Spiked Balls (BTD6): Difference between revisions

'''Spiked Balls''' is the [[Spike Factory (BTD6)|Spike Factory]]'s path 1 tier 3 [[upgrade]] in ''[[Bloons TD 6]]''. Instead of spike piles, it dispenses spiked balls that deal 2 damage, +3 [[Ceramic Bloon (BTD6)|Ceramic]] damage, and +1 [[Fortified Bloon (BTD6)|Fortified]] damage, and have 11 pierce. Spiked balls can pop Frozen and [[Lead Bloon (BTD6)|Lead]] Bloons.<!--uhh, where to supersede the crosspathing interactions despite it having basic interactions? some people wanna know all the crosspathing interactions in spite of this, and spalls needs this due to being a tanking upgrade-->

{{BTD6 last updated|49.2|section=y}}

Spiked Balls is a low-cost but flexible method of catching leaks during mid-game while staying relevant against [[Super Ceramic Bloon (BTD6)|Super Ceramics]] in lategame. Although it can now layer-skip bloons, it still lacks pierce and faces competition with blowbacks such as [[Druid of the Storm (BTD6)|Druid of the Storm]]. 1-0-2 Spike is more practical for tanking bloons during early-game, plus better Alch synergy, while [[Spiked Mines (BTD6)|Spiked Mines]], its successor, is more reliable compared to multiple Spiked Balls, except on maps with more than two separate exits. Spiked Balls still has good synergy with [[Berserker Brew (BTD6)|Berserker Brew]], attacking slow enough to maintain both buffs, in addition to pierce buffs equating to stockpiled damage. It remains helpful for catching leaks on difficult maps, such as [[Dark Dungeons]].

Crosspaths with middle or bottom have distinct use cases. 3-0-2 is more practical on most medium-to-long maps and lanes with intersecting exits, allowing the micro of spikes or focus at specific regions, plus the start-of-round boost and potentially larger stockpile. However, 3-2-0 is better on shorter maps, where leaking bloons become common enough that it'll have more overall stockpiled damage.