Big Shot Tactics and Strategies

[smbhax]

Yeah, I was tending to restart if I wasn't in the neighborhood of 90K-ish after ball 4. Which kind of make sense if you think about what points are really available for ball 5, which I hadn't actually added up until now. But 15 targets at 3000 bonus each is 45K, I'd expect to have got about another 15K in non-bonus points in the course of getting that, so that's a max of about 60K up to hitting the first Special--then you get a target reset for another potential 60K, plus an extra ball for another potential 60K, which means that with a single Special you could theoretically get about 180K out of ball 5. Realistically, though, you might expect to average just oh 10 targets or so per Special, which means 40K per, ie 120K out of one Special on ball 5, 160K out of two, 200K out of three, etc. I never really figured I could hope for more than two Specials out of a single ball (and I very very very rarely did get two!), so yeah if you don't have about 90K by the time you start ball 5 you're looking at probably needing 3 Specials on that ball to break 250K, which is a tall order indeed!

 

[Vyrastas]

I could swear the current bonus is cashed in when you hit the Special.

You are right, it is cashed in, I got the Special tonight on the 5th ball right after I knocked all 14 targets down - this immediately gave me the 42K bonus and that Wizard Goal, then reset the targets while I continued to play.

 

[Fungi]

You are right, it is cashed in, I got the Special tonight on the 5th ball right after I knocked all 14 targets down - this immediately gave me the 42K bonus and that Wizard Goal, then reset the targets while I continued to play.

Yes, but we still don't the awesome clacking sounds from the score reels.

 

[Iguana]

Yeah, love this table too. Its the first table I bought from FS because it was the only one (at the time) I was familiar with physically from my lost youth. I wasn't disappointed with the virtual table, and come back once in a while to attempt my remaining wizard goal: score > 250,000.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[vikingerik]

I found a world of improvement on Big Shot with this tactic: With a caught ball, always aim high on the target bank. With a moving ball, aim low. I'm not sure why, but the rebounds come out quite a bit safer that way. Aiming low from a caught ball is a disaster waiting to happen, there's a ton of ways for it to find an outlane.

Yes, scoring the special cashes in the current bonus. I got the 42k bonus wizard goal from collecting the special. So you're never penalized for the bonus being reset.

After the ball hits a 1000 rollover, nudge the bumper into the ball to send it towards the drop targets on that side. This is safe. If the ball hits a target, it'll bounce around giving enough time for the tilt bob to settle. If it misses the targets, it's falling straight towards the flipper and you won't need to nudge to save it. So that's a trick to pick up some extra targets on the tough bottom edges of the banks.

And since this table is entirely symmetrical, I don't see any clear advantage on which side that should be. So, just whichever one you happen to hit first.

It is asymmetrical, slightly. The 8 ball hole kicks out to the right flipper, and the outlane save gate is on the right, both favoring the left bank. I do find myself completing that one more often.

You'll never hit it from the opposite flipper, at least not directly.

I can hit the special from the opposite flipper with some reliability, maybe about 25%. The target seems to be wider than the graphics appear. A hit slightly above the target will still register, so aim for its upper edge.

 

[superballs]

I found a world of improvement on Big Shot with this tactic: With a caught ball, always aim high on the target bank. With a moving ball, aim low. I'm not sure why, but the rebounds come out quite a bit safer that way. Aiming low from a caught ball is a disaster waiting to happen, there's a ton of ways for it to find an outlane.

Yes, scoring the special cashes in the current bonus. I got the 42k bonus wizard goal from collecting the special. So you're never penalized for the bonus being reset.

After the ball hits a 1000 rollover, nudge the bumper into the ball to send it towards the drop targets on that side. This is safe. If the ball hits a target, it'll bounce around giving enough time for the tilt bob to settle. If it misses the targets, it's falling straight towards the flipper and you won't need to nudge to save it. So that's a trick to pick up some extra targets on the tough bottom edges of the banks.



It is asymmetrical, slightly. The 8 ball hole kicks out to the right flipper, and the outlane save gate is on the right, both favoring the left bank. I do find myself completing that one more often.


I can hit the special from the opposite flipper with some reliability, maybe about 25%. The target seems to be wider than the graphics appear. A hit slightly above the target will still register, so aim for its upper edge.

Good addition,

Also, note that with proper upward nudging and the new physics, this table is a lot less punishing than on the mobiles. But can still be quite a jerk

 

[superballs]

Finally hit the 250k goal tonight. Now I can move on to the 3 mil goal in genie

 

[Zaphod77]

That score a 42k bonus goal really angered me, because nothing you do on any ball except for the last one matters for it. i ended up switching it to 3 ball mode just so i could drain balls one and two and start on it for ball three instead of 5.