DESKBOUND FIELD GUIDE
Know your towers.
Nine tools for the same problem: stop the next wave. Compare the current tower stats, then build around the places where your maze gives them time to work.
Range is measured in board cells from the tower’s center; each tower occupies a 2 × 2 footprint. Damage below is before Boost bonuses and enemy armor. Firing rate describes attacks per second, not guaranteed damage per second.
Ground + air
Pellet → Sniper
Use cheap Pellets to shape the maze, then invest in the towers that see the most traffic. The final Sniper upgrade trades a little firing speed for much longer range and stronger hits.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Level 2 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Level 3 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 20 |
| Level 4 | 80 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 40 |
| Level 5 | 160 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 80 |
| Sniper | 400 | 9 | 0.9 | 120 | 200 |
Ground + air
Squirt → Typhoon
Place Squirt beside a corridor that creeps visit more than once. Its rapid shots suit fast enemies and durable single targets. Typhoon gains enough range to cover more of a neighboring lane.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 5 | 3.5 | 6 | 15 | 15 |
| Level 2 | 10 | 3.5 | 6 | 12 | 27 |
| Level 3 | 18 | 3.5 | 6 | 23 | 50 |
| Level 4 | 34 | 3.5 | 6 | 35 | 85 |
| Level 5 | 65 | 3.5 | 6 | 75 | 160 |
| Typhoon | 320 | 4.75 | 9 | 290 | 450 |
Ground · splash
Dart → ICBM
Aim for bends where ground creeps bunch together. Explosions can hit several enemies, but shells land where they were aimed, so fast targets can move away before impact.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 8 | 4.5 | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Level 2 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 35 |
| Level 3 | 32 | 5.5 | 1 | 35 | 70 |
| Level 4 | 64 | 6 | 1 | 60 | 130 |
| Level 5 | 128 | 6.5 | 1 | 110 | 240 |
| ICBM | 256 | 7 | 1 | 160 | 400 |
Air only
Swarm → Storm
Cover the direct flight route through the board. Swarm fires four missiles per volley and attacks only flying creeps; a long ground maze cannot replace this coverage.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Volleys / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 50 | 50 |
| Level 2 | 40 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 80 |
| Level 3 | 80 | 3.25 | 4 | 50 | 130 |
| Level 4 | 160 | 3.25 | 4 | 75 | 205 |
| Level 5 | 320 | 3.5 | 4 | 125 | 330 |
| Storm | 480 | 3.75 | 6 | 310 | 640 |
Ground + air · slow
Frost → Blizzard
Slow creeps where several weapons already overlap. Frost helps those weapons keep firing for longer, but immune creeps resist it. Extra slowing is no substitute for enough damage.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 10 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 50 | 50 |
| Level 2 | 15 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 25 | 75 |
| Level 3 | 20 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 25 | 100 |
| Level 4 | 25 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 25 | 125 |
| Level 5 | 30 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 25 | 150 |
| Blizzard | 40 | 3.75 | 1.5 | 50 | 200 |
Ground · area
Bash → Quake
Put Bash inside a busy bend or between nearby corridors. It strikes all ground creeps within its short range and can stun them. Range never increases, even at its final upgrade.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 60 | 2 | 1.3 | 100 | 100 |
| Level 2 | 120 | 2 | 1.3 | 120 | 220 |
| Level 3 | 240 | 2 | 1.3 | 145 | 365 |
| Level 4 | 480 | 2 | 1.3 | 175 | 540 |
| Level 5 | 960 | 2 | 1.3 | 260 | 800 |
| Quake | 2000 | 2 | 1.6 | 450 | 1250 |
Ground · lingering
Ink → Ink-blot
Use Ink on crowded ground routes. Each patch damages passing creeps and lingers briefly. Patches land at the aimed position, so placement matters more than the displayed firing rate alone.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 12 | 3.5 | 6 | 60 | 60 |
| Level 2 | 24 | 3.5 | 6 | 45 | 105 |
| Level 3 | 36 | 3.5 | 6 | 45 | 150 |
| Level 4 | 48 | 3.5 | 6 | 45 | 195 |
| Level 5 | 60 | 3.5 | 6 | 45 | 240 |
| Ink-blot | 120 | 3.5 | 12 | 240 | 480 |
Ground + air · manual
Snap → Spike
Keep Snap for an emergency. Select it and detonate during a wave for a one-use area burst. Detonation removes the tower, which can also open a shortcut through your maze.
| Level | Base damage | Range | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 100 | 3.25 | Manual | 50 | 50 |
| Level 2 | 200 | 3.5 | Manual | 50 | 100 |
| Level 3 | 320 | 3.75 | Manual | 50 | 150 |
| Level 4 | 400 | 4 | Manual | 100 | 250 |
| Level 5 | 800 | 4.25 | Manual | 150 | 400 |
| Spike | 1600 | 4.5 | Manual | 200 | 600 |
Adjacent towers
Boost → Overdrive
Touch a strong weapon with Boost along a side or corner. Its bonus is a percentage of that weapon’s damage, and several Boosts add together. A Boost does not fire or extend another tower’s range.
| Level | Damage bonus | Connection | Attacks / sec | This step | Total gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 10% | Touching | — | 100 | 100 |
| Level 2 | 20% | Touching | — | 100 | 200 |
| Level 3 | 30% | Touching | — | 100 | 300 |
| Level 4 | 40% | Touching | — | 100 | 400 |
| Level 5 | 50% | Touching | — | 100 | 500 |
| Overdrive | 60% | Touching | — | 100 | 600 |
Spend where the maze pays you back.
A weapon that covers two busy corridors may earn an upgrade before one that only sees the entrance. Boosts help most when they touch several useful damage towers. Upgrading pauses a tower’s firing, so avoid taking your entire main defense offline together.
Read the beginner maze strategy guide, or try a layout in Sandbox before spending carefully in Classic.
Build your defense