Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
The spies are invading Springfield! Yes, the Secret Agent update has hit our games. We’ve got hacking, drones, dossiers and a shrinking donut bank account because there are LOADS of spy items in our stores just tempting us with those sprinkles!
Of course with that limited-time label it can be tempting to buy everything that looks awesome because it’ll be gone soon. But don’t sweat it! That’s where we come in to tell you what’s worth those donuts and what you might want to hold off on.
Wondering if you should add the Mastermind Hank Scorpio? Well before you hit that confirm button let’s break down the pros and cons of adding this evil genius to your Springfield…
Costume: Mastermind Hank Scorpio
Decoration: Globex Balloon
Donut Price: 120 Donuts
Conform-O-Meter: Balloon is Vanity +200
Bonus %/Earns: Nothing, Nada, Zlich. I hope it’s an oversight because that’s kinda crummy. Especially considering you can buy more balloons in the store for donuts after you purchase this one. Hopefully EA adjusts.
Alternative: If you do not have Hank Scorpio you’ll be offered Hank with the Mastermind costume (and the Volcano Lair) for 160 donuts, with a 40 Donut rebate so NET 120 donuts. Again this comes with Hank Scorpio, Mastermind Hank Costume and the Volcano Lair. This option does not come with the Globex Balloon
Opinion On Hank Scorpio: If you’re offered the rebate option, BUY IT. Hank Scorpio is one of my favorite characters..and his test the Flame Thrower has been my favorite task in TSTO for nearly 5 years! Take advantage of the offer and buy it. For more details on Hank and the Volcano Lair check out this post.
Note: You will have to go into your inventory to pull out the Mastermind Hank Costume, no matter which option you purchase. And ONLY the Mastermind Hank costume collects intel, regular Hank Scorpio does not. So you’ll have to use the costume (from inventory) to see tasks at the HQ to collect intel.
Also, you DO NOT need to do the questlines associated with Hank Scorpio or Mastermind Hank to start collected intel at the HQ. In fact you should ignore those questlines until the event is over. Use Mastermind Hank to collect all of the intel you can…
Leaves Stores May 9th
Pros
-Decent outdoor tasks, although his new upgraded flame thrower is just awesome
-Earns “super premium” at the HQ, 80 intel/4hrs instead of 60/4hrs like the other premium characters
Cons
-It’s a costume premium costume for an already premium character
-The balloon doesn’t offer a bonus %
-Despite Mastermind Hank earning “super premium” at the HQ he doesn’t earn “super premium” for regular jobs. Which means his Mastermind cash earning jobs pay the same as his regular Hank Scorpio jobs.
Final Thought
Premium:
So logically (if you’re offered Mastermind Hank and the Balloon), this is a pass. It’s way over priced and under whelming. BUT I like that he earns super premium at the HQ and his flame thrower task gets me every time. So I spent donuts on this one (although I passed on Camera Hat Homer). So if you love the flame thrower task as much as I do, this may be one you’ll want to pick up. Otherwise, i’d pass. It is very over priced for what is is/does.
Freemium:
If you already have Hank and are contemplating this costume…pass. Save your donuts for better stuff coming up. However, as I mentioned above, if you don’t have Hank and are offered the full combo (with original Hank and the lair) pick it up. But for just the costume and balloon, pass.
Of course in the end it’s your decision, we can only tell you what we would or wouldn’t do. And I can tell you as a premium player, I already picked him up. Seriously guys it’s the flame thrower task. Gets me every time. Just remember this is limited time, and will be leaving our stores soon. Whatever you decide, So be sure to make your final decision before it’s gone from our games for good. (or for now..)
Here’s a look at his tasks..
Mastermind Hank Scorpio’s Permanent Tasks:
| Task | Length | Earns | Location |
| Deliver Ultimatums to World Leaders | 1hr | $105, 26xp | Outside/Visual |
| Reinvent the Death Ray | 4hrs | $260, 70xp | Volcano Lair |
| Test the Upgraded Flame Thrower | 8hrs | $420, 105xp | Outside/Visual |
| Give Minions Awesome Work Benefits | 12hrs | $600, 150xp | Volcano Lair |
| Execute Charming Special Agents with Thick Accents | 24hrs | $1,000, 225xp | Volcano Lair |
What are your thoughts on Mastermind Hank? Will you be picking him up or have you already? Why or why not? Sound off in the comments below, you know we love hearing from you!
Hello to everyone, hope you’re all enjoying the event!
Has anyone else had their mech robot disappear since the update? The base is still there but the robot is nowhere to be seen….
