How do you get your maps for maps flights destinations?

[amir77a]

Do you fly the relevant excavation map and hope for some dropouts? Or do you buy the sets with your hard earned greenies from Duke's store (and hope for your luck on getting the maps you need..)?

 

[Madge59230]

Do you fly the relevant excavation map and hope for some dropouts? Or do you buy the sets with your hard earned greenies from Duke's store (and hope for your luck on getting the maps you need..)?

You buy the maps from Duke. When you have a lot ie 100 you fly with speed up. Using a bonus or 3 you’ll get loads of chest drops. Then open chests and you have a map from each chest. If luck is on your side you will have at least 4 to each destination. Fly in little bits takes longer and means you need more bonuses. Save and blast off 50. Then do it again. Buy a chest for greens, would never even consider such a foolish waste of greens for something so easily available with some effort.

 

[Barkmi4 (Mike)]

I have a similar view to Madge, with a few differences.
I buy with coins, never greens. Recently I’ve started using some videos for extra maps. Buying 5+5 a week will take a long time to complete 600 flights (condors). The videos for these maps are in the same ‘pool’ as items for buildings, and you can get 10 per day.
I never speed up excavation maps, only adventure maps (the time limited ones). Often I will do 100 flights in one go, so I only need 1 map. But, you don’t need to speed up with fuel. You can always get more maps, it’s just a factor of time & videos and/or 2000 coins. Your decision based on your priorities. It depends how many’s bonuses you have, and if you are worried about doing it quick or slow.

 

[Madge59230]

I have a similar view to Madge, with a few differences.
I buy with coins, never greens. Recently I’ve started using some videos for extra maps. Buying 5+5 a week will take a long time to complete 600 flights (condors). The videos for these maps are in the same ‘pool’ as items for buildings, and you can get 10 per day.
I never speed up excavation maps, only adventure maps (the time limited ones). Often I will do 100 flights in one go, so I only need 1 map. But, you don’t need to speed up with fuel. You can always get more maps, it’s just a factor of time & videos and/or 2000 coins. Your decision based on your priorities. It depends how many’s bonuses you have, and if you are worried about doing it quick or slow.

True. I don’t speed up high end flights looking for chests, the others were a long time ago!.I flew only excavation flights for every type of plane I have, altogether with VW and Jet pack going cleared the lot. Now just got thunderbirds out constantly flying the 2 destinations. 500 flights is a lot and will drop lots of stuff. Then I calculate how many drops I need from each map, given the number of maps I have. Thats the minimum I aim at. Always go way over!

 

[amir77a]

So, to make sure I understand your suggestions.
1. I should buy twice a week from Duke the 5 maps (1000 coins each), which gives me 10 excavation maps a week.
2. After gaining some maps, start flying to the excavation destinations, without speed-ups, but with active bonuses in order to improve chest maps drops.
3. Only then, start flying to the maps destinations.

And... never buy destination maps for greenies.

Did I understand it right?

 

[Barkmi4 (Mike)]

So, to make sure I understand your suggestions.
1. I should buy twice a week from Duke the 5 maps (1000 coins each), which gives me 10 excavation maps a week.
2. After gaining some maps, start flying to the excavation destinations, without speed-ups, but with active bonuses in order to improve chest maps drops.
3. Only then, start flying to the maps destinations.

And... never buy destination maps for greenies.

Did I understand it right?

The following is relevant for planes upto giants in particular. After that, the number of flights needed for 3 stars changes, so the way I‘m doing things is slightly different.
1) I think maps are 2,000 coins? I may be wrong.
2) Whether you use bonuses is personal - I don’t, but I normally fly these with 1 or 2 planes at a time so I don’t think it is worthwhile. If you are using 10+ then it is probably more worthwhile.
For the sake of argument, I will give an example for why I don’t use bonuses for the excavation maps.
Drop rates used are made up, but not far off what I have experienced on a better day. They are proportional none the less. Assume a base drop rate of 15%. Using SC, SG and D (+300%) will make that drop rate 45%. If you do 100 flights with bonuses, you’ll get ~45 chests. 100 maps will have cost 200,000 coins or 10 days of videos, or a combination thereof.
To get ~ 45 chests using no bonuses would require ~300 flights, 600,000 coins, 30 days of videos, or combination thereof.
100 flights without bonuses will give ~15 chests
Because of the way I fly (1 map = 100 flights), 15 chests is normally sufficient to get 1 of each map. If I dont get the maps I need, I’ll buy more excavation maps and try again.
Bonuses can be expensive, so I save these for what I consider more important. In my view, excavation maps are too easy to get to warrant using bonuses (I.e. you can always get more - 10 or more a day).
3) I fly these overnight often. 6 hours on the small planes is a long time. For the bigger planes (falcon up), it’s a different story but that’s for another day.

 

[Madge59230]

1) yes 2k per excavation map
2) I try to get more of each map as I don’t flog 1 map till I get 36 drops. Takes me 3 or 4 goes to get my 36 of everything. But I’m doing giants. Maybe at a lower level I’d go faster. Age and stress catches up with you. Like the cool life now .
3) Excavation maps I often send 10 giants overnight as it’s a 9 hr flight. Especially if I have already got 4 of each map. Then I change tactic. No bonuses, slow flights as it’s only for stars.

As you say- there are many ways to skin a cat. Horrible expression.!

