Strategy:Contested Territory (BTD6)

Contested Territory is often regarded as the most difficult event mode to both understand and play, due to it's unique restrictions and team oriented focus. Competitive mode is no different, especially as multiple top level teams are vouching for at least a top 25 spot.

Contested Territory pits 6 teams against each other to grab tiles on a shared board, which each provide points to rank all teams on a global leaderboard. As battling local teams can hurt a team's leaderboard score, the team's focus is often a choice between top local or top global.

This strategy article should hopefully guide players whether they create or join a team to participate.

Team Recommendations

Preparation

• Finding players for your team or joining an already populated team is crucial to expanding on the CT board, especially on the first and last days of the event. While Team Tickets can be used to fill in some missed days, Team Tickets do not generate on the first day and the last day of tickets cannot be converted into team tickets. Thus, it is important that you also bond with players willing to play for the team.
• Try to find players with a mix of skills and timezones. Some people may despise doing specific tile modes, and ensuring that your team can handle threats at all hours of the day is important to gain an advantage.
• Ensure everyone is in the team at least 24 hours before the event begins, as signups will conclude and any empty slots will not receive personal tickets.

Coordination

• Using an external communication platform is almost essential for focusing efforts on specific routes across the board, or to respond to threats.
• To ensure no team tickets are wasted, players should be observant of other players attempting other tiles, as capturing the same tile results in an overall loss of points. It might be useful to coordinate a claim system where players tell each other what tiles they are attempting to avoid this situation.
• To reach the banner tiles the fastest, teams may consider creating a route to follow for day 1 of the event in order to reach the important banner and relic tiles faster. This route should not just be a straight line to all the banners but also have many split paths to accommodate multiple players taking tiles at the same time.
• In order to score well on the leaderboards, teams should record the times at which banner tiles are taken, in order to maximize points received from them and to reclaim them when they stop producing points.

Player Recommendations

IRL Time Management

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Capture Priority

• The amount of points given is based on the tile captured. Banner tiles give the most points, with regulars behind a little. Try to avoid capturing relic tiles if they do not contribute any good relic or it's late into CT's duration.
• Depending on the locals given, capture priority can change dramatically. If your team is given an opportunity to sweep the board with little resistance, relic tiles should not be captured as they provide less points than regular tiles. If other teams are active and also pushing for the middle of the board at the same time, try to prioritize relics in order to maximize your chances at capturing tiles with a lower score.
• Banner tiles should be refreshed every 24 hours after capture to regain control and keep the flow of team points. Relic tiles don't need to be refreshed unless someone captures them, the team still keeps the relic even after the tile expires.
• In local fights, attempt to capture other team's tiles first over neutral tiles to gain a points advantage. In cases where opposing locals have "died off" and understand one team has full control over the board, it can be good sport to avoid capturing their regular tiles to give them points.
• When on the losing end of a team dominating the board, the same can be true; aggression against key relics or banners can lead to a coordinated team attempting to spawnlock your team, capturing tiles around spawn with unbeatable low scores, thus preventing any usage of tickets until the spawn tiles expire. Be mindful of "poking the bear" and weave around regular tiles to avoid disruption.

Relic Strategy

Main article: Strategy:Relic Knowledge

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Relics are an important asset for successfully capturing a tile. Some relics are vital for decreasing score far below the reach of any non-relic users. However, for high skill gameplay, not every relic tile must be captured, unless it is to drive off any rival teams from reaching more important relic or banner tiles.

For strategy about the optimal usage of each relic, rather than general strategy of all relics, refer to Strategy:Relic Knowledge.

This strategy section is empty or incomplete. See the strategy guidelines for more information on how to write strategy sections. The editor who added this notice elaborates: more tips on general relic tips that aren't specific to certain tile rulesets

• Relics that negate bloon properties are often game-changing. Alchemist Touch, Camo Trap, Royal Treatment, and Sharpslosion are usually the strongest of these types of relics.
• Don't underestimate Power Relics. While they do have limited uses per game, most except Tech Bot may be game-changing on all except Time Attack (which ban Powers).
  • If gaining Team Trophies is not an issue, always buy the Daily Power, with exception of Tech Bot which are often unnecessary.
• Store Relics are always enabled once bought. In general, they're always a major upgrade, with only niche cases being a downgrade. So, if gaining Team Trophies is not an issue, it is almost always worth buying all Store Relics once available.

Tile Strategy

Least Cash

• If a hero is available, centralizing a defense around the hero is usually the most cost-efficient.

Least Cash - Regular

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• If custom Heroes are enabled, the best hero for extremely low scores include Gwen and Rosalia. (Sauda and Corvus are banned.)
  • On Beginner maps, solo hero can solo all rounds if given appropriate relics.
  • For a safer score, add cheap defense that covers the hero's main weaknesses. For example, one 0-0-0 Spac or 1-0-0 Spac for Rosalia, to catch leaks and Camos.
• Wall of Fire on intersections can deliver a lot of damage to oncoming bloons as long as you can overcome it's purple weakness.

Least Cash - Non-Regular

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Least Tiers

• If a hero is available, centralizing a defense around the hero is usually the most tier-efficient.

