Let's talk about the conclusion first: The numerical design of this game is unexpectedly exquisite, and it is not the kind of mindless reskinned mobile game with a lot of monsters. Free, no in-app purchases, purely relying on operation and upgrade choices, it makes the optimal strategy more in-depth.
Let's talk about the core loop first: automatic shooting, finger movement, picking up gold coins, and upgrading. It seems simple, but the three-dimensional growth curve of attack power/rate of fire/crit is a typical exponential growth model. There are few gold coins in the early stage and low upgrade benefits. The correct approach is to prioritize attack power rather than fire rate. The reason is simple: the enemy aircraft's blood volume is an integer threshold, and each increase in attack power can reduce the killing time of one magazine. However, the rate of fire is limited by movement in the early stage, and the actual output increase is only about 60% of the theoretical value. I tested the first ten levels, and the average clearance time of pure attack flow is 12.7% faster than pure rate of fire flow📊
Let's look at the bullet dodging mechanism. The initial speed of the tracking projectile is 1.3 times the player's movement speed, but the acceleration is significantly attenuated. Therefore, the optimal strategy is not to tap the screen wildly and run around, but to keep moving horizontally and at a constant speed, and make a short emergency stop when the tracking projectile approaches. This "fake action" can deceive 80% of the tracking bullets. It requires less operation than the irregular snake-like movement and does not interrupt the shooting rhythm. Remember: the biggest threat in this game is not the barrage density, but the inertial compensation after an emergency stop. Numerically speaking, the emergency stop error rate will bear 2-3 additional judgments within 0.4 seconds, which is the main reason for your blood loss.
The timing of using skill buttons is more important than imagined. The default skill is AOE screen clearing, which has a 20-second cooldown. However, the enemy aircraft in each level are refreshed with obvious wave intervals, about one wave every 15 seconds. Therefore, the optimal strategy is: don't use skills in the first wave, and save them until the middle of the second wave (about the 30th second) to release them, so that you can clear both waves of mixed elite enemy aircraft at the same time. This increases the skill damage utilization rate by about 40%. Some strategies let you play at the beginning, which is a complete waste.
Let's talk about the coin recycling mechanism. The discrete and random distribution of coins dropped by enemy aircraft results in extremely low returns from the "gold coin flow" in the mid-to-late stage - chasing a gold coin deviates from the ballistic axis, directly leading to being hit, and the maintenance cost (equivalent to the loss of a life) far exceeds the gold coin benefits. It is recommended to only collect the coins directly in front of the path and ignore those that are not in the way. This game punishes greed very realistically.
Regarding the upgrade path, I recommend that the main weapon be upgraded to level five first, and then the secondary weapon (if any) be upgraded to level three, and then go back to replenish the main weapon. Because the DPS increase brought by the fifth-level main weapon has a qualitative change threshold: from four rounds to six rounds, which is equivalent to a 50% increase. It won't be that cost-effective to diversify your investments later.
Finally, let's talk about the gaming experience. There are no annoying pop-ups, no red dots for signing in, just open the game and start over if you die. The reading time between chapters is only three seconds, and the negative feedback is extremely low. For players who are getting started with STG or are looking for some fragmented shooting fun, this game achieves a balance of being able to play with one hand and having a sense of strategy even when the brain is semi-offline.
It lasts ten seconds, but based on data calculation, it's worth eleven. That's all, let's go online and fight again. ☄️