- By far the most useful advice I have is to calculate the angle only and then try to feel the power level. Even with my horrible feel, I've been able to get very nice SSes this way. It's especially important for timebombs with elevation. Even if you feel the correct power to hit the enemy, it isn't a guaranteed thing because the same shot can hit an enemy with .05 less (and sometimes .05 more) than the required power. If you have a lot of time, calculate the power also. Most of your thinking is done between turns, not during your 15 second shot clock.
- In fact, if you try to memorize everything without using 'cheatsheets' (as I do) then just memorize the wind factors for angle change first. And don't try to take in everything at once, start with the 9 major factors then learn the smaller in between factors.
- Try the Jewel Mode training technique mentioned earlier. You can stretch a single game out to half an hour. If you try SSes only in a game, you will be lucky to get 1 shot every fifteen minutes. But in Jewel SSdeath mode you can try a shot every few seconds and have tons of targets.
- If you don't know the power at all, try a little more power than you think. It's better if the timebomb opens and gets a crappy half hit than if it doesn't open at all.
- Some sharp players I know do things backwards and calculate the power first, then try to find the angle. If this works for you, then that's great. The advantage to it is that if you DO get the right angle, the ss will be really sharp and damaging. For certain winds, I use this method as well - Winds that are pointing mostly down and a bit back, mostly up and a bit forward, and any winds that mirror these two areas are tricky to calculate the angle for, because the wind direction may be very close (or be directly opposite) your original shooting angle. For these winds I will test shot first with the chosen power level then adjust angle as needed.
- If the game isn't super serious, (like a solo game where you get one shot) then go ahead and use a test shot for your timebomb. If I'm ever the last player to shoot (it happens to me all the time) then I will try to do a quick shot 1 and beat the delay of all other players so I can test for my SS. Just be careful of situations where a nado may pop up between you and the target. Doing an ss right before a nado is a good idea for the same reason that doing a dual right before a nado sometimes is good: To punish your big delay the enemy will have to make a tricky nado shot.
- If you can't get a low enough angle to timebomb, remember you can also do a skybomb, and vice-versa.
- There are two ways to test shot for an SS: shot 1 or shot 2. Shot
1 uses less delay, but shot 2 will actually give you a clue as to whether or not your
SS airtime is correct. When shot 2 spins through the air, it spirals 6 times.
The middle of the final spiral is the point where the SS will open (just before
the shot stops spinning and starts to come together).
What this means is that if your test shot for 2 does decent damage and comes together, then your SS will fail (too early or too late). The angle and power to make a good Turtle SS will cause a very weak shot 2 that mostly misses and splashes the enemy for a little damage only.
- With the above info in mind, it's possible to convert a successful timebomb into a
good shot 2. The trick is simply to raise 3 angles and add a bit of power. I'm not sure
if this works with long SS shots near 1 screen, and it definitely won't work with angles
below 45.
- SS is most powerful with lightning. Both skybombs and timebombs benefit
greatly from it. The SS doesn't get much help from thor and seemingly no help from
force, unless the force is right on top of the enemy. But with lightning SS damage
jumps nicely (because you get a hit for every ball in the SS). A very good SS might
do 600 for a tight timebomb vs Boomer, 630 vs. shield type bots, and 650 for a perfectly
tight skybomb that hits dead center. With lightning, you can get 850+ damage, although
less than 700 is more typical. There's another very nice benefit: The pit made from
the lightning often screws the enemy's angle badly. In the last pic I dropped sate
to the lower level of stardust with it.
- Use the SS when an enemy has almost no life left and you're not sure how to
hit them. By intentionally making a wide spread with the SS, you can cover a large
area and almost guarantee that you're able to hit something. It's a waste to SS
this way except to kill though.
