Over the past week or so, some various balance changes were made to FishVille:
1) A few weeks ago, tanks no longer required neighbors to purchase and became purchasable on slightly different levels. This was simply a response to the Facebook policy where applications couldn't tie game features to amount of "friends" on the application.
2) Within the past week, tanks capacity was lowered. Tanks now go from 15 to 25 to 40 fish throughout their lifespan (previous was 15-30-50). I think this was simply due to the ease of leveling involved in playing FishVille compared to the other titles.
3) Small gifts now only sell for 29 coins (previously they sold for 1250!) coins. I'm guessing quite a few people made a few hundred thousand coins simply collecting and selling gifts!
The question is - what's in the gifts? If other Zynga games are to be an example, then we can expect a few new items and a lot of already available decorations & plants along with some of the FishVille dollar fish and some free gifts as well.
We'll find out for sure on January 5th!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
FishVille Awards; Strategy Guide
FishVille Awards are now available in game! Awards are FishVille's achievement system. By completing various tasks in game, you are rewarded with an award of experience points and coins. There are 4 levels of each award: bronze, silver, gold, and diamond, each one being successively harder and offering a bigger reward.
Here is the reward list:
Liquid Assets: Awarded for having coins.
Bronze -
Silver -
Gold - Have 900,000 coins in your inventory.
Diamond - Have 1,100,000 coins in your inventory.
SpendVille: Awarded for spending coins.
Bronze - Spend 15,000 total coins at the market.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
FishVille Farmer: Awarded for selling fish at the market.
Bronze - Sell 365 fish.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Decollector: Awarded for having decorations in your tank.
Bronze - Collect 25 decorations.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Pond Gardener: Awarded for having plants in your tank.
Bronze - Collect 25 plants.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Fish Lover: Awarded for loving your fish.
Bronze - Love your fish 7 times.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Spotless: Awarded for scrubbing algae.
Bronze - Clean 32 algae spots. Reward: 100 coins.
Silver - Scrub 109 algae spots. Reward: 400 XP.
Gold - Scrub 240 algae spots. Reward:
Diamond
The Hand that Feeds: Awarded for feeding hungry fish.
Bronze - Feed 1452 hungry fish.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Builder of Tanks: Awarded for building fish tanks.
Bronze - Build 2 tanks.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Tanks a Lot: Awarded for helping your friends' tanks.
Bronze - Help 50 of your friend's tanks.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Here is the reward list:
Liquid Assets: Awarded for having coins.
Bronze -
Silver -
Gold - Have 900,000 coins in your inventory.
Diamond - Have 1,100,000 coins in your inventory.
SpendVille: Awarded for spending coins.
Bronze - Spend 15,000 total coins at the market.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
FishVille Farmer: Awarded for selling fish at the market.
Bronze - Sell 365 fish.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Decollector: Awarded for having decorations in your tank.
Bronze - Collect 25 decorations.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Pond Gardener: Awarded for having plants in your tank.
Bronze - Collect 25 plants.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Fish Lover: Awarded for loving your fish.
Bronze - Love your fish 7 times.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Spotless: Awarded for scrubbing algae.
Bronze - Clean 32 algae spots. Reward: 100 coins.
Silver - Scrub 109 algae spots. Reward: 400 XP.
Gold - Scrub 240 algae spots. Reward:
Diamond
The Hand that Feeds: Awarded for feeding hungry fish.
Bronze - Feed 1452 hungry fish.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Builder of Tanks: Awarded for building fish tanks.
Bronze - Build 2 tanks.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Tanks a Lot: Awarded for helping your friends' tanks.
Bronze - Help 50 of your friend's tanks.
Silver
Gold
Diamond
Monday, December 21, 2009
FishVille Pufferfish and Annularis Angelfish; Strategy Guide
There are two fish that are now available exclusively as free gifts: the Pufferish and the Annularis Angelfish.
You can not buy these fish in the market; the only way to get them is to receive them as gifts. Here are their stats:
Pufferfish
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: Free gift only
Experience points for buying egg: None
Coins gained per level: 50 coins
Experience points gained per level: 30 experience points
Coins per hour: 2.08 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 1.25 experience points per hour
Annularis Angelfish
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: Free Gift
Experience points for laying egg: None
Coins gained per level: 100 coins
Experience points gained per level: 50 experience points
Coins per hour: 4.17 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 2.08 experience points per hour
As you can see by comparing to the full fish guide, these fish are worthless. Do not bother with them unless you plan to keep them in your tank permanently.
You can not buy these fish in the market; the only way to get them is to receive them as gifts. Here are their stats:
Pufferfish
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: Free gift only
Experience points for buying egg: None
Coins gained per level: 50 coins
Experience points gained per level: 30 experience points
Coins per hour: 2.08 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 1.25 experience points per hour
Annularis Angelfish
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: Free Gift
Experience points for laying egg: None
Coins gained per level: 100 coins
Experience points gained per level: 50 experience points
Coins per hour: 4.17 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 2.08 experience points per hour
As you can see by comparing to the full fish guide, these fish are worthless. Do not bother with them unless you plan to keep them in your tank permanently.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
FishVille Fish Levels; Strategy Guide
Here is a list of each fish available in FishVille along with how many experience points each fish offers, how many coins it will make, and the rate at which each fish produces experience points and coins.
Below the list, I will interpret the data for the player, make a short list of the best fish for leveling up and making money, and talk a little about the calculations and their relevance to the player.
Experience points per hour, or the rate at which each fish produces experience points (XP), is the most important variable in FishVille when it comes to raising the "best" fish. If you want, you can have whatever type of fish you like! However, even if your only aim is to make a nice looking tank, simply by getting levels, you will have access to more tanks, fish, and decorations. As a result, the best fish are the ones that give the most XP per hour.
If you sell Mini Dart Gobis (fast fish) after the first growth versus the fourth growth, they will produce about 18 more experience points per hour due to the significance of the experience points for planting the egg (substantial difference). However, if you sell Golden Pufferfish after the first growth versus the fourth growth, these fish will only about .4 experience points per hour (not significant).
As a result, I will supply two different calculations for different types of fish. For fish that take 1 hour or less to grow, there is a significant difference in the experience produced per hour if you sell the fish as soon as the fish levels up to level 1 versus selling it at level 4. The reason for this is because you get experience points simply for planting eggs - if you sell the eggs after the first level, you will be able to buy more eggs and to increase this XP further. This adds up if you are laying fast growing fish. The formula I will use is (XP for buying egg + XP for 1 growth) / grows in time for the first value and (XP for buying egg + XP for 4 growths) / (grows in time * 4) for the second value.
For slower fish (more than 1 hour grow time) this does not make nearly such a big difference. For these fish, I will simply divide XP gained per level by the "Grows in" time. Note that this isn't a 100% true representation, since it does not take into account the XP for placing each egg. This will result in very minor deviations in value - so small it is really not worth mentioning. In reality, the experience points for planting slower fish will be slightly higher than as listed in the fish list. Below the fish list, I will post more details about this and what it means to the player.
Other variables of interest:
Grows in: This tells us how long it takes the fish to level up. This number is important because fish need to be fed every 2 grow periods. In other words, if a fish "grows in" 4 hours, it needs to be fed before the 8 hour mark from its last feeding.
Coins per hour: This tells us how much profit each fish produces per hour spent in your tank. This number is important if you are already a high level and are simply saving for new decorations.
To calculate coins per hour, I will take the level 4 (adult) value of the fish, subtract the initial cost, and divide by (grow time * 4). This will be the true profit per hour of each fish, assuming you are letting it grow to the final stage (more info on that below the fish list).
A Note About Fish Levels
Each fish gets a standard coins and experience points bonus for level up to the adult phase. For example, let's say fish X gains 50 coins and 100 xp of value with each level.
