Online slots developers are constantly innovating new features and mechanics to make slots more exciting and rewarding for players. Three of the most popular innovations in recent years are mega ways, ways to pay, and multipliers. These features significantly impact the gameplay and payout potential.
What are megaways?
Megaways refer to the number of possible symbol combinations in a slot machine. Traditional slots usually have a fixed number of paylines – for example, 20 or 50 paylines. Slots with mega ways mechanics have thousands, if not millions, of potential payline combinations. Every time you spin, the symbols fall into place in a different arrangement on the reels. With more possible symbol combinations, you have more chances to hit winning combinations and triggers. More winning spins mean bigger pay-outs overall. The megaways mechanic was pioneered by Big Time Gaming in slots like Bonanza. Today, many providers have incorporated megaways into their games. Some popular megaways slots include Dead or Alive 2, Buffalo Rising Megaways, and Diamond Mine Megaways. The number of megaways varies by game – for example, Bonanza has up to 117,649 ways to win.
Megaways increase your win potential
Megaways slots indo666 create more excitement because any spin produces a big win. Instead of just 20 or 50 lines, you effectively have thousands of ways you hit winning combinations. With random symbol cascades and frequent pay-outs, megaways slots pay out more frequently overall. Even if you don’t hit a huge multiplier, the sheer number of paylines means you’re likely to get some kind of payout. Small and mid-sized wins add up quickly. This helps boost the volatility and RTP for megaways slots. They are lucky and land a major multiplier jackpot. With so many ways to win, the maximum payout caps on megaways slots is usually very high, sometimes up to 50,000 your bet.
What are ways pays?
Ways pay is closely related to the megaways mechanic. Essentially, ways pay allows for more winning symbol combinations based on the number of symbols on adjacent reels, rather than fixed paylines. For example, a traditional 20-line slot evaluates winning combos based on the 20 paylines. A ways pay slot evaluates wins based on the number of symbols on each reel. A 5×3 slot with 25 symbols produces over 1000 winning combos across the reels.
- Megaways slots have cascading symbols while ways pay slots behave like fixed-layout slots.
- Ways pays slots have a fixed number of ways to win. Megaways slots have thousands to millions of combinations depending on the game.
- Megaways primarily use the mechanic during the base game. In some ways pay slots only activate additional pay during bonus features.
- Examples of popular ways to pay slots include Razor Shark, Legacy of Ra Megaways, and Counting Stars.
Ways pay increases your win potential
Ways pay slots provide more winning potential by using every possible symbol combination across the reels. When slots have more ways to create winning combos, you have better odds to score a payout each spin. Ways pay slots also give players better visibility into the potential number of wins. You know exactly how many ways there are to win. With true megaways slots, the number of potential wins changes randomly from spin to spin. Like megaways, ways pays can deliver small wins more frequently. Even if you don’t land a full-line win, you can still get paid for 3-4 adjacent matching symbols. The overall win frequency improves, and players get more value from their spins.