Training your gags: the basics
I know many people struggle with maxing out one or more of their gag tracks. Its a well known fact that some tracks are just easier to train than others. Some of the easiest tracks being throw, squirt, and lure. The others can vary in difficulty based on your methods. I felt like writing this and sharing my knowledge of gag training, because to me - they’re all easy to train. (Note: easy =/= quick) no matter what method used, it’s pretty much always gonna be pretty time consuming, and repetitive. So keep this in mind.
I’m gonna stick this under a read more to prevent a superlong post. Anyways, enjoy!
Toonup
Toonup is one of the easiest tracks to train in my opinion, but it does require a friend to help you, so it’s understandable that it may be difficult for others if they don’t have access to a willing friend. The best method is to find a friend who is also training Toonup, so you will both benefit. The most effective method of training Toonup (and all other tracks) is going in 5 story buildings during invasions. Make sure it’s not too high of a level invasion compared to your laff. For example, if you’re 30 laff and fighting big wigs, you’re gonna have a bad time. Once you’ve found a suitable invasion and a 5 story building, now go in that building and defeat 4 floors preferably using as little Toonup as possible. (Basically just survival) on the 5th floor, defeat all but one or two cogs (one if you want to be safe, two if you want to be quick) and just pass. Take damage, and toon each other up until you run out of Toonup. Once you’ve maxed your points or used all your Toonup, kill the cog and reap the benefits. Repeat this method until you’ve maxed your track. On a side note, it’s more efficient to use this method in conjunction with training other gags, so training your other tracks on all the floors until the last cog, then swap to Toonup.
Trap
Trap is considered one of the hardest tracks to train, right next to drop. In my opinion, it’s actually one of the easiest. But it IS the most time consuming. Keep in mind, that time consuming is not the same as difficult. It may also be inconvenient because similar to toonup, it requires a friend to train. My favorite method of training trap is training it alongside someone who is either training lure OR drop. The reasoning for this is because trap counts as a STUN for drop, even when it’s not activated. The higher the accuracy of a gag type, the better stun it is for drop. This is why squirt and sound are good stuns, because they are both high accuracy. However, trap has PERFECT accuracy and therefore its the best stun for drop. When I stun with trap, my drop will rarely miss - even in it’s low levels. I’ve had anvils hit lvl 11 cogs several times in a row just by placing a trapdoor. Also, the higher level of trap - the better the stun. TNT being better stun than trapdoor, for example. The first few levels of trap are extremely easy to level, you could even get multiple new gags in one run if you play right. Once you hit quicksand or trapdoor, it begins to slow down. The best method is finding 5 stories in invasions, and saving your trap for the last two floors. Use the lower level trap first, then use your highest level trap on the last floor exclusively. Play it smart, trap efficiently. If a level 9 cog has 110 health, it can take two quicksands and one trapdoor before being destroyed - effectively using three gags on one cog. The same can be applied to a level 11, it can take two trapdoors and one TNT. The best part about trap in my opinion, is you will never waste a gag if you play right, because it never misses. Lure might miss, but your trap will remain and still give you points when lured again. This is why I consider it the easiest gag to train.
Lure
lure is one of the easiest tracks to train in it’s later levels. However, in the beginning levels it can be one of the most aggravating and frustrating gags to train. It will constantly miss and rarely hit. It can also be tricky to train, because a majority of people are unaware that you must wake a cog up with a gag before lure runs out in order to receive points for it. For example, if you lure a cog and pass until he awakes, you will not receive credit for lure. This means that while training lure, you MUST eventually kill the cog and you can never “endlessly” lure over and over to reap extra points. This also means that while luring multiple cogs, you have to keep track of which ones will wake first - to make sure you get the points. The best method I’ve found to training lure, is bringing a friend who has higher or preferably maxed lure along with you, and having them “help” you lure by using lure of the like. (this means magnets with magnets, and bills with bills) Most of the time, their high lure will override yours and you will get credit. Do this until big magnet, and you’ve pretty much gotten to the easy stages of training lure. From there on, your lure will hit a majority of the time - making maxing this gag one of the fastest and easiest.
Sound
Sound is honestly one of the most annoying tracks to train for me. It’s really inconvenient in most situations to use low level sound, and you need a lot more points to get to the next gag level. The jump from elephant trunk to fog horn is the biggest point leap in the game. What I’ve found is the most efficient ways to max sound is doing buildings with friends in invasions, save all your sound til the last floor, then try to time your sound in efficient ways. For example, using sound on a row of 4 cogs they will all die at the same time (assuming they are the same level) but if you have one cog and one comes out the elevator, use your sound on the turn while they walk. This will gain you one extra turn to use your sound. Each time a cog comes out of the elevator, try to “beat” them with sound first. Sound is hard to train since it damages all cogs, and ultimately losing you some points. Once you hit that elephant trunk, training sound becomes a huge pain - a task you might dread. Just push through it and remember once you get fog, it’s extremely easy to max from there on.
Throw and Squirt
Throw and squirt are the absolute easiest tracks to train. Their method are simple, do buildings in invasions and spam them. If you truly want the maximum amount of points, make sure you save the higher gags for the last floor and try to get multiple gags off on one cog - especially throw since it does relatively high damage. Avoid luring, (lure bonus damage adds up!) and be ok with taking a little bit of damage - to get the most points out of every building. There isn’t much more explanation to these tracks.
Drop
Drop is right next to trap in one of the most “difficult” tracks to train. But to me, drop is actually one of the most fun gags to train... in it’s later levels. In the beginning drop is very similar to lure in frustration levels. It misses a LOT, and to top it off, it goes LAST in the turn. So you may not even get to use your drop, depending on who you’re playing with. What I suggest is teaming up with someone who is either training sound, trap, or drop as well. While it’s true that double drop DOES decrease the accuracy, if they have a higher level drop - it will override that and make your drop more likely to hit. There are chances where it can miss one drop and hit another. A cog can dodge an anvil but get hit by a safe. This is why you should use like for like - just like lure. By this I mean, use the big drops with big drops and small with small. Flowerpot, anvil, and sandbag are “small” drops (they smash in the head) and big weight, safe, and piano are “big” drops. (they crush the whole cog). This will prevent you from getting a one hit one miss scenario. In terms of stun, the best stuns are trap, sound, and squirt. The higher the accuracy, the better the stun. For trap, you don’t need to lure for it to count as a stun. Just use the gag. A lot of people doubt this method, but I’ve maxed multiple toon’s drop tracks using this trap-stun method. It will almost always make a drop hit. The higher the trap gag, the better the stun. So don’t expect a banana peel on a level 11 to make your sandbag hit the cog. Just use the same methods of 5 stories in invasions, saving higher gags for the last floor. Maxing drop is actually quite easy once you hit big weight.
So that’s all my advice - good luck maxing your gags and I hope I helped!