Bloons Tower Defense 5 Guide

Bloons Tower Defense 5 is a highly refined successor to the other Bloons games in the series. Offering more towers, unique specialty buildings, special agents, medals, and even more intimidating balloons for your monkeys to face off, Bloons Tower Defense 5 is a game with tons of content, challenges, replay value, and balloons.

Buildings

Premium- The premium building will let you spend real life money on unique in game upgrades.

Medals- This building will let you view any Ninja Kiwi achievements you have unlocked in game.

Towers- This building lets you view which towers you have unlocked, as well as the amount of XP each tower currently needs to level up. You can also view the upgrade paths of unlocked towers here.

Special Agents- This building houses special agents that perform like unique towers with special abilities. Purchase them with monkey cash.

Leaderboard- The bulletin board will display the highest scores achieved on each map.

Specialty Buildings- These buildings are specialized toward providing upgrades for a single type of tower. These unique upgrades vary between towers, but they will also increase the cost of the tower and its upgrades by 5%. Decide which tower you use most frequently and construct the corresponding specialty building.

Village Menu

When starting the game, your monkey village may be overwhelming at first. The amount of buildings and options to investigate might be off-putting to both veterans and newbies of the Bloons series. If this is your first time, take a moment to click the Towers fountain in the center with a proud dark monkey statue adorning the top. This building will let you preview the wide range of towers and upgrades you can construct in game to fight off hordes of balloons. Notice that many of the towers are locked. Not to worry though, you will soon be on your way to unlock many more. Click play next and then preferably choose a beginner track you would like to play on.

Tracks

There is a wide variety of tracks to choose from in game. Beginner tracks are the easiest with balloons usually coming from one direction and all leaving the track at the same point. Beginner tracks are also usually the longest, giving you the most time possible to pop balloons before they can escape. Intermediate typically are structured similar to beginner but have shorter and more direct tracks. Advanced and Expert tracks are the most difficult; with numerous directions, balloons can travel and typically escape after a very short time.

In-Game Interface

As usual, on the right side of your screen you have an assortment of towers at your disposal. Although most may be locked and appear instead to be a “?” sign, do not fret! More towers will be unlocked as you play and gain XP. At the bottom of the screen, you can see your special agents bar. Special agents are purchased with monkey money, which is earned by completing tracks. Visit the special agent hut in your monkey village to learn more. At the very bottom in orange text you can view your round number, mode, RBE, rank, and XP. Round number is essentially the wave you are facing against. Mode is the difficulty that you are currently playing on, or special mode such as sandbox or apopalypse mode, which are unlocked at a higher rank. RBE which stands for Red Balloon Equivalent, is a way of determining the number of balloons you must “pop” on a given round. XP is increased based on balloon pops. Check the RBE to easily determine how much XP a wave or round of balloons will earn you. Lastly, your rank unlocks different towers and is increased based on the amount of XP you earn. Click on towers to place them in strategic positions, and when ready, click the “GO!” button. By clicking the “GO!” button a second time, you can fast forward the game to save time on easy or boring rounds.

Towers

Each tower has two separate upgrade paths, each that provides unique effects and bonuses. At the end of each path, every tower has a very powerful upgrade that will set the tower apart from others. Once the third upgrade in a path has been purchased, the third upgrade in the opposite path of the tower will be locked, preventing you from upgrading the tower with a second third upgrade.

Dart Monkey

The dart monkey is a simple and cheap, yet effective weapon against balloons. It is the first tower to be unlocked, and is the staple of defense against any balloon invasion. Though weak compared to most other towers, cost for cost, it can hold its own against others with both its cheap and effective firepower. This tower will always fire in straight lines, so this dart monkey’s effectiveness relies on its placement near long straight paths

Long Range Darts- Allows the Dart Monkey to throw darts farther.

Sharp Shots- Each dart thrown will pop one more balloon.

Enhanced Eyesight- Allows the Dart Monkey to attack camouflaged balloons and throws darts even farther.

Razor Sharp Shots- Each dart thrown will pop more balloons.

Spike-O-Pult- The dart monkey will fire a catapult that throws a deadly spiked ball which can pop a line of 18 balloons at the cost of a slower attack rate.

Triple Darts- The Dart Monkey will throw three darts simultaneously.

Juggernaut- Allows the spiked ball to pop lead balloons and ceramic balloons. Specializes in crushing ceramic balloons.

Super Monkey Fan Club- An ability that will rally ten nearby Dart Monkeys and transform them into Super Monkeys for ten seconds.

Tack Shooter

The tack shooter is a great tower at popping multiple balloons simultaneously. It accomplishes this by shooting 8 tacks in all directions around it. Due to its short range and attack style, the tack shooter should be placed in a location where it is surrounded on all sides by tracks of balloons. Due to its somewhat slow rate of fire as well as sparse tack coverage, many balloons can slip by unpopped. It is wise to accompany this tower with support if placing it early on.

Faster Shooting- The tacks will shoot faster.

Extra Range Tacks- Tacks will shoot farther.

Even Faster Shooting- Tacks will shoot even faster.

Super Range Tacks- Tacks will shoot even further.

Tack Sprayer- The amount of tacks fired will double to 16, popping even more balloons.

Blade Shooter- The tack shooter will now shoot saw blades which makes it more difficult for balloons to slip by unharmed.

Ring of Fire- Instead of shooting tacks, the tack shooter will fire a relentless fiery flame incinerating balloons around it.

Blade Maelstrom- Upgrades the blade shooter to shoot blades relentlessly covering the entire area.

Sniper Monkey

The sniper monkey is a powerful tower with enough range to cover the entire map no matter its location. Conversely, this tower’s slow attack speed means that weak balloons can outnumber it rather easily. Try to use this tower in conjunction with others as support so the sniper monkey can focus on shooting powerful balloons. This tower can specialize in popping camouflaged balloons or strong multilayered balloons. Decide which upgrade path to take based on the other towers supporting it.

Full Metal Jacket- Each bullet fired can puncture four layers of balloon and will also pop frozen or lead balloons.

Faster Firing- The Sniper Monkey will fire its rifle even faster.

Point Five Oh- Seven layers of balloon will be penetrated with each shot fired allowing to for the Sniper Monkey to take down stronger balloons with one shot.

Night Vision Goggles- Allows the Sniper Monkey to see camouflaged balloons and pop them.

Deadly Precision- Penetrates 18 layers of balloon with each shot, which is enough to pop a ceramic balloon with one bullet.

Semi-Automatic Rifle- The Sniper Monkey uses a sniper rifle that shoots multiple shots as well as firing three times as fast providing a significant increase in the rate of fire.

Cripple MOAB- By shooting MOABs, the Sniper Monkey will break their propulsion systems causing them to be immobilized for a short while.

Supply Drop- The Sniper Monkey can call in a care package containing cash.

Boomerang Thrower

The Boomerang throwing monkey throws a boomerang, which travels in an arc shaped path and returns back to the monkey. This monkey is great at supporting itself early on with its ability to pop three balloons with each boomerang toss. By placing this monkey near a curved or U-turn shaped path, you can maximize the number of balloons this monkey pops with each throw. By upgrading this monkey, it can specialize in popping numerous amounts of balloons at once, or being able to pop tough frozen or lead balloons. Consider partnering this monkey with the ice tower when it is provided the correct upgrades.

Multi-Target- Boomerangs thrown by the Boomerang Thrower will pop seven balloons with each toss.

Sonic Boom- The Boomerang Thrower can throw boomerangs which will pop frozen balloons.

Glaive Thrower- The Boomerang Thrower has swapped his boomerangs for glaives which pop more balloons and travel faster.

Red Hot ‘Rangs- Red hot boomerangs will burst open lead balloons.

Glaive Riccochet- Glaives will bounce from one balloon to the next popping in an endless chain until there are no balloons remaining.

Bionic Boomer- Boomerangs will be thrown twice as fast.

Glaive Lord- Two glaives will orbit around the Boomerang Tower’s base popping everything in range.

Turbo Charge- The boomerang will enter a hypersonic state and attack with incredible speed for ten seconds.

Ninja Monkey

The ninja monkey starts off similar to the dart monkey with one vital benefit. This monkey can see camouflaged balloons without costly upgrades, this makes it perfect for use early on. With upgrades, this monkey’s shuriken will autonomously seek out balloons and will even confuse or stun them.

Ninja Discipline- The Ninja Monkey will attack faster and throw shuriken farther.

