Mafia Wars Cuba Field Strategy Guide

Posted June 13th, 2009. Filed under ,

As you can see from the timestamp below, I stopped updating this in June 09. From my server logs, I see that many people are still coming to this page. You should know that since Zynga is constantly changing the game, many (most) of this information is out of date. Take that as you will – z.

Last Updated on 13 June 2009.

As promised, here is the companion to my Mafia Wars Field Strategy Guide. The format has changed slightly since there is only one consumable item in the entire expansion.

The focus in Cuba is on cash and so I have added a column for approximate cash and one for approximate cash per energy point. Since the amount of cash is rolled randomly, I can only supply a midpoint for the range given. Results may vary. Also, as with the previous guide, these numbers may differ from yours due to the bonuses given by your Masterminds, Wheelmen, etc. Regardless, since these apply across the board, it shouldn’t affect the rank order of any of your choices.

Since the focus of advancement is on cash, you will want to outfit your businesses as quickly as possible and boost their output and quality.

A potential area that may be missed is that instead of a per-hour upkeep cost as items had in the NY Mafia Wars, items here have a percentage grift cost. What this means is that having excess weapons, armor or vehicles will greatly hinder your progress. My advice for this is to tackle one job tier at a time and get rid of the items that you will not need in subsequent tiers as quickly as possible. For instance, the machete and hatchet are not needed past the Soldado tier, so get rid of them when you master that tier and you will get an extra 0.5% cash for each job per item you dump.

As you will see in the chart, there is little variation in XP/EN or ~CASH/EN. Both seem to increase incrementally as you progress through the job tiers. The one exception is in the final tier where “Set Up A High Volume Smuggling Operation” yields quite a bit more cash per energy point. At this point though you will have pretty much conquered the entire expansion, so there is little benefit to grinding that job.

Address any questions you have in the comments and I will do my best to answer.

El Soldado XP EN XP/EN ~CASH ~CASH/EN
Rob Your Cab Driver 16 11 1.455 250 $22.73
Secure A Safehouse 51 33 1.545 750 $22.73
Intimidate The Locals 74 48 1.542 1100 $22.92
Silence A Noisy Neighbor 46 30 1.533 750 $25.00
Smuggle In Some Supplies 47 31 1.516 800 $25.81
Set Up A Numbers Racket 63 41 1.537 1250 $30.49
Establish Contact With The FRG 53 35 1.514 1050 $30.00
Take Out The Local Police Chief 58 38 1.526 1175 $30.92
“Persuade” A Local To Talk 73 47 1.553 1750 $37.23
Assault A Snitch’s Hideout 79 52 1.519 1800 $34.62
El Capitan XP EN XP/EN ~CASH ~CASH/EN
Transport A Shipment Of US Arms 62 39 1.590 1375 $35.26
Meet With the FRG Leadership 57 35 1.629 1325 $37.86
Hold Up A Tour Bus 68 42 1.619 1800 $42.86
Ambush A Military Patrol 76 47 1.617 1950 $41.49
Capture An Army Outpost 83 52 1.596 2300 $44.23
Sneak A Friend Of The Family Into The Country 53 32 1.656 1600 $50.00
Ransack a Local Plantation 64 40 1.600 1950 $48.75
Burn Down A Hacienda 86 54 1.593 2650 $49.07
El Jefe XP EN XP/EN ~CASH ~CASH/EN
Offer “Protection” To A Nightclub 59 35 1.686 1900 $54.29
Rob The Banco Nacional Branch 81 48 1.688 2800 $58.33
Shake Down A Hotel Owner 61 37 1.649 2050 $55.41
Bring The Local Teamsters Under Your Control 72 43 1.674 2700 $62.79
Help The FRG Steal A Truckload Of Weapons 78 47 1.660 2800 $59.57
Hijack A Booze Shipment 71 42 1.690 2850 $67.86
Pillage A Shipyard 80 48 1.667 3050 $63.54
Take Over The Docks 93 56 1.661 3600 $64.29
El Patron XP EN XP/EN ~CASH ~CASH/EN
Muscle In On A Local Casino 71 41 1.732 2950 $71.95
Establish A Loansharking Business 78 46 1.696 3350 $72.83
Eliminate A Rival Family’s Agent 67 39 1.718 3000 $76.92
Pass On Some Intel To The FRG 71 42 1.690 2950 $70.24
Execute A Regional Arms Dealer 80 47 1.702 3700 $78.72
Sink A Competing Smuggler’s Ship 82 48 1.708 3550 $73.96
Gun Down An Enemy Crew At The Airport 90 52 1.731 4300 $82.69
Assassinate An Opposing Consigliere 98 58 1.690 4400 $75.86
El Padrino XP EN XP/EN ~CASH ~CASH/EN
Raid The Arms Depot 85 49 1.735 3800 $77.55
Supply The FRG With Some Extra Muscle 74 43 1.721 3350 $77.91
Capture The Airport 90 52 1.731 4200 $80.77
Knock Off A Visiting Head Of State 83 48 1.729 4400 $91.67
Set Up A High Volume Smuggling Operation 90 51 1.765 6000 $117.65
Blow Up A Rail Line 81 47 1.723 4400 $93.62
Attack The Army Command Post 93 54 1.722 4150 $76.85
Storm The Presidential Palace 112 65 1.723 5750 $88.46

