The Desert Phantom: Difference between revisions

'''The Desert Phantom''' is the [[Desperado (BTD6)|Desperado]]'s path 3 tier 5 [[upgrade]] in ''[[Bloons TD 6]]''. It increases the damage of its pistol attack from 18 to 50, damage to Ceramics from +18 to +50, and doubles its [[attack speed]] (without affecting its 0.1-second delay between shots). Its shotgun pellets now each deal 10 damage instead of 3, deal +20 damage to [[MOAB-Class Bloon]]s, and knock back MOAB-Class Bloons at -200% speed and other Bloons at -300% speed. The shrapnel projectiles now have 10 pierce, deal 3 damage, and inflict a [[damage over time]] effect that deals 10 [[damage type|fire-type]] damage, +10 damage to MOAB-Class Bloons, every 1.5 seconds for 9.05 seconds. Additionally, if a Bloon hit by the shrapnel is popped within 4.55 seconds, it generates an explosion that deals 5 fire-type damage, +15 damage to [[Ceramic Bloon (BTD6)|Ceramic Bloons]], to up to 3 Bloons within a small radius around it (which cannot have its pierce buffed).

 

With [[Quickdraw (BTD6)|Quickdraw]], the shrapnel projectiles deal +10 bonus damage to Ceramic Bloons.  

{{strategy needed}}

{{outdated|Desphan buffs in v52.0, maybe good enough knockback on those awkward map formats?}}

{{BTD6 last updated|51.2|section=y}}

The Desert Phantom is an easy to use DPS tower that has the added benefit of stalling blimps. Due to its shrapnel and explosions, its primary use is collateral damage against dense groups of bloons. 2-0-5 is preferred for general damage and single target damage whereas 0-2-5 is better if [[Quickdraw (BTD6)|Quickdraw's]] attack speed bonus cannot be maintained or no external [[Camo detection]] can be granted.

Despite its strengths on paper, it struggles immensely on harder maps where it is unable to consistently target bloons in its shotgun range. It becomes much stronger with damage and pierce buffs such as [[Stronger Stimulant (BTD6)|Stronger Stimulant]] or [[Primary Training (BTD6)|Primary Training]], but even with a [[Monkey Intelligence Bureau (BTD6)|MIB]] it can't attack fast enough to keep up with DDTs without an [[Overclock (BTD6)|Overclock]]. Even while requiring a significant amount of support to be usable on Expert maps, it has a negligible amount of BAD damage since its explosions only trigger when bloons are popped. Overall, it's a decent choice when playing on a Beginner map or any Intermediate or Advanced map with consistent straight lines (e.g. [[Sunset Gulch]]),<!--if xx5des has to spin around, maybe not a good map to use it on...--> but should not be considered as a serious option on Expert maps because of its various weaknesses.