Seeking Shuriken- The shuriken thrown by this tower will autonomously home in on balloons and pop them.

Sharp Shuriken- Each shuriken can penetrate four balloons with each throw.

Distraction- Balloons popped by the Ninja Monkey will travel the wrong direction for a short time.

Double Shot- The Ninja Monkey becomes ambidextrous and will throw two shuriken at once.

Sabotage Supply Lines- For ten seconds, all incoming balloons will travel at only half their normal speed.

Bloonjitsu- The Ninja Monkey will learn ancient way of the bloon ninja allowing him to throw five shuriken at once.

Flash Bomb- The Ninja Monkey will occasionally use a flash bomb to disorient and stun balloons around the Ninja.

Bomb Tower

The bomb tower is simply a slow firing cannon whose bombs explode and pop any balloons caught in its deadly explosion radius. Because of its slow rate of fire and its ability to pop frozen or lead balloons, this tower works great in conjunction with an ice tower. Keep in mind, this tower will not be able to pop black balloons by itself. This tower’s upgrades can convert its bombs to affect larger areas, or even arm it with special MOAB seeking missiles that will decimate the gigantic balloons seen in the game’s later rounds. No matter which track you are playing on, the bomb tower is always a vital tower for defending against balloons.

Extra Range- Special long range bombs will travel even farther.

Bigger Bombs- These high explosive balloon bombs will pop more balloons over a larger area.

Frag Bombs- The Bomb Tower will use deadly fragmenting rounds which break apart into eight pieces popping even more balloons.

Missile Launcher- The Bomb Tower will fire missiles which travel faster, fire faster, and have more range. They also deliver a deadly payload of explosives to balloons that will pop even more as a result.

Cluster Bombs- The Bomb Tower will fire deadly carpet bombs capable of damaging a wide area.

MOAB Mauler- These special missiles are capable of severely damaging MOAB’s hulls with each shot inflicting 10 times the damage.

Bloon Impact- Each shot from the Bomb Tower will stun balloons freezing them in place for a moment when hit.

MOAB Assassin- This destructive missile will instantly destroy MOAB balloons as well as deliver 1000 damage to ZOMG balloons.

Ice Tower

Initially, the ice tower will not pop any balloons by itself. This tower fires bursts of icy air that freezes any surrounding balloons solid for a short amount of time. Keep in mind that any sharp instruments cannot pop frozen balloons. So keep this tower away from un-upgraded monkeys. This tower can be a powerful accessory when paired with suitable towers by slowing or completely stopping balloons near short ranged slow firing towers.

Enhanced Freeze- The Ice Tower will freeze a larger area and balloons will stay frozen for a longer time period.

Permafrost- The Ice Tower will slow balloons even after they have thawed. An extremely effective upgrade.

Snap Freeze- This will pop all balloons once before freezing them.

Deep Freeze- Two layers of balloon will be frozen, this will keep the balloon frozen even if the outer layer is popped.

Arctic Wind- Any balloon that comes near the Ice Tower will be slowed to a crawl due to the intense cold. This upgrade will also increase the area in which balloons are frozen.

Ice Shards- Popped frozen balloons will send out razor sharp shards of ice that will pop nearby balloons causing a chain reaction.

Viral Frost- The tower will emit such freezing temperatures that any balloon that is frozen will freeze other nearby balloons starting a chain reaction.

Absolute Zero- Every balloon on the entire track will be frozen in place for four seconds. Unfortunately, this will not affect MOABs.

Glue Gunner

The glue gunner is a monkey that fires sticky glue at balloons that will slow their movement through the track. Unlike the ice tower, it will not freeze balloons in place, nor make them unpoppable by certain towers. However, glue will stay on a balloon for its entire trip through the track. This tower is great at slowing down mass amounts of balloons to make them more manageable to pop in time. Make sure to place this tower near the start of the track for maximum effectiveness.

Glue Soak- Glue will soak through the entire balloon. If a balloon is popped, its inner layers will still be glued.

Stickier Glue- The Glue Gunner will use stickier glue which will stick to balloons even longer, slowing them down for a longer period of time.

Corrosive Glue- This special glue will pop a layer of balloon every few seconds.

Glue Splatter- The Glue Gunner will recklessly spray glue which will stick to six balloons with every shot.

Bloon Dissolver- This extremely powerful solvent will pop through two balloons every second.

Glue Hose- The Glue Gunner will shoot glue at three times the normal rate.

Bloon Liquefier- When the glue is applied to a balloon, it is popped instantly, and then every second thereafter, 10 layers of balloon are popped.

Glue Striker- This special ability will let the Glue Gunner glue every single balloon on the screen.

Monkey Buccaneer

This monkey ship is very powerful for the cost, but it can only be placed on the water. Firing its cannons at enemy balloons, this tower can be upgraded to detect camouflaged balloons, tackle MOABs with a grappling hook, or even become an aircraft carrier that fields deadly monkey pilots. This tower works great with others or by itself.

Faster Shooting- This tower’s cannons will shoot even faster.

Grape Shot- The Monkey Buccaneer will load an additional four grapes into its cannons to pop even more balloons with each shot.

Longer Cannons- Improved cannons allow the Buccaneer to shoot targets farther away.

Crow’s Nest- The Monkey Buccaneer will be able to see camouflaged balloons with this improvement.

Destroyer- Transforms the Monkey Buccaneer’s ship into a deadly destroyer which is capable of firing significantly faster.

Cannon Ship- The Monkey Buccaneer will gain an additional cannon which will fire at its own targets.

Aircraft Carrier- The Monkey Buccaneer will become a powerful aircraft carrier that can launch Monkey Ace pilots from its deck that will fire darts at the surrounding area.

Monkey Pirates- MOABs that stray too close to this tower will be attacked with a grappling hook and pulled down into the ocean.

Monkey Ace

The monkey ace starts initially as a monkey piloting a biplane firing darts in eight directions while circling the map in a loop, de loop shaped path. This airplane can be upgraded to drop deadly bombs onto the track below, or rapidly fire dart machine guns. Don’t expect this tower to be able to hold off balloons on its own. This tower will not individually target balloons, instead use it as firing support to thin out the herds of balloons on the track.

Rapid Fire- Darts will be fired even faster from the Monkeys plane.

Pineapple Present- The Monkey Ace will drop an explosive pineapple from its bay every three seconds which is capable of popping lead and frozen balloons.

Sharper Darts- Each dart fired from the Monkeys plane can pop up to 8 balloons each.

Spy Plane- This will allow the pilot to attack camouflaged balloons due to advanced detection equipment.

Neva-Miss Targeting- Each dart is equipped with a homing device allowing it to automatically seek out balloons and pop them.

Operation Dart Storm- The Monkey Ace will rapidly fire darts destroying all nearby balloons.[/b]

Spectre- The Monkey Ace will pilot a flying fortress capable of relentlessly unleashing darts.

Ground Zero- The Monkey Ace will drop a nuclear bomb that is capable of destroying every single balloon on the screen except MOABs.

Super Monkey

The super monkey is an expensive tower that can rapidly throws darts to a remarkable distance. The super monkey has some of the most powerful and expensive upgrades in the game. The super monkey is capable of popping unimaginable amounts of balloons in a short period. The super monkey is even more effective when paired with certain towers such as the glue gunner and the ice tower after purchasing the laser vision upgrade.

Laser Blasts- The Super Monkey no longer needs to throw darts by hands, he will now use his laser vision to pop even more balloons including frozen balloons.

Super Range- This upgrade allows the Super Monkey to shoot farther.

Plasma Blasts- The Super Monkey’s laser vision has become superheated plasma which annihilates any balloon, even lead balloons.

Epic Range- This successive upgrade will increase the Super Monkeys range even further.

Sun God- The Super Monkey will become a demigod harnessing the destructive powers of the sun to pop balloons.

Robo-Monkey-This ambidextrous cyborg monkey is capable of independently aiming its lasers allowing for twice the amount of balloons popped.

Temple of the Monkey God- By sacrificing different towers, this temple’s balloon destroying properties will be altered. Any towers in the Super Monkey’s range when the tower is upgraded to Temple will be sacrificed and destroyed so place this tower carefully. Consider purchasing the range upgrades after upgrading to Temple so you can more accurately pick which towers are sacrificed.

