Dunk Lords

Don't let the ratio fool you -- this achievement is definitely doable, abet with some agonizing, controller throwing moments. Fortunately, I'm here with some tips for you to help you get through.

Here's the biggest one -- you can cheese a bit by starting each round with a two or three point advantage. To do this, start your current level, and go to score a basket. Right before you do, pause the game and select "Restart Game". The score will immediately reset to 0-0, but if your basket hits, it will tick up the score to 2-0 or 3-0.

The above tip will give you a slight advantage in a four quarter game, but a HUGE advantage in rounds where the first to 21 wins. I'd advice doing this every round, as it only takes a minute to set up, and puts you out on the right foot.

Now that the big tip is out of the way, lets talk about gear for a moment -- unfortunately, like the rest of the game, gear is randomized so you'll have to play things a bit by ear each level. Given that, prioritize gear in this order:

Top Tier

Rainbow Royales (Gloves) -- Makes passes un-stealable. Great in any round but an absolute necessity for level 21 (see below), Also, fairly cheap at $200 so you can buy them early (and double up on them in later rounds)

Dunk Masters (Shoes) -- Makes dunks worth 3 points instead of two. Would be the best item in the game bar-none outside the fact they're very expensive at $425. Worth saving up for as it makes some games trivial.

Secondary Tier

Anything that prevents the opposing team from taking the ball from you -- This includes Ninja Kicks (Shoes, dodge dash-steal attacks), Phantom Finery (Armor - prevents uppercut blocks of dunks), and Shock Masters (Gloves -- prevents stealing the ball). Not entirely necessary to have any of these, but the more you control the ball, the better the game will be for you.

Mondo Magnet (Armor) -- Attracts the ball to you. Very handy when using your special to knock down an opponent. I can't count how many times I failed to retrieve the ball properly when hitting an opponent with a special attack, wasting a star in the process. If you're like me, Mondo Magnets will help with this.

Fusion Core (Armor) -- Regenerates stamina at a faster rate. Lots of rounds have teams that drain your stamina pretty consistently (I'm looking at your Chutney!), this keeps stamina up for the loads and loads of dunks you need to score.

Tertiary Tier

Paid Promo (Armor) -- Halves movements speed, but gives you bonus money each quarter. If you're willing to have a bad second quarter, you can use these to fill your coffers and get all the Primary and Secondary tier gear you need in quarter 3 and 4. Just don't forget to remove it after round two. (The AI will almost always buy this for at least one character, so you won't be at too much of a disadvantage).

Hover Trails (Shoes) -- Situationally good. Nullifies D-Roc's mines, bubble gum from the Bubble Gum Shoes, and Chutney's ... chutney. Does NOT nullify the mines Wilbur throws during level 21, so be warned.


With gear out of the way, on to strategy -- unfortunately, unlike Arcade mode or the Gauntlet, you cannot pick your characters, so they'll switch up quite a bit (though you'll mostly be playing as Slice plus a random partner). Sorry, no running through this one with Orwell...

Given that, basic strategy is to keep one of your two characters near your opponents net at all times. Upon scoring, try to use you abilities to steal back the ball, but if you miss, let your other player run defense and hopefully they get the ball back. If your opponent scores, grab the ball and pass it back to your person under then net -- therein, dunk the ball + to get your power back. Wait for the opponents shield to go down and fire your ability, hopefully stealing the ball. Rinse, repeat.

As you can see from above, this strategy is greatly helped with the Rainbow Royales, which allow for un-blockable passes. Should you not have them, one trick to pass the ball without getting intercepted is to waggle your stick up and down. Your assigned defender should also move up and down and a well for a bit, but after a second or two, start to move toward you to try to steal the ball. Before they get to you, you can now safely pass the ball (or at least safely away from the first defender).

You can also see how Dunk Masters Shoes are great for this strategy -- for every 2 points your opponent scores, you'll follow up with three. And if you luck out and your abilities land, more than that. Therein, you can simply score back and forth, not worrying about anything as each exchange increases your by one. A very nice situation to be in.

