Strategy:Freeplay (BTD6)

Freeplay icon

Freeplay in Bloons TD 6 involves blimps rapidly ramping up in health and speed. The ramping means that blimps become magnitudes more challenging once the game is deep into Freeplay. Reaching Round 500, even on the easiest maps, is a daunting task, especially when considering the lag in Freeplay. Farming in the first couple hundred rounds is essential, and proper utilization of the entire space of the map is crucial for the final setup.

General recommendations

Map choice

Logs is the recommended map, as it has an abundance of good placements, has a layout with many intersections and is composed entirely of straight lines, and is the 2nd longest map (after Scrapyard, which severely lacks space and has many line of sight blockers). Contrary to popular belief, Logs has enough space for farming, being able to fit 38 Banana Farms, and optimal farming strategies can reach over $50 million spare by the time the final setup has been completed.

Resort is shorter than Logs, but its plentiful space means that when using Bloonjitsus + Shinobi Tactics, it is roughly on par with Logs for Freeplay. However, when using Adora with Sun Avatars, Sun Temples, and the VTSG, Logs remains superior. Resort currently holds the round record for Easy mode Freeplay with Powers (Round 969), but Logs holds the round record for CHIMPS Freeplay (Round 500) and powerless Easy mode Freeplay (Round 553). Cubism is the third most optimal, but it has no significant advantages over Logs or Resort and is thus not recommended. The extra water present for Trade Empire farming on Cubism is not sufficient for sacrificing track length.

Gameplay

• BADs are the only significant threat, as all other Bloons and blimps can be permanently stalled. Superstorm, which blows back blimps spawned by BADs immediately after the BAD pops with tornadoes on top it, is sufficient for completely neutralizing the threat of non-BADs.
• Do not overspend on defense during the first hundred rounds, as the gameplay is on Easy mode on a Beginner map. Instead, focus on farming.
• Banana Central + Banana Research Facility spam + Monkeyopolis + Overclocks (for the Farms) is the most optimal farming strategy.
• Ultraboost towers that will be present in the final setup while farming. Use Support Chinook to move the towers to their final desired positions.
• Supporting towers and the Hero are all crucial to Freeplay. Recommendations for them are listed in the sections below.
• All Paragons are worthwhile in Freeplay, and it is recommended to obtain them first to avoid the final setup depriving them of the pops needed to reach high degrees.
• Cram towers as tightly as possible, whether while farming or preparing the final setup, to utilize every bit of space present on the map.
• Set stalling towers (such as Superstorm and Master Builder) to First, set Navarch of the Seas and Nautic Siege Core (if unsubmerged) to Last, and set all other targetable towers to Strong.

Recommended core towers

Name	Portrait	Reasoning & how to use
Bloonjitsus + Shinobi Tactics		Spamming Bloonjitsus, with each given 20 or near 20 Shinobi stacks, produces an extraordinarily powerful setup that defeats all other strategies. One of the Bloonjitsus is to be upgraded to Grandmaster Ninja, which is also worth it in the VTSG + Sun Temples + Sun Avatars setup despite depriving Ascended Shadow of its Paragon of Power buff. Grand Saboteur is still worthwhile despite its health removal capability being nullified by Ascended Shadow, thanks to its ability buffing all Shinobis. Master Bomber is worth the space as well. Caltrops is recommended for the Bloonjitsus, Grandmaster Ninja, and Shinobis, and Sharp Shurikens is recommended for Master Bomber. In this setup, the Bloonjitsus, Grandmaster Ninja, and Master Bomber occupy the spaces near the map's center, Shinobi Tactics and Grand Saboteur immediately surround them, and supporting towers (except Embrittlement and Super Brittle) and supplemental towers are placed at the periphery of the map. Note that this setup requires packing towers extremely tightly, requires multiple trials to find the best placements for maximizing the Shinobi stacks on the Bloonjitsus, and produces immense lag.
VTSG + Sun Temples + Sun Avatars		This setup is somewhat weaker than Bloonjitsus + Shinobis, but it produces less lag and is easier to achieve. The VTSG is ideally placed on water using Arctic Wind, as it can then be buffed by Navarch of the Seas. VTSG is also best placed near the center of the map so that its True Sun God buff reaches the entire map, and is also recommended in the Bloonjitsus + Shinobis setup thanks to its buff. 2-2-2-1 is the ideal sacrifice for VTSG, as its Tier 4 Sun Temple buffs do not stack with the buff from other Sun Temples. x-2-0 is the best crosspath for all 3 listed towers. Placing as many Sun Temples as possible is crucial, as they are more space efficient than Sun Avatars. Place Super Monkeys so that their range barely avoids the center of their neighboring Sun Temples, and do not buff their ranges before upgrading them to Sun Temple. Support Chinook can move distant towers right next to the Super Monkey, which remain there once the Super Monkey is upgraded, allowing for towers inside Sun Temples. 2 Sun Temples with the 1-0-1-1 sacrifice are recommended for their support buffs to reach the whole map, and they are recommended for the Bloonjitsus + Shinobis setup as well. 1-1-1-0 is the recommended sacrifice for other Sun Temples for maximized damage. Leave space for 1 Overclock for each Sun Temple and each supplemental tower, and fill the rest of the map with Sun Avatars.
Ezili		Ezili has two powerful assets: MOAB Hex and Sacrificial Totem. MOAB Hex is her flagship asset, as its capability to deal percentage-based damage makes it excessively powerful against BADs in deep freeplay, which have millions of health. Spamming the ability throughout the course of the round allows her to take down heaps of Fortified BADs, greatly easing the load on other towers. Sacrificial Totem's buff is also powerful, and it is best targeted at a location where it reaches the largest portion of the core defense. She works the best with the Bloonjitsus + Shinobis setup, which becomes the strongest Freeplay strategy when paired with her.
Adora		Adora's Blood Sacrifice is extremely powerful, doubling the attack speed of all Sun Avatars, all Sun Temples, and the VTSG and boosting their ranges by 50%. She is best placed at the center of the map, as Blood Sacrifice only functions within her own range. However, this is not a limiting factor, as her Level 3 Long Arms of Light ability grants her global range when she is also given max buffs, so it is recommended to Blood Sacrifice when that ability is active. She works exclusively with the VTSG + Sun Temples + Sun Avatars setup, which remains slightly weaker than the Bloonjitsus + Shinobis setup when paired with her but is more smooth and easy to perform.

Recommended support

Name	Portrait	Reasoning & how to use
Overclock, Ultraboost		Overclocks are crucial to the final setup, as they maximize the strength of the most powerful Freeplay towers. If using the Bloonjitsus + Shinobis setup, use 1 Overclock for each Bloonjitsu and 2 for the Grandmaster Ninja. Otherwise, use 1 Overclock for each Sun Temple and for each 2 Sun Avatars. In addition, use 1 Overclock for the other supplemental defense towers listed below. Ultraboost is also essential for maximizing the final setup, and it is recommended to start ultraboosting towers as soon as possible, since it has a long cool down even with the Energizer. It is worth keeping Ultraboost in the final setup due to its full uptime for Tier 5s, allowing it to permanently Overclock the two most powerful towers.
Homeland Defense, Call to Arms		The doubled attack speed and pierce that Homeland grants is crucial to all Freeplay setups. When attempting Freeplay AFK, it is recommended to add a Call to Arms to cover Homeland's downtime, with a Tech Bot used to activate the Call to Arms immediately after Homeland runs out to avoid the latter being overriden. If attempting to reach the absolute maximum round possible, sell and rebuy Homeland after each usage to make the buff permanent.
Permanent Brew		The attack speed, range, pierce, and damage buffs that Permanent Brew grants are mandatory for all setups. To apply the buff to all towers on the map, use Support Chinook to move Permanent Brew around.
Embrittlement, Super Brittle		Their respective +1 and +4 debuffs are crucial to the defense, significantly enhancing the damage output of other towers. Place the Super Brittle and one Embrittlement near the center of the map, both crosspathed with Larger Radius for more coverage and already full uptime. In addition, place 1 Embrittlement near the entrance, crosspathed with Deep Freeze to catch newly entering BADs more quickly.
Cripple MOAB, Elite Sniper		Cripple MOAB's +5 debuff is essential to all Freeplay setups as well. 5-2-0 is the optimal crosspath for it in Freeplay, allowing for the debuff of multiple BADs with one attack. Place it at a spot where it can shoot BADs while they face toward it (so that the shrapnels travel straight into the BAD), such as the space to the immediate left of the rightmost bottom log on Logs. Elite Sniper buffs Cripple MOAB's attack speed, allowing the latter's shrapnels to spawn more rapidly and debuff more BADs, in addition to buffing the 0-2-5 Elite Defender (if desired) and doing some damage on its own.
Glue Storm		Glue Storm's +2 debuff makes it crucial for reaching the highest round possible. Crosspathing is not needed, as the 0-5-0 Glue Storm already has full uptime on its debuff. However, BADs entering during the ability's downtime will not be glued, making cooldown reducers like Primary Expertise and Energizer essential.
Primary Expertise		Primary Expertise has the largest range of all Monkey Villages when considering Permanent Brew's ability to buff it, making it the best option to apply the crucial Jungle Drums buff to as many towers as possible. In addition, its buffs to Primary towers are also valuable, increasing the range of Embrittlement and Super Brittle while reducing Glue Storm's cooldown. Ultraboost it for maximized range.
The Final Harmonic		Harmonic's ability cooldown reductions are vital for Heroes, especially Ezili. The totem must cover the range of the Hero and as many Magic Monkeys as possible to maximize its benefits. Harmonic is also useful for Adora (as her abilities deal immense raw damage), but is not as mandatory.
Bloon Master Alchemist		While BMA generally accumulates more pops than any other tower, it is not close to being as essential as its pop count suggests, as the ZOMGs and DDTs that it one-shots are non-issues and perma-stalled regardless. However, its ability to one-shot ZOMGs still prevents low-pierce towers (such as Ascended Shadow) from pierce-capping, making it a worthwhile support.

