Magma, Magma, Blasted Away

Oh no! A volcano is erupting, and some Tyrannian Neopets need your help in order to escape the lava and rocks that are raining down on them. Use your laser to blast the rocks, but be sure to match your laser to the rock type first. If a boulder should crash too near one of the Tyrannians, you'll both be in trouble!

This guide will hopefully help you master the game known as Magma Blaster.

How to Play

You play as an Alien Aisha whose goal is to save the citizens of Tyrannia from the falling rocks spewed by a nearby volcano. You must use the mouse to control your blaster’s aim, and simply click to shoot. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately it’s not that simple. The rocks come in six different shapes, each of which corresponds to a number. Pressing any of the numbers from one to six will result in your blaster’s target changing.

You have 5 lives, each represented by one of the Tyrannians on the bottom of the screen frantically scurrying around to avoid being crushed by the falling rocks. If a rock falls too close to one of the Tyrannians, they will meet a tragic demise and you will lose a life.

The objects that you are looking to shoot are the rocks flying haphazardly through the air after being spewed by a large volcano sitting in the center of the screen. At the bottom of the screen is your targeting system, with a cursor-like object enclosing the current type of rock that your blaster is set to target.

Rock #1 is very simple looking, merely a round boulder. Rock #2 is a blue rock with 3 red lines running through towards the center. Rock #3 looks like a spiraling shell on fire. Rock #4 is brown in color and resembles a two tier cake. Rock #5 resembles a pile of gravel, and rock #6 has a gray circular outside with a red dot in the center. Press the number that corresponds to the rock that you wish to shoot, and click to blast it to smithereens. You can change the rock you are targeting using the corresponding numbers, or by using z and x to rotate through the rocks.

The scoring is very simple. If you hit a rock while your blaster’s target is centered over it (or at least close to centered), you will gain 4 points. If you hit it off-center, you will only get 2 points. There are 5 levels, with a new type of rock being added each time you move up a level. You must score a certain number of points in a level if you wish to advance to a bonus round in which you will have 15 seconds to shoot as many rocks as possible.

Game Play

The game will begin on the first level (obviously :P). You will have two types of rocks to shoot at, a round boulder and a blue rock with 3 red lines. The volcano will periodically spew these out, which you will want to hit as accurately as possible. If you want to get to the bonus round, you will have to hit all of the rocks perfectly for 4 points each, unless you can get the volcano to spit out more rocks that it normally does (more on that later).

Level 1 requires you to blast 10 rocks to advance and score 40 points to get to the bonus round. Normally the level spews 10 rocks out, but if you wait a little bit when the final rock is released you may be able to get more rocks to fly out, allowing you to get more points. Level 2 requires you to blast 15 to advance and score 60 points to advance to the bonus round, Level 3 requires 20 rocks and 80 points, Level 4 requires 25 rocks and 100 points, and Level 5 requires 30 rocks and 120 points. The regular levels are not timed, so take your time and try to hit every rock perfectly, rather than hurrying and getting 2 points instead of 4 because you were off target.

Bonus Rounds

The bonus rounds are the key to scoring high enough to be a competitor in the Magma Blaster World Challenge and earning a trophy. In each bonus round you have 15 seconds to shoot as many rocks as possible. Unfortunately, sometimes the volcano pauses before it erupts again, draining precious time. There isn’t much you can do about this, but I have found some things that help.

Only look at the rocks, not at how much time you have or how many rocks you have blasted so far. Shoot the rocks as quickly as you can, even though only a few may be out at a time. I have found that the quicker that there are no rocks on the screen, the quicker the volcano will spew out more. Make sure you always get the bonus round, because it can net you an extra forty to eighty points.

Advanced Tips

1. Take your time on the normal levels, because they aren’t timed. You don’t want to lose points and possibly miss a bonus round because you were hurrying.

2. Figure out which finger you will use to press which number. You want to be able to change which rock you are targeting quickly and efficiently. Messing up could make the difference between a trophy and nothing at all. I personally like to use my pinky for 1, my ring finger for 2, my middle finger for 3, and my index for 4, 5 and 6.

3. Minimize distractions. If you need the sound, by all means leave it on. If it doesn’t help you, just shut it off so it doesn’t bother you. You will need to be as focused as possible because you may have to cycle through rocks very quickly.

4. Go fast on the bonus rounds! The faster you get rid of the rocks, the more seem to be spit out. You also want to blast as many as possible before the time limit runs out.

5. Wait for a few extra rocks to be spit out before shooting the final rock therefore ending a regular level. Sometimes up to 6 extra rocks may be released by the volcano, which could get you over an extra 20 points!

6. Remember that the level will not end until you have shot the required number of rocks AND when the screen is clear of rocks. Unfortunately, occasionally while playing I have waited for a while for extra rocks to be spit out. When they do get spit out, sometimes right after I shoot one of them the game takes me to the next level or bonus round.

7. Practice, practice, practice. This one is an obvious one, but probably the most important. The more you practice, the quicker you will be able to switch between rocks and the better control you will have over the mouse.

Earning Neopoints and Winning a Trophy

At the time of writing this guide, the NP ratio is currently 1.61 NP per point. This means you will need to score 622 to get 1000 NP. You will want to score just under the review score if you are competing in the World Challenge because then you can’t be beaten, but I will not reveal what the review score is because TNT says it helps cheaters. The World Challenge can get you many valuable pieces of artwork which can either be sold or can be put together to get a special item.

If you want to get a trophy, on reset night send a score just under the review score right after the high score tables are cleared. You will have to hope that scores aren’t reviewed that day, or you may be pushed out of the trophy spot. Another good strategy is just to score as high as you can, and hopefully when the scores are reviewed you will be in a trophy spot. In the beginning of the month, trophy scores range from about 660 to 750. Towards the end of the month, most scores are above 700, and some even above 800.

Magma Blaster is a very fun game which can earn you lots of NP, be it through just playing for NP or entering World Challenges. If you can score high enough, you may get a nice shiny trophy for your user lookup! So get out there and help that Alien Aisha save those Tyrannians!!

Feel free to NM me if you have any questions!