[LCN] Combat Calculator

Share:

A while back, I wrote a guide for The Combat Calculator, developed by David Holderness.  Since then, fighting has undergone a multitude of changes including the combat formula used to determine the outcome of a fight.  For unknown reasons, Zynga thinks this equation is a matter of National Security and nobody who plays the game actually knows what it is.  The only information Zynga feels we need to know can be found in our game and is not very descriptive.

Fortunately for us, The Combat Calculator is still available and is updated as Zynga changes things.  Because of the top secret combat equation and the never ending introductions of new equipment items to the game, the accuracy is not 100% but the results will help you know where you stand when compared to other players at your level.  I wanted to know more so I went right to the source.  David, [LCN] The Wanderer, was very helpful and agreed to let me share his insight into what is known about the combat formula and the effect Zynga and their constant changes have on The [LCN] Combat Calculator.

The Combat Calculator has changed a lot over the last 18 months with different versions adapting to changes in Mafia Wars. Initially the fight screens were all text based, but it got more difficult as they introduced graphics into the display, changed the formulas and finally sent legal threats to close down the site.

The Combat Calculator started in February 2009 shortly after we cracked the formula used to calculate fight results. Unlike some of the more recently developed tools, the CC never really had a clear purpose - it wasn't supposed to improve your equipment or tell you where to invest skill points, but it had the ability to calculate your exact fighting strength and introduced the concept of Combat Score, a single number that accurately represented the combined strength of your skills and equipment, which could be compared with friends or used to determine the strength of enemies.

The CC caught on far more that I expected and at it's peak the website was getting over 13,000 hits per day. Mafia Clans could use Combat Score in recruitment to set admission requirements, or set up combat teams to "tap" enemy fighters and rank them in order of strength for their target lists. The CC also published "average" stats so that individual players could compare their strength against an average based on their level.

But then Zynga changed their fight formulas....

This was a major setback because the original formula was ultimately what made the CC so useful. To the best of my knowledge, no-one has managed to crack the new formula, but the general consensus is that it gives more value to equipment, varies depending on whether you're attacking or defending and possibly has some randomness built in to prevent players from working it out. The CC adapted its formulas to account for the changes, and although it's no longer 100% accurate it is still a relatively good indicator of overall fighting strength.

Earlier this year, someone at Zynga wrote to me, accusing me of trademark infringement and bad faith registration of the mafia-wars.info domain name. They even had the audacity to write to my service provider demanding that they terminate my account. As this is a non-profit site and was registered before Zynga had any trademark on "Mafia Wars", I've refused to close it down, but in good faith have removed any reference to Zynga or Mafia Wars from the content.  I've also renamed the site [LCN] Combat Calculator in reverence to my faithful Mafia Family, "La Cosa Nostra"/David Holderness, [LCN] The Wanderer

The new version is a little easier to use.  There is no need to do a fight and then copy your equipment into the calculator.  David explained that your overall attack and defense scores are now used for your equipment combat scores and this makes the combat calculator easier to maintain since the equipment list no longer needs to be updated.  To learn how to use the latest version of The [LCN] Combat Calculator, follow the steps below.

1.  Go to the [LCN] Combat Calculator Website at www.mafia-wars.info.

 2.  Locate all the information needed for your Combat Score to be calculated.  It's easiest to open a second window, copy the data and then paste it into the Combat Calculator.  You will need to go to 3 different places to find everything.

Your Mafia Wars Profile Page (Skill Points)

Name

Attack Skill Points:

Defense Skill Points:

                               Level 

Your Mafia Wars Inventory Page (Equipment)

 Overall Attack Score

 Overall Defense Score

Your Facebook Profile Page (FBID)

Facebook ID#-This is an optional field and is used to determine what hitlist server you are on.  Leaving this blank will not affect your Combat Score.  It's just an extra feature.
This number can be located in browser bar when you go to your Facebook profile page.  Mine is below.  Replace mafiawarslootlady with the numbers or letters that follow http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?#!/

3.  Enter all the data into the appropriate sections of the Combat Calculator.  I used my data in the example below.  (click on image to enlarge)

4.  Click the "Calculate!" button.

5.  Review your results.  The following information can be found regarding the strength of your Mafia Wars character.  Again, I used my results in this example. (click on images to enlarge)

     a.  Your Combined Combat Score

     b.  Your Attack Combat Score

     c.  Your Defense Combat Score

     d.  The Average Combined Combat Score for Your Level

     e.  Your Percentage Above or Below Average
      f.  What hitlist server you are on
          *the hitlist server number is located in the "Your Stats" section
            of the final results and is located under Mafia size.  

6.  Repeat.  If you don't like what you see and want to verify it.  Click the "Reset Form" button and start all over.  My Combined Combat Score is 1364 (1365 Attack/1362 Defense).  The average Combat Score for someone at my level (1093) is 1324 and I'm 3% above average.  I didn't like to see that I was only 3% above average so I ran it a few more times and got the same results.  Bummer!  I thought I was a bad a$$!  I need to start putting skill points in my Attack and Defense to improve my Combat Score.     

The [LCN] Clan is one of Mafia Wars most well known and prestigious clans.  If you think you have what it takes to be a member, visit the [LCN] Fan and War Page to learn more.  Recruiting is actively open at this time.  Not only should you be strong, but you should play the game with honor.  It helps to have a few friends who are already members of the clan.  Before I realized that fighting wasn't my thing, I befriended a few members of [LCN].  I'm so glad that I did because they have been very good people to have in my mafia as well as Facebook friends.