Bloons TD 6: Complete Guide

A strategy guide for Ninja Kiwi's Bloons TD 6: Bloon types and properties, tower roles and strong upgrade paths, heroes, Monkey Knowledge, difficulty modes, CHIMPS, events, and what's new in 2026 (the Skywarden tower, He-Man, Social Seasons).

Researched September 2026. Current as of Update 56.0 (August 6, 2026) and the Social Seasons event that went live September 2, 2026. Live games change, so check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Understand Bloon properties. Camo, Lead, Purple, Black, White, Frozen, Regrow, and Fortified decide which towers can pop what. Most losses come from a property you didn't cover.
• Economy first, then defense. Banana Farms (or a hero with income) early means much more power later. In CHIMPS, Banana Farms are disabled entirely (see below).
• Buy upgrades before new towers early. A 2-0-0 or 0-0-2 tower often beats two base towers.
• Place a hero first. Heroes level for free as rounds pass. Quincy, Obyn, Striker Jones, and Benjamin are easy starts.
• Use Monkey Knowledge (MK) points. Global and tower-specific bonuses like extra starting cash are huge.
• Target priority matters. Set towers to First, Last, Close, or Strong depending on the job (for example, Strong for MOAB killers).
• Save before MOAB-class rounds. A MOAB-class Bloon (MOAB, BFB, ZOMG, DDT, BAD) will leak dozens of lives if you have nothing that deals heavy single-target damage.
• Play the daily and weekly events. Races, Boss Events, Odysseys, Contested Territory, and Social Seasons pay Monkey Money, Insta Monkeys, and trophies.

Bloon Properties Cheat Sheet

Property | Immune to | Answer with

Camo | Towers without camo detection | Ninja, Village (Radar Scanner 0-2-0), Wind-path Skywarden, camo upgrades such as Dart 0-0-2 or Sniper 0-1-0, camo-detecting heroes

Lead | Sharp damage (darts, tacks) | Bombs, Wizard fire, Corrosive Glue, Alchemist acid, Mortar, any "Normal" damage

Purple | Energy, fire, plasma | Sharp or explosive damage

Black | Explosions | Sharp damage or Normal

White / Zebra | Freezing (White) plus Black immunities (Zebra) | Sharp or Normal damage

Frozen | Sharp (while frozen) | Explosive or Normal

Regrow | Grows back layers | Burst damage and pierce

Fortified | Takes extra hits | Higher damage per hit

DDT | Camo + Lead + Black | Camo-detecting Normal damage

Note: Camo detection comes from specific upgrades per tower (for example, a Dart Monkey's Enhanced Eyesight upgrade). Check the upgrade tooltip. The Monkey Village's Radar Scanner gives camo detection to everything in range.

Ceramic rush rounds (roughly the 60s to 70s in standard play) need strong pierce and damage. MOAB-class milestones in standard rounds are round 40 (first MOAB), 60 (first BFB), the DDT rounds in the 90s, and round 100 (the BAD). Each one needs dedicated MOAB damage.

Tower Overview

Towers belong to four categories: Primary, Military, Magic, Support. Each has three upgrade paths. You can take up to 5 tiers in one path and up to 2 in a second.

Category | Towers

Primary | Dart Monkey, Boomerang Monkey, Bomb Shooter, Tack Shooter, Ice Monkey, Glue Gunner, Desperado

Military | Sniper Monkey, Monkey Sub, Monkey Buccaneer, Monkey Ace, Heli Pilot, Mortar Monkey, Dartling Gunner

Magic | Wizard Monkey, Super Monkey, Ninja Monkey, Alchemist, Druid, Mermonkey, Skywarden (new in 56.0)

Support | Banana Farm, Spike Factory, Monkey Village, Engineer Monkey, Beast Handler

Reliable early and mid picks

Tower and path | Why it's good

Dart Monkey 0-2-4 (Sharp Shooter), later Crossbow Master (0-0-5) | Cheap, great early. Enhanced Eyesight (0-0-2) gives camo detection

Ninja Monkey 4-0-1 (Bloonjitsu), later Grandmaster Ninja | Camo detection built in, strong DPS

Alchemist 4-2-0 (Stronger Stimulant) | Buffs nearby towers and pops Lead with acid

Monkey Village 2-2-0 (Jungle Drums + Radar Scanner) | Attack speed plus camo detection for everything in range

