Mafia Wars Strategy - Doin' the Job
A basic overview of what can be accomplished through the job system in Mafia Wars was outlined in the Basics. There are a few key concepts that are worth spending a bit more time on truly the get the best out of your Mafioso. Until recently, jobs were the principal way to gain experience and level up. You want to leverage the time spent doing jobs in order to maximize the benefit that can be gained in terms of skill points, monetary value, and items.
Obey your Master
Job Mastery will yield you a skill point each time you complete a job's given mastery level. Once a Mastery level is obtained in all jobs of a given tier, the next level of job mastery opens up. Each job in each tier therefore has three levels of mastery and every job can yield three bonus skill points through the accomplishment of that Mastery. Every spare skill point achieved helps you level even faster regardless of the strategy that is employed for leveling.
Along with skill points, in each City there are also rewards for fully mastering a job tier. In New York, these items are key to staying competitive.
| Item | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Pistol Bayonet | +4% damage dealt in fights |
| Roadster | -7% damage received in fights |
| Golden Skull | a 30 second reduction on your health regen timer |
| Money Plate | a 5% discount on property purchases |
| Chainsaw Bayonet | a 30 second reduction on your stamina regen timer |
| State Senator | a 5% discount on property repairs |
| Helicopter | a 30 second reduction on your energy regen timer |
| Private Island | a 5% bonus on job experience |
| Golden Throne | 2x the energy regenerated per regen period |
In Cuba completing a job tier rewards a unique item that is best in class for the category of the item. Mastering all of the job tiers in New York should clearly be the first priority as the Golden Throne for mastering the Boss level is the singularly most useful item in the game.
Vaulting the valuables
Every job tier has at least one, if not more collections that can be gained. On the Inventory tab you can select Collections & Vault in order to view what pieces you have and which ones you still need. You can trade away collection pieces, but they can not be stolen. You do not get the benefit from vaulting a collection until you actually click on the Vault button after getting at least one of each item.
After a collection has been vaulted, if you manage to collect another full set of that collection this can then be vaulted again to yield boosts. These boosts are one shot items that are immediately applied the next time an action is taken that would benefit from it. For instance, if you have a boost for reducing the amount of energy spent on a job, your very next job will use this boost. Hence, with the exception of robbing and fighting defense, you will want to hold off on vaulting your extra collections until you actually want to use the boost it will give you.
If you are trying to talk friends into playing the game, offering them full sets at the outset can be greatly beneficial. A player does not need to have a specific job tier unlocked in order to be sent the collection, though they may not be able to immediately vault it. The collections that yield extra energy points can be especially useful to a new player. Boosts can be similarly traded, but do not provide quite as much benefit to the receiver.
New York Collections
| Collection | Job Tier | Bonus | Boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Flush Collection | Street Thug | +1 Energy | Tripwire(+10 fight defense skill) |
| Heart Flush Collection | Associate | +5 Health | Cappucino(-3 job energy costs) |
| Sculptures Collection | Soldier | +3 Defense | Alarm System (+15 robbing defense skill) |
| Poker Chips Collection | Soldier | +2 Attack | Bulldog (+18 fight defense skill) |
| Club Flush Collection | Soldier | +3 Attack | Problem Solver (-5 job energy costs) |
| Boxing Collection | Soldier | +3 Attack | Semi-Pro Boxer (+15 attack skill) |
| Cigars Collection | Enforcer | +2 Energy | Fixer (-8 job energy costs) |
| Spade Flush Collection | Enforcer | +2 Stamina | Sting Grenade (+20 attack skill) |
| Billiards Collection | Enforcer | +1 Stamina | Bouncer (+27 robbing defense skill) |
| Rings Collection | Hitman | +4 defense | Blueprints (-10 job energy costs) |
| Ties Collection | Hitman | +6 Defense | Injunction (+25 fight defense skill) |
| Paintings Collection | Capo | +6 Energy | Motion Detector (+37 robbing defense skill) |
| Cufflinks Collection | Capo | +10 Health | Corporate Muscle (+35 attack skill) |
| Barber Collection | Capo | +4 Energy | Shave & a Haircut (+30 fight defense skill) |
| Great Race Horses Collection | Consigliere | +7 Energy | Inside Tip (-16 job energy costs) |
Cuba Collections
| Collection | Job Tier | Bonus | Boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rum Drinks Collection | El Soldado | +8 Energy | Flaming Shot (+30 attack skill) |
| Tropical Fruits Collection | El Capitan | +3 Stamina | Boosted Smoothie (-18 job energy costs) |
| Entertainers Collection | El Jefe | +10 Health | Sandbag Wall (+35 fight defense skill) |
| Tropical Fish Collection | El Patron | +5 Attack | Blowfish Dart (+40 attack skill) |
| Beards Collection | El Padrino | +7 Defense | Hobo Lookout (+60 robbing defense skill) |
Moscow Collections
| Collection | Job Tier | Bonus | Boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prison Tattoos Collection | Baklany | +6 Defense | Temporary Tattoo (+42 Fight Defense Skill) |
| Matryoshka Dolls Collection | Boets | +7 Energy | Hidden Matryoshka (-20 job energy cost) |
| Russian Leaders Collection | Brigadir | +4 Attack | Political Favor (+60 robbing defense skill) |
| Vodka Drinks Collection | Avtoritet | +4 Stamina | Liquid Courage (+44 attack skill) |
| Soviet Memorabilia Collection | Vor | +10 Health | Berlin Wall Section (+46 fight defense skill) |
| Faberge Egg Collection | Pakhan | +8 Energy | Faberge Hen: -24 job energy cost |
Bangkok Collections
| Collection | Job Tier | Bonus | Boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chess Set Collection | Brawler | +5 Energy | Chess Master (-8 job energy costs) |
| Masks Collection | Criminal | +5 Defense | War Paint (+32 attack skill) |
| Spices Collection | Pirate | +7 Defense | Pepper Spray (+36 fight defense skill) |
| Carvings Collection | Commandant | +4 Attack | Chisel (+34 attack skill) |
| Orchids Collection | Oyabun | +8 Health | Boutonniere (+10% payout on jobs) |