*For [[Long Life Spikes (BTD6)|Long Life Spikes]], [[Deadly Spikes (BTD6)|Deadly Spikes]], and [[Perma-Spike (BTD6)|Perma-Spike]], stalling the ends of rounds is important to maximize stockpiles. Avoid adding anything that can anti-stall.
*For [[Long Life Spikes (BTD6)|Long Life Spikes]], [[Deadly Spikes (BTD6)|Deadly Spikes]], and [[Perma-Spike (BTD6)|Perma-Spike]], stalling the ends of rounds is important to maximize stockpiles. Avoid adding anything that can anti-stall.
**[[Horned Owl]] is a cheap but effective Super Ceramic end-of-round staller.
**[[Horned Owl]] is a cheap but effective Super Ceramic end-of-round staller.
*Some Heroes have methods of lowering RBE, which reduces the potential overwhelm of stockpiles.
*For Hero choice with a defense focused on Spike Factories, it's recommended to pick a Hero that will fulfill enough cleanup or RBE reduction, control Bloons and blimps, or provides buffs that directly improve its DPS.
**[[Benjamin (BTD6)|Benjamin]]'s Syphon Funding synergy with Perma-Spike is one of the few reasons to use him. Beneficial against dense rounds with many ZOMGs and BFBs.
**[[Ezili (BTD6)|Ezili]]'s MOAB Hex is effective at removing large amounts of RBE. It works well with Perma-Spike when the ability is timed well when blimps approach the spikes.
*If focused on Spike Factories as the main defense, it is recommended to pick a Hero that will fulfill enough cleanup or RBE reduction, control Bloons and blimps, or provides buffs that directly improve its DPS.
**Avoid Heroes that prevent end-of-round stalls, which prevents a few Bloons from surviving to recharge activated abilities and stockpiling of [[Perma-Spike (BTD6)|Perma-Spike]] in particular. For instance, [[Etienne (BTD6)|Etienne]]'s Level 20 Perma-UCAV.
**Avoid Heroes that prevent end-of-round stalls, which prevents a few Bloons from surviving to recharge activated abilities and stockpiling of [[Perma-Spike (BTD6)|Perma-Spike]] in particular. For instance, [[Etienne (BTD6)|Etienne]]'s Level 20 Perma-UCAV.
**Some Heroes have methods of lowering RBE, which reduces the potential overwhelm of stockpiles.
***[[Benjamin (BTD6)|Benjamin]]'s Syphon Funding synergy with Perma-Spike is one of the few reasons to use him. Beneficial against dense rounds with many ZOMGs and BFBs.
***[[Ezili (BTD6)|Ezili]]'s MOAB Hex is effective at removing large amounts of RBE. It works well with Perma-Spike when the ability is timed well when blimps approach the spikes.
**Heroes can be used as supplementary to the DPS of Spike Factories, such as [[Sauda (BTD6)|Sauda]]'s Leaping Sword in early rounds of Boss Rush paired with 0-0-2 [[Smart Spikes (BTD6)|Smart Spikes]].
**Heroes can be used as supplementary to the DPS of Spike Factories, such as [[Sauda (BTD6)|Sauda]]'s Leaping Sword in early rounds of Boss Rush paired with 0-0-2 [[Smart Spikes (BTD6)|Smart Spikes]].
The Spike Factory slowly generates spikes around its range, which build up its damage to bloons. Although mainly designed to protect exits, it has a few upgrades that allow Spike Factory to act as a DPS option. Its lower tiers are decent, and its higher-tiers can greatly assist cleanup and general damage depending on upgrades.
The Spike Factory's main role is protecting exits. Spikes are dispensed slowly, so the Spike Factory's value should be more so used for stockpiling instead of raw damage. That being said, some upgrades are designed to be compatible as direct damage, depending on positioning of the spikes.
Early game
During the early game, a 0-0-0 Spike Factory is enough to handle Camo Bloons in standard rounds when placed at the exit of one lane.
[something about other early-game stuff]
Stockpiling
[how to stockpile]
[progression to p1 and p3]
[something use case of shortterm vs longterm]
MOAB damage
Spike Factories can be used for single-target MOAB damage if they can target a single blimp, but requires certain upgrades are needed to make them impactful against them. MOAB SHREDR and above upgrades alter the Spike Factory to a MOAB-popping specialist.
0-3-2 MOAB SHREDR (with Smart Spikes) does a lot of focused damage onto a single blimp and can be targeted away from the track to focus on only their large hitboxes. [something 032] [something spikestorm boss thing] [pierce stuff] [spikestorm singletarget]
Base tower and upgrades
Tier 2 and below
The base Spike Factory can be used to tank small amounts of Bloons, including early Camo Bloons. Ideally, place it near an exit so it has time to generate spikes.
Bigger Stacks is almost always the preferred crosspath for all Tier 2 and below Spike Factories, maximizing spikes for a low cost. Leaving them uncrosspathed without Bigger Stacks is not preferable.
1-0-2 is a decent choice for protecting an exit at a specific location.
1-1-0 and 1-2-0 can quickly refresh spikes.
Smart Spikes for lower tiers, specifically 0-0-2, is often used in Boss Rush combined with Sauda to begin versus most Bosses, if other more reliable towers are absent.
Two 0-0-0 Spike Factories are more cost-efficient than 1-0-0 with One More Spike, but without this MK then 1-0-0 is more cost-efficient.
Path 1
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Spiked Balls is valuable in the mid-game to tank small amounts of bloons, yet still retains value in the late-game to handle Super Ceramics.
Spiked Mines handles large groups of bloons effectively.
Super Mines is very expensive but does enormous damage to all bloons with its explosions and napalm. It can be used both as a DPS option and tanking bloons near the exit. It also is effective against Boss Bloons with its general high damage.
Path 2
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MOAB SHREDR is niche, and mainly used if targeting exactly one MOAB-class bloon, such as the Round 100 BAD and Boss Bloons. Crosspathing with Bigger Stacks (1-3-0) is usually preferred. In Boss Rush, it's often used with 0-3-2 crosspath.
Carpet of Spikes is a decent T5 that excels against DDT and BAD rounds in CHIMPS, as well as acting as a more concentrated Spike Storm that continually does high damage to MOAB-class bloons.
Path 3
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Long Life Spikes's main value is carrying spikes over rounds, but is not very effective in game modes that have continous rounds (e.g. Apopalypse, Boss Rush).
Deadly Spikes is not very much stronger than Long Life Spikes, though its +2 damage often gives more tanking power for its cost than external buffs such as Berserker Brew.
Perma-Spike is a powerful cleanup option in CHIMPS, especially on single-exit maps. For the best results, pair with Berserker Brew and Jungle Drums, and deal with dense rounds via other towers.
Like Perma-Spike, Mega Massive Munitions Factory prefers stockpiling giant mines near the back, rather than near bloons. As it lacks any targeting options to adjust locations for the spikes, always place it with barely enough range to reach the track.
Mega Massive Munitions Factory is one of the strongest Paragons in Freeplay. It has one of the highest raw damage of any Paragon.
It is okay against Bosses, but since it cannot stockpile before a Boss in a Boss Event, it's preferred to only buy it during the round break before the Boss arrives.
Synergies
Spike Factory's best synergies are pierce buffs, which directly improve its DPS and stockpiling potential. Additionally, towers that minimize RBE can ensure that Spike Factories don't get overwhelmed too quickly.
Cleanup and RBE reducers are recommended with Spike Factory.
Unstable Concoction breaks down blimp groups quickly, and if there's enough stockpiles then it will help more than it would harm.
The Bloon Solver is one of the most effective cleanup options for its cost, so it can be used if other cleanup options are not an option.
Pierce buffs are recommended for strategies focusing on Spike Factory. Many pierce buffing options from offensive towers have high pierce themselves that are suitable for cleanup.
Striker Jones is the recommended Hero if focusing on Spike Factories, due to his level 8+ buffs and his other best synergizers being effective against groups.
Path 1 Mermonkey (Abyss Dweller and above) are recommended supports because of both the pierce buff and the group-popping these Mermonkey upgrades provide. Abyssal Warrior is an effective synergizer for its cost, and Lord of the Abyss is the best synergizer with Carpet of Spikes for its massive pierce boost and great cleanup assistances for cheap.
For Long Life Spikes, Deadly Spikes, and Perma-Spike, stalling the ends of rounds is important to maximize stockpiles. Avoid adding anything that can anti-stall.
Horned Owl is a cheap but effective Super Ceramic end-of-round staller.
For Hero choice with a defense focused on Spike Factories, it's recommended to pick a Hero that will fulfill enough cleanup or RBE reduction, control Bloons and blimps, or provides buffs that directly improve its DPS.