Here is a list of some of the effects caused by sacrificing towers. Note that the selling cost of the tower sacrificed will directly affect the strength of the Temple’s acquired ability. (Sell cost is about 80% of the original amount of money spent to purchase the tower) The more expensive the tower being sacrificed, the more powerful the version of the ability will be.

Note: You can stack more than one ability at once by simply sacrificing different towers, or even improve a single type of ability even further by sacrificing the same towers. Remember that the sell cost of the tower sacrificed determines how powerful the version of the ability will be. (For example, sacrificing six fully upgraded bomb towers will yield a missile ability, which is more powerful than sacrificing only one bomb tower because the sell cost of all six add up to more money than that of one bomb tower.)

-Banana Farms will cause the Temple to gain more cash from each balloon popped.

-Bomb and Mortar towers cause the Temple to shoot missiles. If sacrificing bomb / missile towers with a total sell cost of 24,000, the missiles fired by the Temple will become even more destructive.

-Glue Gunner will allow the Temple to shoot glue splashes at enemy balloons.

-Monkey Town will not only improve the Temple’s range, it will also improve the Temple’s damage.

-Monkey Apprentice sacrificed to the Temple will create tornadoes that will pop balloons and send them back to the start of the track.

-Sniper Monkey will increase the range of the Temple and cause it to shoot razor blades which is a more powerful version of darts.

-Ice Towers will create beams of ice that will freeze balloons while simultaneously popping them.

-Bee Keepers don’t seem to have any effect at all on the Temple.

-Any other tower not listed will cause the tower to shoot darts or blades depending on the sell cost of the tower.

Technological Terror- This ability will inflict significant damage to MOAB balloons while decimating any nearby balloons. (Note: This upgrade is more powerful than a non upgraded Temple of the Monkey God. It is also significantly more cost effective.)

Monkey Apprentice

This magical monkey starts by popping two balloons at a time with each magical blast of energy. Consider placing one late in the game due to their high cost to low popping efficiency. They are the only tower capable of transporting hundreds of balloons back to the start of the map at once. Keep in mind that this will unfreeze and remove the glue from balloons, so place them accordingly.

Intense Magic- The Apprentice’s magical bolts will be larger and pop more balloons.

Fireball- This powerful fire spell will allow the Apprentice to pop more balloons at once.

Lightning Bolt- The Apprentice wields the power of lighting, popping many balloons at once.

Monkey Sense- Special Monkey wizard training lets the Apprentice see camouflaged balloons.

Summon Whirlwind- The Apprentice will conjure a powerful cyclone which will blow away balloons back to the start of the track but also removing any glue from them.

Dragon’s Breath- This devastating fire spell allows the Monkey Apprentice to relentlessly spew fire from its fingertips popping any balloons in the Apprentice’s proximity.

Tempest Tornado- A more powerful whirlwind spell, which will blow away even more balloons even further toward the start of the track. Glue will still be removed from them however, so place this Monkey strategically.

Summon Phoenix- A fiery phoenix is summoned by the Apprentice and will pop balloons on screen for 20 seconds.

Monkey Village

The monkey village wont attack balloons, but it will provide helpful upgrades to nearby towers, as well as reducing their cost and upgrades. Use this tower to provide camouflage detection to towers that lack this upgrade. This tower can significantly improve surrounding towers, making it a worthwhile investment once other towers have been installed strategically. By allowing other towers to pop all balloon types, even frozen or lead, this is perfect to place near ice towers.

Monkey Beacon- Any tower that is in range of the Monkey Village will have its own attack range increased by 15%. This lets towers attack balloons from further away.

Monkey Fort- This powerful upgrade will increase any nearby tower’s popping ability by one. Essentially this allows each tower to pop one more balloon with each shot. This can be incredibly powerful when combined with certain towers when trying to deal with massive numbers of weak balloons.

Jungle Drums- Monkey’s favorite tunes will be broadcasted from the village increasing their attack speed by 15% allowing balloons to be popped at a faster rate.

Radar Scanner- This will allow any towers in the Village’s range to see camouflaged balloons. This is incredibly useful for towers without an upgrade to detect camouflaged balloons.

Energy Beacon- All nearby towers with special abilities will have the cool down period of that tower reduced by 20%. This allows for increased use of their abilities over the course of a game.

Monkey Intelligence Bureau- Special intel from the M.I.B. allows nearby towers to pop any type of balloon, such as lead or frozen balloons.