Wizard Monkey 0-3-2 / 0-4-2 (Dragon's Breath / Summon Phoenix) | Fire pops Lead, and Monkey Sense (0-0-2) adds camo

Sniper Monkey 0-2-4 (Full Auto Rifle), later Elite Defender (0-0-5) | Map-wide single target, and Night Vision Goggles (0-1-0) give camo

Monkey Sub 0-4-x (First Strike Capability) | A strong anti-MOAB ability

Glue Gunner 2-0-3 / 0-2-3 | Slows and weakens Bloons, including MOAB-class (MOAB Glue)

Ice Monkey 4-2-0 (Embrittlement) | Makes Bloons vulnerable to everything (Lead and Black included)

Dartling Gunner 4-x-x (Plasma Accelerator), later Ray of Doom (5-x-x) | Late-game MOAB and Ceramic killer

Super Monkey 4-x-x (Sun Temple) or 0-0-5 (Legend of the Night) | Late-game endgame power

Upgrade crosspaths shift with balance patches. Use the in-game upgrade descriptions and the community's current CHIMPS strategies.

New in 56.0: Skywarden

A $205 small Magic Monkey (base price on Medium) that fires Storm Magic from Stormbows. It starts slow and attacks faster the longer it keeps firing. Its tier-3 Combo attacks grow stronger against a target the more times it's hit.

Path | Theme

Wind | Camo detection, a persistent blowback debuff, windbursts of extra arrows

Lightning | Magnetizes Bloons to pull in nearby Energy and Plasma attacks from your other towers

Ice | Increased damage to Frozen Bloons, and can instantly shatter lower-tier frozen Bloons

Try it in Sandbox first. Its ramping attack rate means it's best placed where Bloons stay in range for a long time.

Heroes

The roster has 17 standard heroes (Quincy, Gwendolin, Striker Jones, Obyn Greenfoot, Captain Churchill, Benjamin, Ezili, Pat Fusty, Adora, Admiral Brickell, Etienne, Sauda, Psi, Geraldo, Corvus, Rosalia, Silas), plus licensed IAP heroes such as He-Man (Update 55.0).

Hero | Best at

Quincy | Easy early game. Beginner-friendly

Obyn Greenfoot | Buffs Magic towers, Druids in particular

Striker Jones | Buffs Bomb Shooters and Mortars. Good vs Black Bloons

Benjamin | Generates cash. The top eco hero in many modes

Churchill | Strong MOAB damage mid-game

Adora | Late-game power (sacrifice mechanic)

Geraldo | A shop of useful items. Flexible

Sauda | Melee early-game carry on short tracks

Psi | Map-wide range. Picks off Bloons anywhere on the track

Corvus | Spell-based, high skill ceiling

Silas | Freeze and ice synergies

He-Man (IAP) | Prince Adam transforms at level 3. A base hero, Dan D'Monke, is also available

Game Modes and Difficulties

Difficulty | Modes

Easy | Standard, Primary Only, Deflation, Sandbox

Medium | Standard, Military Only, Apopalypse, Reverse

Hard | Standard, Magic Monkeys Only, Double HP MOABs, Half Cash, Alternate Bloons Rounds, Impoppable, CHIMPS

CHIMPS means no Continues, Hearts lost, extra Income (you earn only starting cash, cash per pop, and end-of-round cash; Banana Farms are disabled), Monkey Knowledge, Powers, or Selling. It's the ultimate single-player test of a map. Beating it in one session without exiting or using "Retry Last Round" earns the black CHIMPS medal instead of the red one.

Beating a map on each mode earns medals and Monkey Money. Monkey Money buys heroes, Powers, Insta Monkeys, and trophy store items.

Economy

• Banana Farms are the classic income. In non-CHIMPS modes, farms (plus the Monkey Village's bottom-path Monkey Commerce and Monkey Town upgrades) snowball.
• Farm selling is a standard tactic: build farms early, then sell them late for a big lump sum before hard rounds (not in CHIMPS).
• Benjamin gives income without taking space.
• Buccaneer merchantmen (0-0-3+) produce income, and Favored Trades (0-0-4) boosts sell value.
• Druid Paragon (Update 54.0) generates cash based on your Banana Farm "empire", with a toggled Primordial Wrath ability that drains cash for damage.

Monkey Knowledge

You earn MK points by leveling your account. Spend them in six trees (Primary, Military, Magic, Support, Powers, Heroes).

Priority picks:

• Starting-cash and income nodes (mostly in the Support tree)
• Camo and utility helpers for the towers you rely on early
• Hero XP and hero-cost nodes in the Heroes tree
• Tower-specific buffs for towers you use a lot

Read each node's tooltip. Several MK nodes were reworked over the years, and the names are easier to find in-game than to memorize.

MK is disabled in CHIMPS, so don't rely on it for black borders.

Paragons

When you own three tier-5s of the same tower (one per path) plus enough upgrades, you can merge them into a Paragon, a super-tower whose degree (1 to 100) depends on your total spend, pops, and upgrades sacrificed. Recent additions include the Druid Paragon (Root of all Nature) in 54.0. Paragons are the core of Boss Event strategies and late Freeplay.

Events and Live Content

• Races: Speedrun a set map and rules for leaderboard rewards.
• Boss Events: Bloonarius, Lych, Vortex, Dreadbloon, Phayze, Blastapopoulos, and later bosses. There are Normal and Elite tiers.
• Odysseys: A series of maps with a limited crew. Rewards include Insta Monkeys and MK points.
• Contested Territory: Team-based tile-capture competition across six teams.
• Social Seasons: A team goals event. The current Social Season (live since September 2, 2026) rewards a profile banner, a Campervan MOAB skin, and Bumper Stickers when the community hits its goals.
• Quests: Story-driven challenges. 56.0 added "Quest of the Skywardens".
• Content Browser: Community-created challenges and Odysseys.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting camo detection. Camo arrives in early rounds and leaks everything.
• Only Sharp damage against Leads. Always add at least one lead-popper.
• Too many small towers. Upgrades are usually a better investment than a pile of base towers.
• No MOAB damage by round 40. The first MOAB is a common loss point.
• Ignoring Fortified and Regrow Bloons in later rounds.
• Wasting Powers on easy maps. Save them (and Insta Monkeys) for events and hard achievements.
• Placing ramp-up towers where Bloons pass quickly. Towers like the Skywarden and Ray of Doom need long exposure.

Advanced Tips

• Alchemist + Ninja / Sniper buffs: Stack a Stronger Stimulant Alchemist near your DPS towers.
• Monkey Village crosspaths: Jungle Drums (2-0-0, attack speed) plus Radar Scanner (0-2-0, camo) is the all-purpose support village. Go further up the top path (Primary Training and beyond) when you're buffing Primary towers.
• Target switching: Sniper Elite Defenders and Dartlings benefit from Strong targeting on MOAB rounds.
• Abilities: Save big abilities (Super Monkey's Tech Terror, Monkey Sub's First Strike Capability, Monkey Ace's Ground Zero) for BAD and DDT rounds.
• Freeplay: 56.0 adjusted existing Freeplay Bloon groups to smooth out the difficulty curve, so late Freeplay ramps more gradually than before.
• Expert Insta-Monkeys: The chance of an Insta-Monkey for reaching round 100 on Expert maps was raised from 20% to 30% in 56.0.

FAQ

What's new in Bloons TD 6 right now? Update 56.0 (August 6, 2026) added the Skywarden tower, the Ascent map, the Portable Lake power, and new quests. Update 55.0 (June 2026) added He-Man.

How do I beat CHIMPS? Pick a map with good placement, lead with cheap high-value towers, cover camo, lead, and MOAB by the right rounds, and follow a proven strategy video. Practice in Sandbox first.

What's the best hero for beginners? Quincy or Obyn for early game, and Benjamin once you understand economy.

How do Paragons work? Own one tier-5 of each path of a tower, then buy the Paragon upgrade. Its degree depends on what you sacrifice.

Is He-Man pay-to-win? He-Man is an IAP hero required by the Mattel license. Ninja Kiwi also added a base hero, Dan D'Monke, which became buyable with Monkey Money like any other hero two weeks after 55.0 launched, so events stay fair.

Can I play offline? Yes. Single player works offline. Events, co-op, and cloud saves need a connection.

Sources

• Bloons TD 6 on Steam: news (Update 56.0, 55.0, 54.0, Social Seasons)
• Steam news API feed for Bloons TD 6
• Bloons TD 6 Steam store page
• Bloons Wiki: CHIMPS