Dollar Storm: The Latest Lightning Link Sequel from Aristocrat

Aristocrat’s Lightning Link series continues to be among the most popular in the casino, with its sequel, Dragon Link, continuing to get a lot of love as well. So it makes sense that Aristocrat would introduce a new sequel in the series, and they recently did so with Dollar Storm.

On the surface Dollar Storm looks a lot like any other Lightning Link series game, but there’s a few distinct differences, most notably the addition of a Super Grand progressive. In today’s post I’ll go through some key differences in this latest addition to the line-up.

More Denominations

Like Dragon Link before it, Dollar Storm expands the number of denominations it supports. The game’s default configuration supports a whopping 8 denominations, from 1 cent all the way to $5. Like its predecessors, the number of lines is in part determined by the denomination selected.

Some of the denominations differ from the predecessors.

• 1 cent: 100 line game
• 2 cents: 50 line game
• 5 cents and 10 cents: 25 line game
• 25 cents: 15 line game
• $1, $2 and $5: is a 5 line game

Higher Minimum Bet

You’ll notice that on pennies you now must wager 100 lines. That has the effect of raising the minimum bet to $1 a spin, which matches the 50 lines at 2 cents. This doubles the minimum bet on the game.

It makes sense given the popularity of the series to wring more money out of the game, especially with some of the other changes that are made to the game, but also has the effect of making the sequel more expensive.

Addition of the Super Grand

The biggest (monetarily speaking) addition to the line is the Super Grand jackpot, another linked jackpot that sits above the standard Grand in this game format.

If you land a Super Grand Chance ball as part of a hold and spin feature, you have a chance, proportional to your wager size, to win a Super Grand jackpot. If you don’t win, the ball will become a four-figure dollar amount: $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 or $2,500. So landing that symbol will never be a bad thing.

However, there has been a change to how various balls can drop as a result of this addition. The highest non-progressive prizes cannot appear at the same time as a Super Grand chance. So if a 250x or 200x credits ball appears, you cannot win a Super Grand chance, or vice versa, because only one of them can appear per hold and spin. This means the biggest of the balls cannot attract more of them.

There’s Now Two Majors

With eight denominations in the machine, the potential for the major to be outflanked by the Minor or even Mini is even more pronounced, as they are set to be proportional to the selected denomination. So for the highest denominations, a separate and larger Major jackpot now exists.

That major starts at $5,000, and is definitely more appropriate once you’re getting into the $5 denomination, with a $1,250 Mini and $6,250 minor. Of course, a higher major means it’s harder to win because it’s proportional to the bet.

The Game is More Volatile

Following the normal sequel logic of more big payout options, higher bet minimums and changes to how many lines at various bet levels, you won’t be surprised to hear the game is more volatile than before to account for all this. That means it’s even more feast or famine than it was before.

For those looking for a similar step from Lightning Link to Dragon Link, you won’t find it. Dragon Link I’d argue was a refinement of the Lightning Link math without a major revolutionary change; Dollar Storm is definitely a bit more of an overhaul. The core concepts are there, but the game is definitely tougher.

Watch and Learn

Brian Christopher recently posted an example of the Super Grand Chance on his channel:

Here is MGSlots 21 with some high limit Dollar Storm play including at the $5 level: