With this guide to Zynga's Facebook application, Mafia Wars, learn how to save your hard-earned money without paying high bank fees. These tips and strategies will tell you when to spend your money and when to bank it.
In the popular Mafia Wars by Zynga, also the creators of Farmville, using the Bank option comes with a steep price. Ten percent (10%) of anything you deposit in the bank disappears into the pockets of some Zynga launderer as a fee. When should you use the bank? Why should you use the bank? Should you use the bank at all? These are all questions that new players—and even some old players—struggle with on a consistent basis. The answers are quite simple and broken down by city.
Sometimes you should use the bank. Money comes easily very quickly in New York. Using the bank early can be beneficial for players who get attacked frequently or players who plan to fight a lot. There are two reasons to use the bank while under level 25. First, money can be quite hard to come by at this point. You can lose up to $100,000 per fight at the higher levels, but you are quite safe from that at the lower levels. The lower levels, however, is when every dollar counts because you actually learn so little from the early jobs. In addition, you have to buy gear, so money is very important.
The first lesson in banking is to spend everything you can before you start banking. You want to only put your leftover money into the bank. This serves to keep it from being stolen as well as to keep you from being attacked. Some people play with the intent to keep a high percentage of Fights Won to Fights lost (found in your profile), and keeping cash on hand can incite a more powerful mafia to hit you repeatedly. Not only do you lose money, you become a known target that keeps money on hand. Dump all the money you can into gear and buying up businesses before you start putting money into the bank. I recommend investing heavily in rent houses early on simply because they cannot be robbed.