Ultimate Challenge Strategy?

[SimPanssi]

Omg, i tought that after getting 3M on Genie no table would ve scared me but... this ultimate challenge is a chaos !!! I can get to it relatively easily (1 match every 2 o 3 games), but when it starts, all the times all balls (exept one...lol) drains in few seconds...

Some questions :
*Can i use smart punches earned in the game during the ultimate challenges ?
*Other positive (that may help getting the wizard goal) glitches during it i need to know ?

*N finally any advice/help/tactics to complete it ?

Thx

I think the instructions can cause a little confusion (about the knockouts) for the player. I found out by myself that if you don't use jab combos and knockouts to take out the first three opponents you only have to do two jab combos for the fourth guy and you can knock him out, and after that three shots to knockout the fifth guy. From the instructions I got the impression that you always need the same amount for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th guy. After I learned this, I got the 'win the ultimate challenge' goal in 30 mins. If you do it this way you will have plenty of smart punches for the ultimate challenge (you only need one smart punch for 4th and 5th guy) so that is fairly easy to complete. Just try not to use the smart punches in the ultimate challenge for the first three guys and you can take the last two guys out quickly. I think I had 7 or 8 smart punches when the ultimate challenge started, and used them for the last two guys. I won the ultimate challenge the legit way so no glitches needed. And in the challenge try to make aimed shots, do not try to control all balls. Try to keep few balls in play, that helped me also.

And you also have to be aware of the bug Gorgar posted.

 

[gooche77]

Good advice, SimPanssi. I'm gonna try to knock out (pun!) this goal tonight.

 

[Troc]

Thx to everyone, finally got it, n with it got all trophies, so now a 100% shines in my trophies list
Too bad all new tables have no trophies, it s a shame... i know many don t care, but now, personally i find very hard to put so much time n effort (like in Genie, RBION or MM) without being rewarded with trophies...

I can t see the reason they simply didn t put all tables after Whirlwind/CP under The Pinball arcade 2 brand, so "new" game n new trophies... plus new customers maybe would ve been lured by a "new" game. Infinite DLCs r only for the core fans...

 

[inspector42]

Finally got this one! Stored up as many smart punches as possible, used them near the end. I was actually draining out on Steve-O at the end of the challenge, about to lose, and I frantically hit the smart punch button as quickly as I could. Must have deployed a bunch, because his life bar went to zero just before my ball reached the center drain from the outlane! Can't believe it worked.

 

[Storm Chaser]

So, could the strategy (if UC is the final goal) be boiled down to:

- Obviously try to get as many extra balls and smart punches as possible (when there is no trade off). Obviously try to win fights and score the other things necessary for UC.
- Obviously nudge often.
- "Loop the jackpot" by shooting the right ramp in a timed manner over and over again. Use multiballs for remaining jackpots.
- Aim for heavy bag during multibrawl (at least) to go for Fisticuffs multiball.
- Use the "lean against ball saver button, shoot jaw, smart punch KO"-technique on the first three fighters (that are slow enough to make this work). Not sure if this can be done on Steve-O?
- Go for the heavy bag training as early as possible. Getting lifebars on the other two (if randomly hit) but don't do enough jumps/hits to actually clear that training method. This because heavy bag training is so risky.
- Go for lock ball when lit, in order to get more plunge items, such as smart punches.

My tips:
- Go for the spitting gallery to raise life bars. It is the only really safe shot in the whole table and can be automated to 90% (sometimes the kickouts makes the cradling difficult and sometimes a bug makes you shoot the ball into oblivion).
- On a fresh plunge (completely new ball). I do the "save button"-shot up the right loop to lock a ball in order to get one more plunge award. The only fool-proof way of hitting that target.
- Typically, all balls down the inner lanes are too fast to cradle, typically an upward nudge can slow it down so you can cradle it.
- There are just 3 (?) speeds for the jumping rope. For each speed there is a point where you have to jump in order to clear the rope. Just learn where that is and it's quite easy.
- If you are on fighter #3 and have a couple of smart punches, fighter #3 is almost dead and you are about to drain (this happens more often that you would imagine). Quickly use up all your smart punches before "End of ball bonus" appears and the ball is really dead. This will knock out your opponent and start Raid multiball, thus saving your ball. This only works on Fighter #3.

Remaining questions:
- If winning UC is the ultimate goal: is it better to always go for smart punches, or doors (for EB's) in the plunge?
- For which fighters is the "jaw-jaw smart punch"-method best used? Master Bam-Bam and Steve-O are obviously the most difficult but can it be used on them?
- What do you aim for during the multiballs (to optimize UC-completion): heavy bag? ramps for jackpots? somethiing else?

 

[inspector42]

I could never beat UC when going the door strategy. Was able to finish it on an early attempt when I switched to Smart Punches.

I didn't go jab-jab-smart punch until last two. You have to add an additional jab each time you do it, making it far more difficult and not worth it on first few fights.

