Draining just before Wizard Mode

[Jeppo99]

Has anybody experienced the soul-destroying moment of draining your last ball just one shot away from starting the table's wizard mode for the first time? After many games and hours on playing the table, and finally you get a good sequence of balls together, only to lose your last one just moments before the table's climax?

This unfortunate scenario has befallen upon me twice. The first when playing on the F4 table back in the Marvel Pinball days when the ball went plummeting down the left outlane after I missed the mission hole to start the wizard mode.

And now it's just happened to me again, this time on the Infinity Gauntlet! I've somehow managed to collect all six orbs. All I needed to do was aim the ball up the centre ramp to start Thanos Frenzy. Annoyingly the gate was up. I hit it, then the table dropped the ball straight down the middle! I was horrified! Not to mention being a mite upset. I've never got that far before, and it's likely I will never get there again.

Has this ever happened to anybody else, on any table? Let us share each others' pain.

[shogun00]

A couple times now.

ZP1:
Tesla - Just got the trophy for beating the five experiments on my last ball and all I needed to do to start up the wizard mode (Teleforce) was to shoot the ball up to the center (lab) hole. I shot it up, but it was repelled by the bumpers and it went STDM. I never tried it again, until ZP2 released. I finally was able to start it and defeat it just about a week ago.

Earth Defense - Acquired all ten medals (trophy earned), but I couldn't get the ball into the center hole to start up the wizard mode. Again, I recently started it up in ZP2 with ease.

Marvel Pinball:
Iron Man: I completed all 12 missions and was just one hit away to start up Ultimo but failed to start it. I was able to start it up eventually and defeat Ultimo on my third attempt. Funny thing is on ZP2, I was able to complete all of the above on my first game/attempt.

[caper_26]

I always find that I am 1 shot from finishing any difficult mission to have the same thing happen. Lately, in multiball, I find that 2 or 3 balls drain at the same time, only to have a ball lost. That is f'ing disgusting....

[maink]

Sdtm

not only that but sometimes i experience the most incredible saves , like sdtm bangbacks before wizard mode , sometimes i get the last kickback letter actvated when the ball drains in the outlane , just awesome ,and regular outlane bangbacks

[chiralfox]

I don't have any wizard mode stories about Zen, since I can't seem to get to any. However, the day that Dark Knight Rises released, I was playing a couple of games of Iron Man before heading inside.

As soon as I heard the words, "the Jericho," my ball went SDTM. I almost smacked my forehead on the glass.

[shogun00]

I don't have any wizard mode stories about Zen, since I can't seem to get to any.

Play Sorcerer's Lair, it's the easiest wizard mode to start up and complete. All you have to do is start up each of the missions once and you don't have to complete them either. After you started up all six of the missions, the wizard mode is lit and you can't really lose it either (timed multiball with infinite ball save).

[Rafie]

Same thing happened to me with Iron Man. I beat all 12 missions and then BAM!! STDM!!! Was I p.o.?! You dern straight I was. LOL After that time I got to him quite a few times and has still yet to beat Ultimo!

PvZ is such an easy table, yet I failed at it 3 times! That stupid fire/ice ball got me every time. Well 4th times a charm and I annihilated it. Best thing to do is practice that flower pot sinkhole shot.

With Moon Knight, I kept failing the part where you have to hit the center hole a total of 4 times to get to the 2nd phase of the wizard mode. I finally beat it on ZP2.

Ghost Rider is yet another easy table and I failed miserably every time I got there. I bet it was like 12 times. I would hit Zadkiel with 2 of the flame balls, but I swear the 3rd/last hit the ball would not hit the ramp. It would hit the orbit, OR I wouldn't hit the ramp hard enough..so the ball would fall back down. I hated that! I finally beat it on ZP2.

I don't even want to talk about Loki!

Oh and on Earth Defense I got 9 medals out of 10 and STDM! WTH?!?!?! I'll get it one day.

[Jet Set Future]

I'm usually a nervous wreck the first time I reach the wizard mode on a table, and I almost always completely blow it. It's a great feeling to finally conquer a table, though. But since I own several pinball games, I've become an absolute mess from of all the stress and grief they have caused me. Then again, I wouldn't want it any other way!

[melvo24]

Sorry guys. I am not up to speed with pinball lingo quite yet. Whats 'Wizard Mode'?

[shogun00]

Sorry guys. I am not up to speed with pinball lingo quite yet. Whats 'Wizard Mode'?

It's the final mission in the game.

Examples:
In Iron Man, fighting Ultimo is the wizard mode.
In Sorcerer's Lair, the "Midnight Madness" mission is the wizard mode.
In Wolverine, "The Last Page" is the wizard mode.

[melvo24]

It's the final mission in the game.

Examples:
In Iron Man, fighting Ultimo is the wizard mode.
In Sorcerer's Lair, the "Midnight Madness" mission is the wizard mode.
In Wolverine, "The Last Page" is the wizard mode.

Gotcha...Thanks for the info. Getting more pinball literate by the day.

[ShoryukenToTheChin]

Gotcha...Thanks for the info. Getting more pinball literate by the day.

Trust me dude stay on these Forums and you'll be a PinWiz in no time.

[Jeppo99]

You may sometimes hear of Mini-Wizard modes, too. These usually aren't the final mission of the table, but they tend to be only activated by either completing or attempting certain missions, and beating these modes access the final Wizard Mode. In Zen Pinball, only two (or three) tables have them: X-Men (four, one to light each letter) and Infinity Gauntlet (Thanos Fury, activated once the player attempts each mission once). You could also include Mars as well, as the four primary missions could be considered mini-wizard modes well due to the difficulty of activating them.