What Are Kami Accounts?

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Since I’ve freed myself from posting about the boring minutae of Mafia Wars, it’s time to start addressing more controversial topics. I often see players ask about kamikaze accounts which are referred to as kamis or red hitters. Their sole purpose is to level up a players main account.  Back when Mafia Wars was fun, alternate accounts were created to farm loot and they were usually referred to as energy accounts. Once Zynga killed trading, the shift went from energy to stamina and players quickly saw that they could be used to farm something much more valuable than loot....experience. 

The addition of the Power Attack and Mega Power Attack buttons made gaining passive experience from other accounts much faster and more effective [1],[2]. 

The selling of kami accounts is big business. Auto-players make them easy to make and they are easy to acquire. So many players quit the game and sell or give their accounts away. All you need is a decent amount of stamina and health and you have a marketable kami.

 

Leveling services are also sold on the black market and players can pay someone with kami accounts to do the work for them.

The concept of kami-attacking is nothing new in Mafia Wars. Zynga is well aware of what goes on as I know quite a few players (who spend money) that have been actively reporting this issue. It’s not a secret and I even posted about them back in 2010 when Baht was something of value [1].

The advancement of fighting scripts have made the practice of attacking ones self much easier, more exploited and common. Kami-attacking however was not the purpose of fight scripts evolving. There are many more practical reasons for targeted attacks. Sadly the script writers aren’t sharing in the profits and the free ones rely on user donations.

As mentioned above, those who do spend money on skill points to build their characters are getting fed up with this practice. The following quote is from an active group who inspired this post. You may be upset and not like the idea of passive experience elimination but these are the players who are keeping this dying game alive. I personally wouldn’t want them to quit. Before you get infuriated, ask yourself this question. Which is better, no passive experience or no Mafia Wars?

“Honest gamers are getting sick of it and will not be spending money via marketplace or game cards in the future if you continue to ignore it. We will fight for what’s right or quit the game”/Big Spenders

Reports to Zynga about this issue have all resulted in similar brushed off responses. Zynga may be in a pickle on this one. If passive experience is removed, those who honestly built their accounts to gain something from attacks by others will not be happy. I remember the reaction when experience from Capos and war help was removed.

Prior to the introduction of the Arena, ices were getting very hard to come by, kami-attacking served yet another useful purpose...passive ices. When ices weren’t so easy to acquire, active kami accounts could gain many ices for the account it was attacking. Every time a kami ices itself from losing attacks, the account it is attacking gets credit for the ice. The introduction of competitive events lead to more exploitation of the system [1]. Multiple kamis attacking the same account made it possible to get mind blowing numbers during a time when many players couldn’t even find a live target. I don’t blame the players at all, Zynga is at fault for encouraging and rewarding heavy script use and unconventional methods. It’s safe to say when faced with competition you do whatever you need to do to get to the top, this is especially true when entire families are involved. There are no rules saying this won’t be tolerated and these events have multiplied and continued.

As a final thought, many of us have and continue to take advantage of passive experience. I’ll save you the trouble of needing to flame this post with nasty comments and admit that I have on many occasions attacked myself with my mini. I even listed it as a way to acquire additional experience in a chart posted to help track all the bonuses available to players [1].  Some call it cheating, others call it creative leveling. It’s not up to us to say one way or another. In a game like Mafia Wars, if the possibility exists, it will be utilized.

Energy/Stamina/Experience	Bonus	Time
Energy/Stamina Pack	125% Energy or Stamina refill	8 hours
Family Progression-Bronze	12.5% Experience of Level	4/24 hours
Family Progression-Silver	62.5% Experience of Level	4/24 hours
Family Progression-Gold	125% Experience of Level	4/24 hours
Brazil Refinery	20% of Total Energy	8 hours
Brazil Barracks	20% of Total Stamina	8 hours
London Underground Station	1,000 Energy	8 hours
London Royal Bank	1,000 Stamina	8 hours
Toolbar Bonus	200 E or 200 S or 25% E Refill	8 hours
Email Bonus	Chance for 100% Stamina Refill	24 hours
Daily Take	10% Energy Refill	5/24 hours
Blue Mystery Bag	30% Stamina Refill	24 hours
Red Mystery Bag	25% Energy Refill	24 hours
Mercenary Bonus	50 Free Fights in BRL/CHI & LDN	8 hours
Fighters Energy Refill (400 VCs)	100% Energy Refill	18 hours
Fighters Energy Refill (5 RPs)	100% Energy Refill	18 hours
Vengeance Boost (3 RPs)	10% Stamina Refill	Unlimited
Job Help Requests	25/Destination	24 hours
Adding Yourself to the Hit-List	Up to 46 Experience	Unlimited
Attack With Alternate Account	Unlimited Experience	Unlimited