposed to still be available.

..... unless you change an adjustment in the code!
On the 'hard' CIU scoop setting, continuing playing and not collecting/exiting will unqualify the scoop and you have to qualify it again. In the latest code this may have even become a default for all I know - its an additional punishment for risking your jackpot

The scoring in FWTBT is actually more in depth than just completing each shot (although the completion goal is unchanged).
The 3 inserts on the 5 shots work like a 'grid' - each shot will light the 'lowest' insert on that shot for like 1-2 mil. If you complete a "row" or "column" (ie - one shot to each = 5 in a row; 3 shots to one = 3 in a column) you are awarded more points like a super jackpot, this is usually 4-5 million. This isn't helpful to know in terms of completing the mode, but in a tournament setting a couple of easy double jackpots could be sitting there without you knowing it
Once a shot is complete its ~500k per shot until the mode is completed. FWTBT is not the easiest to complete, but it's probably the easiest and safest CIU to pick up some points. (although FTB is still better imo on a premium/LE thanks to the spinners)

Once all inserts are filled you've collected all these double jackpots and you get into victory laps which I think are common between all CIU modes. I believe they are combo based where the first shot is worth 1-2 million, and a corresponding spider arrow combo shot will then flash for a multiplied jackpot. I can't recall if this extinguishes arrows or not, but I do think the combos can continue. The shots all reset after a combo times out.

2X applies on top of all that theorycraft above.

Okay, so I did confirm on my pro that you can't apparently get two add a balls off stacked coffin+whatever. I guess I was always cashing it early in the stack and the second MB's ball save was still active. Oh well.

Is there a way to complete End of Line?

In my situation, I qualified the scoop early, but I never entered the scoop. I kept making my shots until I completed the mode. Then I entered the scoop, but the blue light was no longer flashing. It kicked the ball out, so I hit the remaining shots needed (again) to re-qualify for the jackpot, which I collected the next time I entered.

That sounds like a possible glitch/bug to me. I don't see anything in that description that should cause that.

I'll have to try with the glass off sometime to see if it does it again.

Unless you thought you'd previously qualified it due to a ghost LED? Or some lights fanfare from completion?

No, I'm sure I qualified it. I always focus on qualifying first, and I was aware it was lit once I did. Then I focused on the shots. When I completed the mode and collected the 25mil for completing it, I noticed it was no longer lit. I hit it anyway, but it just kicked it out. I think I noticed two of the main qualifiers were lit, so I hit the other two, and the blue light lit again. Entered scoop, jackpot collected.

I will have to pay attention next time or try with the glass off sooner.

Some times i feel like Kramer playing my Pro, keep the tips coming.

Please guys...speak s-l-o-w-l-y.
I actually had higher scores the 1st few months just bashing away ; now that I'm "strategerizing" my scores have sunk. These red flashing spiders you speak of...mine only flash red briefly. How do I get those lit and why ?

In other words...could somebody tell me what in the actual fuck is going on in this game ?
What I'm saying is..., could somebody come over and hold their hands over mine and maybe whisper "Tell em James" in my ear ?

Awesome !
Thanks !