How the heck are you doing this? I can’t get over 300k… AMAZING!

I'll get around to a long strategy post eventually, but here's the quick hits:

Portal locks, portal locks, portal locks. The game opens up so much when you always have both portal locks to start a gem quest. Of course it makes the quest a multiball and multiplies the scoring - but the other part is that a portal lock multiball is the only time you can make progress towards Thor and Iron Man multiballs *during another multiball*.

The portal locks are lit by the secret skill shot (try on every ball, I can hit it about 1/3 of the time) and shooting combos. On my machine, I'm really dialed in to keep looping Widow - Gauntlet - Hawkeye - Widow and repeat. That sequence does not have the limiter that is imposed on the Panther-Widow and Capt Marvel-Widow combos. I'm perfectly willing and able to do that for 20 or 30 combos if necessary before starting each gem quest. The Hawkeye Combo shots make significant progress towards grid awards as well.

Extra balls. There is a tipping point where you start collecting extra balls and then that snowballs into many of them. There are quite a number that are at approximately equal distances from the start button (3 target sets, 3rd grid line, 12 Marvel ramps, 12 trophies, 50 combos, 2nd Hawkeye challenge). Once I start collecting one or two, it keeps going into most or all of them.

Gem strategy. The big point is Power Gem first and put it on Panther. He's always the hardest to level up, his shot gets the least amount of random progress during multiballs. I found myself getting to Black Order MB and Battle Royale far far more consistently once I started doing that. The other effect of the Power Gem is holding that avenger's level-1 ability active all the time, and Panther's is the most important for that too - longer combo timer, which is very significant for the portal locks. There are a *lot* of times that I miss a flow shot, but get control again and can shoot Widow or Gauntlet or Capt Marvel during those extra three seconds to keep the combo streak going.

Physical setup of the game. I admittedly have the tilt bob very loose, and it's on a hardwood floor so I can easily make slide saves. I adjusted the flipper alignment upwards by a couple of millimeters, which makes a significant difference for making flow shots onto Widow and Gauntlet. And my autoplunger almost always fails to make it all the way around but lands in the bumpers instead - this is an advantage, for easily powering up Captain America, and when I do want a plunge to go all the way around I quickly grab the manual plunger to launch it.

Anyone know where I can find some cheap Stern Avengers cabinet Decals?

So couple questions, pro or premium, 3-ball or 5-ball, by Hawkeye you mean the upper loop or his target? And how you go from that back to Widow? Already working portal locks,about 1 out of 3 as well on skill shot, but accidentally end up starting gem quests before getting both… have also figured that Power gem should be first. Great idea to put on Panther! For me that’s a tough shot and usually gets placed elsewhere first. My machine is on thick carpet unfortunately so big disadvantage, auto plunging to Captain America is brilliant and adjusting the flippers is next level…

Mine is a premium. 3 ball. No mods on the outlanes or disc or anything else besides adjusting the flipper alignment and a stronger manual plunger spring. I didn't set up the autoplunger to the bumpers on purpose, it just happens since my ball launch is inconsistent and usually rattles around a lot going up the orbit.

By Hawkeye I mean the upper loop, which feeds the right flipper, from where you can shoot Widow. The Widow - Gauntlet - Hawkeye - Widow combo sequence is the same on either model, although on the Pro you can't do it once a gem quest is lit, since the gauntlet ramp starts the quest.

I do miss getting the Power Gem on Panther about half the time, either a weak shot falls into the bumpers or an uncontrolled ball hits the drop targets. If that happens I hit Change Gems as soon as I can to fix it (although if it's on the drops, do clear them a few times to use up the power gem uses there.)

I always go mind gem first. Get those free button completions which help greatly on soul gem with a level 1 or 2 avenger it's on (usually black widow early on). Lately soul gem is the second thing I have to do after getting it. I try to take at least 1 portal lock and a multiball and if I have a good one I collect all avengers before the quest/victory laps is over. Then going into soul gem I choose hard and use the button presses on black panther, thor, and the computer. Usually finish that with 200-250 mil.

That's basically my beginning game strategy most of the time as well. Get Mind gem on L1 or L2 Avenger and use it for Hard Soul gem.

