Family Battles FAQ

Q: What is the Family Battle all about?
A: This feature will allow your Family to engage in battle with other Families to earn rewards in pursuit of proving which Family has the most muscle.

Q: Who can start a Family Battle?
A: The Family Battle can only be started by the Godmother/father or Underboss.

Q: How do we select a Family to go to battle with?
A: You will be able to select from Families who have similar rank or ice count.

Q: Is there a limit on the number of Battles that we can be engaged in at the same time?
A: Your Family can only be engaged in one Battle at a time.

Q: How are the results of our Battles displayed?
A: Up to 5 previous Battle results will be displayed and will show the winner/loser, ice count, and score.

Q: How is the progress for our Family Battle measured?
A: The mastery bar is increased for each Family after each Battle that has been engaged. Wins will result in higher mastery, however, the Family will still earn some mastery even if they incur a loss.

Q: What is the Family icon and what does it mean?
A: Mastery Badges are awarded to Families at each mastery level. Every Family will start at level 1.

Q: What is the maximum mastery level that can be earned?
A: Initially there are 15 mastery levels/badges that a Family can earn. This number may be increased over the lifetime of this feature.

Q: Will our Family be able to brag about reaching a new mastery level?
A: Yes! Each time that you reach a new level you will have the option of posting a brag feed to your profile.

Q: Are there different types of Battles?
A: Each Family will be able to engage in two types of Battle. When the Godmother/father decides to engage in Battle with another Family they will have the option of selecting between a 4 hour battle or a 48 hour battle.

Q: What happens after our Family has chosen another Family to do Battle with?
A: After making your selection for Battle an email will be sent to the opposing Family. They will have the option to decline the battle or engage your challenge. Should the Battle be rejected you will receive a notification that they have declined.

Q: How many active requests to engage a Battle can my Family have?
A: Each Family can have up to 10 active Battle requests at any time.

Q: Is there an expiration for the Battle requests that have been sent?
A: Each request will expire after 5 days.

Q: What will happen if we are engaged in a Battle and one of our other requests is accepted?
A: That Family will receive a notification that you are currently engage in another Battle.

Q: Are there timers for the Battles?
A: There will be two distinct timers for each Battle. The first timer is a countdown timer that will let you know when the Battle begins. Any activity during this countdown will not count towards to the Battle. The Battle Timer (4 or 48 hour) will start when the countdown timer concludes. You will have until this timer runs out to defeat your opponent.

Q: How will we know who is winning the Battle?
A: There is a Battle Status Meter which will show you the current score and the time remaining in the Battle.

Q: How do I participate in the Family Battle?
A: On the Family page you will need to click the Battle tab. It will show your active battle and generate a list of participants. You can engage each opposing Family member individually, or if there are not any currently available you can attack the Family directly.

Q: What will determine who wins the Battle?
A: Each Family member can earn points towards winning the Battle by icing, killing, and attacking the opposing teams safehouse. If the timer runs out before the Battle has been finished the Family with the highest score will win. When the Battle has been completed a pop-up will show a summary of the Battle.

Q: What is the safehouse?
A: The safehouse is a way to attack the Family directly if there are no live targets in the opposing Families fight list. The safehouse attack button is only available when there are no live targets and will not be visible if there are players in the fight list for the opposing Family.

Q: What do we receive for taking part in a Family Battle?
A: Each fight action taken will earn individual fight experience along with fight loot. Your Family will also receive Family Battle mastery points for both wins, and losses.

REPRINTED FROM Mafia Wars Blog:

They say ones reputation precedes them. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of mob families, so we created a Family Battle system to help you assert your family's power and prove its strength in the public arena. Bragging rights will be yours - if your family can earn them.

How To Start A Family Battle
Only family officers may instigate a Family Battle, they may elect to hold a 4 or 48 hour battle, and your family can only battle one family at a time. There are two ways to start a Family Battle:

1) Select a family to challenge from a list of recommended families on the "Battle" tab of your Family page:

2) If you already know exactly which family you'd like to challenge, you can do so via their family page.

A Family Battle only begins once an officer from the challenged family accepts the challenge. More precisely, a Family Battle begins 5 minutes after the challenge is accepted:

An officer can send as many challenges as they desire until one is accepted. Challenges are delivered via the ZMC, and your family officers will have to choose among the many challenges they are likely to receive. Upon accepting a Family Battle challenge, any other challenges in your family officers' ZMCs will disappear. Note that pending Family Battle challenges will disappear from ALL of your family officers' ZMCs, not just that of the officer who accepted the challenge. Once a Family Battle has begun, your family officers will be unable to send or receive additional Family Battle challenges until the current one is over, after which an officer of your family may accept another Family Battle challenge immediately.

How Will I Know If My Family's Entered Into Battle?
Your Family Progression icon will become outlined in red and a "Battle Active" flag will appear to let you know when an officer of your family has accepted a challenge from a rival family:

How Family Battles Work
The family that has the most points at the end of the timed Family Battle wins. You earn points for your family by icing and killing rival family members and by attacking your rival family's safehouse. When all family members are under 20 health, a safehouse will be vulnerable to attack. The longer a safehouse gets attacked, the more points the attacking team earns, so you want to defend your safehouse at all costs.

Coming Soon
Battle Leaderboards: Challenge the top families and climb the rankings!
Battle seasons: Earn top rewards for climbing the leaderboard every season!

We can't wait for you to try out the new Family Battle feature, so get in there and prove your family is the strongest!
- The Mafia Wars Team

PS: Check out the FAQ for finer details.