The Mechanics of Cobra Locations
The newly introduced Cobra Locations share some core principles with regular ZHG locations but use a slightly altered banking mechanism. Basically, you can choose the place, the time and the size of a full payout yourself. This may sound good at first, but when it comes to banking and building a 'large' army, COBRA locations are nothing like regular locations, although even the latter seem to have changed payout-wise on higher levels. COBRA locations are simply a means for exchanging troops at a premium price. 'The Cobra File' is supposed to give you a measure of control over that process and make it easier. While the banking method is not a requirement, it is still advisable that you have a basic understanding of this method before you start using 'The Cobra File'.
Pecularities of Cobra locations
Cobra Referrals
You can win one Cobra Referral on Cobra locations every day, if you can find where it is hidden. You just have to clear the 'right' location. The more Cobra locations you have, the harder it will be to find its location. Drill Instructors There are no Drill Instructors on Cobra locations. This means that you can win a full payout on your highest Cobra location level. “Kill Squad Method” Not really a 'squad', but it is possible to clear Cobra location levels 1 to around 30 with a single Garuda unit. Be warned that depending on its stats you might lose the Garuda at a much lower level than 30. Sending in a true "Kill Squad", i.e. 1 Ranger, 1 Enforcer, 1 Spectre and 1 Garuda might result in losses even sooner than that (s. screenshot)! Cost-benefit of Cobra Units for Locations Cobra units are also special when it comes to building them: they require valuable IPs. Although the Rangers seem favorable, they are the most expensive Cobra units IP wise. The most favorable Cobra unit for locations and missions is by far the Spectre followed by the Garuda and the Enforcer. Cobra ZHG Presence Strength The strength of Cobra locations increases on basis of a mixed formula that seems to be polynomial in part. In addition to the assumed polynomial increase, the strength of locations seems to double at level 33 and again at level 66. One could reason that the strength would double again at level 99, but it does not. A recently published presence chart by Daré Tro suggests that the presence strength almost triples from level 98 to level 100, which I can confirm now. The chart and the graph on the right should give you a good idea of the increase in strength of ZHG forces from level 1 to 100, that is the highest available location level at the moment. Daily Capping There is a daily capping on new highest location levels. This means that clearing one of your highest location levels today will give you your next pair of highest location levels not before tomorrow. However it is possible to buy the next pair of highest levels with diamonds once per day, if you have cleared the latter (s. screenshot). Still, the Cobra locations are a slow game. Payout Types So far, clearing a Cobra location can have three different result types:
Payout Size A full payout does not seem to require the payment of any interest, i.e. in theory you can trigger a full payout at any time, on any location and any level. So, while paying interest is not a requirement for getting a full payout, its size is mainly determined and directly dependent on the interest paid. The payout level seems to be a secondary factor, if at all. There is also weak evidence that suggests that the higher the maximum location level is, the lower the chance of a full payout on a lower location level will be. It should be made clear at this point that although overpaying the bank can increase the payout size significantly, there is no evidence so far that the addition in size compensates for the addition in losses in any way. At best, COBRA locations will return your investment. In 97.5% of all cases you will end up with a negative balance. Case Study (s. screenshots): You get a full payout with a total worth of 528.325 in parts on a level 51. 1. Scenario: You pay only 50% of your debt to the bank, i.e. you kill units worth around 264.000 parts and go for a payout on another level 51. With a little luck you will get a full payout worth around 265.000 in parts. In this case, the actual payout size was 1.9% more than expected (which is quite rare): 270.000. 2. Scenario: You pay 100% interest, i.e. you kill units worth 1.056.000 parts and go for a payout on another level 51. With a little luck, you will get a full payout worth around 1.056.000 in parts. In this case, the actual payout size was 7% less than expected: 977.635. |
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This page was last updated on 2018-09-06.