Additional notes

• Energizer is worth it in the Bloonjitsus + Shinobis setup, where unsubmerging Nautic Siege Core is recommended and Energizer's cooldown reductions are not invalidated. However, in the VTSG + Sun Temples + Sun Avatars setup, Energizer is redundant due to Nautic Siege Core being ideally submerged to buff Adora's immense solo damage.

Recommended supplemental defense

Name	Portrait	Reasoning & how to use
Megalodon		Outside of VTSG, the max-buffed Power 132 Megalodon contains the strongest raw, non-percentage-based damage out of any tower, eclipsing all Paragons. Therefore, it is worth it to obtain a Power 132 Megalodon (by merging 6 Orcas) in Freeplay, despite the high amount of space it takes up and its inability to one-shot BADs. Place the Megalodon in a central water spot.
Sentry Champion		Sentry Champion benefits twice from aura buffs, such as True Sun God, Jungle Drums, and Homeland Defense, which boost both the rate at which sentries are spawned and the attack speed of the sentries. This makes Sentry Champion excessively powerful in Freeplay, and the 5-2-0 crosspath is recommended for increased damage to Fortified BADs.
Super Mines		The extreme power of Super Mines makes it a strong addition to any setup, and the area-of-effect explosions of the mines mean that a central spot is optimal for it. 5-2-0 is the recommended crosspath for Super Mines for a consistently increased attack speed.
Bloon Exclusion Zone		BEZ shoots out an immense number of projectiles, making it synergize exceptionally well with the damage buffs and debuffs present in all late-game setups and deal extraordinary damage. Unlike in CHIMPS, 0-2-5 is the optimal crosspath due to attack speed being more valuable than flat damage in Freeplay thanks to the damage buffs and debuffs. Place BEZ at a spot where its projectiles are shot to travel through the entire map, such as the spot immediately below the rightmost bottom log on Logs.
M.A.D		M.A.D's immense MOAB-Class damage means that it excels in deep Freeplay, despite its mediocre synergy with buffs. 0-5-2 is its optimal crosspath due to the immense number of BADs present in every round, and the placement recommendation for BEZ applies to it as well.
The Tack Zone		Tack Zone's immense number of projectiles grants it extreme synergy with the damage and pierce buffs present in all setups. 2-0-5 is the far superior crosspath due to 0-2-5's pierce being insignificant when considering the pierce-buffing towres (such as VTSG) on the screen, and Tack Zone is best placed right below an intersection to utilize its deadzone.
Inferno Ring		Inferno Ring's meteors benefit immensely from pierce buffs and become extreme damage dealers that approach the potency of M.A.D. 5-0-2 is the optimal crosspath for extra meteor damage, with 5-2-0's +1 meteor pierce and extra range being insignificant.

Additional notes

• Some other towers, such as 0-2-5 Elite Defender, 2-0-5 Flying Fortress (which outweighs Paragon of Power's benefits on Degree 91 Goliath Doomship), 0-1-5 Avatar of Wrath, and 0-5-2 Popseidon, are weaker relative to their footprint than towers above, but they are still worth it in the VTSG + Sun Temples + Sun Avatars setup. However, they are not recommended for the Bloonjitsus + Shinobis setup, which demands more space for the core of the setup.

Commonly used but suboptimal towers

Name	Portrait	Reasoning
Geraldo		Geraldo's Paragon Power Totem is appealing, but the extra 9 max degrees for Paragons are greatly outclassed by Ezili's capabilities and the TSG/VTSG support of Adora. Rejuv Potion and Worn Hero's Cape are the only other shop items with relevance in Freeplay, but both restock far too slowly to have significant effect.
Psi		Psi's inability to deal any damage to BADs makes them completely redundant in Freeplay. While their ability to one-shot any non-BAD is appealing, BMA and Navarch of the Seas can already take care of all non-BADs.
XXXL Trap		Compared to BMA, XXXL Trap is poor at instakilling blimps for extreme late-game, because traps consume more pierce on higher-RBE targets. Since BMA + Navarch of the Seas is enough for one-shotting non-BADs, XXXL Trap is simply a waste of space.
Blooncineration		Defortification of small blimps is not worth it when going deep into Freeplay, as they would be quickly one-shot by BMA or Navarch of the Seas. In addition, most other towers do much more raw DPS per footprint, making Blooncineration not worth its footprint.
Other stalling towers		As Superstorm, along with Paragons with stalling capabilities (such as Master Builder and Ascended Shadow), can already permanently prevent non-BADs from moving, extra stalling is not useful. None of the listed towers deal sufficient raw damage to BADs to be worth it either. Note that Bloon Crush is useful in CHIMPS Freeplay to stall for Legend of the Night's passive ability, but it is not useful elsewhere.