#ExtraBirdChallenge

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Mighty Eagle’s Boot Camp has turned into a hackers practical joke. Top spots are riddled with clones and barely full flocks. It is impossible for players with lower FP to compete with players well above 1,000 FP. There are many things gumming up the works and players are up in arms.
Rovio’s response to the problem is the #ExtraBirdChallenge. It is the first real attempt at leveling the playing field in MEBC. The two biggest changes are the removal of the destructometer and having access to your entire flock.
Removing the destructometer really has had the biggest impact on game play. This means there is no bird card rejuvenation. You are given 11 bird cards to start the MEBC round, one of each. I did receive a golden pig, which would instantly fill the destructometer and supply an extra card, but nope, not now! No destructometer means the golden pig is only a shiny thing used to distract you from your score.
The idea behind the change is that every player is given the same number of chances to score. Bigger flocks will, of course, still have higher scores than small flocks, but they will no longer be able to earn 2-3 extra cards for clearing a room. Flocks 500 FP and below can struggle to fill the destructometer in a room and when they do it’s usually for 1 extra card. This creates quite the discrepancy in opportunities to score between the high and low FP players. Removing the destructometer removes that discrepancy and is a step towards a more level playing field.
A rather comedic twist is that we now play with our entire flock! Hence the reason for the forced unlock of Extra Birds that came with the September update. There is no more waiting or collecting x number of feathers to unlock an Extra Bird. Now there is a bird key on the map, just like there are for the Big 7. This also means when they unlock it is at a 1 card level. During the forced unlock in September my Hal opened without feathers or a wait with a 20 card level.
Extra Birds are notorious for being significantly lower in FP, mainly due to a lack of hats, than the Big 7. Players that have been around for a while typically see a fairly large FP difference between Stella/Bubbles and Hal/Leonard. This needs to be remedied. Start funneling your hatchling rainbow feather awards to your lowest Extra Bird. When the new MEBC Shop opens use some of the coins to purchase rainbow feathers for the Extra Birds. Whenever there is a Rainbow Feather Event feed the Extra Birds. Start leveling those beaks up! Keeping all your bird FPs relatively close in size is advantageous in many aspects of the game, especially if the #ExtraBirdChallenge sticks around.
Until you catch the laggers up, or figure out how to use the green team, use them for clean up. Leonard and Hal both cause a fair amount of damage simply being thrown into something. Don’t waste a high FP bird card on a dumb survivor piggy, huck Hal at that sucker.
Keep in mind, if spells aren’t offered to be taken into the round at the start, you will not see any spells during the round. Spells have not been previously offered to bring into MEBC. They have, however, been awarded as an extra card when the destructometer is filled. No destructometer means no spell cards. You get 11 shots in MEBC, that’s it!
These are some pretty big changes in what players are accustomed to with MEBC. Part of the resistance is due to the timing and sloppiness of the rollout. Ideally, these types of changes to a seasonal competition would occur at the start of a new season, not smack dab in the middle of it! I call it sloppy because when it went live Monday 10/28 players that went in an immediately played were given the chance to run MEBC using the old system. I’m not sure when exactly, but somewhere between 1-3 hours into the training day the play mode switched to the new system. In fact, some players have been able to delay the updated and continue to submit scores to the MEBC leaderboard. We can all agree this doesn’t get it started on the right foot.
Another ruffle is not being able to complete as many rooms which means fewer MEBC coins. I’ll agree, this is a sucky side effect. It was only a few seasons ago that they added the coins to the individual rooms. Used to be you only received rank coins. When the update rolled out to add coins to the rooms, MEBC tightened up, people weren’t finishing as many rooms as they had in the past. After feedback from players, that was adjusted and now, (well, before the #ExtraBirdChallenge) players are completing MEBC. I didn’t realize that could even happen until I saw a video of El Profesor do it! I figured you played until you ran out of cards. Given the new set up, 11 rooms would be the max in MEBC. It would require a strike in every room the reach the end.
The new changes have not gone over well with players. While I agree, it’s definitely not as much fun to play, I think some of the resistance is due to misunderstanding. Many negative comments are about the score but make no mention of how their rank compares. I average 24-30 MEBC coins and since the update I’ve been in the mid to high 40’s! Keep in mind, Angry Z and Dan Chan both scored under  65 million for their 10/30/19 MEBC runs and their bird cards are well over 100 FP each. Scores are low for everyone. Pay closer attention to how you stack up against your peers, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Hit me up with what you think about the #ExtraBirdChallenge either here or on Twitter @AngieBlu7. I’ve included links below to the Extra Bird support groups. Each bird has a dedicated group with videos and tips.
                                                             Good Luck & Happy Flinging!
                                                                             Lil Bug

King Leo - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2382180888721958/?ref=share

AB2 Gamers Leonard Appreciation Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2227163827405690/?ref=share

AB2 Gamers Hal Appreciation Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/HALISGREAT/?ref=share

AB2 Gamers Stella Appreciation Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/StellaIsGreat/?ref=share

AB2 Gamers Bubbles Appreciation Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/893202487715887/?ref=share




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