Mafia Wars Field Strategy Guide

Posted May 1st, 2009. Filed under ,

As you can see from the timestamp below, I stopped updating this in June 09. From my server logs, I see that many people are still coming to this page. You should know that since Zynga is constantly changing the game, many (most) of this information is out of date. Take that as you will – z.

Last updated on 13 June 2009.

Looking for a similar post on Mafia Wars: Cuba? Look here.

Hi all, I decided to throw together this quick chart for the players of the Facebook/Myspace/Phone/Toaster game Mafia Wars after getting sick of trying to divide by prime numbers in my head and not finding sufficiently updated lists on other sites. Below you will see the loot drops and the experience points per energy point for all the jobs of the first seven tiers. I’ll update as I progress in the game.

If you are simply trying to maximize experience points, do the “Manufacture Tokens”, “Get Cheating Deck” & “Run Illegal Poker Game” jobs. This trio requires 36 energy and yields 63 experience, the best ratio I’ve seen so far in the game for lower levels. If you have less than 36 energy, the “Bank Heist” job yields a similar, but slightly smaller ratio. Once you reach Level 80, you will be able to “Muscle In On a Triad Operation”, which has a juicy 72/42 yield.

But the best use of this table is for choosing between jobs when trying to fill up mastery meters. If all your good jobs are filled (Bank Heist, Run Illegal Poker Game, Protect Your City”, etc.) and you are trying to figure out which lesser job will yield more experience, then just look it up on the table below.

The orange bars are jobs which yield loot drops which are consumable by other jobs. You will find yourself doing these jobs not for experience or mastery, but to fulfill requirements for other jobs that require these consumables. I’ve highlighted them so that they can be easily found and remembered.

The one time that you shouldn’t care about EXP/ENG is when you are about to level up. Get as close to the leveling up total as you can (if you level up at 7000 EXP, then try to get to 6999) Then simply find the job which you have the energy to perform that yields the highest experience points. Since experience points carry over to the next level, but your energy refills instantly, you can get some “free” experience points this way. If you are good at fighting, the boss fights grow in experience as you level up and can be a great way to get an edge on your next level up.

UPDATE: A commenter has clued me in that the values I stated may be after the Wheelman and Mastermind bonuses. In that case, you would need to add 6% more energy and subtract 6% experience. I could go through the table and update everything to be sans bonus, but everything would still be wrong for anyone with either bonus. Since these bonuses apply equally to each job, it wouldn’t change the rank order of preference for each. The only useful thing the bonuses would change is the XP/EN value. Use this table as a guide and then verify with your own situation.

