There are quite a few 'stages' in this game, at certain times it feels slow and at other times you simply can't keep up. Sometimes you get stomped, other times you do the stomping.
The game is really good, i personally find it better than clash of clans. We get the units back if they are saved in battle, that is biggest + point of the game.
So the answer to the mysterious question hasn't been answered yet: Are we saving gems for anything special later on or are they only used to speed up the building process?
I might pick it up and continue in a few weeks hopefully when supercell have sorted out balancing issues. I asked them to reset my game and explained that I was just stuck unable to progress because I needed XP to upgrade certain buildings to make my fighters competitive so where am I supposed to get the XP from if a) I can't fight because most islands have unbeatable defenses. B) I can't upgrade many buildings because the buildings say 'you must be such and such a level to upgrade further'? I think I need level 14 and I'm only 11 and that's a lot of XP points which is going to come from where? Gems? There's only so many buildings I can upgrade and not nearly enough to get enough XP to upgrade my main base. Its a stupid idea to tie XP to upgrading buildings. Very, very stupid.
There's not one island I can attack and win. The attack soldiers are terrible. I've got 4 boats and upgraded them a few levels each but still not one island I can take. All the islands are surrounded by at least 2 towers and two guns or cannons right next to each other. I get annihilated as soon as I go in. Missiles, I only get 3.
Just don't attack anyone for a while (however log in once in a while) the player bases will get easier. Your matchmaking score will decrease.
I noticed that eventually, you will be offered an option to get a different enemy. I had a level 30 person in my field, I just ignored them and eventually I got the option so change them - ended up with a level 12.
To the guys wondering how to best spend your gems, here are some random tips: - Gold and Time are far cheaper than the other resources. You should only reach for time if it is just a little bit more to go on a *critical* gun that is upgrading and you can't keep the game active or your safe time has run out. Gold, well again only reach when it is a research item just out of your reach, or you are very, very close to a radar piece and don't want to leave a fat pile laying around. - The biggest upgrades by far are the HQ, and they are also the most important because they bring you additional HQ hioints as well as very critical new goodies (Launch Craft, etc). Especially for the people who never want to spend a penny on the game, the HQ is the thing to use gems on. There is no penalty for 'rushing' the HQ, only benefits. The cost of them will often outstrip your storage capacity, naturally. - It isn't obvious at first but Offense is much more important than Defense in this game. Obviously you want your economic Triad to be balanced but trust me when I tell you that as painful as those LC upgrades are they are the most important upgrade in the game. Look over the 'unit size' of the various troops and you will see a pattern of obvious planned goals for the LC, the big one is to get your first 4 Launch Craft to level 12. That will get you 4 Heavies on each of those boats and then Zooks on the rest (and eventually Medics as well). When it comes to spending gems, reaching for an LC just as you sign off for the night will always pay off.
My game crashes non stop, some times 5-6 crashes in a row before I can play. It's related to Game Center as it crashes when it tries to access it, or log in, or whatever, but it still crashes even when I don't log in. If I do get logged in it looses my password, in all games, for Game Center. Annoying to say the least. I'm playing on a 32gb iPad mini with air card, and plenty of free space. Reboots don't help either. I'm at level 11 now but man is it slow going trying to get lumber for upgrades. Painfully slow. Gold is no problem so far anyway as I'm always maxed, but I'm terminally bouncing off the bottom for lumber.
Sometimes they give you enemy player bases which are way over your level. Just ignore those and it will give you the ability to switch the player. The AI controlled bases should be around your level except for the boss bases. If you are having trouble, make sure to upgrade your landing crafts so they can hold more units. Also keep in mind some units are better against certain weapons. Heavies for example are great against AoE attacks such as Mortars, Rocket Launchers and Machine Guns. However if it's a cannon or a high level sniper try sticking with a mass of Riflemen. Also the Artillery bombs can hit multiple buildings at once if they are close to each other. And make sure to use med packs. Good luck!
I can't ask for much more from a ftp game, Supercell really created something amazing here and I am surprised this thread hasn't received more attention. I think so far I have played close to 10-15 hours alone on this and haven't spent a penny! There also has not been any ads, or any nagging IAP windows, and I seriously can not believe how clean the UI is. Aside from that, the gameplay is so engaging. There are many possibilities to be had with your offensive strategies, as well as setting up your own base for defense. Whoever thought of the replay video for base invasions needs a raise ASAP because that was a stroke of genius! It adds such an intimate touch to gameplay as you're able to comprehend what exactly happened to plan a more efficient defensive strategy, or to see what is working with your current setup. Graphically all of the sprite animations are top notch, with small details like leaves falling if you tap trees, or seagulls occasionally soaring by which help to immerse you into the world. The sound work is also great from the catchy Supercell loading chime, to all of the battle sound fx, and soundtrack tunes blend together well for a total experience. I do have two issues so far: 1. There's a nasty sound bug in the current build that will force you to restart the app if you had your phone muted at any time. It will mute the game even if the phone is unmuted, 2. I would love to support the devs, however I won't do it by buying consumable IAP, that's a bit of a waste to me. However if there was an option for something like a resource doubler, I would have purchased it already. I'd be willing to pay up to $10 for that option, as I think the devs deserve it, it adds to my experience beyond in-game currency like purchasing gems, and it's what I think this game is worth. If you haven't tried Boom Beach yet, I would seriously give it a go. The first 2-3 hours of single player gameplay alone is worth a free download!
Have you played Clash of Clans much? I think the reason why many people arent too enthusiastic about Boom Beach is because it feels worse than CoC in pretty much every aspect. There is more compulsion to spend money in BB (all IAP is consumable unlike CoC, and only having one builder means you have long stretches where you have nothing to do without speeding up construction). There is much less to do in terms of attacking; with BB I feel I'm only playing in 5 minute chunks then having to wait for ages due to wait timers; this is never really the case in CoC since having more builders, being able to battle whenever you like, and having walls to upgrade means there is always something to do. And the lack of social features feels like a definite step backwards, especially when insufficient player interaction was something CoC always got criticised for - BB is even worse in that regard. Also the graphics are a _lot_ worse in BB. In CoC high level bases look awesome due to walls/etc, whereas in BB there is very little difference between a newbie base and a high level one, except the high level one has 'more stuff'. Basically a base in CoC looks like an integrated whole, whereas in BB its just a random collectoin of buildings, which takes away some of the fun/pride you get from building up your base. Compare: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=clash+clans+town+hall+10&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=iKA6U-zHL9OQhQf-i4CQAQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1120&bih=606#q=clash+clans+base&tbm=isch to https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=boom+beach+base&espv=210&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=qqA6U_HIJ9OThge67oDoBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1120&bih=606 Also the stuff you pick out for praise (eg replays of defences, great sprite animations full of nice small touches, excellent music) are all in CoC too. Basically, Boom Beach feels like its a step backwards; CoC was an attempt to take the basic freemium wait-timer mechanics of Zynga titles like Farmville and make a proper game out of it, and it worked. Boom Beach feels a lot more like Farmville than it does CoC, imo; just another ultra-monetized piece of freemium, rather than being a proper game. If you like BB and havent given CoC a shot yet then I'd encourage you to try it, its still the best example of 'freemium done right' around. It isnt perfect of course, and part of the reason why BB feels like such a disappointment to me is that they havent really tried to fix the problems that CoC had and have arguably made them worse.
It's a massive improvement in my book. I don't want to have to communicate with other people's children, thank you very much!
Yea, I played CoC extensively and I find BB to be a lot more relaxed. I think its intended to target a little different market than CoC.
