1. Play a Maniac. The Jobs are a much better source of experience and cash then fighting and this way you earn more of both instead of just more cash.
2. {{{Don't add to your mafia right away!}}} I can not stress this enough! You want a Mafia Mikes and a Bloody Chainsaw for every 2 members of your mafia but the amount of members you need for another one is based on your current members. That means if you buy a Bloody Chainsaw when you have 12 members, accept 8 members, buy another BC, then you will need 22 members to buy another one instead of the 16 you would have needed.
In short accept 2 members at a time and buy both before accepting more.
3. Put all of your upgrade points into energy. Fighting might be cool but it won't level you quickly. Every time you level your energy is reset so with high energy you can do the harder and therefore more valuable missions plus you won't have to wait as long to do more of them. You will be amazed how fast you level this way.
4. Even though fighting is not your best source of income it can be good. As long as your mafia is well equipped (I'll get to that in a moment) you should be able to beat anyone with an equal or lesser sized mafia. You get the same amount of experience and cash no matter how big their mafia is so don't be afraid to pick on the little guys. If you gain the maximum amount of cash when you beat someone 70,000 you should not only keep attacking them but bookmark their profile and try attacking them later after they are healed.
5. There are 2 ways of equipping your mafia. Looting and buying. The higher the mission the better the loot and sometimes you loot in fights but to be safe you should buy enough equipment to cover every member of your mafia. With your high energy to do jobs and buying Mafia Mikes' every 2 members you will have plenty of cash.
Weapons: Bloody Chainsaw is a great weapon and half of your mafia should have one. The other half should be equipped with Chain Guns. Once you start looting .50 Caliber Rifle or better you can use it in place of a Chain Gun.
Armor: Not only is Body Armor the best armor you can buy but it is the first thing you should buy enough of to cover all of your members. Other items you might buy as you earn cash but these are cheap.
Cars: The weapons and armor are cheaper and therefore a priority but when you are rolling in cash the Towncar is the best you can buy.
(There may be better things to buy but not until you are level 99.)
6. Avoid the Hitlist like the plague. While putting hits on people is fun it only draws attention to yourself and there's nothing to stop a level 100+ whacking you just for kicks. If someone takes a hit out on you you'll die and lose some experience but let it end there. You want to stay below the radar and gather your forces quietly
7. Spend your cash on items for your mafia whenever possible but don't buy more then you need. If you have cash and nothing to buy bank it. The 10% you lose is usually better then repeatedly losing 70,000 from someone farming you for cash.
8. The best jobs for exp and usually cash are:
Levels 1-4 Auto Theft
5-8 Bank Heist
9-12 Museum Break-in
13-17 Wiretap the Cops
18+ I'm currently level 22 and Wiretap the Cops is still the best choice.
9. And of course send me an invite if you want another mafia member :)
I hope this helps some of you who are feeling lost.
