If you’ve ever spun a few reels and found yourself wondering what all those glowing symbols actually do, you’re not alone. Wilds, scatters, and multipliers are the core mechanics that shape modern online slots—but too many players trigger features without knowing how they really work. At spinslotsonline.com, we’ve reviewed thousands of pokies, and we can tell you: understanding these symbols can seriously improve your gameplay, strategy, and chances of turning a session into a payout. Here’s everything you need to know, broken down simply.
What Are Special Symbols in Slots?
In traditional fruit machines, your wins came down to matching symbols across a payline—simple as that. But modern slots are built with extra layers: bonus rounds, wild replacements, free spin triggers, and boosted payouts. That’s where special symbols come in.
Wilds, scatters, and multipliers are the three most common features in today’s pokies. They’re usually easy to spot—bright colors, animations, or the word "WILD" stamped across the icon—but each works in a different way.
Let’s look at what each one does and how to use them to your advantage.
Wild Symbols: The Universal Substitutes
Wilds are like the jokers of the slot world. They substitute for almost any standard symbol to help form winning combinations. Think of them as flexible pieces that fill gaps in your payline.
How Wilds Work
If you’re one symbol short of a win, a wild can complete the combo. For example, if a slot pays for three sevens in a row, and you land two sevens and one wild, that still counts as a three-symbol win.
Different types of wilds may include:
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Standard Wilds – Simply substitute one symbol.
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Expanding Wilds – Cover the entire reel when they land.
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Sticky Wilds – Stay in place for several spins.
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Walking Wilds – Move across the reels after triggering.
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Random Wilds – Drop into random spots during base or bonus play.
Wilds usually don’t substitute for scatters or bonus symbols, but they often come with extras—like triggering respins or appearing more often in free spins mode.
Scatter Symbols: Your Ticket to the Bonus Game
Scatters are the exception to most slot rules. You don’t need them to land on a payline. In fact, they pay and trigger features no matter where they land—as long as you hit the required number.
What Scatters Do
Most commonly, scatter symbols trigger free spins or bonus rounds. You’ll usually need to land 3 or more scatters anywhere on the reels to unlock a feature. Some games scale the bonus: the more scatters, the more spins or higher multiplier you get.
Scatters can also pay out directly, often with the highest symbol value in the game. And unlike wilds, scatter payouts usually multiply your total bet, not just a line bet—so they hit harder.
Watch for the following when playing scatter-based features:
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Some games limit scatter appearances to specific reels (e.g., reels 1, 3, and 5).
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Others allow retriggers, where landing additional scatters during free spins adds more rounds.
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Scatters often act as entry points to jackpots, pick-and-click games, or multipliers.
Multipliers: Boosting Your Wins
Multipliers do exactly what the name suggests—they multiply your winnings by a set amount. That could be 2x, 3x, 5x, or even 100x depending on the game. These can apply to single line wins, entire spin outcomes, or bonus round totals.
Where Multipliers Show Up
Multipliers can appear in various forms:
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Base Game Multipliers – Randomly applied during normal spins.
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Bonus Round Multipliers – Common during free spins or special features.
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Progressive Multipliers – Increase with each win or specific trigger.
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Sticky Multipliers – Stay active across multiple spins.
Some slots are built entirely around multipliers, such as Multiplier Mayhem or Gonzo’s Quest, where each consecutive win increases the value. Others use multipliers as a surprise mechanic in the background, adding extra pop to a regular spin.
When stacked with wilds or scatters, multipliers can turn an ordinary hit into a massive win.
How These Features Work Together
What makes modern slots exciting is how these elements interact. A game might feature wild multipliers, scatters that unlock a free spins round, and then apply cascading multipliers during those spins. When combined, these features can build serious momentum.
Here’s a real example:
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You land 3 scatters and trigger 10 free spins.
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During those spins, wilds appear and come with 2x multipliers.
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Every win also triggers a cascading mechanic, and with each cascade, the multiplier increases.
This kind of layered feature design is common in top-rated games like Dead or Alive 2, Bonanza Megaways, and Money Train 3—all of which you can find reviewed at spinslotsonline.com.
Most Common Player Mistakes
Even experienced players make errors when it comes to bonus symbols. Here are two frequent mistakes to avoid:
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Chasing Features Without Checking the Paytable
Not all wilds substitute everything. Some only appear during bonuses. Some multipliers apply only to specific combinations. Always read the info screen before you start spinning. -
Overbetting for Bonus Triggers
Some players assume bigger bets increase scatter frequency. While some slots scale feature frequency with bet size, most don’t. Wager within your limits and let the features come naturally.
Final Thoughts: Learn the Language of the Reels
Wilds, scatters, and multipliers aren’t just eye candy—they’re the mechanical heart of modern slots. Once you understand how they work, you’ll stop guessing and start playing with purpose. That doesn’t mean every spin leads to profit—but it does mean you’ll get more out of each feature when it hits.
At spinslotsonline.com, we include detailed breakdowns of how each game’s special symbols function, what they’re worth, and how often they appear. Because when you know what to look for, every spin becomes more strategic—and way more fun.