DeletedUser35884
MsLead’s Beginner's Guide to Sniping Great Buildings
Hi, readers! I'm MsLead. I wrote this simple guide for my guildmates some time ago but I thought I may as well share it with others too. A lot of people, I've noticed, don't know what sniping is or how to properly utilize it. So, this is a guide written for players who want to learn how to snipe for a small profit.
While it is true that players with lvl 80 Arcs have great returns on sniping, you do not necessarily need one to do so at the lower ages. It becomes a little trickier at the higher ages, when you have neighbours with Arcs to compete with, but if you're at PE and below, you can still turn a small profit with a low level Arc. I certainly began sniping at IA/EMA 2 years ago without an Arc at all.
Scope of the guide
This guide is a simple explanation for beginner snipers who want to lock in their contributor ranking for secure rewards instead of constantly watching GBs in an FP contest where they try to use less than the lock-in FPs needed in an effort to keep the amount of FPs spent at its minimum. Therefore, the fluidity and complexity of minimal-FP expenditure of GB contests shall not be addressed.
Furthermore, I will not address the profits of sniping using a lvl 80 Arc on for each GB on every level. That is not the purpose of this guide, and there are other guides that address those calculations.
What is sniping?
Sniping is the sudden addition of a lot of forge points (FPs) sufficient to secure a desired contributor rank (usually the first place) on a GB to get its contributor rewards.
Terms
Sniper – the player who ‘steals’ the highest contributor rank by throwing in a pile of FPs suddenly, knocking all the other contributors down one rank and lessening their rewards
Snipee – the player who was originally at the highest contributor rank until he got knocked down a rank by the sniper
GB owner – the player who owns the GB that the sniper and snipee are contributing to
Lock in – to add the minimum amount of FPs on a GB such that no matter how many more FPs other players contribute to the GB, they cannot take away the first place from you
Purpose & Benefits of sniping if used correctly
1. A lot of free FPs
2. A lot of free medals
3. Free BPs
Locking-in
In order to lock in the first place, you need to donate a sufficient number of FPs such that even if the next player who comes along adds the rest of the FPs needed to level up the GB, he will only be at second place. This is the main idea that the calculations are centred upon.
Sniping Calculations
In order for sniping to be effective, it is essential to follow the calculations below. However, just because you have the highest contributor rank does not always mean that it is FP-profitable. That said, some players may still want to snipe GBs just for the BPs and medals.
Take the amount of FPs needed for first-place lock-in to be the arbitrary constant, x. It should always be a whole number.
If there are currently no contributors to the GB except the GB owner,
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs GB owner contributed) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
If there are contributors to the GB that are not the GB owner,
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs first place snipee added) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
If you are sniping a GB that you already have contributions to,
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs first place snipee added + FPs you have already added) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
Amount you need to add = x – FPs you have already added
*If x is not a whole number, you must round up the value you get from the above calculations to the nearest whole number.
**If the value is more than what is left for the GB to level up, this means that the current contributor has already locked in his first place position. Do not waste your time and FPs, unless you are fine with the lower rewards.
What if I want second place and not first?
The following calculations are still valid if you are sniping for the second contributor rank. Simply replace the variable where your competitor, the snipee, is:
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs SECOND PLACE snipee added + FPs you have already added) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
Amount you need to add = x – FPs you have already added
This will lock in the second place for you. However, if the first place has not been locked in yet, you, as the sniper, may possibly end up as the first place contributor as well. If you only want to lock in the second place while the first place is not locked in, then the above formula is only an approximation of the minimum FPs needed.
FP-profitable
In order to be FP-profitable, the FPs you get from your rewards MUST be greater than the FPs you contribute for lock-in.
Arc Bonus
A level 1 The Arc increases your contributor bonus by 10%. If you are an active sniper, this is A LOT of FPs you can save or profit from.
To be FP-profitable with level 1 Arc bonus (+10%),
(FP from contributor rewards * 1.10) – FPs you need to contribute for lock-in > 0
Adjust based on your Arc bonus accordingly. With the recent update, this calculation is done for you, and you may view it by clicking on the icon for your desired contributor rank.
Example
Several months ago, I sniped a player’s lvl 7 Deal Castle. A lvl 7 Deal Castle requires 560 FPs to get to lvl 8. There were 2 other contributors besides the GB owner himself.
At that point, the contributors were:
GB owner – 483 FPs
Player A – 6 FPs
Player B – 1 FP
For lock-in, x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs first place snipee added) / 2
Thus, x = (560 – 490 + 6) / 2 = 38 FPs
Remaining FP needed to level up the lvl 7 Deal Castle (that I did not need to add) was 32 FPs. Even if Player A donates all 32 FPs and totals 38 FPs in contribution, he will only be at second place because I have already locked in the first place.
I donated 38 FPs. The contributor reward for first place is 60 FPs. However, I had a lvl 3 The Arc (+14%) at this point of time. My FP profit became = (60 * 1.14) – 38 = 30 FPs
Guild Courtesy
Some guilds do not appreciate in-guild sniping, so check with your guild first whether it is all right to do so, lest you get angry texts in a couple of hours after a snipe.
Other considerations if you are sniping neighbours or friends’ GBs
Some friends may become unhappy if they have an existing FP swap partner and you sniped the first place away from his partner.
You may have locked in your first-place ranking on a GB, but your friend / neighbour becomes inactive, and the GB never levels up. You therefore may want to level it up yourself to minimise FP losses.
....And that covers the very basics on how to snipe. Hope that was helpful. Happy gaming!
