Video Games Encyclopedia

Bloons TD 6 is a tower defense game played from a birdseye perspective, as opposed to the 2D perspective of previous Bloons Tower Defense games and utilizes 3D computer graphics. The game can be played either solo or in co-op mode with up to four other players.

The main gameplay consists of using several variants of monkeys, structures, and traps, collectively known as “towers”, in order to prevent balloon-like objects known as “Bloons” from reaching an exit. Bloons TD 6 introduces a new category of towers, known as “heroes”, which level up and become stronger either over time, or through the player using in-game money to increase their level. Towers can help to pop Bloons, or provide support in the form of slowing them down, knocking them back, or boosting the power of other towers. When popped, Bloons grant the player money, which can be used to purchase additional defenses or upgrade existing ones. Towers can be upgraded to gain access to stronger attacks or support, up to five times. The player does not start out with all of the upgrades unlocked. Instead, they earn the upgrades by leveling up the towers via XP which can be earned per round (separate from Hero XP). Additionally, there is an in-game currency known as “Monkey Money”—earned or bought with micro-transactions—which can buy heroes, separate one-time use “powers” which help with rounds, “continues” which allow the player to continue if they have lost a round, and more.

Bloons spawn in several waves, and travel along a predetermined path. Sets of waves are separated into rounds, each of which consists of a set amount of Bloons, which over time become stronger and may have properties resistant to certain effects, such as explosions, ice, or magic, with some being immune to more than one. Some rounds may have a different set amount of Bloons depending on what game mode the player initially chose. The largest Bloons are referred to as “MOAB-class” Bloons, which are designed as zeppelins, and are harder to defeat as a result of increased health and sometimes has armor. If a Bloon gets through the player’s defenses, the player loses lives, with stronger Bloons taking away more lives. If the player loses all their lives, the game ends. If the player can complete all the required rounds without losing all their lives, the player wins. After winning, the player has the option to exit directly back to the home screen, or go into an endless Freeplay mode. The game features multiple different maps, and can be played on several difficulty options. Some maps contain obstacles that will block towers’ line of sight, preventing them from shooting at Bloons behind them, or do not allow for tower placement. Some obstacles can be removed with in-game cash.

The player can earn several in-game currencies through gameplay: “Cash” is obtainable at the end of each round, when popping Bloons, and through certain towers’ abilities, and is used to upgrade towers. The aforementioned Monkey Money is rewarded for winning games, by completing challenges. “Monkey Knowledge Points” are granted throughout gameplay and can be used to permanently upgrade monkeys via a skill tree. “Trophies” are a rare type of currency only obtainable through weekly events, used to unlock cosmetics.

Boss Events are a type of special event in the game, first introduced in Bloons Monkey City. In these events, players must prepare for a Boss Bloon, a very powerful MOAB-class Bloon with large amounts of health. The boss appears once every 20 rounds, starting at round 40, and has different abilities that may hinder towers’ abilities, boost its and other Bloons’ properties, or spawn more Bloons. There are multiple different bosses, with special event modifiers exclusive to bosses, differing maps to fight them on, and rulesets determining how much harder or easier a boss event will be.

Paragons, the first of which being introduced in the same update as bosses, are more powerful final upgrades to a particular tower. They require one of each tier 5 variant of a tower to purchase, and will sacrifice all other towers of its type. They typically have a higher cost than most base towers within the game.