Question Regarding Attacking/Robbing

[Michael Herrling]

I'm a little confused as to how the fight system works. I'll use an example I came across today:
I attacked another player and while winning the majority of the fights I lost two of them. His stats at the time...
Attack: 6088
Defense: 6409
Mafia #: 1348
Number of Weapons: 2309
Number of Armor: 434

On the other hand, mine were:
Attack: 7074
Defense: 7500 +
Mafia #: 389
Number of Weapons: 1119
Number of Armor: 549
Current Attack In Skills: 52
Current Defense In Skills: 52

Keep in mind that at the time I was level 75 which meant that only 375 of my mafia members counted towards my attack and defense. The way that I know what my true attack/defense is that I have been doing the quests that require you to get a certain attack/defense score. I already passed the 7500 mark for defense and I marked the progress for the attack score at the time.

What I don't understand is that while he has a much larger amount of mafia only 375 of those members should go towards A/D. Even if he counted all of them his defense was lower than my attack power by 665 points. So how is it that even with the stat difference I would manage to lose against him? On a related note, I am confused as to what attack/defense count towards in the skill? Initially I thought that the skills determined how you would do when attacking an opponent versus mafia attack/defense applying to building but I am not entirely certain that is how it works. Can anyone give me an explanation as to how this system functions? If anyone can explain either/or the combat system or how I lost in the provided example I would greatly appreciate it.

[Max Power]

Skill points are part of the total algorithm that Funzio will not release the details on. They want an element of mystery in the game as well. There is also an element of randomness in the game and fights by design. Third, you have no idea how many defense skill points your opponent had.

Bottom line: 665 points is not enough margin to be certain of anything at this level. You will lose 1 or 2 out of ten cutting it that close.

The trick I employ, other than fighting people 2000 points below me to preserve fight streaks, is outfit your mafia with Molotov Cocktails. They are the list item your mob will use. If your fight stats reveal that you are using them to win, you are cutting it too close. Find another opponent.

[Michael Herrling]

Well I haven't been using any explosives. Most of the equipment I use has either been bought using the tokens and/or loot drops from fighting players and clearing areas on the map to level 5. The only area that's lacking at the moment is vehicles since I bought a lot of junkers to have enough to equip my entire mafia. As of late though I've been using the tokens to buy them as well though. I've been using the method of fighting people around 2000+ points below me so I can complete the winning steak missions and, at the time, I figured the difference was enough to be able to defeat him. I thought that his defense would be inflated due to the amount of mafia members he had but you're right Max, I don't know his skill defense nor has Funzio given a description as to how much they influence stats. It's good that it gives an air of mystery; I only wish they could give a vague description so I know how much I should invest into them versus either stamina or energy. The only reason I don't invest in stamina so much is that while it takes more time to clear areas on the map ultimately the areas will run out and I'll be left with working solely on fighting other opponents. Oh well, guess I'll go with the tried and true method. Thanks for the help Max.

[TemplarX]

You are going up against a 6409 defense using 7074 attack. If I were playing, I would judge that to be about 70% chance, based on my gut feel from experience. Like Max Power says, had you have explosives in your inventory, you would probably see in the fight stats that some explosives had been expensed, even during those fights you won. That would have been a warning to you. That you lost 2/10 is quite within expectation. Also your 52 / 52 Att-def allocation is not skewed to attack. I am below lvl 70, and my attack skill point is much higher than 52, and I wouldn't expect to win 80% of fights against someone with only 10% point advantage.

[whocareswhatmynameis]

The trick I employ, other than fighting people 2000 points below me to preserve fight streaks, is outfit your mafia with Molotov Cocktails. They are the list item your mob will use. If your fight stats reveal that you are using them to win, you are cutting it too close. Find another opponent.

smart... never thought of that! i'm reminded of the canary in the coal mine analogy.

[Duke.0]

Which is why i said in another post (and khung totally ripped me apart about it) explosives are used when the gaps between players is large. If two players are close in size, attack, defense etc... they won't be used up. If there is a large gap between mafia size, attack, defense, then they get used up. If your attacking and they are getting used up. you are fighting a player who is stronger then you. And like Max Power just said, find another opponent before you loose.

Just my experience with explosives. I tend to buy them because they are used in fights and the blue (?) says they are used now in fights so i'm going by that.

[duder]

We actually did get a vague description of the fight mechanics - I think Popeye's guide (link (http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?11994-Popeye-s-Advanced-Guide)) captures it.

Something about something that CC Mark said once related to the game's defense mechanics?

[pacer0928]

So how many attack points did you uys get while leveling up? Is it worth it to get attack points instead of stamina or energy as we do not know the formula?