Baby to level 1: Fish now worth 50 coins and 100 xp
Level 1 to 2: Fish now worth 100 coins and 200 xp
Level 2 to 3: Fish now worth 150 coins and 300 xp
Level 3 to 4 (4 is adult): Fish now worth 200 coins and 400 xp
Beyond level 4, your fish will no longer gain value.
With that said, on with the guide!
Format:
Fish Name (level req)
Grows in: (hours)
Cost: (coins)
Experience Points for buying egg: (+xp)
Coins gained per level: (coins [per level])
Experience gained per level: (xp [per level])
Coins per hour [fish spends in tank]: (coins per hour)
Experience points gained per hour [fish spends in tank]: (xp per hour)
Mini Dart Gobi: (level 1)
Grows in: .083 hours (5 minutes)
Cost: 7 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 2 experience points
Coins gained per level: 18 coins
Experience points gained per level: 6 experience points
Coins per hour: 195.2 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 96.38 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 78 experience points per hour.
Shy Hamlet: (level 1)
Grows in: 4 hours
Cost: 35 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 15 experience points
Coins gained per level: 89 coins
Experience points gained per level: 60 experience points
Coins per hour: 20 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 15 experience points per hour
Hawaiian Hogfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 12 hours
Cost: 48 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 17 experience points
Coins gained per level: 120 coins
Experience points gained per level: 153 experience points
Coins per hour: 9 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 12.75 experience points per hour
Scooter Blenny: (level 1)
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: 88 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 29 experience points
Coins gained per level: 221 coins
Experience points gained per level: 261 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.291 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 10.875
Red Spot Cardinal: (level 2)
Grows in: .25 hours (15 minutes)
Cost: 15 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 38 coins
Experience points gained per level: 12 experience points
Coins per hour: 137 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 64 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 52 experience points per hour.
Moorish Idol: (level 1)
Grows in: 18 hours
Cost: 1 FishVille dollar
Experience points for buying egg: 47 experience points
Coins gained per level: 346 coins
Experience points gained per level: 423 experience points
Coins per hour: 19.2 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 23.5 experience points per hour
Percula Clownfish: (level 6)
Grows in: 8 hours
Cost: 49 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 26 experience points
Coins gained per level: 129 coins
Experience points gained per level: 104 experience points
Coins per hour: 16.13 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 13 experience points per hour
Blue Mandarin: (level 1)
Grows in: 20 hours
Cost: 75 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 30 experience points
Coins gained per level: 200 coins
Experience points gained per level: 100 experience points
Coins per hour: 9.0625 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 5 experience points per hour
Longnose Bluefish: (level 7)
Grows in: 31.2 hours (1.3 days)
Cost: 99 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 35 experience points
Coins gained per level: 264 coins
Experience points gained per level: 315 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.46 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 10.1 experience points per hour
Sardine: (level 8)
Grows in: .05 hours (3 minutes)
Cost: 4 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 1 experience points
Coins gained per level: 12 coins
Experience points gained per level: 3 experience points
Coins per hour: 220 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 80 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 65 experience points per hour.
Blue Green Chromis: (level 9)
Grows in: 3 hours
Cost: 26 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 12 experience points
Coins gained per level: 72 coins
Experience points gained per level: 48 experience points
Coins per hour: 21.83 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 16 experience points per hour
Clown Triggerfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 3 hours
Cost: 1 FishVille dollar
Experience points for buying egg: 23 experience points
Coins gained per level: 143 coins
Experience points gained per level: 92 experience points
Coins per hour: 47.67 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 30.67 experience points per hour
Royal Dottyback: (level 10)
Grows in: 16 hours
Cost: 57 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 22 experience points
Coins gained per level: 156 coins
Experience points gained per level: 198 experience points
Coins per hour: 9.75 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 12.375 experience points per hour
Swissguard Basslet: (level 11)
Grows in: 1 hour
Cost: 10 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 30 coins
Experience points gained per level: 16 experience points
Coins per hour: 30 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 20 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 17 experience points per hour.
Blue Damsel: (level 12)
Grows in: 36 hours
Cost: 107 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 39 experience points
Coins gained per level: 302 coins
Experience points gained per level: 351 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.39 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 9.75 experience points per hour
Inland Silverslide: (level 14)
Grows in: .5 hours (30 minutes)
Cost: 9 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 25 coins
Experience points gained per level: 12 experience points
Coins per hour: 45.5 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 32 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 26 experience points per hour.
Pajama Cardinal: (level 16)
Grows in: 2 hours
Cost: 17 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 8 experience points
Coins gained per level: 51 coins
Experience points gained per level: 32 experience points
Coins per hour: 23.38 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 16 experience points per hour
Longnose Hawkfish: (level 18)
Grows in: 6 hours
Cost: 38 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 22 experience points
Coins gained per level: 116 coins
Experience points gained per level: 88 experience points
Coins per hour: 17.75 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 14.67 experience points per hour
Orbiculate Batfish (level 1)
Grows in: 6 hours
Cost: 2 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 66 experience points
Coins gained per level: 347 coins
Experience points gained per level: 264 experience points
Coins per hour: 57.83 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 44 experience points per hour
Parrotfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: 2 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 88 experience points
Coins gained per level: 662 coins
Experience points gained per level: 792 experience points
Coins per hour: 27.58 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 33 experience points per hour
Flame Angelfish: (level 21)
Grows in: 10 hours
Cost: 42 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 16 experience points
Coins gained per level: 131 coins
Experience points gained per level: 144 experience points
Coins per hour: 39.3 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 14.4 experience points per hour
Blue Spot Grouper: (level 24)
Grows in: 48 hours
Cost: 112 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 45 experience points
Coins gained per level: 365 coins
Experience points gained per level: 405 experience points
Coins per hour: 7.02 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 8.44 experience points per hour
Purple Firefish: (level 1)
Grows in: 48 hours
Cost: 3 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 181 experience points
Coins gained per level: 1459 coins
Experience points gained per level: 1629 experience points
Coins per hour: 30.4 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 33.9 experience points per hour
Blue Hippo Tang: (level 30)
Grows in: 18 hours
Cost: 49 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 26 experience points
Coins gained per level: 173 coins
Experience points gained per level: 234 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.93 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 13 experience points per hour
Blackfoot Lionfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 18 hours
Cost: 2 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 79 experience points
Coins gained per level: 518 coins
Experience points gained per level: 711 experience points
Coins per hour: 28.78 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 39.5 experience points per hour
Bartlett Anthias: (level 33)
Grows in: .75 hours (45 minutes)
Cost: 8 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 29 coins
Experience points gained per level: 16 experience points
Coins per hour: 36 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 26.67 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 22.67 experience points per hour.
Klunzinger Wrasse: (level 36)
Grows in: .5 hours (30 minutes)
Cost: 9 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 5 experience points
Coins gained per level: 35 coins
Experience points gained per level: 15 experience points
Coins per hour: 65.5 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 40 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 32.5 experience points per hour.
Golden Puffer: (level 39)
Grows in: 72 hours
Cost: 106 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 42 experience points
Coins gained per level: 432 coins
Experience points gained per level: 378 experience points
Coins per hour: 5.63 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 5.25 experience points per hour
Bluedot Jawfish: (level 42)
Grows in: 3 hours
Cost: 49 coins
Experience points for buying egg: experience points
Coins gained per level: 211 coins
Experience points gained per level: 52 experience points
Coins per hour: 66.25 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 17.33 experience points per hour
Blue Line Trigger: (level 48) - unknown
Grows in: hours
Cost: 22 coins
Experience points for buying egg: experience points
Coins gained per level: coins
Experience points gained per level: experience points
Coins per hour: coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour:
Blue Line Trigger: (level 49) - unknown
Grows in: hours
Cost: 106 coins
Experience points for buying egg: experience points
Coins gained per level: coins
Experience points gained per level: experience points
Coins per hour: coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour:
Top 3 Fish for XP Per Hour:
1. Mini-Dart Gobi (96 xp/hour)
2. Sardine (80 xp/hour)
3. Red Spot Cardinal (64 xp/hour)
Top 3 Fish for Coins Per Hour:
1. Sardine (220 coins/hour)
2. Mini Dart Gobi (195.2 coins/hour)
3. Red Spot Cardinal (137 coins/hour)
Strategy
Taking a look at the top 3 list above is really not very enlightening. Turns out the "top" fish in game are all available at a really early level.