Least Tiers - Regular

• If custom Heroes are enabled, the best hero for extremely low scores is Rosalia, with Adora being a close second. (Gwen, Churchill, Sauda, Geraldo, and Corvus are banned.)
  • On Beginner maps, a single hero can solo all rounds if given appropriate relics.
  • For a safer score, add low-tier defense that covers the hero's main weaknesses. Aim for up to 3 extra tiers with a single T3, if possible. For example, one base Spike Factory for Rosalia, to catch leaks and Camos, counting an extra 1 or 2 tiers.
• Razor Rotors is often a very tier-efficient single non-hero tower that is easy to use, worth 4 tiers (6 with 3-2-0). Most maps enabled on Regular tiles, except Spring Spring and Rake, allow Razor Rotors to solo all rounds before Round 43, assuming camos are handled.
• Wall of Fire on intersections can deliver a lot of damage to oncoming bloons as long as you can overcome it's purple weakness.
• Since it's recent buffs, Flash Bomb can solo rounds up to 39, and has a convenient 1 tier solution to the MOAB class bloon.
• Hydra Rocket Pods covers everything except the MOAB, and can be afforded before the round 28 leads with Monkey Knowledge.
• Druid of the Jungle has many weaknesses but can be considered an option with proper relics.
• Some 4th tier upgrades, like Spiked Mines and Icicles, can be considered niche as many strong tier 3s exist, but sometimes they are the only option.

Least Tiers - Non-Regular

• Try to clear all the rounds with 1 or 2 tier 5s instead of placing more towers.
• Spirit of the Forest, Glaive Lord, Pirate Lord, Spectre, Plasma Accelerator, Prince of Darkness and many others can solo rounds up to round 80, provided you account for their weaknesses.
• Artillery Battery (with good bends), Abyssal Warrior, Elite Defender (with Shrapnel Shot) can do the same but can struggle past 62.

Time Attack

Main article: Strategy:Race Event

• Most Time Attack tiles play the same as Race Events, with key differences: retries are unlimited until the player's team tickets are all consumed, no upgrade limitations, and relics can be enabled.
• Towards the cleanup stages, restart if necessary to avoid finishing times too late and wasting tickets.

Time Attack - Regular

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Time Attack - Non-Regular

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• Certain tiles may have terrible tower choices and/or on a difficult Race Event map such as Rake or Water Park.

Boss

Main article: Strategy:Boss Bloon Event

• Since money is everything when taking down timed bosses, try to greed out as much as possible using income generators like Banana Farms and Merchantmen.
• Bloon dependant income like Bloon Traps are almost always worth it when placed down early enough.
• Cash-related relics such as Rounding Up and Thrive are beneficial for snowballing income. Starting Stash allows early-game snowball to begin sooner.
  • For use of Thrive on 1 Tier Boss tiles, use Thrive on R34-R35 and R38-R39 for the most income per pop. On 2 Tier Boss Battles, R49-50 and R54-55 give the most income per pop.
• If all Heroes are enabled, heroes with income generation are often the best. Ben is the simplest and gives the most profit. Geraldo has more utility but a less flexible income generation. However, Sauda is still a great choice for cheap early-game defense.
• Unless a hero is planned ahead for their Level 7, or has income generation, it is best to hold off placing the hero until affording at least the first income generator, if possible.

Boss - 1 Tier

• With a max farm cap, it's safe to rush a Monkey Bank for it's cost effectiveness, then fill the rest of the slots with Marketplaces. The first bank can be gotten around round 20 by using a 2-2-0 and a 2-0-2 farm, then selling your Salvage farm to upgrade to bank at around $1100.
• With a max tower cap, it's ideal to spend as little tower slots for defense and use almost all of your towers for farming. Place a bunch of 2-0-0 farms and then upgrade them to marketplaces when you get the money.
• Stop buying income generation at round 38, especially without Favored Trades, as it will not make you more money before the boss arrives.
• Avoid Supply Drop and Support Chinook as income generators, as they'll not profit before the T1 Boss begins. If the boss is Dreadbloon on Easy, Monkey Town may profit if opting for a greedy strategy, but other income options are preferrable.
• If all other options are unavailable, a lone Jungle's Bounty can make a profit provided it is the only defense.
• Selling all income generators for Boss defense is often the best choice if killing the boss faster than about 3 minutes is possible.

Boss - 2 Tier

• After the tier 1 boss, sell portions of your defense for more income generation once again. If farms are enabled, buy a single 4-2-0 farm with the rest being marketplaces, and Central Markets if you have extra money or limited slots.
• Ability based generation becomes a lot stronger when there are 2 tiers, as it provides more time to use abilities as well as Elite Sniper and Special Poperations being strong at defending the rounds, though they lose a slight amount of efficiency when getting the tier 5.
• Stop buying income generation at round 58, especially without Favored Trades, as it will not make you more money before the boss arrives.
  • For ability based generation, stop buying more at about Round 54, as there won't be enough time for the abilities to pay off, unless planning to keep them when the T2 Boss comes.