Is there a way to get at the gems again besides hawkeye challenge? I finally got to black order multiball today not realizing that I wouldn't get another shot at the soul gem. Or is the point to just be underpowered when I fight Thanos at the end assuming I ever get there?

I must need to change my settings, currently on easy everything, because I have a hard time getting Lvl 1 Avengers before Soul gem quest starts…

To get another shot at any gem besides the Soul Gem, you can just start the quest again the normal way by possessing and risking the Soul Gem. If you lose the quest again, you lose the Soul Gem too.

You can't play the Soul Gem quest again, but you automatically get more chances at it in both Black Order MB (get a super jackpot) and Battle Royale (just win the mode.)

If you play the other five gems (win or lose) and Battle Royale (also win or lose), you're going to have to fight Thanos underpowered without whatever gems you don't then have.

That’s a good plan but only really works with Lvl 1 or 2. With only collected is one press gor Soul gem, that’s why I like Power first, what difficulty settings do you go with?

Thanks for all the tips! Now I just need to play better… Where do you place Reality gem, I go with drops for easy grid completion…

my machine is stock settings and I have a premium. I like to start the game by dialing in the black widow -> capt Marvel ramp which usually gets me the first portal lock and also close to the level 1 black widow. It's the easiest shot in the game so focus on that and get it close to level 1 then start the mind gem mode. By the time you complete the mode black widow will be at or close to level 1 and place the gem on her. I will note that I have the movie code so I have to have the avenger the mind gem is on at level 1 for the strategy to work. The latest code treats a level 2 as 1 for soul gem and that is a nice change IMO.

Why do portal locks award multiball on Soul Gem? Seems like a huge detriment.

They don't. If you are getting multiball on Soul gem mode then you may have an issue with your subway optos or "fingers".

Huh. Interesting because I did the subway fix and it doesn’t do that any other time with multi locks. It launches both deliberately one after the other. Is there a setting?

No. Soul Gem is only a 1 ball mode. Anything else is an error. As awesome1 said it's usually an error with the last finger in the subway or an opto in the subway.

If you're just trying to reach Thanos, the drop targets are a good choice, yes. For me, the drop targets don't need the Reality (or Power) Gem. I'm going for high scores beyond just Thanos, and I get enough activity on the drops from all the portal lock multiballs, to pretty consistently get to Computer Frenzy by the time I'm done with all the gem quests and approaching Trophy Mania.

I aim to get Reality Gem twice in a game. I get it second (after Power Gem) in order to intentionally lose it in Thanos Attacks, because it's the easiest gem quest to do twice, and it's easier to just play and win the quest again (with a portal lock multiball) than to win Thanos Attacks itself.

If I get it before Black Order MB, I put it on Captain America, specifically to multiply the super jackpots in that.

After Black Order MB, I put it on Hulk, specifically to multiply all the scoring in the Space Gem quest.

Later I will sometimes move it to Captain Marvel to get 10x shots there, for any of Battle Royale or Super Victory Laps or Trophy Mania. Also during these I will often use up the Mind Gem wherever it is for whatever it can get, and then use the Space Gem to refresh Mind on a new location, and while doing this also look to move Reality onto Black Widow when she's at a high level and I'm hitting that shot frequently in one of the wizard multiballs.

(accidentally double posted, and I don't see a delete button?)

Another inexpensive mod. Vinyl wrap. Easy, just a heat gun or blow dryer. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NCBZP6X

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That is a nice DIY idea

Nice. What size roll did you use? Wonder how difficult doing the legs would be.

Before I did the washer fix, I had a Soul gem multiball too, it was horrible. I put in two washer, one on each of the last two

This looks fantastic… I’ve wanted to try this for years as I have used vinyl wrap for a TON of stuff…. Any issues going over the stock textured finish? Does it feel nice and smooth to the touch?

Again…looks great…nice work!!

So I finally took the floaties off this weekend and cannonballed into the deep end and did a partial tear down of the my premium to put in some blue titans I ordered. I removed all the ramps with the exception of the marvel ramp and removed most of the plastics. I even removed the city scape and Thanos plastic in the back so I could remove the black Panther orbit ramp plastic to get at a bad spot on the ramp. After getting everything off I hit as much of the playfield as I could with some Novus one and Novus 2 using the latter really sparingly. I also waxed it for the first time which wasn’t bad at all.