 

[Chloe11111]

This event is a great time to fly maps (given there are no flights associated with the event) if you have some (and the fuel and other things mentioned above). You can use event currency to buy spy glass to increase drop rate and fuel additive to increase fuel restoration. I also pair this with a vintage weather vane that I get from the bank often in the free offers.

Once my alliance flights are done this week, I will fly a map or two.

 

[amir77a]

The following is relevant for planes upto giants in particular. After that, the number of flights needed for 3 stars changes, so the way I‘m doing things is slightly different.
1) I think maps are 2,000 coins? I may be wrong.
2) Whether you use bonuses is personal - I don’t, but I normally fly these with 1 or 2 planes at a time so I don’t think it is worthwhile. If you are using 10+ then it is probably more worthwhile.
For the sake of argument, I will give an example for why I don’t use bonuses for the excavation maps.
Drop rates used are made up, but not far off what I have experienced on a better day. They are proportional none the less. Assume a base drop rate of 15%. Using SC, SG and D (+300%) will make that drop rate 45%. If you do 100 flights with bonuses, you’ll get ~45 chests. 100 maps will have cost 200,000 coins or 10 days of videos, or a combination thereof.
To get ~ 45 chests using no bonuses would require ~300 flights, 600,000 coins, 30 days of videos, or combination thereof.
100 flights without bonuses will give ~15 chests
Because of the way I fly (1 map = 100 flights), 15 chests is normally sufficient to get 1 of each map. If I dont get the maps I need, I’ll buy more excavation maps and try again.
Bonuses can be expensive, so I save these for what I consider more important. In my view, excavation maps are too easy to get to warrant using bonuses (I.e. you can always get more - 10 or more a day).
3) I fly these overnight often. 6 hours on the small planes is a long time. For the bigger planes (falcon up), it’s a different story but that’s for another day.

I wish I could buy more maps a day, as at current I'm using the daily video cap for buildings items (finishing the game center buildings....)

 

[LX Air - Teresa]

I fly excavations with no bonuses, except if I have them active for any other reason. I buy the maps as said, 2000 a piece, twice a week, all I can buy. Then for adventure destinations, bonuses and speed ups.
Excavation maps are a wonderful way of increasing your weekly passengers without using flight items. Really handy when you need some time to replenish your EP, VR or whatsoever stocks!
But truth is I’m in no hurry to get all those buildings. They will come, it’s a matter of time.

 

[ArGi1981]

Just purchase the excavation maps for 2k coins at Duke's, no need to waste greenies. I too fly excavation maps typically without bonuses; Many excavation-flights have a different flight time than the 'ordinary' destinations. For instance, Mesoamerica and Ancient Rome are much longer than typical Owl / Hawk flights, Stonehenge is slightly longer than my default Raven-destination and Ancient Egypt is shorter than my default Eagle-destination. Hence, I plan these excavation flights to maximize my profit: The longer flights I could send out before going to sleep, while the shorter flights could be send out during the day such that I could send out a new flight just before bed-time. And, of course, if I run out of flight items I can switch to excavation flights until I get more flight items to return to my usual schedule.

I have much much more adventure maps than I have fuel to fly them, so there seems little use in me wasting fuel and bonuses to get more maps. If by some chance I don't have all maps for one particular collection, I just fly another. Plenty to choose from.

 

[Anton01]

I wish I could buy more maps a day, as at current I'm using the daily video cap for buildings items (finishing the game center buildings....)

Some really great suggestions here......I would just like to add that I always run excavations with at least SC bonus, especially worth it for everything below falcons as they only require 100 flights to 3* and you dont end up flying more than 100 for the drops

 

[amir77a]

Some really great suggestions here......I would just like to add that I always run excavations with at least SC bonus, especially worth it for everything below falcons as they only require 100 flights to 3* and you dont end up flying more than 100 for the drops

I usually run the excavation flights during the event (like now), using the SC for cheap 500 units of the event.

Edited: I'm using the SG not the SC... I wish I had enough SC.

 

[A-Flyin]

Assume a base drop rate of 15%. Using SC, SG and D (+300%) will make that drop rate 45%. If you do 100 flights with bonuses, you’ll get ~45 chests. 100 maps will have cost 200,000 coins or 10 days of videos, or a combination thereof.

Forgive the ignorance - what is the SC bonus?

I know SG is Spy Glass
Assume D is Dice?

I'm sure it's simple, but what am I missing?

Thanks

 

[Barkmi4 (Mike)]

Forgive the ignorance - what is the SC bonus?

I know SG is Spy Glass
Assume D is Dice?

I'm sure it's simple, but what am I missing?

Thanks

SG = Spy Glass
D = Dice
SC = Sky Captain

Edit : you can also use golden dice (GD) for another +100%, but I rarely use it. This costs 4 greens to purchase. The only way to get this free regularly is for your alliance to place 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th in the weekly rank. Very occasionally there will be a free one given buy G!. Very occasionally you’ll be able to purchase these for 3 greens.
Generally I have a steady supply of SG, D and SC and don’t feel the need to spend for the further increase.

 

[amir77a]

Forgive the ignorance - what is the SC bonus?

I know SG is Spy Glass
Assume D is Dice?

I'm sure it's simple, but what am I missing?

Thanks

SC = Sky Captain bonus