501 The Right Way

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In Mafia Wars, you can't be the best until you have a mafia of 501. This includes you and 500 other players.  The rules of fighting seem simple but they are very complex.  Your mafia can contain an unlimited amount of players but only 501 will be used in the combat formula.  The 3 variables used to determine if you are the winner or loser of any fight are your skills, equipment, and mafia members (up to 501).

Skill points and equipment are acquired through normal game play but mafia members are a whole different story. There are many ways to go about getting a mafia of 501.  If you are just starting out, this is a good opportunity to learn from the mistakes of those before you.  There are hundreds of millions of people on Facebook so finding 500 friends seems like an easy thing to do.  Give yourself time to build a quality mafia and it will pay off in the future.  Below are the DO's and DON'Ts for growing your mafia.


DO

1.  Do join quality Mafia Wars add me groups.

A great example of such a group is Mistyfied Mafia Wars and Pimping. Misty and her admin screen the players they pimp.  There is no guess work and you won't be adding non-players.

2.  Do join quality helping groups.

Do a little research and see what type of sites offer help and advice to new and experienced players. There are many great sites dedicated to Mafia Wars.  Use these sites to learn more about the game and ask the other members to help you learn the ropes.  A good example of a site dedicated to helping Mafia Wars players is Pay It Forward.  Pay It Forward is a gifting site and their members love to help others with all aspects of the game.

"{P.I.F} focuses on helping people progress in the game in whatever way it can. In an early players game, this means more mafia. We have a dedicated pimping area on our web page. We also gladly help people who have been around for a day or so hit 501 with good quality mafia. Simply taking part on the wall may still be the best way to add Mafia and friends. Oftentimes a young player will easily find a sponsor for adding mafia (and the loot they need too!)."/Richard Latham

3.  Do ask your existing mafia members to help you.

Many players will encourage their mafia members to join each others mafia.  Look for these types of posts in your news feeds.  Simply click on the like button and return to the post at a later time.  Click on the the others who liked the post as well and send them Friend Requests.

You can also ask some of your mafia members if they would personally request that their mafia members send you a Friend Request.

4.  Do use player comments.

Your favorite Mafia Wars sites should contain many posts to help you keep up with and learn more about the game.  Pay attention to the comments and the players who make them.  Players who make educated comments are the ones you want in your mafia.  Send Friend Requests to these players and take the time to write a personal message.  Most players will be happy to accept you if they know why you are sending a Friend Request. Be careful and don't send to many too quickly.  Facebook prefers that you pace out your Friend Requests. The Mafia Wars Wiki Fan Page is a good place to start. You will find many informative posts and lots of players contributing comments.

The Zynga Community Forums is also a great place to look for quality players.  Many active participants have their Facebook profile links on their signature blocks.

5.  Do use mass email lists.

If you don't want to wait a long time to get a mafia of 501, use mass email lists from sites that you trust.  Make sure the list you are using has been screened and updated regularly.  Good examples of sites that offer mass email lists is The Mafia Task Force Forums and TopMafia.Info Forums. Please read this post by Director Pistone for detailed instructions and a great explanation of the concept of mass e-mail lists.

  

Remember not to send too many Friend Requests too quickly.  Facebook doesn't like this and you could get a warning message (AKA Pink Box). Pace yourself to avoid any problems.  If you do get this message, do not send anymore friend requests for at least 24 hours.


DON'T

1.  Don't join random Add-Me sites.

Sites that offer nothing more than a wall for you to write Add-Me on are often the foundation of some type of scam. If any Mafia Wars related site asks you for real currency or personal information in exchange for any Mafia Wars item or pimping services, it's best to stay away. The site shown below is a good example.  This site promotes a blog that steals articles from other sources so it can collect ad revenue.  One can only imagine what they are do with the information of the players who join their site and freely post that they are looking for friends.

There are many unscrupulous sites out there waiting to take advantage of the fact that you need more friends. Some sites will start as a guise of an Add-Me site to get a lot of fans and then change their name to whatever they want.  You wouldn't want your friends to see you "Like" something that is an obvious scam.  It's a good idea to report sites like the one below to Facebook.

2. Don't spam your Facebook profile on posts that aren't designated for such purposes.

The following post, made on The Official Mafia Wars Fan Page, was to inform Mafia Wars players of a Marketplace promotion.

When you open the comments you will find thousands of players posting Add-Me's. Unfortunately, many people who may or may not be Mafia Wars players use these types of posts to request that others add them as Facebook friends.  Some can be rather obnoxious about it as well.  Sites making informative posts that encourage active discussions don't appreciate the spam.  Players who do this are more likely to be met with attacks than Friend Requests.  Don't be like the person below. Experienced Mafia Wars players would never add this person to their mafia.

3. Don't stop after you achieve a mafia of 501.

Although only 500 of your mafia members will contribute to your combat score, it's a benefit to your game to have more.  The more mafia members you have the more help you will get and the more help you can give.  Slowly building your mafia will ensure you have quality players and a better gaming experience.  Keep it up and soon you will be the one that players want to have in their mafia!

Article written by Jennifer Patterson, Creator of the MW Loot Lady Blog, The Mafia Wars Loot Lady Facebook Fan Page and Co-Host of The Informant Podcast. All material is protected by copyright law