However, there are things to consider before jumping to any final conclusions. First off, even though the Mini-Dart Gobi is an all around great fish, it needs to be fed and collected and re-bought every 5 minutes to nail down the "96 experience points". In reality, especially by the higher levels, jumping between 5 or 6 tanks, buying, feed, and replacing 50 fish is going to take up quite a bit of time!
In practice, buying and selling these fish can take up enoguh time that 1) you aren't going to be as high as the 96 XP per hour (if you spend 1 minute harvesting and re-buying fish - your XP/hour will drop by 20% - if it takes 2 minutes, make that 40%) and 2) it is going to seriously wear on your patience.
If you are interested in speed leveling, for the first 10 levels the Mini-Dart Gobi works just fine. As soon as you get a second or third tank, I would recommend buying the Red Spot Cardinal and selling it right after the first growth. This still yields 64 XP/hour and only requires 1/3 the clicks.
When it comes to the slower fish - it doesn't matter too much. There are certain fish to avoid (like the Blue Mandarin), but in most cases you should pick a fish that matches up with how long you need to be away from your tank. The fastest the fish time, generally the higher the XP per hour.
Note that in the calculations above, I didn't include the XP for buying each egg in the slower growing fish' XP per hour numbers. For these fish, selling the egg after the first growth results in a 5-15% XP growth. However, at the end of the day, this is still many times slower than the faster fish.
The conclusion is if you want to level up very quickly - harvest fast fish. If you want to level up at a decent rate but don't have much time to play - just make sure that a fish is always growing and your tanks are always maximally expanded. That will make a much bigger difference than worrying about harvesting slow growing fish after the first or the fourth growth.
Finally, note that there are some special fish which cost FishVille dollars. Buying a couple of these to grow and then sell is not a good use of FishVille dollars, unless you are actually going to keep the fish. If you are trying to level up and want to use FishVille dollars, you should buy extra tanks.
Below the list, I will interpret the data for the player, make a short list of the best fish for leveling up and making money, and talk a little about the calculations and their relevance to the player.
Experience points per hour, or the rate at which each fish produces experience points (XP), is the most important variable in FishVille when it comes to raising the "best" fish. If you want, you can have whatever type of fish you like! However, even if your only aim is to make a nice looking tank, simply by getting levels, you will have access to more tanks, fish, and decorations. As a result, the best fish are the ones that give the most XP per hour.
If you sell Mini Dart Gobis (fast fish) after the first growth versus the fourth growth, they will produce about 18 more experience points per hour due to the significance of the experience points for planting the egg (substantial difference). However, if you sell Golden Pufferfish after the first growth versus the fourth growth, these fish will only about .4 experience points per hour (not significant).
As a result, I will supply two different calculations for different types of fish. For fish that take 1 hour or less to grow, there is a significant difference in the experience produced per hour if you sell the fish as soon as the fish levels up to level 1 versus selling it at level 4. The reason for this is because you get experience points simply for planting eggs - if you sell the eggs after the first level, you will be able to buy more eggs and to increase this XP further. This adds up if you are laying fast growing fish. The formula I will use is (XP for buying egg + XP for 1 growth) / grows in time for the first value and (XP for buying egg + XP for 4 growths) / (grows in time * 4) for the second value.
For slower fish (more than 1 hour grow time) this does not make nearly such a big difference. For these fish, I will simply divide XP gained per level by the "Grows in" time. Note that this isn't a 100% true representation, since it does not take into account the XP for placing each egg. This will result in very minor deviations in value - so small it is really not worth mentioning. In reality, the experience points for planting slower fish will be slightly higher than as listed in the fish list. Below the fish list, I will post more details about this and what it means to the player.
Other variables of interest:
Grows in: This tells us how long it takes the fish to level up. This number is important because fish need to be fed every 2 grow periods. In other words, if a fish "grows in" 4 hours, it needs to be fed before the 8 hour mark from its last feeding.
Coins per hour: This tells us how much profit each fish produces per hour spent in your tank. This number is important if you are already a high level and are simply saving for new decorations.
To calculate coins per hour, I will take the level 4 (adult) value of the fish, subtract the initial cost, and divide by (grow time * 4). This will be the true profit per hour of each fish, assuming you are letting it grow to the final stage (more info on that below the fish list).
A Note About Fish Levels
Each fish gets a standard coins and experience points bonus for level up to the adult phase. For example, let's say fish X gains 50 coins and 100 xp of value with each level.
Baby to level 1: Fish now worth 50 coins and 100 xp
Level 1 to 2: Fish now worth 100 coins and 200 xp
Level 2 to 3: Fish now worth 150 coins and 300 xp
Level 3 to 4 (4 is adult): Fish now worth 200 coins and 400 xp
Beyond level 4, your fish will no longer gain value.
With that said, on with the guide!
Format:
Fish Name (level req)
Grows in: (hours)
Cost: (coins)
Experience Points for buying egg: (+xp)
Coins gained per level: (coins [per level])
Experience gained per level: (xp [per level])
Coins per hour [fish spends in tank]: (coins per hour)
Experience points gained per hour [fish spends in tank]: (xp per hour)
Mini Dart Gobi: (level 1)
Grows in: .083 hours (5 minutes)
Cost: 7 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 2 experience points
Coins gained per level: 18 coins
Experience points gained per level: 6 experience points
Coins per hour: 195.2 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 96.38 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 78 experience points per hour.
Shy Hamlet: (level 1)
Grows in: 4 hours
Cost: 35 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 15 experience points
Coins gained per level: 89 coins
Experience points gained per level: 60 experience points
Coins per hour: 20 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 15 experience points per hour
Hawaiian Hogfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 12 hours
Cost: 48 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 17 experience points
Coins gained per level: 120 coins
Experience points gained per level: 153 experience points
Coins per hour: 9 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 12.75 experience points per hour
Scooter Blenny: (level 1)
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: 88 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 29 experience points
Coins gained per level: 221 coins
Experience points gained per level: 261 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.291 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 10.875
Red Spot Cardinal: (level 2)
Grows in: .25 hours (15 minutes)
Cost: 15 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 38 coins
Experience points gained per level: 12 experience points
Coins per hour: 137 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 64 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 52 experience points per hour.
Moorish Idol: (level 1)
Grows in: 18 hours
Cost: 1 FishVille dollar
Experience points for buying egg: 47 experience points
Coins gained per level: 346 coins
Experience points gained per level: 423 experience points
Coins per hour: 19.2 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 23.5 experience points per hour
Percula Clownfish: (level 6)
Grows in: 8 hours
Cost: 49 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 26 experience points
Coins gained per level: 129 coins
Experience points gained per level: 104 experience points
Coins per hour: 16.13 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 13 experience points per hour
Blue Mandarin: (level 1)
Grows in: 20 hours
Cost: 75 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 30 experience points
Coins gained per level: 200 coins
Experience points gained per level: 100 experience points
Coins per hour: 9.0625 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 5 experience points per hour
Longnose Bluefish: (level 7)
Grows in: 31.2 hours (1.3 days)
Cost: 99 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 35 experience points
Coins gained per level: 264 coins
Experience points gained per level: 315 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.46 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 10.1 experience points per hour
Sardine: (level 8)
Grows in: .05 hours (3 minutes)
Cost: 4 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 1 experience points
Coins gained per level: 12 coins
Experience points gained per level: 3 experience points
Coins per hour: 220 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 80 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 65 experience points per hour.
Blue Green Chromis: (level 9)
Grows in: 3 hours
Cost: 26 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 12 experience points
Coins gained per level: 72 coins
Experience points gained per level: 48 experience points
Coins per hour: 21.83 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 16 experience points per hour
Clown Triggerfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 3 hours
Cost: 1 FishVille dollar
Experience points for buying egg: 23 experience points
Coins gained per level: 143 coins
Experience points gained per level: 92 experience points
Coins per hour: 47.67 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 30.67 experience points per hour
Royal Dottyback: (level 10)
Grows in: 16 hours
Cost: 57 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 22 experience points
Coins gained per level: 156 coins
Experience points gained per level: 198 experience points
Coins per hour: 9.75 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 12.375 experience points per hour
Swissguard Basslet: (level 11)
Grows in: 1 hour
Cost: 10 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 30 coins
Experience points gained per level: 16 experience points
Coins per hour: 30 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 20 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 17 experience points per hour.
Blue Damsel: (level 12)
Grows in: 36 hours
Cost: 107 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 39 experience points
Coins gained per level: 302 coins
Experience points gained per level: 351 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.39 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 9.75 experience points per hour
Inland Silverslide: (level 14)
Grows in: .5 hours (30 minutes)
Cost: 9 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 25 coins
Experience points gained per level: 12 experience points
Coins per hour: 45.5 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 32 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 26 experience points per hour.
Pajama Cardinal: (level 16)
Grows in: 2 hours
Cost: 17 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 8 experience points
Coins gained per level: 51 coins
Experience points gained per level: 32 experience points
Coins per hour: 23.38 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 16 experience points per hour
Longnose Hawkfish: (level 18)
Grows in: 6 hours
Cost: 38 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 22 experience points
Coins gained per level: 116 coins
Experience points gained per level: 88 experience points
Coins per hour: 17.75 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 14.67 experience points per hour
Orbiculate Batfish (level 1)
Grows in: 6 hours
Cost: 2 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 66 experience points
Coins gained per level: 347 coins
Experience points gained per level: 264 experience points
Coins per hour: 57.83 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 44 experience points per hour
Parrotfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 24 hours
Cost: 2 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 88 experience points
Coins gained per level: 662 coins
Experience points gained per level: 792 experience points
Coins per hour: 27.58 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 33 experience points per hour
Flame Angelfish: (level 21)
Grows in: 10 hours
Cost: 42 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 16 experience points
Coins gained per level: 131 coins
Experience points gained per level: 144 experience points
Coins per hour: 39.3 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 14.4 experience points per hour
Blue Spot Grouper: (level 24)
Grows in: 48 hours
Cost: 112 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 45 experience points
Coins gained per level: 365 coins
Experience points gained per level: 405 experience points
Coins per hour: 7.02 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 8.44 experience points per hour
Purple Firefish: (level 1)
Grows in: 48 hours
Cost: 3 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 181 experience points
Coins gained per level: 1459 coins
Experience points gained per level: 1629 experience points
Coins per hour: 30.4 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 33.9 experience points per hour
Blue Hippo Tang: (level 30)
Grows in: 18 hours
Cost: 49 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 26 experience points
Coins gained per level: 173 coins
Experience points gained per level: 234 experience points
Coins per hour: 8.93 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 13 experience points per hour
Blackfoot Lionfish: (level 1)
Grows in: 18 hours
Cost: 2 FishVille dollars
Experience points for buying egg: 79 experience points
Coins gained per level: 518 coins
Experience points gained per level: 711 experience points
Coins per hour: 28.78 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 39.5 experience points per hour
Bartlett Anthias: (level 33)
Grows in: .75 hours (45 minutes)
Cost: 8 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 4 experience points
Coins gained per level: 29 coins
Experience points gained per level: 16 experience points
Coins per hour: 36 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 26.67 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 22.67 experience points per hour.
Klunzinger Wrasse: (level 36)
Grows in: .5 hours (30 minutes)
Cost: 9 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 5 experience points
Coins gained per level: 35 coins
Experience points gained per level: 15 experience points
Coins per hour: 65.5 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: If sold after first growth, 40 experience points per hour. If sold after fourth growth, 32.5 experience points per hour.
Golden Puffer: (level 39)
Grows in: 72 hours
Cost: 106 coins
Experience points for buying egg: 42 experience points
Coins gained per level: 432 coins
Experience points gained per level: 378 experience points
Coins per hour: 5.63 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 5.25 experience points per hour
Bluedot Jawfish: (level 42)
Grows in: 3 hours
Cost: 49 coins
Experience points for buying egg: experience points
Coins gained per level: 211 coins
Experience points gained per level: 52 experience points
Coins per hour: 66.25 coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour: 17.33 experience points per hour
Blue Line Trigger: (level 48) - unknown
Grows in: hours
Cost: 22 coins
Experience points for buying egg: experience points
Coins gained per level: coins
Experience points gained per level: experience points
Coins per hour: coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour:
Blue Line Trigger: (level 49) - unknown
Grows in: hours
Cost: 106 coins
Experience points for buying egg: experience points
Coins gained per level: coins
Experience points gained per level: experience points
Coins per hour: coins per hour
Experience points gained per hour:
Top 3 Fish for XP Per Hour:
1. Mini-Dart Gobi (96 xp/hour)
2. Sardine (80 xp/hour)
3. Red Spot Cardinal (64 xp/hour)
Top 3 Fish for Coins Per Hour:
1. Sardine (220 coins/hour)
2. Mini Dart Gobi (195.2 coins/hour)
3. Red Spot Cardinal (137 coins/hour)
Strategy
Taking a look at the top 3 list above is really not very enlightening. Turns out the "top" fish in game are all available at a really early level.
However, there are things to consider before jumping to any final conclusions. First off, even though the Mini-Dart Gobi is an all around great fish, it needs to be fed and collected and re-bought every 5 minutes to nail down the "96 experience points". In reality, especially by the higher levels, jumping between 5 or 6 tanks, buying, feed, and replacing 50 fish is going to take up quite a bit of time!
In practice, buying and selling these fish can take up enoguh time that 1) you aren't going to be as high as the 96 XP per hour (if you spend 1 minute harvesting and re-buying fish - your XP/hour will drop by 20% - if it takes 2 minutes, make that 40%) and 2) it is going to seriously wear on your patience.
If you are interested in speed leveling, for the first 10 levels the Mini-Dart Gobi works just fine. As soon as you get a second or third tank, I would recommend buying the Red Spot Cardinal and selling it right after the first growth. This still yields 64 XP/hour and only requires 1/3 the clicks.
When it comes to the slower fish - it doesn't matter too much. There are certain fish to avoid (like the Blue Mandarin), but in most cases you should pick a fish that matches up with how long you need to be away from your tank. The fastest the fish time, generally the higher the XP per hour.
Note that in the calculations above, I didn't include the XP for buying each egg in the slower growing fish' XP per hour numbers. For these fish, selling the egg after the first growth results in a 5-15% XP growth. However, at the end of the day, this is still many times slower than the faster fish.
The conclusion is if you want to level up very quickly - harvest fast fish. If you want to level up at a decent rate but don't have much time to play - just make sure that a fish is always growing and your tanks are always maximally expanded. That will make a much bigger difference than worrying about harvesting slow growing fish after the first or the fourth growth.
Finally, note that there are some special fish which cost FishVille dollars. Buying a couple of these to grow and then sell is not a good use of FishVille dollars, unless you are actually going to keep the fish. If you are trying to level up and want to use FishVille dollars, you should buy extra tanks.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Fishville Strategy: Getting FishVille Dollars with Mystery Boxes
Only took me about 20 boxes, but I finally got one:
So in case you were wondering, yes, you can indeed get FishVille dollars with the free mystery boxes, it just is not all that common!
So in case you were wondering, yes, you can indeed get FishVille dollars with the free mystery boxes, it just is not all that common!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
FishVille Strategy: Mystery Gifts and Boxes
With the introduction of the new daily gift, a new type of gift has been added - the mystery box.
Each day when you log in to FishVille, your two daily gift options change. You have a chance for your daily gift to be a "mystery box". You can send these to friends who can then open these for experience points, coins, or potentially even FishVille dollars.
The xp and coin rewards are pretty modest - I opened 5 boxes and the highest XP bonus I saw was in the low twenties and the highest coin bonus I saw was in the high 100s.
It would appear (and rightfully so) that FishVille dollars are a pretty rare reward from the mystery box. Even so, with the option to get some for free, I will definitely be accepting every mystery box that I get.
Each day when you log in to FishVille, your two daily gift options change. You have a chance for your daily gift to be a "mystery box". You can send these to friends who can then open these for experience points, coins, or potentially even FishVille dollars.
The xp and coin rewards are pretty modest - I opened 5 boxes and the highest XP bonus I saw was in the low twenties and the highest coin bonus I saw was in the high 100s.
It would appear (and rightfully so) that FishVille dollars are a pretty rare reward from the mystery box. Even so, with the option to get some for free, I will definitely be accepting every mystery box that I get.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
FishVille Not Loading or Working; Strategy Guide
Many of you at this point may have difficulties connecting to FishVille on Facebook. A lot of people have been getting stuck at the loading screen when trying to play FishVille.
The truth is, FishVille is not down and you can easily connect with one of two changes to your internet browser:
First off, try clearing your browser's cache AND cookies. While the developers have been recommending clearing your cache, I was not able to get FishVille to load until I cleared both my browser's cache and cookies.
To clear your cache and cookies in Firefox:
Click Tools >> Clear Private Data >> Make sure "Cache" and "Cookies" are checked off >> Click OK.
To clear your cache and cookies in Internet Explorer:
Click Tools >> Internet Options >> "Delete Cookies" (if that does not work, click "Delete Files" then click "Delete all Offline Content"
After doing this, open up FishVille and you should be able to connect just fine. If this does not work, try connecting with another browser. When Firefox did not work for me, I was able to play FishVille just fine via Internet Explorer.
If you are having difficulties connecting to FishVille, make sure you clear your browser's cache and delete your cookies. If this does not work, connect with a different browser.
The truth is, FishVille is not down and you can easily connect with one of two changes to your internet browser:
First off, try clearing your browser's cache AND cookies. While the developers have been recommending clearing your cache, I was not able to get FishVille to load until I cleared both my browser's cache and cookies.
To clear your cache and cookies in Firefox:
Click Tools >> Clear Private Data >> Make sure "Cache" and "Cookies" are checked off >> Click OK.
To clear your cache and cookies in Internet Explorer:
Click Tools >> Internet Options >> "Delete Cookies" (if that does not work, click "Delete Files" then click "Delete all Offline Content"
After doing this, open up FishVille and you should be able to connect just fine. If this does not work, try connecting with another browser. When Firefox did not work for me, I was able to play FishVille just fine via Internet Explorer.
If you are having difficulties connecting to FishVille, make sure you clear your browser's cache and delete your cookies. If this does not work, connect with a different browser.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
FishVille Leveling Guide
So far, FishVille is a very simple Facebook game. Here are the basics:
1. Level up by acquiring experience points. You can earn experience points by selling fish, buying eggs, and buying plants / decor for your tank.
2. When you first place a fish egg, it will hatch into a baby. You can not sell baby fish. After a certain amount of time (listed as "grows in" in the store interface), it will grow into a junior fish.
3. Junior fish level up one level at a time, from 1 to 4, every time the "grows in" timer is reached. As a junior fish, each level increase results in the fish becoming more valuable in terms of experience points and coins.
4. Once a fish hits level 4, it becomes an adult. At this point, its grow time increases significantly and no longer increases in value (both experience points and coins).
5. You can own multiple tanks in FishVille. You can buy a new tank every 10 levels. You can buy tanks early if you purchase some FishVille dollars, which you can alternately buy at any level for 20 FishVille dollars.
6. As you level up with your tank, it will increase in size. Your tank will grow in capacity from 15 to 30 fish, then 30 to 50 fish. Fifty fish per tank is the maximum.
7. For fish marked "fast", let them grow to level 4 before you sell them. For fish that are not marked fast, you can sell them right after they level up, as you will get a nice bit of experience points for buying the new eggs. Just make sure they are not more than 20% into the next level, as at that point it would be more beneficial to let them level up again before selling them.
Power Leveling Guide
Levels 1-10:
First off, even though it's not very exciting to have nothing to look forward to, know that the Mini-Dart Gobi (the first fish you get access to) provides by far the most amount of experience points per time spent in your tank(s), and it also provides a very high level of coins (shares with the sardine the top spots for most profitable fish).
If you are interested in attaining a high level relatively quickly, I would recommend racing to level 10 with Mini-Dart Gobis. This will give you a 65 fish capacity (50 from your first tank, 15 from your new expansion) and can be done in a just a few hours.
Once you hit 10, make sure you buy a new tank.
Levels 11-end:
If you want to be very active in your tank (like if you work on the computer), make the switch to Red Spot Cardinal. These only provide about 2/3 of the experience points of the Mini Dart Gobi, but they only need to be fed once every 30 minutes, so you can at least do other things on the computer at the same time.
If, like me, you can not be at the computer 24/7, here are some options:
The Blue Green Chromis needs to be fed every 6 hours and still pays out a lot of XP/time spent growing (16 xp per hour). This is the same as the Swissguard Basslet (needs to be fed every 2 hours) and more than the Pajama Cardinal (needs to be fed every 4 hours). The Blue Green Chromis also pays out more than any fish that needs to be fed less frequently.
The Percula Clownfish only need to be fed every 16 hours and pays out 13.5 xp per hour, which is not much less than the Blue Green Chromis.
The Hawaiian Hogfish pays out 12 XP per hour and only needs to be fed once every 2 days.
The options are up to you. If you can check your tank a few times per day, use the blue Green Chromis during the day and the Percula Clownfish by night.
If you can only check your tank twice a day, use the Percula Clownfish.
If you can only check your tank once every day or so, use the Hawaiian Hogfish.
The guide is pretty short at this point because there is not much to the game past this point. If you want to level up quickly, expand your tanks as soon as possible, and make sure your fish never spend any time at the adult stage (or die from not being fed).
1. Level up by acquiring experience points. You can earn experience points by selling fish, buying eggs, and buying plants / decor for your tank.
2. When you first place a fish egg, it will hatch into a baby. You can not sell baby fish. After a certain amount of time (listed as "grows in" in the store interface), it will grow into a junior fish.
3. Junior fish level up one level at a time, from 1 to 4, every time the "grows in" timer is reached. As a junior fish, each level increase results in the fish becoming more valuable in terms of experience points and coins.
4. Once a fish hits level 4, it becomes an adult. At this point, its grow time increases significantly and no longer increases in value (both experience points and coins).
5. You can own multiple tanks in FishVille. You can buy a new tank every 10 levels. You can buy tanks early if you purchase some FishVille dollars, which you can alternately buy at any level for 20 FishVille dollars.
6. As you level up with your tank, it will increase in size. Your tank will grow in capacity from 15 to 30 fish, then 30 to 50 fish. Fifty fish per tank is the maximum.
7. For fish marked "fast", let them grow to level 4 before you sell them. For fish that are not marked fast, you can sell them right after they level up, as you will get a nice bit of experience points for buying the new eggs. Just make sure they are not more than 20% into the next level, as at that point it would be more beneficial to let them level up again before selling them.
Power Leveling Guide
Levels 1-10:
First off, even though it's not very exciting to have nothing to look forward to, know that the Mini-Dart Gobi (the first fish you get access to) provides by far the most amount of experience points per time spent in your tank(s), and it also provides a very high level of coins (shares with the sardine the top spots for most profitable fish).
If you are interested in attaining a high level relatively quickly, I would recommend racing to level 10 with Mini-Dart Gobis. This will give you a 65 fish capacity (50 from your first tank, 15 from your new expansion) and can be done in a just a few hours.