Monkey Town- All balloons popped near the Village will earn 50% more cash per pop.

M.I.B. Call to Arms- This grants the Monkey Village with an ability that will double nearby tower’s attack speed allowing more balloons to be popped for ten seconds.

Banana Farm

The banana farm tower does not pop balloons, but it will generate money for you over time. The sooner you build and upgrade this tower, the more money it will effectively generate over the course of the game. Do not forget to mouse over bananas to collect them during gameplay.

More Bananas- Each wave, six bananas instead of four will be grown at the Farm.

Long Life Bananas- This will increase the amount of time you have to pick up bananas from 10 seconds to 20 seconds before they spoil.

Banana Plantation- The Banana Farm is upgraded to a plantation which can grow 13 bananas every wave generating even more money.

Valuable Bananas- Each banana’s value is increased by 50% resulting in more cash output from the Banana Farm.

Banana Republic- 25 bananas will be grown every wave due to increased production.

Monkey Bank- 450 monkey dollars will be deposited into its escrow every wave. Each wave will then earn 10% interest on any money inside the escrow. The bank can hold up 5000 dollars, and the money can be withdrawn from the bank at any time.

Banana Research Facility- Every wave ten crates of genetically modified bananas will be produced yielding 200 dollars each.

Banana Investments Advisory- Your monkey bank will now hire trained banana fund managers, which will generate 1000 dollars for your escrow per wave. Because of smart investments, every wave will earn you 20% interest on money held in the new $20,000 escrow account. Withdraw money from it at any time.

Mortar Tower

The mortar tower is similar to the sniper monkey due to its limitless range. However, a target must be designated for the mortars to attack. A good tactic is to pick a spot in which balloons seem to slip by your towers, or even better attack near an ice tower due to balloons being unable to move. The mortar has a very slow rate of fire but can penetrate numerous layers of balloons with a single shot.

Increased Accuracy- The Mortar monkey is granted increased accuracy so mortar rounds will land closer to the designated target.

Rapid Reload- The Monkey firing the Mortar will be trained in reloading faster resulting in a higher rate of fire.

Bigger Blast- Mortar shells are packed with more explosives, which create a bigger blast popping balloons in a larger area with every hit.

Burny Stuff- Flammable napalm will be loaded into each mortar shell popping balloons every two seconds for a total duration of six seconds.

Bloon Buster- Every mortar shell will pop two layers of balloon with this upgrade.

Signal Flare- This powerful upgrade will allow other towers to see any camouflage balloons popped by the Mortar Tower.

The Big One- Each mortar shell will pop through an whopping five layers of balloon due to larger mortar rounds.

Artillery Battery- This upgrade will allow the Mortar Tower to attack three times as fast and grants a special ability. This ability will freeze all balloons in place for five seconds while popping one layer of balloon every second.

Dartling Gun

The dartling gun is a monkey that will follow your mouse with a rapid firing dart machine gun. Before placing this tower, give some thought to where you will place it. Make sure it lines up with your mouse when picking towers to maximize firepower. This tower is great for picking off stray balloons that have snuck by your towers and are nearing the end of the track. Being able to manually aim this tower as well as managing your other towers may require some multitasking.

Focused Firing- This upgrade increases the accuracy of the Dartling Gun so that darts have a tighter spread when fired.

Powerful Darts- The darts fired from the Dartling Gun will travel faster and pop three balloons each dart.

Faster Barrel Spin- A fast rotating barrel will fire darts faster.

Depleted Bloontonium- Special darts crafted out of spent radioactive balloons will pop any balloon including lead and frozen balloons.

Laser Cannon- The Dartling Gun is replaced with a laser cannon that can pop frozen balloons as well as pop up to 13 balloons with each shot. The Laser Cannon fires faster than the Dartling Gun does.

Hydra Rocket Pods- Darts fired are replaced with missiles that can punch through even black balloons.

Ray of Doom- This powerful upgrade will upgrade the Laser Cannon with a destructive laser beam that relentlessly fires popping anything and everything in its way.

Bloon Area Denial System- This powerful upgrade will allow each missile to damage a greater area. It also grants a special ability, which launches a powerful missile that will pop 100 balloons in close proximity to the Dartling Tower.