Street Thug XP EN XP/EN Loot Consumed
Mugging 1 1 1.000
Corner Store Hold-Up 3 3 1.000
Warehouse Robbery 5 5 1.000
Auto Theft 8 6 1.333
Beat Up Rival Gangster 2 2 1.000 .22 Pistol
Rob a Pimp 3 3 1.000 9mm Semi
Collect On A Loan 2 2 1.000
Associate
Collect Protection Money 2 2 1.000 Butterfly Knife
Rough Up Dealers 2 2 1.000 Brass Knuckles
Take Out a Rogue Cop 3 3 1.000 .45 Revolver
Perform a Hit 3 3 1.000 Tactical Shotgun
Bank Heist 15 9 1.666
Jewelry Store Job 21 14 1.500
Hijack a Semi 9 7 1.286
Soldier
Destroy Enemy Mob Hideout 5 5 1.000 C4
Kill a Protected Snitch 5 5 1.000 Stab-Proof Vest
Bust a Made Man Out of Prison 5 5 1.000 Automatic Rifle
Museum Break-in 23 16 1.438
Fight a Haitian Gang 6 5 1.200 Semi-Automatic Shotgun
Clip the Irish Mob’s Local Enforcer 11 9 1.222 Lucky Shamrock Medallion
Steal a Tanker Truck 9 7 1.286
Enforcer
Federal Reserve Raid 31 23 1.348
Smuggle Across the Border 8 6 1.333 Armored Truck
Liquor Smuggling + Distill Liquor 63 44 1.431 Liquor
Run Illegal Poker Game + 2 Prep Tasks 63 36 1.750 Tokens & Cards
Wiretap the Cops + Overtake Phones 60 37 1.622 Wiretap Device
Rob an Electronics Store 27 22 1.228 Concealable Camera or Computer Set-Up or Untraceable Cell Phone
Burn Down a Tenement 23 16 1.438
Distill Some Liquor 13 9 1.444 Liquor
Manufacture Tokens 13 9 1.444 Tokens
Get Cheating Deck 13 9 1.444 Cards
Overtake Phone Central 13 9 1.444 Wiretap Device
Hitman
Repel the Yakuza 19 12 1.583 Grenade Launcher
Disrupt Rival Smuggling Ring 21 14 1.500 .50 Caliber Rifle
Invade Tong-controlled Neighborhood 31 23 1.348 Armored Car
Sell Guns to the Russian Mob 37 23 1.609 RPG Launcher
Protect your city against a Rival Family 53 32 1.656 Bodyguards
Assassinate a Political Figure 53 32 1.656 Night-Vision Goggles
Exterminate a Rival Family 59 37 1.595 Napalm
Obtain Compromising Photos 33 26 1.269 Blackmail Photos Concealable Camera
Frame a Rival Capo 34 24 1.417 2x Wiretap Devices
Capo
Steal an Air Freight Delivery 38 30 1.267 Prop Plane
Run a Biker Gang Out of Town 42 32 1.312 Harley Davidson
Flip a Snitch 31 23 1.348 Untraceable Cell Phone
Steal Bank Records 38 28 1.357 Illegal Transaction Records
Loot the Police Impound Lot 63 56 1.125
Recruit a Rival Crew Member 41 28 1.464
Dodge an FBI Tail 28 18 1.556 Untraceable Cell Phone
Whack a Rival Crew Leader 40 26 1.538
Consigliere
Influence a Harbor Official 68 47 1.447 Luxury Yacht Blackmail Photos
Move Stolen Merchandise 53 33 1.606
Snuff a Rat 65 41 1.585
Help a Fugitive Flee the Country 60 37 1.621
Dispose of a Body 38 23 1.652
Ransom a Businessman’s Kids 74 56 1.321 Porsche 911 Untraceable Cell Phone
Fix the Big Game 63 47 1.340 Bookie’s Holdout Pistol Illegal Transaction Records
Steal an Arms Shipment 69 42 1.643
Underboss
Extort a Corrupt Judge 38 22 1.574 Illegal Transaction Records, Computer Setup
Break Into The Armory 63 47 1.340 Humvee
Rip Off the Armenian Mob 72 47 1.532 AR-15 Assault Rifle
Muscle-in on a Triad Operation 72 42 1.714
Ambush a Rival at a Sit Down 84 51 1.647
Order a Hit On A Public Official 58 32 1.812 Untraceable Cell Phone
Take Over An Identity Theft Ring 55 33 1.667 Falsified Documents Computer Set-Up
Boss
“Settle” a Beef… Permanently 67 37 1.810
Buy Off A Federal Agent 53 32 1.656 Federal Agent Blackmail Photos
Make a Deal With The Mexican Cartel 63 37 1.702 Private Jet
Blackmail the District Attorney 69 41 1.683 Police Crusier Blackmail Photos
Shake Down a City Council Member 131 79 1.658 Armored Limosine Illegal Transaction Records
Make Arrangements for a Visiting Don 63 37 1.703
Take Control of a Casino 116 65 1.785
Travel to the Old Country 86 48 1.792 Private Jet