Once you hit 10, make sure you buy a new tank.
Levels 11-end:
If you want to be very active in your tank (like if you work on the computer), make the switch to Red Spot Cardinal. These only provide about 2/3 of the experience points of the Mini Dart Gobi, but they only need to be fed once every 30 minutes, so you can at least do other things on the computer at the same time.
If, like me, you can not be at the computer 24/7, here are some options:
The Blue Green Chromis needs to be fed every 6 hours and still pays out a lot of XP/time spent growing (16 xp per hour). This is the same as the Swissguard Basslet (needs to be fed every 2 hours) and more than the Pajama Cardinal (needs to be fed every 4 hours). The Blue Green Chromis also pays out more than any fish that needs to be fed less frequently.
The Percula Clownfish only need to be fed every 16 hours and pays out 13.5 xp per hour, which is not much less than the Blue Green Chromis.
The Hawaiian Hogfish pays out 12 XP per hour and only needs to be fed once every 2 days.
The options are up to you. If you can check your tank a few times per day, use the blue Green Chromis during the day and the Percula Clownfish by night.
If you can only check your tank twice a day, use the Percula Clownfish.
If you can only check your tank once every day or so, use the Hawaiian Hogfish.
The guide is pretty short at this point because there is not much to the game past this point. If you want to level up quickly, expand your tanks as soon as possible, and make sure your fish never spend any time at the adult stage (or die from not being fed).
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
FishVille Strategy - Level List
Here is a list of the levels in FishVille, what you unlock (free gifts, tanks, etc). The "tank upgrades" are assuming that you bought the tank as soon as it was available.
Level 2 - Friend to the Fishes - you can now buy Red Spot Cardinal, Hammer Coral, Rusty Anchor. Now you can gift: Hammer Coral, Red Algae Plant
Level 3 - Fish Schoolmaster - you can now buy: Anarchis, Purple Fan, Slippery Sign, can now gift: Anarchis, Purple Fan
Level 4 - Aquarium Alley - Tank Upgrade (holds 30 fish) - you can now buy: Swissguard Basslet, tunnel log
Level 5 - Goldfish Gazer - You can now buy: Acongensis Kopie, Surf Board You can now gift: Acongensis Kopie
Level 6 - Undersea Decorator - You can now buy: Sardine, Driftwood. You can now gift: Driftwood.
Level 7 - Fishographer - You can now buy: Rubber Ducky. You can now gift: Red Grape Algae
Level 8 - fish guru. You can now buy: percula clownfish, pirate skull. you can now gift: pirate skull. maxima clam
Level 9 - Pearl Farmer. You can now buy: Blue Green Chromis, Maiden's Hair, Beach Umbrella. You can now gift: Maiden's hair.
Level 10 - Big Fish in a Small Pond - Tank 1 now holds 50 fish - can now buy tank 2, royal dottyback, sea mine
Level 11 - Eel Expert. You can now buy: Mermaid's Fan, Grecian Jar
Level 12 - Piranha Tamer. You can now gift: Sea Snail. You can now buy: Blue Samsel, Rocky Ledge
Level 13 - Lobster Wrestler. You can now buy: Frogskin Acropora, Aztec Mask. Tank 2 Upgrade - 30 fish.
Level 14 - Keeper of the Clams. You can now buy: Inland Silverslide, Toy Diver. You can now gift: Starfish.
Level 15 - Tank Surfer. You can now buy: Red Gracillaria
Level 16 - Dogfish Trainer. You can now buy: Pajama Cardinal, Dead Tree
Level 17 - Catfish Herder. You can now buy: Diver Helmet. You can now gift: Shrimp, Cardamine.
Level 18 - Lionfish Tamer. You can now buy: Longnose Hawkfish, Toxic Waste
Level 19 - Mad Fish Scientist. You can now buy: Beach Blanket. You can now gift: Ogo Algae. Tank 2 upgraded to 50 fish.
Level 20 - Fishmeister. You can now buy: Tank 3, Shinto Arch. You can now gift: Hermit Crab.
Level 21 - Octopi Hugger. You can now buy: Annularis Angelfish, Chili Coral, Rock Archway.
Level 22 - Coral Cultivator. Tank 3 upgraded to 30 fish. You can now buy: Chinese Bridge.
Level 23 - Jellyfish Choreographer. You can now buy: Pot O' Gold. You can now gift: Halimeda Plant
Level 24 - Tankologist. You can now buy: Blue Spot Grouper.
Level 25 - Tankerator. You can now buy: Egyptian Jars. You can now gift: Stylophora.
Level 26 - Star Among Starfish. You can now buy: Moai Head.
Level 27 - Grouper Fish Groupie. You can now buy: Cow Skull. You can now gift: Shaving Brush Plant.
Level 28 - Friend of the Ocean. You can now buy: Broken Column. Tank 3 Upgraded to hold 50 fish.
Level 29 - Carp Keeper. You can now buy: Wizard's Tower. You can now gift: Pink Coral.
Level 30 - Lord of the Lagoon. You can now buy: Tank 4, Blue Hippo Tang, Zen Statue.
Level 31 - Sealife Soulmate. You can now buy: Stone Cave. You can now gift: Cambomba. Tank 4 can now hold 30 fish.
Level 32 - Super Tanker. You can now buy: Yellow Sub.
Level 33 - Sushi Savior. You can now buy: Bartlett Anthias, Galaxea Coral, Aztec Statue
Level 34 - Sea Horse Wrangler. You can now buy: Tank 5? Game Change here.
Level 35 - Sea Horse Whisperer. You can now buy: Corinthian Column, Oregon Tortuosa.
Level 36 - Sea Slug Racer. You can now buy: Klunzinger Wrasse.
Level 37 - Commander of the Tank. You can now buy: Hobbit Hole. You can now expand tank 4 from 30 to 50 fish for 49,000 coins.
Level 38 - Sea Monster Breeder. You can now buy: Pirate Ship.
Level 39 - Whale Wrestler. Can now buy: Golden Puffer, Fantasy Castle, and Pink Birdnest Coral.
Level 40 - Lunker Lander. Can now buy: Egyptian Pyramid.
Level 41 - Crabkeeper. Can now buy: Fire Flame.
Level 2 - Friend to the Fishes - you can now buy Red Spot Cardinal, Hammer Coral, Rusty Anchor. Now you can gift: Hammer Coral, Red Algae Plant
Level 3 - Fish Schoolmaster - you can now buy: Anarchis, Purple Fan, Slippery Sign, can now gift: Anarchis, Purple Fan
Level 4 - Aquarium Alley - Tank Upgrade (holds 30 fish) - you can now buy: Swissguard Basslet, tunnel log
Level 5 - Goldfish Gazer - You can now buy: Acongensis Kopie, Surf Board You can now gift: Acongensis Kopie
Level 6 - Undersea Decorator - You can now buy: Sardine, Driftwood. You can now gift: Driftwood.
Level 7 - Fishographer - You can now buy: Rubber Ducky. You can now gift: Red Grape Algae
Level 8 - fish guru. You can now buy: percula clownfish, pirate skull. you can now gift: pirate skull. maxima clam
Level 9 - Pearl Farmer. You can now buy: Blue Green Chromis, Maiden's Hair, Beach Umbrella. You can now gift: Maiden's hair.
Level 10 - Big Fish in a Small Pond - Tank 1 now holds 50 fish - can now buy tank 2, royal dottyback, sea mine
Level 11 - Eel Expert. You can now buy: Mermaid's Fan, Grecian Jar
Level 12 - Piranha Tamer. You can now gift: Sea Snail. You can now buy: Blue Samsel, Rocky Ledge
Level 13 - Lobster Wrestler. You can now buy: Frogskin Acropora, Aztec Mask. Tank 2 Upgrade - 30 fish.
Level 14 - Keeper of the Clams. You can now buy: Inland Silverslide, Toy Diver. You can now gift: Starfish.
Level 15 - Tank Surfer. You can now buy: Red Gracillaria
Level 16 - Dogfish Trainer. You can now buy: Pajama Cardinal, Dead Tree
Level 17 - Catfish Herder. You can now buy: Diver Helmet. You can now gift: Shrimp, Cardamine.
Level 18 - Lionfish Tamer. You can now buy: Longnose Hawkfish, Toxic Waste
Level 19 - Mad Fish Scientist. You can now buy: Beach Blanket. You can now gift: Ogo Algae. Tank 2 upgraded to 50 fish.
Level 20 - Fishmeister. You can now buy: Tank 3, Shinto Arch. You can now gift: Hermit Crab.
Level 21 - Octopi Hugger. You can now buy: Annularis Angelfish, Chili Coral, Rock Archway.
Level 22 - Coral Cultivator. Tank 3 upgraded to 30 fish. You can now buy: Chinese Bridge.
Level 23 - Jellyfish Choreographer. You can now buy: Pot O' Gold. You can now gift: Halimeda Plant
Level 24 - Tankologist. You can now buy: Blue Spot Grouper.
Level 25 - Tankerator. You can now buy: Egyptian Jars. You can now gift: Stylophora.
Level 26 - Star Among Starfish. You can now buy: Moai Head.
Level 27 - Grouper Fish Groupie. You can now buy: Cow Skull. You can now gift: Shaving Brush Plant.
Level 28 - Friend of the Ocean. You can now buy: Broken Column. Tank 3 Upgraded to hold 50 fish.
Level 29 - Carp Keeper. You can now buy: Wizard's Tower. You can now gift: Pink Coral.
Level 30 - Lord of the Lagoon. You can now buy: Tank 4, Blue Hippo Tang, Zen Statue.
Level 31 - Sealife Soulmate. You can now buy: Stone Cave. You can now gift: Cambomba. Tank 4 can now hold 30 fish.
Level 32 - Super Tanker. You can now buy: Yellow Sub.
Level 33 - Sushi Savior. You can now buy: Bartlett Anthias, Galaxea Coral, Aztec Statue
Level 34 - Sea Horse Wrangler. You can now buy: Tank 5? Game Change here.
Level 35 - Sea Horse Whisperer. You can now buy: Corinthian Column, Oregon Tortuosa.
Level 36 - Sea Slug Racer. You can now buy: Klunzinger Wrasse.
Level 37 - Commander of the Tank. You can now buy: Hobbit Hole. You can now expand tank 4 from 30 to 50 fish for 49,000 coins.
Level 38 - Sea Monster Breeder. You can now buy: Pirate Ship.
Level 39 - Whale Wrestler. Can now buy: Golden Puffer, Fantasy Castle, and Pink Birdnest Coral.
Level 40 - Lunker Lander. Can now buy: Egyptian Pyramid.
Level 41 - Crabkeeper. Can now buy: Fire Flame.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
FishVille Strategy - Creatures
Creatures are animals (non fish) that you can keep in your tank as decorations or sell them for coins. Right now, you can only get creatures from friends. Recently, they bumped up the required level necessary to gift these items by quite a bit. However, to compensate, the value of selling each one of these creatures has increased by quite a bit as well
Creature List
Right now there are only a few creatures available -
Maxima Clam (Level 8) - sells for 150 coins
Sea Snail (Level 11) - sells for 196 coins
Starfish (Level 14) - sells for 256 coins
Shrimp (Level 17) - sells for 279 coins
Hermit Crab (Level 20) - sells for 328 coins
Now that they have increased the value of these creatures, getting some free gifts can be an easy way for a new player to get some extra coins.
Creature List
Right now there are only a few creatures available -
Maxima Clam (Level 8) - sells for 150 coins
Sea Snail (Level 11) - sells for 196 coins
Starfish (Level 14) - sells for 256 coins
Shrimp (Level 17) - sells for 279 coins
Hermit Crab (Level 20) - sells for 328 coins
Now that they have increased the value of these creatures, getting some free gifts can be an easy way for a new player to get some extra coins.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
FishVille Strategy Guide
While I probably will not cover FishVille (Zynga's new Facebook game) full-time like I have with Mafia Wars, I will post up a strategy guide for detailing the basics, strategy, and my first impressions.
FishVille Basics
In FishVille, you basically "run" an aquarium as if it was a business (I suppose it is for some people now that I think about it). You raise fish, feed them, keep the tank clean, and then sell them for coins and experience points. With your coins, you can buy new fish, decorations, plants, or even a second tank. As you get experience points from selling fish, you level up, giving you access to new fish, decorations, plants, and new tanks (expansions).
Currency
You will notice that in FishVille, this game is monetized from release (unlike Cafe World). Coins can be earned by selling fish that you have raised. Coins can be used to purchase most goods in game. Dollars can be bought for real life cash or earned by completing offers. Right away you can spend 20 fishville dollars to buy a tank expansion (up to all 8). There is no level cap on tanks bought with dollars (unlike their coin-costing counterparts), so a new player could easily get ahead by spending real life money (8x the experience points / coin earning rate).
Fish Basics
In FishVille, when you start out, each fish tank can hold a total of fifteen fish (of any size). To raise fish, you simply buy fish eggs (by clicking the store button) and lay them down in the tank. These eggs hatch within a couple seconds into baby fish.
After a certain amount of time (anywhere from 5 minutes to a day or more, this value is listed under each fish's description in the store panel), these fish will mature into "Junior Fish." Baby fish can not be sold, and as far as I know you can not even get rid of them even if you do not them anymore.
Baby fish (and all fish) need to be fed. The timer on each fish is two times its "grow" time. So, the Shy Hamlet grows every 4 hours, which means it needs to be fed every 8 hours.
Junior Fish can be sold for experience points and coins simply by clicking them with the net tool activated (bottom right toolbar). However, as Junior Fish mature, they increase in value. Past the baby level, each fish has an age. Think of this like a fish leveling system; as your fish sit in the tank they level up. A junior fish levels up in the same amount of time it takes to grow from a baby fish to a junior fish age 1. In other words:
- The Mini Dart Goby grows from a baby fish into a junior fish in 5 minutes.
- This junior Mini Dart Goby is now age 1.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 2.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 3.
However, once a junior fish reaches level 4, it will be come an adult fish. Adult fish do not need to be fed nearly as often and age very slowly. For example, the Mini Dart Goby grows every 5 minutes, but once it hits level 4, its grow time slows down to 1 full day. It only needs to be fed once every 2 days at this point as well.
Fish Strategy
As far as the "best fish" to raise, it seems the fastest growing ones provide the best coins and experience points for their time in the tank. So, the person who sits there and raises fish marked "fast" (specifically says "fast" in the market), will earn more coins and experience then someone who raises fish that take a full day to grow. This is similar to both Cafe World and FarmVille.
The more important question is when to sell your fish. My early tests suggest that it is most effective to wait until your fish reach Age 4 to sell them.
Example:
Mini Dart Gobi:
Grows In: 5 minutes
Cost: 7 Coins
Age 1 (5 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 18 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 132 coins/hour)
XP: 6
Age 2 (10 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 36 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 174 coins/hour)
XP: 12
Age 3 (15 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 54 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 188 coins/hour)
XP: 18
Age 4 (20 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for 72 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 195 coins/hour)
XP: 24
While the experience points per hour is the same per fish level, the coins per hour increases. Since up until age 4, fish increase in value at a steady rate equal to their grow time, letting them grow longer keeps your egg expenses low.
Other FishVille Features:
Feeding Your Fish:
Your fish will ask for food (food icon appearing by their heads) long before you need to feed them. If you have ever had a fish tank, you know that fish will eat when they are not hungry, so this is no surprise. Do not be alarmed or feel compelled to cater to the every want of your virtual fish farm. Fish food is free.
Decorations and Plants
Plants are basically decorations, as far as I can tell they do nothing. Your fish like to swim behind them though. You do not need me to post these here - simply look them up in the store manual!
