User blog:Akrie/Cookie Run Popularity Contest: Wrath of the Red Dragon Edition!

There's hundreds of players playing Cookie Run everyday, and you may be wondering: which combis are the most popular?

This edition of Cookie Run's Popularity Contest will cover the "Wrath of the Red Dragon" season - it will cover mainly Cookies that has been released during that season, as they are usually stronger then the previous seasons. However, since all Cookies has been rebalanced to make them more fair in terms of scoring points, you may even see your favorite Cookie listed here!

There are two popular categories: Coins and Points. People strive to either try to collect the most coins each run (which is not recorded) or points (which is recorded), so they tend to use combis that they know that will generate them the most coins and points per run.

There is also one other category: XP. It is not frequently used because 1), you're going to get XP no matter what combi you use, and 2) it becomes useless after you've hit the maximum level. The main objective of the XP combis is to maximize the XP you get in each run to help you level up faster to unlock more Cookies.

Remember, people will usually make the combis slightly differently, and not every one of them is the same.

Coins Combis
We'll start with Coins. People tend to just use a couple of Cookies and a few treasures to try to attain the most coins earned per run to buy and upgrade many things in the game. For the Coins combi, you will want to make sure you have the Double Coins random boost. Always.

In older seasons, it was effective to just end the run as soon as the main Cookie expires and you have used Buttercream Choco Cookie to enable his 25% Coin Bonus. In the newest season, however, you will still get a lot of coins so it's a good idea to keep running even after the main Cookie has expired.

Adventurer Cookie + Pistachio Firefly
This may look like an odd combi, but Adventurer Cookie was termporarily the best coins generator since his ability, Hidden Ruins, would give a ton of coins instead of jellies. The ability was reverted after a month, but in the new season it's now permament! Because of this Adventurer Cookie is yet again the best coins generator in the game.

Since the majority of the coins you get are in the Hidden Ruins, it's a good idea to try to get to as many Hidden Ruins as you can. The Pistachio Firefly is a great pet, as it gives Blast and Energy jellies which will help Adventurer Cookie to get to as many ruins as he can before he finally expires. Slippery Golden Banana Peel are great treasures to use due to the Coin Bonus and Faster Base Speed.

Adventurer Cookie + Pocket Watch Refree
Adventurer Cookie is featured in another good combi with Pocket Watch Referee. The Pocket Watch will generate Blast and Magnet jellies more often compared to Pistachio Firefly, which will help you get to the ruins faster. As a little bonus, you will frequently enter the Hidden Ruins with Blast + Magnet jelly active which will help you gather a lot of coins in the ruins.

For some reason the cooldown timer for Pocket Watch Referee will still go down while you are in the Hidden Ruins, and by the time you exit it will have a Blast + Magnet Jelly ready for you to collect even if you collected one before entering the ruins.

Just be careful, because this combi is quite fast and you will likely collide a few times. But if you can avoid colliding into obstacles this combi will give you more coins per run compared to the combi above! If you'd rather not to deal with that, just replace the Vroom Vroom Gold Kiwi Key with an Angel Cookie's Rainbow Feather or Cookie Box 1440 Controller.

XP Combis
The main objective of the XP combis are to generate as much XP as you can in a single run. The basic way how the game works is that the longer you run, the more XP you get at the end. So it's ideal to use Cookies, pets and treasures that gives XP bonus, Revives and Slower Energy Drain. You'll want to use the 25% Slower Energy Drain random boost AND the Double XP boost for best results.

Since Bright Cookie has lost her combi with Wishing Star she has fallen off the wayside so I have excluded her.

Peach Cookie + Panda Dumpling
Peach Cookie has a 20% XP combi bonus with her pet, Panda Dumpling. Due to how the Panda Dumpling works, it is also a decent Coins generator, so having Ginger Claus as a relay is ideal as Ginger Claus does gives 20% more Coins and 10% more XP at the end. If you do not have Ginger Claus, going with either Bright Cookie or Buttercream Choco Cookie a fine plan.

If you want to tap into the Coins/XP thing a bit more, you can replace the Chocolate Hardcover Workbook with Stoic Piece of the Moon or Melt-in-your-mouth Cinnamon Rope, but you won't be able to run as far since none of the treasures carries Slower Energy Drain.

Points Combis
The following combis are intended for scoring purposes. The higher your score is compared to your friends, the more Crystals, Coins and Gift Points you will get at the end of each Rankings week. People tend to use the 15% Slower Energy Drain random boost to ensure that they run for as long as possible because it overall gets you more points than if you did not.

There are some cases, however, 17% Increased Base Speed is better depending on the combi.
 * Are you using a Cookie that gives you extra points from jellies or obstacles while they are active (Jelly Dinosaur Ride, Horseback Charge, etc.)?
 * Are you using treasures that gives you extra points from jellies or obstacles (Royal Bear Jelly Saddle, Flaming High Protein Milk, Blast, Giant, etc.)?
 * Are you using pets that gives you extra points from jellies or obstacles through a certain status (Giant, Blast, etc.)?
 * If you said YES to one (or all) of them, then your combi will work with 17% Increased Base Speed, as it will allow you to generate more points compared to 15% Slower Energy Drain. If NO, stick with 15% Slower Energy Drain.