Heavy bag

 

[pinballchris]

Finally activated UC. Wasn't prepared but thought I did ok, I think i beat 4 fighters then lost energy. Doubled my previous high score aferwards winning a couple cash fights.

 

[pinballchris]

Kind of starting to like this table, would like it more if it wasn't such a pain to get to the UC. Been there 4 times now with no luck. Those of you that finished it, what was your strategy during UC? Just flip wildly or trap and shoot each ball?

Edit: Think I have figured the code. One game after posting this I finished it. Which has been the trend with the other goals I have asked about.

 

[inspector42]

Flip like crazy toward boxer. Save up as many smart punches as possible before challenge. When you're about to lose, use all the smart punches in rapid succession.

 

[pinballchris]

Flip like crazy toward boxer. Save up as many smart punches as possible before challenge. When you're about to lose, use all the smart punches in rapid succession.

Actually I got really lucky, still had two balls on the last opponent, lost one when he had 1 bar left and got him with the other, then continued the game. Funny how when games are in a tournament, you end up becoming really good at them afterwards.

 

[vikingerik]

Yeah, the rule is one more jab combo for each knockout, not one more per fighter. If you never score any knockouts, then you can beat Steveo with just jab-jab-KO. This continues into the cash fights as well.

You can get up to four jab shots automatically off the ball stopper, if you're really quick in starting the first one to get the 4 shots in a row before the stopper disappears. I seem to find this only works if the fight was started from the jump rope shot, from which the ball rolls down and settles on the stopper quickly enough. The ejects from the corner or right loop come under control too slowly.

Of course, you can also take the guaranteed 4 shots off the stopper, and then shoot #5 and maybe #6 the regular manual way then KO.

I haven't won UC yet, since it keeps quitting out during the fight. Leaves the game stuck in a weird state, where the only thing you can do is light and start Fisticuffs multiball, nothing else does anything. It sure does look like a ROM bug and not TPA's fault. I'll have some more goes at UC after reading the info up this thread - make sure not to KO any of them.

Edit: Won UC a few games later, thanks to accumulating a ridiculous number of smart punches (10 or 11 - even got it from the insect buzz twice) and dumping them all out on the last two fighters during UC.

 

[skippycue]

So I recently beat this on both PS3 and PS Vita. I can't believe how frustrating it was to constantly keep hitting that knockout glitch during wizard mode! One time on the vita I literally had 20 smart punches when I entered wizard mode. My plan was to use them to completely destroy the last three guys... only to hit the glitch almost immediately on the first guy! I was so mad, lol. This led me to a new strategy that I'm not sure has been mentioned (maybe I just missed it if so). I would make sure to score 3 knockouts prior to starting wizard mode so that the next knockout would require 5 jab combos to initiate. This seemed to help quite a bit and I ran into the knockout glitch less often. It also makes getting to wizard mode quite a bit easier because you only have to beat 2 guys legit on the way there.

I also have some random thoughts on the game which are pretty meaningless at this point, but I'll state them anyway.

• I think it would've been cool (and more fair) if fighters started with less energy and didn't max out until the last fighter.
• With wizard mode being as challenging as it is, I think there should've been like a 60 second ball save, or at least longer than it is.
• I think the outlanes are a little too unforgiving, just takes some fun away from the table for me.
• I think instead of having an alternating second breath save in the outlanes there should be a way to enable one for each.
• And finally, knockouts should be encouraged in wizard mode, not cause a glitch! lol

 

[yespage]

[*]I think the outlanes are a little too unforgiving, just takes some fun away from the table for me.

Oh gosh is this the truth. I like the table a lot, but the right outlane, specifically, is a complete nightmare. I know I need to get better at nudging, but I think this table punishes you for flipping away like a mad man. Pretty much I trap and then punch. Only way to keep the right outlane from ruining my fun.

 

[zmcvay]

Finally got the goal, felt good. Same strategy, build up smart punches, take on the 1st 2 fights normally. Quickly dispose of fights 3-5 with KO combos. That built up the # of combos needed high enough so I didn't trigger the bug in the challenge. Got into a pattern on Ultimate challenge at about 3 balls left, if 2 balls were near the flippers I aimed for the ramps. When one ball was on the flippers, I then aimed for the center so I could control the punches better and recover. Got the first 4 boxers down with 3 balls still in play, then lost 1 ball and just destroyed the last guy with smart punches. Even without the bug though, this has got to be one of the most challenging Wizard modes in TPA.

Good luck to those still working on this one!

 

[Eternal21]

I got lucky and the game awarded me the 'Win Ultimate Challenge' goal, even though I drained the ball right after the 4th fighter. Not sure why it happened, but glad it did, because it was infuriating reaching the multiball, only to get screwed by the knockout glitch. In the game where the glitch happened, the knockout required 3-way combo. I only had 5 Smart Punches saved up, and used them all up on the 4th enemy. Here's the vid: