How Should This Game Improve? Lets hear your voice

It is about time to hear from you all again on upgrades and improvements that you would like to see to MSWM.  We all have our beefs, issues and irritations with this game - now is your chance to list them out.  Don't just whine though, try to put some thoughtful ideas out there!  I'd like to think that Z2Live occasionally looks at this blog, so hopefully some of your ideas will take root.

I will throw out some for starters (in order of importance):

1.  Allow option of versus matches against opponents with the same plane, missiles or skill rating.  

2.  Fix spawning (where both planes start) so that agility class planes start out close and weapons/defense planes start out far away at start of a match.  If it is agility vs defense - start out medium distance.  Also, never start with one planes ass right in front of the other.

3.  Automated online tournaments:  these would be great - have 3 categories of skill levels so that beginners/intermediate/advanced players can all participate at their own level based on skill ratings.  What would be even cooler is that you could view or watch the "finals" of a tournament, even if you've been knocked out already. 

4.  Variety of environments for versus matches with more interesting obstacles and terrain to fight in.  Having versus matches in the Mission 4 canyon would be cool.

5.  More and harder campaigns with drone aircraft, bombers... variety!

6.  What we DON'T need, in my opinion, are more planes.  There are plenty of planes out there to pick from.  A good player really only needs one or two (at the most) planes from each of the 3 classes.

Lets hear what the rest of you think!

Just kiddin Z2 - we really do love the game - but lets make it even better!

A-17 Paladin - Limited Edition

A-17 Paladin:  Weapons Class
Real name:  A-10 Thunderbolt

A-17 Paladin

The A-17 Paladin has returned once again.  The Paladin is best in class in armor and cannon damage.  The Paladin is also great at missile lock (better than Hawken) and equal to Hawken for missile reload (I like to use the Hawken as a point of comparison for weapons class, if you haven't noticed).  The only negative, when compared to the Hawken, is that the Paladin does not pack any additional missile damage and more importantly, is much less agile than a Hawken.  

Overall, the Paladin is great if you like a heavily armored cannon tank - its weakness is that it is easy to outmaneuver if you go up against agility class planes or the Hawken, Red Widow, or Sentinel of the weapons class.  I will give Z2 credit though, they have accurately reflected the real life characteristics of the A-10 well in the Paladins stats (which is more than I can say for many of the other planes).

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Real life shot of an A-10

Underbelly of a fully loaded A-10

Click here for more real life shots of an A-10 Thunderbolt

The Skull Returns

The S-03 Marauder - Limited Edition Agility Class
Real name: F-35X Lightning

S-03 Marauder

The Marauder is a premiere choice for agility class planes - nice to see that it has been brought back.  Simply put, the artwork is bad ass.  When you are flying a Marauder, it is as if you are saying, "C'mon, sucker, try and mess with me!" 

As for performance, the Thresher is actually slightly faster than the Marauder but the Marauder has better evasive characteristics when you are being shot at.  The only other real difference from a Thresher is that the Marauder has a slightly higher critical strike rating.

Lets be serious though, you aren't really buying this plane over the Thresher for the slight performance differences - its all about that bad ass skull with those 2 crossed missiles in the background!

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Real life shot of an F-35

Underbelly of an F-35 with weapons bay doors open

Click here for more real life picts of the F-35 Lightning

Lets hear it from the cheaters

There are times that I have been blown out of the air with one shot or played against defense class planes that seem way too agile.  Most of us have heard that there are various hacks, cheats and cracks that have been made to MSWM such as:

• unlimited coin hack
• unlimited ammo
• ability to alter your plane and make it perform better
• ability to alter your weapons and blow up your opponent with one shot

This posting is directed to the players out there who are using these cheats.  Lets hear from you.  Don't worry, you can post anonymously.  We won't send the Z2Live police after you.  Lets have some discussion about your hacks and cheats with the rest of the community.

C'mon, you can do it.   Post a comment to tell us about your wayward behavior.

The Blue Angels Arrive!

W-113 Rath

The W-113 Rath (not to be confused with the weapons class Wraith) has been released.  This is a long awaited release by some MSWM fans, including myself, to see a jet based on the US Navy's world famous Blue Angels elite flying team!! (F/A-18 Hornet aircraft)   At +13% agility, the Rath is 3rd in class behind the Reaper & Spectre.  Damage Resistance at +8% will be the only agility class plane with this increase.  The Rath will also have BEST IN CLASS for Energy and 3rd in class for speed.  Main item of interest is the damage resistance - with the agility class planes poor armor, it could be valuable.  Best in class for energy is also nice for the energy starved agility class.  Overall, I would still go with the Reaper, but this plane definitely has style!






 


 

Click here for more shots of the Blue Angels

Iron Fang released - is its bite as good as its bark?

Iron Fang

We finally know what the Iron Fang looks like!   As for performance, it will be the first agility class plane to add missile tracking, although this tracking will still be quite a bit lower than a good weapons class planes tracking.  It will also be 2nd in class for speed, BEST IN CLASS for Critical Strike and BEST IN CLASS for EVASION.   The Evasion boost has me the most interested.  Evasion, if you remember, enables you to better avoid missiles which is ALWAYS a good thing!   The one weak spot with the Iron Fang is agility - it is the ONLY agility class plane without a bump up in agility - translation - other Agility class planes are going to be able to get behind you easier, which to me is a deal breaker, as I feel that agility is one of the most important features of any agility class plane.

Stealth release of X-23 Nightwing!

Thanks to one of our readers, we have a sneak preview of the Nightwing stats!  Some have already claimed to have seen it in the skies!!!  Apparently those who have upgraded and also reached the new level 45 have the option to buy it.

X-23 Nightwing

A defense class plane - it will be the new BEST IN FLEET for Stealth at +14%.  It will be a full 4% greater in stealth than the Arbiter and Juggernaut.  It will also be the first defense plane ever to have a lock range update at +10% which is a nice feature.  It will also be BEST IN CLASS in Agility, a full extra 5% over the Juggernaut which was previously most agile defense class plane.  Damage resistance is also BEST IN FLEET, 2% better than the Odyssey.

Overall, I an curious to see how this plane performs in the versus matches and if the Stealth really makes a difference.  Wish they would have made the stealth even higher, at say +20%, but we will see how it works and if the stealth really helps.    Sadly, I have a feeling that it will still be a turtle and easily destroyed in versus matches, but it certainly looks cool.

As for a real-life equivalent -thanks to all the commenters - this is modeled after a mythical early prototype stealth aircraft, the F-19. 

An illustration of the mythical F-19

Click here to see more images of the F-19.

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings including the Nightwing added for comparison.

Tigris Weapons Class Plane Released

FA-87 Tigris

We have a new skin out there modeled after the F-111 Aardvark!  The Tigris reminds me a little of the Hurricane with boosts in speed (BEST IN CLASS for SPEED), missile tracking (2nd in class only to the Liberty/Helix) and missile reload (same reload speed as Hawken).  A small addition of critical strike rating helps with the bonus damage for some strikes.  Of note, no agility upgrades which will hurt if you go head to head against a Hawken.  Overall, an ok plane - nothing too crazy to get me excited, but not bad.

F-111 Aardvark - real life shot

New Planes leaked thru Thailand settings "Trick"

Thanks to several readers who have found a hidden way to see leaked or unreleased planes on the game.  To see these planes, go to the general settings on your device, scroll to the bottom and change your international settings.  Change the region to Thailand.   Of note, these are not your MSWM settings, but the general settings for your device.  After you do this, when you now open MSWM, you should be able to see additional planes.  Lately, the following have become visible (or should I say invisible for 2 of them).  Some interesting stats and a good preview of what is likely coming down the pike from Z2.

FA-87 Tigris

The Tigris reminds me a little of the Hurricane with boosts in speed (BEST IN CLASS for SPEED), missile tracking (2nd in class only to the Liberty/Helix) and missile reload (same reload speed as Hawken).  A small addition of critical strike rating helps with the bonus damage for some strikes.  Of note, no agility upgrades which will hurt if you go head to head against a Hawken.  Overall, an ok plane - nothing too crazy to get me excited, but not bad.

W-113 Rath

 The Rath (not to be confused with the Wraith) has damage resistance which I believe will be a first for agility class.  Will have BEST IN CLASS for Energy and second in class for Agility.  3rd in class for speed.  Main item of interest is the damage resistance and if that is important for you - with the agility class planes poor armor, it could be valuable.

Iron Fang

The Iron Fang looks like it will be the first agility class plane to add missile tracking, although this tracking will still be quite a bit lower than a good weapons class planes tracking.  It will also be 2nd in class for speed, BEST IN CLASS for Critical Strike and BEST IN CLASS for EVASION.   The Evasion boost has me the most interested.  Evasion, if you remember, enables you to better avoid missiles which is ALWAYS a good thing! 

Overall, some interesting planes (even though we can't see the pictures for 2 of them!).  Interesting that the "Night Wing" doesn't show up in this hack.  Maybe it is too super secret or still in development.  We will have to wait and see if these all become real or not.  I haven't actually tried to buy one - has anyone else?  If so, let us know if that works - especially for the invisible ones!!

I have added them to the Plane Comparison Guide so you can judge for yourself.

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Preview of new release 4.1.1

Z2 just posted the info below on their upcoming version 4.1.1 release.  Looks like they are making some incremental upgrades..

Looking at the list:
New Objectives for new Pilots:  Not too exciting if you're not a new pilot
Level cap raised to 45:  Wow - a whole 5 more levels - why not go to 100?
Nightwing:  This looks interesting - it would be nice to have a stealthy defense class plane that is competitive in versus mode.
First win of the day:  will have to wait and see what this is about.
Bug fixes - yeah yeah yeah, we've heard that one before.  Can only hope lag improves at some point.

It is good to see that Z2 is actively trying to improve this game.  I only hope that this isn't all they've got.  It would be nice to see a long term preview also - more missions?  more game types?  whats the long term plan Z2?

Watch a Video, Get a Coin - but Cmon Now!

Heh, I've always been a fan of getting a few free coins for watching a short video (which I usually just hit play and never actually watch).  But lately, I couldn't help but noticing some of the video content has been a little uhhh, how should I say....  lame? awful? suckish?

Z2 - appreciate the free coin, but you might want to talk with your advertiser - I think that they don't have a good handle on the MSWM demographic!