If you see ANY in the suggested combis, it means that you can use whatever you like in that slot. The combi change in Wrath of the Red Dragon has made a lot of combis weaker or non-existent, and many of the Cookies' and Pets' abilities has been changed or altered so they are weaker as well. Many people tend to use Fire Spirit Cookie as a relay due to his innate reviving ability which allows them to generate the most points as a relay. Zombie Cookie and Pirate Cookie are good alternatives, but rarely used.

Dino-Sour Cookie + Dino-Egg
There are two ways on how to play Dino-Sour Cookie. When he nabs a giant jelly, he can now generate special jellies by jumping onto the ground, just like Jumpy Jelly Bouncy Ride and its variants. Using treasures that gives additional points while giant will give you a lot of points. Flaming High Protein Milk is perfect for this as it gives additional points for all jellies while giant and also revives you once.

Be sure to double jump instead of using small jumps - you'll gain more points that way!

Dino-Sour Cookie + Ghost Butler
Another way of playing Dino-Sour Cookie is that when he's on his ride, he can use treasures that gives additional points while riding since the dinosaur he rides is indeed alive. Tiger Lily Cookie's Jelly Flower Hairpin and Peppermint Cookie's Message in a Bottle currently gives the most points while riding - but if you want some Slower Energy Drain, you can opt for Royal Bear Jelly Saddle instead.

Again, be sure to double jump while you're riding the dinosaur. You'll gain more points that way!

Dino-Sour Cookie + Ghost Butler II
This is a similar combi with Dino-Sour Cookie + Dino-Egg up above, but with more emphasis on Dino-Foot Jelly Dino-Sour Cookie can generate while giant.

As always, be sure to double jump on your dinosaur if you want to accumulate more points!

Cotton Candy Cookie + Cotton Candy Birdie
Therre's not really much to say about Cotton Candy Cookie. She does get more points from Cotton Candy Jellies when paired up with Cotton Candy Birdie and will gain a lot of points during Bonus Time due to her ability.

Her Cotton Candy Jellies can be attracted with magnetic aura, so be sure to give her some degree of magnetic aura so she can collect them all.

Cotton Candy Cookie + Magic Pod
Since Cotton Candy Cookie can generate a LOT of points during Bonus Time, it's ideal to try to get her up there as much as she can. The Magic Pod will ensure she has a chance to reach Bonus Time every 70 seconds on top of giving her blast which is very useful.

Cotton Candy Cookie + Magic Pod II
Another good combi for Cotton Candy Cookie is to pair her up with a treasure that increases the time and points during Bonus Time, such as Fruit Embellished Headband, Smooth Rainbow Colored Petals or even a Sweet Strawberry Tart! The tart requires the least amount of Crystals and coins to evolve and fully upgrade, and still works just as well as the blessed headband and petals!

General Jujube Cookie + Uncooling Teacup
General Jujube Cookie generates points when destroying obstacles when paired up with Uncooling Teacup. Roll Cake Cookie generates points destroying obstacles during his ability. With this combi, Roll Cake Cookie is actually double dipping on points.

Some magnetic aura is required, though, so Roll Cake Cookie can collect parts needed to build his bulldozer so go with Magnetic Energy Recovery Drink.

Roll Cake Cookie + Light Bros
Roll Cake Cookie is essentially another General Jujube Cookie as he gains points while destroying obstacles and has slower energy drain when paired with Light Bros. He does have an additional perk of being able to generate more points from jellies during blast, and the Light Bros will periodically give him a burst of speed between slower energy drains. Because of this, it's a good idea to give him slower energy drain with some magnetic aura, just like the good ol' Magnetic Energy Recovery Drink.

Future Combis
The following are combis that is not yet available in the game for several reasons: The Cookie, pet or treasure is not in the game, or they have not been buffed yet. I am listing them here so you can prepare yourselves for when they finally come out.

Lemon Cookie + Electro Lemon
Lemon Cookie is yet another Cookie that has received a pretty big buff in Kakao which makes him very competitive with the right set-up as he will now generate more points for each obstacle destroyed during lightning blast. With 3 Frozen Solid Orange Drink in place, he will be able to destroy a lot of obstacles due to the massively increased speed (45%!!) during blasts.

Just be sure to jump while you're blasting, though! Some obstacles at the top cannot be destroyed unless you're jumping. Cream Puff Cookie is an excellent relay for this combi since she now generates a minor energy potion at the beginning of her big spell, and she will be able to gather a lot of points with her innate magnetic aura during her ability during blasts.

Banana Cookie + Sa-Banana Lion
That's right, there's a brand new coin generating Cookie: Banana Cookie! Her combi with Sa-Banana Lion increases Coins by 10%, and with Buttercream Choco Cookie it's increased to 35%. Toss in a Boatman's Burning Gold Sword and that's a nice fat 43%.

The longer she runs, the more coins she will be able to collect so it's a good idea to load her down with revives such as Very Wet Drink and Boatman's Burning Gold Sword. It is not unusual to end up with about 120k or so coins during Burning Time with this combi.

Banana Cookie + Panda Dumpling
Banana Cookie also has another quirk: any and all obstacles destroyed while she's active will give you 10 coins each. You can destroy a lot of obstacles between performances by using Panda Dumpling. As an additional bonus, the Panda Dumpling will also generate coins for you!

General Jujube Cookie + Uncooling Teacup II
You may be thinking, "Wait... why is Banana Cookie included in a POINTS generating combi of all places?!". There's a good reason why she's included - during her performance ALL obstacles are destroyed, there's a ton of them late in the run, the performance happens frequently due to the short cooldown and it lasts for quite a while. See where I am going at with this?