Avoid Heroes that prevent end-of-round stalls, which prevents a few Bloons from surviving to recharge activated abilities and stockpiling of Perma-Spike in particular. For instance, Etienne's Level 20 Perma-UCAV.
Some Heroes have methods of lowering RBE, which reduces the potential overwhelm of stockpiles.
Benjamin's Syphon Funding synergy with Perma-Spike is one of the few reasons to use him. Beneficial against dense rounds with many ZOMGs and BFBs.
Ezili's MOAB Hex is effective at removing large amounts of RBE. It works well with Perma-Spike when the ability is timed well when blimps approach the spikes.
Heroes can be used as supplementary to the DPS of Spike Factories, such as Sauda's Leaping Sword in early rounds of Boss Rush paired with 0-0-2 Smart Spikes.
Versus Bosses
Spike Factories in general are strong against Bosses, as they can pile up damage at a steady rate, and have excellent synergy with pierce buffs. They also have innate Camo detection, which helps protect against natural Camos and damage Phayze without support.
For Boss Bloon Events, Spike Factories tend to work best on Timed events, particularly with Spike Storm spam and external buffs. For Timed Bosses, it's optimal to pair with Geraldo for his Rejuv Potion, providing up to 3 abilities per tower in a short timespan. Spike Factory can also be useful to tank Camos in the early-game, though on longer maps it's not very efficient on Boss Events due to the time penalty.
For Boss Rush, 0-3-2 MOAB SHREDR is a staple if Spike Factory is enabled, which can rack up plenty of early kills in early stages. x-x-2 crosspaths are generally preferable against most Bosses in Boss Rush. Make sure to have defenses that can handle natural bloons and boss minions, to reduce wastage of spikes.
For Contested Territory's Boss tiles, Spike Storm and tanking early Camos are often the main use cases of Spike Factory if this tower is enabled.
Most spikes are consumed by Bloonarius's minions before they are able to damage Bloonarius. However, super-buffed Spike Storm spam and/or Mega Massive Munitions Factory usually counter that problem. Thus, Spike Factories are effective against Bloonarius in Timed Bosses, but not so much in Boss Rush or CT Boss tiles.
Spike Factories, especially Spike Storm, remain an excellent option for all stages, handling Lych and its Lych-Soul and Resurrected Blimps efficiently, as all of them are considered MOAB-class and don't have as much RBE as Bloonarius's bloons.
Due to Lych's forced invulnerability, it is recommended to time each Spike Storm ability slowly, not all at once.
Avoid x-x-2+ upgrades, as Lych is able to sap the Smart Spikes buff.
Mega Massive Munitions Factory is usable versus Lych but poor choice due to Lych being able to sap the Controlled Burst ability.
Spike Factories are much less effective versus Vortex but still usable for a burst. Vortex removes spikes regularly, nullifying any stockpiles. Although Spike Storms remain relevant versus Vortex, many other towers (especially Snipers) simply do better.
Mega Massive Munitions Factory is a poor choice, as Vortex removes its stockpiles often, and this Paragon's low range makes it prone to being stunned.
Provided Dreadbloon lacks Support immunity, Super Mines is strong against Dreadbloon's Ceramic armor. Spike Storm remains a strong choice when spammed.
In Boss Rush, 0-3-2 remains a strong choice if the Lead properties are countered, and the Support immunity is dealt by other towers. Embrittlement, Glue Strike, or Monkey Intelligence Bureau can assist versus unshielded Dreadbloon, though the former two cannot be used versus the Primary immunity.
Whenever Phayze hits a skull, its invulnerable state removes every projectile (including spikes) that it goes through. If using Spike Storms, use only enough Spike Storm abilities to trigger the skull phase.
In the absence of Monkey Ace in Boss Rush, 0-0-2 Spike Factory combined with Sauda near the start is often the go-to choice for starting against Phayze.
Mega Massive Munitions Factory is poor versus Phayze, as each skull wipes out stockpiles that this Boss passes over, and frequently skips important chokepoints that this Paragon takes advantage of.
Spike Storm ability spikes do not lose lifespan once deployed; in Timed Bosses, it's recommended to spam all abilities as fast as possible, before Blastapopoulos can stun and delay further abilities.
In Boss Rush, only 0-3-2 is recommended; Spike Storms are too slow and vulnerable against Blastapopoulos's stuns, and Super Mines is far too expensive (relative to other Bosses in Boss Rush, which more easily snowball Boss kills) and cannot apply napalm on Blastapopoulos.
One More Spike, but without this MK then 1-0-0 is more cost-efficient.