Good Jetpack Joyride Guide

As you collect coins in Jetpack Joyride, you’ll have the opportunity to buy and equip up to two gadgets at a time. Some will single-handedly boost your survivability or money-earning rate, while others are basically useless. And a few gadget combos can help you beat challenges or overcome particularly difficult scenarios. Here’s a point-by-point breakdown of all your upgrade options.

Air Barrys: When equipped, these sneakers will allow Barry (your character) to jump three times his height from the ground. This means your vertical mobility is greatly increased and you can more quickly escape floor-level traps. You won’t gain any benefit from non-running heights, and it also means you can inadvertently launch yourself into mid-level traps if your timing isn’t perfect. For these reasons, you shouldn’t equip the Air Barrys unless you’re trying to complete a running-only challenge.

Nerd Repellent: By wearing this noxious spray, you’ll find the entire game is devoid of scientist NPCs. That won’t impact your coin collecting or your score, but it will make pacifist challenges (reach X meters without killing a scientist) very easy. Aside from those goals, though, you’re better off taking something else.

Insta-Ball: Whenever you die with the Insta-Ball in your inventory, your corpse will bounce a few dozen extra meters past your point of demise. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, your body will grab a few extra coins or tokens before it finally comes to a halt. This ability, much like the Freeze-O-Matic, is a good option for getting higher scores and salvaging yourself from unlucky situations. Keep in mind that equipping Insta-Ball may make it harder to precisely perform “Die between X and Y meters” challenges.

Gravity Belt: The opposite of Air Barrys, the Gravity Belt will increase your default rate of descent by about 50%. Unlike Air Barrys, the Gravity Belt works at all altitudes, so it’s a more reliable way to increase your vertical acceleration for precise maneuvering. This is a great option for runs where you’re spending most of your time scraping along the ceiling, since it lets you dodge roof-based traps easily.

Missile Jammer: Missiles headed your way will have a high (but random) chance of failing to track you, making them essentially useless. But unless you’re really bad at dodging missiles, this luck-based upgrade just isn’t worth it. Instead of equipping Missile Jammer, just practice guiding missiles away from you and paying attention to where they’re firing.

Token Gift: By equipping this gadget, Barry will start every single run with a Token that homes in on him. You can technically dodge it (in fact, you’ll get an achievement for it!) but it’s an otherwise guaranteed means of getting more turns or coins out of your Final Spins. The Token Gift, along with Magnetic Tokens, is great for challenges that require you to collect a certain number of Tokens, either total or in one run.

Freeze-O-Matic: Almost identical to the Insta-Ball, the Freeze-O-Matic will cause your corpse to slide a longer distance every time you die. Unlike the Insta-Ball, your body will only move horizontally across the ground, decreasing the odds it will bump into Tokens and coins. Of course, it can help you beat challenges associated with how far your body is dragged upon death, but these are relatively rare. The Insta-Ball is better in most cases.

X-Ray Specs: When equipped, X-Ray Specs will allow you to see what vehicle is hidden inside every vehicle upgrade pack. But, as noted in the section below, there’s no reason to ever not take a vehicle, since even the worst ones still grant you an extra life. If you want to equip X-Ray Specs for their hilarious side effects (like being able to see scientists in their underwear), that’s great, but don’t expect this gadget to help you win games.