- Playing from a weakened state is one strategy some lower level players use; it is based on when your health is below 20 and people can't attack you or Hitlist you. This makes it ideal to do jobs and have no chance of losing money when being attacked! This can be a disadvantage as well, since you can't attack either, but being able to do jobs without the chance of getting robbed outweighs the negative in this case.
- It helps in Facebook if you start your name with a character that is alphabetically first. For example, if your name is Aaron, you are far better off than a Howard. Why is this? Because in Mafia Wars, the Mafia list (when sending gifts) sorts alphabetically; and studies have shown that people are most likely to choose from the top of the list, rather than the bottom or middle! If you are the unfortunate soul with a name like Zane, then try adding an ' in front to make it 'Zane. The ' character has more precedence than the letter a, believe it or not! This will help you get more gifts when people get the chance to send them out.
- When adding people to your mafia, most people tend to pick higher level players. This is almost always a mistake; unless you are looking for people to make your Top Mafia, then you should definitely have some high level players, but typically I like to see players that are level 50 and below. Why is that? Mainly because if I am at a higher level than most of my Mafia; I have a higher chance of being in their "top mafia" and can earn bonuses for that. This is a crucial concept to keep in mind if want to level up faster and more often!
- Try and add people who have done a lot of jobs. Again, going along with the same idea as people who fight; people who do a lot of jobs all the time give you more chances at getting extra experience points. This too adds to the strategy of “auto-play” that is discussed above.
Having a Facebook profile picture of a nice looking female face *ALWAYS* helps. Again, going along with privacy, make sure if you decide to use your picture (if you are female), that you are comfortable with having strangers making comments and looking at you in a certain way; not every male on the Internet necessarily has good intentions. If you are a male; I’d suggest you use an attractive looking female picture for your profile picture. You would be surprised at how much more help you will get with it (in terms of job help, war help and gift help).
- The best use for energy packs is to do jobs that allow you to stock up on consumables items such as computer setups, illegal transaction records, blackmail photos and etc. Use that extra 25% you get to do those jobs that give you consumable loot; after you have used up that extra 25%, go back to do jobs to help you complete the various levels.
- To make use of your energy after you use an energy pack (assuming you are not trying to level up of course); go to your Top Mafia and demote your Mastermind. Then go and do you jobs you want (probably to get consumables). Why is this important? Well, you are trying to avoid adding extra experience points from random jobs at this point in time. Instead trying to use your energy to the maximum as much as possible for the purpose of collecting loot. After you are done, don't forget to put your Mastermind back in.
- If you can, convince people to add you to their top mafia. This is especially true for positions like Mastermind and Wheelman (only if you are Fearless). These help you get more experience and save you energy so you can do more jobs. This concept becomes more crucial as you get to higher levels and require more experience to level up, and the only ways to level up are to: either get more energy (or use less energy) or to get bonus experience when doing a job.
- When attacking; even though you may have the higher total attack points, and the same 501 mafia members, you may still lose. In fact, it is a high possibility if you haven't upgraded your attack skill level. When going into fight someone, each element is tested, and believe it or not, the attack skill level is the most underrated one of the three people forget about. It needs to be within a certain range or your opponents, or else you will lose. For example, let us say you have 501 mafia, 56, 000 Mafia attack strength and Attack skill level of 30; you are fighting against someone with 501 mafia, 26, 000 Mafia attack strength and Attack skill level of 130. It is a given that you will lose 9 out of 10 times. So ignore the guy that says attack skill level is not important! Cause he is absolutely, 100% wrong!
Later on in the game, Cuban pesos will become worthless (when you complete all the Cuba tiers). In doing so, now it becomes advantageous to heal yourself in Cuba rather than NY. This is because you need to bank $1T (that's trillion), $10T and $999T respectively at one point in time to secure those achievements (as well as earn 1 skill point for each). Doing so means trying to save as much money as you can in New York without banking! It's a lot easier said than done, but each $1M counts now!
Get people to follow you (check your wall, and casually interact with you on a direct basis). You can call them fans or groupies. This way, you will have an easier time trading and asking for things, especially if you have a large mafia. I find it is easier for me to get the things I request all the time! So how do you get people to follow you? Easy, have contests where you are giving out top end loot (if you are a high level player), and/or giving out simple little tips and posting them on your wall. Typically I like tips that are things that give you more Godfather points, give you more rubles and give you experience points. Hence when Zynga blasts out a link for free GF points; post it on your wall as a tip!
Proceed to Chapter 11 - FAQs