I’ve been noticing this for a couple weeks now. Just tap on the empty base to bring the mech back. I have to do this multiple times every day. It is very annoying indeed. It reminds me of the former ‘turtle tapping bug’ that caused Homerlayas, Burns’ Summer Mansion and the casino players club tower to revert back to their lowest state.
Thank you so much! Mech is now safely back on his base 😁
Hmph. Still annoyed at the cost for this skin.
No sale!
I got him together with the lair 🙂 Wanted him for a long time, so 120 Donuts + the costume was a great deal. I love the episode and the character and he earns huge amounts of event currency, so I’m really glad they made this offer.
Thanks for the review :). I’m starting to be low on donuts and do not plan to buy more before some time. So good to know this is a pass -especially giving the fact that I have Tatum, McBain and Lurleen already- !
Thanks for the heads up on getting his costume out of store to earn intel. I had been wandering why he didn’t have any tasks.
Sherry Bobbins is boring. Hank is where its at. The lair looks awesome with Christmas lights and did you read the part about flamethrowers? Once I had Hank throwing flames AND Petroleus Rex spraying gas on the same corner. Epic.
I wanted Hank for a long time and got him last year……..no regrets.
Can you do the mystery drop box (all items)
It might be coming, but since they’re returning items, just search the site.
I got him. He used to cost 200 donuts so it’s a very good buy if one can spare the donuts. Once bought, he triggers about 4 or 5 quest lines not related to event. Tempted to follow through but more important to collect event currency for now. This event looks tough and I’m aiming to get the Bond character.
I do not have him but this deal is too good to pass up. I might wait last minute to buy but I am sure I will purchase soon.
Don’t wait too long. Hank can help with event currency. Sooner you get him, the more currency you can get.
Though I agree that donuts can be handy later in the event. There’s a villain called Femme Fatale which I am interested but she’s premium. Not sure how much she costs.
Had to do it because I’m OCD like that. This is probably my biggest regret though. Doughnuts are tighter than usual and I do feel burned paying so much for a skin. To add to the frustration, through my own lack of paying attention, I didn’t realize it put a bonusless balloon in my inventory so as a completionist I bought a second one because….I’m a completionist, though this item is really boring.
Again because of my OCD I’ve been running Hank through his questline instead of utilizing his event currency earning ability….must….make…..icon….go….away!
Well the first step is admitting you have a problem…hahaha
Sometimes we just have to accept who we are with no guilt… 🙂
Experts in donut farming keep saying that it’s better to invest the cash in donut producers like more KEMs than to keep choosing boxes in the 3-box donut game to get the full three donuts. I just can’t do that and absolutely have to pay until I get those precious donut triples… So I just make sure I make enough cash to indulge this compulsion.
I also must do the recycling game every week for the five free donuts, even though the experts say we’re better off keeping the recycling team earning cash and XP. During events, I do give the event currency earners time off from recycling so it takes a little longer to get my beloved recycling donuts from the remaining short-handed teams. But I can’t just not play the recycling game any more than I could (gasp!) throw away half a candy bar as “weight management” sites recommend. (What heresy! Do people really do that?!?!?)
I got the Hank bundle, since he was a character I’ve wanted for sometime. Even at the rebate price, I still feel it’s a bit pricey, but there aren’t a lot of other premium characters I want, so, why not? I’m not particularly keen on the event prizes this time, except for James Bont.
Ever since the Rommelwood update however, I’m finding some serious issues with the game performance.. My phone is less than a year old, but TSTO isn’t running particularly smoothly anymore. For example, trying to bring Norbert out of storage takes a few seconds. This update also caused some minor bugs, like with the Zombie Sandwich which keeps showing the start task button when a character is already assigned to its task instead of showing the countdown bar.
I also noticed there’s a problem with playing the game using mobile data: it keeps disconnecting even when I’m standing still at a place with good coverage. It’s been next to impossible to play the game when out of the house since the Rommelwood update dropped, and I’m mostly only able to play it on wifi.
I picked up this bundle because I’d yet to purchase Hank Scorpio. As soon as I’d placed the volcano and retrieved his mastermind skin from my inventory, I got triggered with like 4 quest lines- one from the green dude from Superheroes 1 (dr. colossus?), one from comic book guy, one to go through Hank’s normal tasks, and one to go through his Mastermind tasks. Wowee!
I also dropped 80 donuts on McBain – just couldn’t resist the appeal of another film set for my Hollywood area. After finally getting Duffman when he was offered with a rebate, that leaves me with 75 donuts! Here’s hoping I can stretch it through the end of the event…
I didn’t have Hank, so this was an insta-buy for me. I missed out on Duffman during the St Patricks Day fiasco, so I’m happy I got another character I’ve wanted for a long time
Thank you I will give this’s pass it looks way overpriced
Do you know if Russ Cargill is going to be premium or not? I have never seen the Hank Scorpio episode, and if Russ costs donuts then I want to save up for him. He’s the only must-have character for me in this event.