I did run into a problem when replacing the rubbers though and now I need some advice or help. I was unable to put rubbers on the two post that are in front of the scoop because I couldn’t get the wakanda/ant man plastic off. It feels like the plastic is glued or something to the metal it is sitting on at the point my finger is at in the bottom picture below. Is this done on purpose for some reason I am unaware of and is there a way to remove it and replace those two rubbers?

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I think you can do 2 legs per roll. So $24 total. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NCBZP6X

Really easy. The trick is to heat up the vinyl and stretch it. Also, the nice thing is, even after you stretch and wrap around edges, then cool, you can reheat again to stretch the vinyl more to get it perfect. I would actually think of doing this as a service. I'm in the 92688 area.

Hey thanks! Great point you raise. I thought applying vinyl over the black power coat would have too much texture, but no, its great! the power coat texture barely comes through. I did not sand down the power coat just in case the vinyl did not work out, I could just go back to the original power coat, no harm done.

I Know I removed that plastic because the clear piece above it came flying off during a game because the screws underneath the hex posts fell out , and I didnt think it was particularly hard to remove. I think its fastened from underneath.

You need to remove the (2) standoffs I put arrows pointing at. Use a 1/4" nut driver or wrench.

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Already did, took this pic as I was putting everything back on. I am telling you it is glued or something to the metal that it sits on. If you look closely there is slight discoloration from where I tried to get my fingernail underneath it and pull it up. I will tell you how much I removed them I had to use an extendable magnet to hold the screw in place while I lifted the playfield to screw the stand-off back on.

I just had another look at mine.
There are three nylock nuts that hold the plastic in place. The one holding the Ramp, one directly opposite the one holding the ramp and one further down the plastic near the up kicker. Then the plastic is awkward to remove as it seems to be wedged under the subway kick out loop ramp metal thingy. It was a struggle to get out but it was not glued.

Look I removed everything. All of the nuts and every screw with the exception of the one that held the ramp in place. I could lift the plastic 95% of the way off with the exception of that one spot probably an inch long. Running my finger underneath the plastic until pulling up on it did the discoloration next to my finger in the pic. I didn't want to crack the plastic or pull a large amount of the color off so I stopped. Once again, I thought about taking the pic after putting most of everything back on. Lifting it up was easy everywhere but this spot but I couldn't rotate it or anything because it seems almost to be welded from this spot because it would not come up off of the ball guide without changing the color and damaging the plastic itself. This is from the most recent run of the game.

I just shopped my out and that plastic is WAY tight. The issue with mine was there was a post hole (top part of plastic) that was "virgin" with a tight hole. That being said, be careful not to break it but it came out for me.

BTW, that Capt Marvel wire form was similar. Super tight to pull out from that VUK area.

Anyone having trouble with the new update?

I keep getting a “game validation error” and I’ve updated the SD card manually but nothing lets me connect to Home Team or Insider Connected anymore.

Pic for reference.

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Great job !! quick question did you take your side rails off or do it on the game when you wrapped?

I have not. I was wondering if if’s worthwhile to do if one does not use the insider features…..what say you, fellow Avengers?

The hometeam update included the following changes to the game. Some of them are worthwhile but I don't want to loose the movie version so sticking with the pre-hometeam update.

- Insider Connected - adding Insider Connected ability to start 'Gem Mania" if you are logged in
- Insider Connected - 'Gem Mania' award will take the place of 10M Points award in the computer grid
- Insider Connected - fixed the Disc RPM achievement thresholds to make it possible to achieve these awards
- Insider Connected - fixed an issue where some Achievement names were not matched with the names on server
- Insider Connected - fixed an issue where player names on the UI wouldn't always be correct
- Soul Gem Mode - entering the mode with Mind Gem powered up to Level 2 you will have your "Award All Shots" single Mind Gem use converted to 3 "Award Best Shot" uses
- Gamma Ray - score balancing increased base value from 50K to 100K, spin increment from 5K to 7K, start increment from 25K to 10K
- Thor Multiball - Mjolnir Attack (Letter Jackpot) is now awarded at 2X of what it used to award
- Thor Multiball - change Jackpot Value increase from 5K per disc spin to 24K per disc spin
- Extra Ball - consolation score when an Extra Ball cannot be awarded changed from 10M to 25M
- Game Over - fixed an issue with names displaying incorrectly
- Game Over - added the ability to use flipper to exit Game Over screen
- Attract - fixed a "Replay At" inconsistency with fonts and made compatible with up to 4 replay levels
- Attract - fixed an issue with long pricing string combinations

- Adjustment Changes:
- added "IC GEM MANIA CPU GRID AWARD" default is YES but competition install will override to NO
- changed "TARGET GAME TIME" default to 1:45
- removed "ATTRACT ADD PLAYERS" will always prompt for adding players

I had random machine reboots on latest code. Stern Support rolled me back a code update and the issues went away. Not sure how prevalent the issue is though since they originally thought it was a CPU board issue after troubleshooting.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-official-rush-owners-club-1/page/193#post-7149371

This is the trickiest part of the vinyl wrap on the lock bar. Be sure to stretch in the arrow direction, wrap and hold. You can do it!

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I was recently asking about the leveling of the agamoto disk.... They told me that you have to remove the white piece to be able to move it. I am a little insecure at the moment of doing it, does anyone know if there is a video tutorial to be more sure of how to do it? greetings and thanks !!!!

That is correct. Don't worry about hurting anything. That disc and nut combo are probably the most solid piece on the game. Just loosen the white piece, adjust the metal part so that the disc is at the level height and the tighten the white piece again. Only takes a minute.

Good luck. Have fun. Pinball is all about the fixins.

Talking about the Fixins. This game has been my most troublesome (but still fun).
1st game second ball on plunge , ball goes into cabinet. This was wifes first go i wasn't watching and she turns to me and says, were did the ball go. I search for awhile then lifted the playfield to find the ball. Next ball got stuck under guantlet. Fixing this I found how it got into the cabinet, there is a gap in the back board right of the guantlet where a ball can fit through. Made a lexan guard to fit under the gauntlet and ball cannot go through gap and wont get stuck.
2nd - Black widow ramp stopped detecting balls. Led sensor failed, probably because Led sensor got shorted out by screw holding plastic above ramp being too long. Shortened screws replaced Led sensor.
3rd - Black widow ramp launching balls into glass really really forcefully. It would clip the edge of the clear plastic at the top of the ramp and deflect into the glass. I made another lexan piece to extend further down the ramp. No more glass strikes.
4th - Captain marvel ramp rejects and balls falling out and getting stuck on top of the part of the ramp that crosses over to the right of the playfield. At the apex of the ramp the ball could fall out because the ramp itself opened up at that point and it was past the plastic cover. Made another lexan piece that extended past the apex, also made lexan piece to cover the gap at the bottom of the ramp. No more balls falling out.
5th - top drop target not dropping on hard straight hit. Cant seem to improve this.
6th - after about 50 plays a clear plastic piece flew across the playfield during a high scoring game. Screws had fallen out under hex standoffs. Found screws in bottom of cabinet.
7th - Playfield chipped under post at entrance to Captain america shot through pops. Fitted washer to cover chip (don't like that but stern wont cover)
So basically I have had the glass off this one more times than any of my other sterns.
Still its a fun game

what is the best position to do it? I imagine you have to hold the disk level until you can put the white piece, right?

Exactly. Have the playfield up against the head of the cabinet. Loosing the white piece. Adjust the metal bearing until the disc is where you want it and then tighten the white nut back. Good Luck.

Ok!!!! Thank!!!!

This happens because the target is too close to the rubber behind it, so bounces off that all the way back into position before it falls.

Here's how to fix it. Under the playfield, take out the screws at the front (right-side) edge of the drop target assembly. Put a washer (or two) between the assembly and the playfield. This will make the entire assembly tilt forward (rightwards) a hair, so there's enough space for the targets to fall reliably. I did this on mine and it improved the top drop target fail rate from maybe 25% to under 5%.

you can also follow this from Stern https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/official-avengers-infinity-quest-owners-thread-pinsiders-assemble/page/36#post-5924517

I highly recommend you also adjust the sensor so there is a gap. If the sensor touches the shaft at all it will break the sensor.

a question. What is the best strategy to follow to quickly explode the score?