Angry Birds 2: Tips, tricks, and cheats for crushing piggies

Angry Birds 2 continues the classic premise of using a giant slingshot to fling birds into rickety buildings inhabited by green pigs. (Don't worry, they deserve whatever grisly end awaits them in the rubble for stealing the birds' eggs!) New in the second edition is a randomized element which makes no two playthroughs of a level the same. You'll have new spells to help you along the way, though you'll have to earn them.

Whether you're brand new to Angry Birds 2 or have already had a chance to play but are bumping into a wall (ha!), we've got some tips and tricks that should help you break through and continue progressing!

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Do your dailies

The daily quests are the most consistent way of earning gems, which you need to get extra cards and lives. You don't have to play long every day to complete the quests. You even get a handful just for showing up. Be disciplined when you use these gems, as they'll become more and more useful the further your progress in a game. If you bump into a timer, it may not be the end of the world if you play something else for 20 minutes while your life goes back up.

Get Friendly

You'll regularly stumble on gifts that you can give to Facebook friends that also play Angry Birds 2. It's worth your while to get in the habit of doling these out, because then you can expect your friends to return the favor. That said, don't get too greedy trying to snag a gift on a stage. Sure, they're few and far between, but if you can't beat the level, you won't get to take it home anyway. You may also want to do some recruiting to get more gifts coming in. Find some likeminded friends and get 'em hooked on the game.

Save the spells

Spells are precious gifts that you should stockpile for the rare instances when you're truly stumped on a level. Picking which spell to use and when can be tricky, but there are some steadfast rules of thumb:

Golden Duck Spell is a good pick for mopping up after shelters have already been destroyed.
Frost Spell can help you break through multiple layers with a blue bird.
Hot Chili Spell can pick out single hard-to-reach piggies, which is perfect if they're hiding out next to explosives.
The Pig Inflator Spell is especially effective when the pigs are in enclosed spaces which will force them to pop when they grow.
Mighty Eagle will obliterate basically everything on the screen. Use this early in a stage to get the most bang for buck.

It's easy to get frustrated with a level after losing it a couple of times, but if you can at all help it, hold off on the spells

Know your birds

Since stages are now more or less randomized, your only real tool in winning these stages is knowing which bird to use when. The strength of each is identified in the tutorials and through the handy tips between levels, but as a quick reminder:

The yellow one (Chuck) breaks through wood, in addition to its speedy dash ability.
The red bird's yell is particularly good a knocking down strong structures.
The blue birds take out ice
The matronly white bird, Matilda, drops an egg from above, which is good for hitting TNT crates nestled between two other structures.
The new silver bird is perfect for taking out stone. It's crazy looping manometer can be helpful if mastered properly.
The black bomb bird can take a big bite out of sctructures, particularly good against ones with a strong base that's hard to budge.
Terence is truly massive, and can plow through multiple buildings provided you take proper advantage of the terrain features so he can throw his weight around.

The materials of the structures differ every time you play a stage, so it's a bit of a crap-shoot whether or not you can take advantage of your bird's abilities. You'll need to be keenly aware of opportunities as they present themselves.

Stomach the ads

The most gruelling thing you may have to do isn't figuring out a tough level, but watching enough video ads to keep going when you run out of birds. Often enough, this one extra bird can help you do enough damage to earn another card and keep going through a stage. It is absolutely worth your while to do this in order to save a life, and certainly better than dumping gems to keep going. Watching ads will also give you an extra life when you're completely out, provide arena entries, and double your daily rewards.

Angry Birds 2 cheat: advance the clock

If you really can't wait for the timer to wind down until you get more lives, you can advance your iPhone or iPad's clock.

Go into Settings.
Tap General.
Tap Date & Time
Tap Set Automatically to set it off (if not already).
Tap the time at the bottom, and scroll the clock forward an hour or two.

This cheat will fool Angry Birds 2 into thinking that you've waited for your extra lives when you really haven't. Be sure to dial back the clock to the normal time when you're done.