This crap they keep pulling with the skins costing as much as the character is really starting to grind my gears. A premium skin for a premium character should cost a token 15 donuts at most 😡
Or/also, premium skins should earn “super premium” rates.
Miss Springfield, Barney, Frink, Duffman, and now Hank Scorpio; I think the lesson from EA is to not buy any of the higher priced premium characters until they get discounted for an event.
So I’ma hold off on getting Herb Powell for now…
I’ve been holding off on Herb Powell since he was introduced. He has yet to ever be offered for a rebate. Same goes for Stacey Lovell.
Herb is a newer addition to the store than Hank (he’s been there since I started in late 2013), and this event discount is a relatively new idea (Miss Springfield during the casino event is the first I can think of at the moment), so I’m holding hope that we’ll get a Herb offer when he fits with the right event.
When possible could we please have a SIB link for the items in the Mystery Drop Box. I don’t remember some of those returning items. I have a few of the buildings but I’m tempted to try and spend the 70 doughnuts. I’m a sucker for the random draw. Thanks in advance.
I already did it in the rundown post..
https://tstoaddicts.com/2017/03/28/secret-agent-simpsons-update-is-live/#more-47023
120 is my kind of donuts! For that price, I grabbed him right away. Thanks for the tip about the costume, I had just been having him do quests.
Do you have to unlock the flamethrower task for mastermind because I did not see it
It comes via the questline.
Thanks
Can’t wait
Probably my favorite non Simpson-character
Thanks for the article. I was tempted, HS is one of my all time fav Simpson characters (and I’ve had him in my game for years), but now seeing there’s no percentage bonus to this overpriced offer, it’s a hard no for me…
I had earned about 30 free donuts doing various tasks, so with my credit from doing Google Surveys, I purchased the extra donuts needed to get Hank, his skin, and his lair then also obtained the van with the tree on top and got 40 donuts back. Awesome!! Now I need to save up more for the sharks…GOT to have that!! Thanks for all of your help!! I never even knew about Google Surveys until coming to this site…easy way to earn donuts!! I look forward to reading all of your posts and am very thankful for your assistance!! Thanks so much and have a lovely day! : )
I like the character but I’d rather spend my doughnuts on classic simpsons characters like Barney or Otto; Scorpio just doesn’t do it for me :-/
I bought it. Expensive. But he reminds me of Blofeld from James Bond in this costume.. They should give him a pussy cat for animation
I got this one today, but only because I didn’t have and wanted Scorpio. I was hoping they’d do a deal!
So was he still 200 sprinkles before the event? If so, mwah hahahaha
Ye. This was an amazing deal.
I had been thinking about Hank and the lair for a while. This was an instant buy for me. I have just enough donuts left to buy the other bundles, but am on the fence. Hurry up with those Should I Buys, team TSTO. jk. Take your time and enjoy the event like the rest of us.
BOLO: I had unlimited Men in Tan earlier this afternoon after using the Surveillance Post. I’m over 44k on intel collection and started the day with 15k. The free ride ended after the next use of the Surveillance Post, so make the most of it.
I just got hank and the volcano with the rebate and I’m LOVING it!
He is one of my favourite characters and the volcano lair is a MUST for any proper Bond themed event! You won’t regret getting him!
A dilemma: to I get the bundle, because this is a great deal on a character I’ve wanted since I started playing? Or do I wait and spend donuts on Shary Bobbins if they bring her back for Easter, because I’ve also wanted her and she is hard to get? I don’t think I can farm enough donuts to get both …
This event goes 41 days…Easter is 17 days away…not sure an Easter event is in the cards this year…maybe a mini, inside an event? Anyway, such a good deal on Scorpio and he helps with the event…logic says go for Scorpio, but you have to decide if you really want him or not. I put off buying him forever, because I couldn’t see where to put a pink mountain in my town. Now, with all the spy stuff and Globex, it fits in perfectly…go figure.
Yes there will be a mini easter update this year. It’s already in the files. And yes Shary Bobbins will be available.
I like his outfit but I’ll sadly pass. Maybe next time. 😐
Hank Scorpio was going to be one of my next purchases once I saved up enough sprinkles. I was 14 short so I had to bite the bullet and buy a few more to get to the 160 total needed to make the purchase. So I bought a stack of donuts and in so doing also got Shelbyville Manhattan. A two-fer, not bad! Wish I had the 14 more donuts so I didn’t have to spend any real world $, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to earn them and chance missing out on the event currency earning opportunity.