Tapping on the Glass
If you click on your tank, it scares your fish. For some reason I enjoy this feature very much.
Showing Your Fish "Some Love"
This feature pops up every now and then in the bottom left corner of the tank. Clicking it with a full fish tank will give you coins. It also plays a cheering crowd sound bit that mysteriously sounds like the cheering in the original Sim City when you did something that your denizens liked.
Tank Upgrade
As you play FishVille, your tank will be upgraded, allowing you to hold more fish. At level 4, I was upgraded to a 30 fish limit for my tank (started at 15 fish).
My Impressions
Overall, I think this game will be a home run for Zynga. FishVille is definitely another play at the FarmVille and Cafe World crowd, as it is very similar in style graphically and mechanically. However, this game is much more polished at launch and feels like a good bit of effort has actually gone into the game design.
For starters, the game is actually monetized, which is good for Zynga, and the advantage in shelling out a few real life dollars is significant.
When it comes to feeding fish, FishVille satisfies my need for instant gratification. I can click on the fish food button and click 20 times really fast on the screen and be done feeding my fish in 3 seconds. I also appreciate the fact that the game is way less "clickier" than FarmVille. You do not have to click 1200 times to feed your fish (like planting a 20x20 farm in FarmVille!).
Secondly, the option to have up to 8 tanks will satisfy a lot of users as well. That way, players can have a few "money tanks" where they focus on fish that provide good coins and experience points while they work on building up a decorative tank on the side.
On top of that, it is nice that decorations do not effect the performance of your tank. In FarmVille for example, if you have decorations, you have less space for crops. If you want your farm to look like more than a big field, you are automatically leveling up a lot slower than a "mass field" friend. However, FishVille nips that in the bud because each tank is capped not by overall space but simply a 15 fish limit (upgrades over time) - users can decorate to their hearts content without effecting their productivity.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, I think I prefer FishVille to Cafe World and possibly even FarmVille. I think this will be another home run for Zynga.
If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments below, I (or other readers) will answer them when I/we can.
FishVille Basics
In FishVille, you basically "run" an aquarium as if it was a business (I suppose it is for some people now that I think about it). You raise fish, feed them, keep the tank clean, and then sell them for coins and experience points. With your coins, you can buy new fish, decorations, plants, or even a second tank. As you get experience points from selling fish, you level up, giving you access to new fish, decorations, plants, and new tanks (expansions).
Currency
You will notice that in FishVille, this game is monetized from release (unlike Cafe World). Coins can be earned by selling fish that you have raised. Coins can be used to purchase most goods in game. Dollars can be bought for real life cash or earned by completing offers. Right away you can spend 20 fishville dollars to buy a tank expansion (up to all 8). There is no level cap on tanks bought with dollars (unlike their coin-costing counterparts), so a new player could easily get ahead by spending real life money (8x the experience points / coin earning rate).
Fish Basics
In FishVille, when you start out, each fish tank can hold a total of fifteen fish (of any size). To raise fish, you simply buy fish eggs (by clicking the store button) and lay them down in the tank. These eggs hatch within a couple seconds into baby fish.
After a certain amount of time (anywhere from 5 minutes to a day or more, this value is listed under each fish's description in the store panel), these fish will mature into "Junior Fish." Baby fish can not be sold, and as far as I know you can not even get rid of them even if you do not them anymore.
Baby fish (and all fish) need to be fed. The timer on each fish is two times its "grow" time. So, the Shy Hamlet grows every 4 hours, which means it needs to be fed every 8 hours.
Junior Fish can be sold for experience points and coins simply by clicking them with the net tool activated (bottom right toolbar). However, as Junior Fish mature, they increase in value. Past the baby level, each fish has an age. Think of this like a fish leveling system; as your fish sit in the tank they level up. A junior fish levels up in the same amount of time it takes to grow from a baby fish to a junior fish age 1. In other words:
- The Mini Dart Goby grows from a baby fish into a junior fish in 5 minutes.
- This junior Mini Dart Goby is now age 1.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 2.
- Five minutes later, it will be age 3.
However, once a junior fish reaches level 4, it will be come an adult fish. Adult fish do not need to be fed nearly as often and age very slowly. For example, the Mini Dart Goby grows every 5 minutes, but once it hits level 4, its grow time slows down to 1 full day. It only needs to be fed once every 2 days at this point as well.
Fish Strategy
As far as the "best fish" to raise, it seems the fastest growing ones provide the best coins and experience points for their time in the tank. So, the person who sits there and raises fish marked "fast" (specifically says "fast" in the market), will earn more coins and experience then someone who raises fish that take a full day to grow. This is similar to both Cafe World and FarmVille.
The more important question is when to sell your fish. My early tests suggest that it is most effective to wait until your fish reach Age 4 to sell them.
Example:
Mini Dart Gobi:
Grows In: 5 minutes
Cost: 7 Coins
Age 1 (5 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 18 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 132 coins/hour)
XP: 6
Age 2 (10 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 36 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 174 coins/hour)
XP: 12
Age 3 (15 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for: 54 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 188 coins/hour)
XP: 18
Age 4 (20 mins after buying eggs):
Sells for 72 coins (minus the 7 coins for buying an egg, this is 195 coins/hour)
XP: 24
While the experience points per hour is the same per fish level, the coins per hour increases. Since up until age 4, fish increase in value at a steady rate equal to their grow time, letting them grow longer keeps your egg expenses low.
Other FishVille Features:
Feeding Your Fish:
Your fish will ask for food (food icon appearing by their heads) long before you need to feed them. If you have ever had a fish tank, you know that fish will eat when they are not hungry, so this is no surprise. Do not be alarmed or feel compelled to cater to the every want of your virtual fish farm. Fish food is free.
Decorations and Plants
Plants are basically decorations, as far as I can tell they do nothing. Your fish like to swim behind them though. You do not need me to post these here - simply look them up in the store manual!
Tapping on the Glass
If you click on your tank, it scares your fish. For some reason I enjoy this feature very much.
Showing Your Fish "Some Love"
This feature pops up every now and then in the bottom left corner of the tank. Clicking it with a full fish tank will give you coins. It also plays a cheering crowd sound bit that mysteriously sounds like the cheering in the original Sim City when you did something that your denizens liked.
Tank Upgrade
As you play FishVille, your tank will be upgraded, allowing you to hold more fish. At level 4, I was upgraded to a 30 fish limit for my tank (started at 15 fish).
My Impressions
Overall, I think this game will be a home run for Zynga. FishVille is definitely another play at the FarmVille and Cafe World crowd, as it is very similar in style graphically and mechanically. However, this game is much more polished at launch and feels like a good bit of effort has actually gone into the game design.
For starters, the game is actually monetized, which is good for Zynga, and the advantage in shelling out a few real life dollars is significant.
When it comes to feeding fish, FishVille satisfies my need for instant gratification. I can click on the fish food button and click 20 times really fast on the screen and be done feeding my fish in 3 seconds. I also appreciate the fact that the game is way less "clickier" than FarmVille. You do not have to click 1200 times to feed your fish (like planting a 20x20 farm in FarmVille!).
Secondly, the option to have up to 8 tanks will satisfy a lot of users as well. That way, players can have a few "money tanks" where they focus on fish that provide good coins and experience points while they work on building up a decorative tank on the side.
On top of that, it is nice that decorations do not effect the performance of your tank. In FarmVille for example, if you have decorations, you have less space for crops. If you want your farm to look like more than a big field, you are automatically leveling up a lot slower than a "mass field" friend. However, FishVille nips that in the bud because each tank is capped not by overall space but simply a 15 fish limit (upgrades over time) - users can decorate to their hearts content without effecting their productivity.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, I think I prefer FishVille to Cafe World and possibly even FarmVille. I think this will be another home run for Zynga.
If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments below, I (or other readers) will answer them when I/we can.
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