Some of the harder levels:

Emerion and Gwen, Beach Ball: You'll face off against these two around level six or so. The above strategy is tailor-made for this fight. Pre-load two points (you can't get three due to the restrictions the beach ball has on non-dunk shots), and use the strategy outlined above. Emerion is great at blocking and stealing so try to keep the ball away from her. Make sure to constantly pass away from Gwen when she is in "Ball of String" mode (which you should be doing anyway using the above strategy). Since this is a first to 21 game, reset if you're ever down by more than two.

The Giant Lobster: The giant lobster shows up around level nine. Again, the above strategy is awesome for this. The Lobster tends to throw around its Ship Wheel constantly, knocking down both your characters ... but if one if far enough away (aka under the opponent's basket) they'll have enough time to catch a pass and dunk before the wheel hits them. Therein, when you get the ball after the Lobster scores, pass as quickly as you possibly can before the Lobster fires any of its abilities.

Note: the Lobster is vulnerable to Slice's special attack, so fire away after the rebound shield drops to try to snag an extra two points on a well placed shot.

Marlon and Gwen: You'll face off against this pair around level ten. I didn't have much trouble with them, but I hear others had. Marlon is a beast at getting the ball back and Gwen can be super annoying in the "Ball of String" mode. Again, preload points (preferable three), keep someone under the opponents net, and use the waggle passing method to get the ball past Marlon. If Gwen is riding the string ball, make sure to pass back and forth to keep the ball away from her.

THE FINAL LEVEL This is THE level that will break you. The cheapest of the cheap. Not only do you face off against opponents who can constantly steal the ball, knock you around and drain your energy easily, but Wilbur will be constantly throwing out mines that stun or shrink you, and firing lasers that knock you down. As for your opponents, Chutney will toss out tons of chutney, draining you stamina, and Maurice will constantly go into beast mode, knocking you around and stealing your passes (and will be constantly in your face). This level is one big cluster.

I cannot emphasize this enough, but you'll need the Rainbow Royales here, as your opponents can and will constantly block your passes (and you NEED to pass constantly from quarter two on or the lasers WILL hit you). As a mile marker, I would suggest that you need the score to be at least even by the end of the first quarter AND have Rainbow Royales available to continue to the following quarters.

By the way, if you hit a shrink mine, remember to NOT dunk, as dunks on shrunken characters are a guaranteed miss. As well, after the opponent scores in quarter two on, the laser will hit you in about one second, so you either need to dash immediately or pass immediately. Rainbow Royales make this decision simple (PASS PASS PASS).

After three quarters, the court will collapse and everyone will go into MEGA mode for the entirety of the final round, and only dunks can be scored (but anywhere within the 3-point line). If you don't have the Rainbow Royales here, you opponents can and will constantly tear the ball away from you (whether you're passing or running) and run up about 20 points in 90 seconds. The good news though is that with the Rainbow Royales, you can easily prevent this.

Upon the opponent scoring, immediately pass the ball, as your partner should be at Mega speed. They'll probably receive the ball within the 3-point line. Simply dunk. 2 points! (Or three with Dunk Masters). Rinse, repeat.

With this, you'll never lose points to your opponent, and you can gain some via firing your special (Emerions Bullets or Slice's Pixel Shot) at the ball carrier when their shield goes down, immediately grabbing the ball, and dunking.

I can't stress Rainbow Royales here enough. Before I used them, I got constantly destroyed in quarter four. With a double Rainbow Royale setup, I went up ten points on my opponents, making up for a six point deficit and winning the game (and the achievement).

This one will be frustrating, but remember -- its a 13 TARatio achievement for a reason. Keep at it, buy those Royales, and after a few hours the achievement will be yours.


Hope this all helps. If you need specific help on one of the other matches, let me know and I'll add to this solution. If you have alternative advice, leave that in the comments too, and I'll integrate it into my solution*.


* Unless you sass mouth the Rainbow Royales, in which case I shall ignore you until the end of time.