Hi, readers! I'm MsLead. I wrote this simple guide for my guildmates some time ago but I thought I may as well share it with others too. A lot of people, I've noticed, don't know what sniping is or how to properly utilize it. So, this is a guide written for players who want to learn how to snipe for a small profit.
While it is true that players with lvl 80 Arcs have great returns on sniping, you do not necessarily need one to do so at the lower ages. It becomes a little trickier at the higher ages, when you have neighbours with Arcs to compete with, but if you're at PE and below, you can still turn a small profit with a low level Arc. I certainly began sniping at IA/EMA 2 years ago without an Arc at all.
Scope of the guide
This guide is a simple explanation for beginner snipers who want to lock in their contributor ranking for secure rewards instead of constantly watching GBs in an FP contest where they try to use less than the lock-in FPs needed in an effort to keep the amount of FPs spent at its minimum. Therefore, the fluidity and complexity of minimal-FP expenditure of GB contests shall not be addressed.
Furthermore, I will not address the profits of sniping using a lvl 80 Arc on for each GB on every level. That is not the purpose of this guide, and there are other guides that address those calculations.
What is sniping?
Sniping is the sudden addition of a lot of forge points (FPs) sufficient to secure a desired contributor rank (usually the first place) on a GB to get its contributor rewards.
Terms
Sniper – the player who ‘steals’ the highest contributor rank by throwing in a pile of FPs suddenly, knocking all the other contributors down one rank and lessening their rewards
Snipee – the player who was originally at the highest contributor rank until he got knocked down a rank by the sniper
GB owner – the player who owns the GB that the sniper and snipee are contributing to
Lock in – to add the minimum amount of FPs on a GB such that no matter how many more FPs other players contribute to the GB, they cannot take away the first place from you
Purpose & Benefits of sniping if used correctly
1. A lot of free FPs
2. A lot of free medals
3. Free BPs
Locking-in
In order to lock in the first place, you need to donate a sufficient number of FPs such that even if the next player who comes along adds the rest of the FPs needed to level up the GB, he will only be at second place. This is the main idea that the calculations are centred upon.
Sniping Calculations
In order for sniping to be effective, it is essential to follow the calculations below. However, just because you have the highest contributor rank does not always mean that it is FP-profitable. That said, some players may still want to snipe GBs just for the BPs and medals.
Take the amount of FPs needed for first-place lock-in to be the arbitrary constant, x. It should always be a whole number.
If there are currently no contributors to the GB except the GB owner,
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs GB owner contributed) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
If there are contributors to the GB that are not the GB owner,
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs first place snipee added) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
If you are sniping a GB that you already have contributions to,
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs first place snipee added + FPs you have already added) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
Amount you need to add = x – FPs you have already added
*If x is not a whole number, you must round up the value you get from the above calculations to the nearest whole number.
**If the value is more than what is left for the GB to level up, this means that the current contributor has already locked in his first place position. Do not waste your time and FPs, unless you are fine with the lower rewards.
What if I want second place and not first?
The following calculations are still valid if you are sniping for the second contributor rank. Simply replace the variable where your competitor, the snipee, is:
x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs SECOND PLACE snipee added + FPs you have already added) / 2
Round up the value of x to the closest whole number if necessary.
Amount you need to add = x – FPs you have already added
This will lock in the second place for you. However, if the first place has not been locked in yet, you, as the sniper, may possibly end up as the first place contributor as well. If you only want to lock in the second place while the first place is not locked in, then the above formula is only an approximation of the minimum FPs needed.
FP-profitable
In order to be FP-profitable, the FPs you get from your rewards MUST be greater than the FPs you contribute for lock-in.
Arc Bonus
A level 1 The Arc increases your contributor bonus by 10%. If you are an active sniper, this is A LOT of FPs you can save or profit from.
To be FP-profitable with level 1 Arc bonus (+10%),
(FP from contributor rewards * 1.10) – FPs you need to contribute for lock-in > 0
Adjust based on your Arc bonus accordingly. With the recent update, this calculation is done for you, and you may view it by clicking on the icon for your desired contributor rank.
Example
Several months ago, I sniped a player’s lvl 7 Deal Castle. A lvl 7 Deal Castle requires 560 FPs to get to lvl 8. There were 2 other contributors besides the GB owner himself.
At that point, the contributors were:
GB owner – 483 FPs
Player A – 6 FPs
Player B – 1 FP
For lock-in, x = (Total needed for GB to level up – FPs everyone contributed so far + FPs first place snipee added) / 2
Thus, x = (560 – 490 + 6) / 2 = 38 FPs
Remaining FP needed to level up the lvl 7 Deal Castle (that I did not need to add) was 32 FPs. Even if Player A donates all 32 FPs and totals 38 FPs in contribution, he will only be at second place because I have already locked in the first place.
I donated 38 FPs. The contributor reward for first place is 60 FPs. However, I had a lvl 3 The Arc (+14%) at this point of time. My FP profit became = (60 * 1.14) – 38 = 30 FPs
Guild Courtesy
Some guilds do not appreciate in-guild sniping, so check with your guild first whether it is all right to do so, lest you get angry texts in a couple of hours after a snipe.
Other considerations if you are sniping neighbours or friends’ GBs
Some friends may become unhappy if they have an existing FP swap partner and you sniped the first place away from his partner.
You may have locked in your first-place ranking on a GB, but your friend / neighbour becomes inactive, and the GB never levels up. You therefore may want to level it up yourself to minimise FP losses.
....And that covers the very basics on how to snipe. Hope that was helpful. Happy gaming!
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