more on Family Properties

Last night the official Mafia Wars blog posted--FINALLY--about the Family Properties. I had a good laugh over the opening sentence: "we're excited about all the attention the new Family Properties feature has been getting" --what world do they live in?????

The outpouring of sentiment from Mafia Wars players hasn't been in the least bit positive. I have yet to personally see a single positive comment about this feature. It's confusing as hell, complicated, and seems to require a lot of effort for not a lot of payoff. Players everywhere have been complaining, or simply confused. So much so that it's impossible to put a positive spin on it, yet somehow Zynga managed to do so. ::giggle:: But thanks for the laugh, Zynga.

So this isn't a typical property in the sense that we are normally accustomed to; you don't build anything from it. Rather, its level and health provide and affect additional mafia attack strength, over and above what you personally have. I think, anyway. 

We're excited about all the attention the new Family Properties feature has been getting and are working hard to iron out the last remaining bugs. (Be sure to let us know in the Bugs & Support forum if you're experiencing any.) There has been some confusion regarding how Family Properties work; we're going to try to clear that up here. (SOME???)

Let’s start with explaining why it's a good idea to build and defend Family Properties: for the Family Property Bonus! The reason to build the first Family Property, the Artillery Station, for example, is that it nets you a 1,000 point bonus to your Mafia attack (when its health is at 100%).(Ah, so that explains the fluctuating mafia attack scores players were noticing. So it shouldn't affect your actual numbers, only the "bonus" received.)

There are 10 levels to each Family Property and, in the case of the Artillery Station, each level grants a 1,000 point Mafia attack bonus. A Level 10 Artillery Station, then, will grant you a 10,000 point bonus to your Mafia attack! (Again, that's when the Artillery Station is at 100% health.)

As rival families rob from your Family Property, its health decreases and the Family Property Bonus you receive is reduced. Keep your Family Property fully repaired and maximally defended to maintain 100% of the bonus its level can grant you.

Once you've built a Family Property, there are 3 main things you can do to it:

1) Upgrade it. This increases the max Family Property Bonus the property can grant you. Upgrades are performed with consumable parts, which are available from robbing rival families' properties (max. 30/day) and from requests & gifts (max. 20/day). Note: Damaged properties cannot be upgraded until they are fully repaired. Read on to learn more about repairing your Family Properties.

2) Defend it. This makes it harder for rival families to reduce the Family Property Bonus the property is granting you. Each family member can add up to 5 items to a Family Property (higher defense stats = higher property health), but be sure to choose carefully, as the items you select will be removed from your personal inventory and cannot be recovered, even if you decide to better equip the Family Property later on. Items of all classes may be contributed; try combinations to earn a bonus!

3) Repair it. Restoring your Family Property's health recovers any Family Property Bonus reductions resulting from rival families robbing the property. Family Properties do not heal themselves; repairs, like upgrades, are performed with consumable parts, which are available from robbing rival families' properties (max. 30/day) and from requests & gifts (max. 20/day).

Now that you know how Family Properties work, head to your family page to upgrade, defend, and repair your family’s Artillery Station and rob from those of your rival families! (You can also rob the Family Properties of a rival family by going to the “Properties” tab on their Family Page.)