User:BloonDom/Random Cool Things (RCT)/1: BTD5 Upgrade Patterns

Introduction

In this entry, I will go into depth about an upgrade pattern most of the early up the menu towers use.

Entry

In BTD5, while most tier 1 and 2 upgrades are just stat boosts, many tier 3 and 4 upgrades actually have certain rules to how they are done. Don't believe me? Here they are:

• Top tier 3: Tower gets a new mechanic; something that it couldn't do prior.
• Top tier 4: Another new mechanic. If the top tier 3 didn't have one, this upgrade will. And vice versa.
• Bottom tier 3: Doesn't give the actual tower anything new. Usually an stat boost or a projectile increase.
• Bottom tier 4: Tower gets an ability, though like the bottom tier 3 the actual tower doesn't gain any new mechanic.

Now, let's use the Boomerang Thrower for example:

• Top tier 3: Glaive Ricochet upgrade gives the tower a new way to attack: projectile glides from bloon to bloon instead of a curve.
• Top tier 4: With the Glaive Lord upgrade, the tower gains new glaives around it that go in circles, popping anything that passes.
• Bottom tier 3: The Bionic Boomer upgrade. This upgrade simply increases the attack speed of the tower.
• Bottom tier 4: The Turbo Charge upgrade gives the tower an ability that increases its attack speed by a massive amount. Outside of that, it is the same tower that it was before.

Crazy right?! We can even use this to see if upgrades were switched during development.

Take the Ice Tower for instance. Its tier 3 upgrades, Arctic Wind and Ice Shards, were initially on different upgrade paths of the tower, as shown in prerelease material of the flash version. But we don't even need that to know that they were. Let's do this again, with Ice Shards and Arctic Wind in their original positions:

• Top tier 3: Ice Shards upgrade give the tower a new mechanic: when bloons are popped, shards come out and pop other bloons around.
• Top tier 4: The Viral Frost upgrade make the tower's ice spread across bloons that are near. Something it couldn't do before.
• Bottom tier 3: Arctic Wind upgrade gives the tower a freezing aura around it, slowing bloons that pass it. Slowing bloons is something it could already do with the Permafrost upgrade.
• Bottom tier 4: The Absolute Zero upgrade give the tower an ability that freezes all bloons on screen for a short time. Outside of that, it doesn't give the tower a significant difference.

For the Mortar Tower:

• Top tier 3: Bloon Buster upgrade give the tower +1 damage, having 2 damage in total instead of 1. This is a stat boost, not changing anything about the tower.
• Top tier 4: The Big One upgrade gives the tower +3 damage, having 5 damage in total instead of 2. Again, a stat boost, no tower-changing mechanic here.
• Bottom tier 3: Signal Flare upgrade allows the tower to remove camo properties from bloons. It couldn't do that before, could it?
• Bottom tier 4: The Artillery Battery upgrade gives the tower faster attack speed and an ability that repeatedly stuns bloons and MOABs on-screen for a short time. (Okay, this does fit as it doesn't change the actual tower much, but let's get to the point)

As you can see, something's off. Bloon Buster and The Big One fit better as bottom tier 3s and 4s, and the Signal Flare upgrade feels more like a top tier 3 upgrade. Let's switch them to see what happens:

• Top tier 3: As said previously, the Signal Flare upgrade allows the tower to remove camo properties from bloons. Gives the tower something new and exciting.
• Top tier 4: The Artillery Battery upgrade gives the tower 3x attack speed. It wouldn't change anything big about the tower, but that still fits the rules, as the tier 3 upgrade already introduced a new mechanic.
• Bottom tier 3: Bloon Buster upgrade give the tower +1 damage, having 2 damage in total instead of 1. Nothing new apart from a stat boost.
• Bottom tier 4: The Big One upgrade gives the tower +3 damage, having 5 damage in total instead of 2. All bottom tier upgrades have an ability ("wait, not Banana Farm, right???"), and The Big One appears to have had one at one point in development.

Let us do this one more time, for the Banana Farm:

• Top tier 3: Banana Republic upgrade allows the tower to make more bananas than the previous upgrade. Yay, doesn't that EXCITE you? /s
• Top tier 4: Banana Research Facility upgrade again produces more bananas, storing them in crates and decreasing their amount to take less time to collect them. A difference, but not enough of one if you ask me.
• Bottom tier 3: The Monkey Bank upgrade completely alters the tower, no longer producing bananas but storing them and making a set amount of cash per round, allowing the player to collect the amount at any time. A huge difference if you ask me!
• Bottom tier 4: The Banana Investments Advisory upgrade makes cash faster and can store more of it. Not a huge thing, but the previous upgrade already did a huge thing.

Switch!

• Top tier 3: The Monkey Bank upgrade completely alters the tower, no longer producing bananas but storing them and making a set amount of cash per round, allowing the player to collect the amount at any time.
• Top tier 4: The Banana Investments Advisory upgrade makes cash faster and can store more of it. Not a huge thing, but the previous upgrade already did a huge thing.
• Bottom tier 3: Banana Republic upgrade allows the tower to make more bananas than the previous upgrade. Effectively a stat boost.
• Bottom tier 4: Banana Research Facility upgrade again produces more bananas, storing them in crates and decreasing their amount to take less time to collect them.

Of course, this could be incorrect. Maybe the Banana Farm never had an ability at any point in development and I'm just going bananas (haha a pun), but looking at the list, this could be a solid reason it doesn't have one. The Monkey Bank and the BIA fit better as top upgrades, while Banana Republic and the BRF fit better as bottom upgrades. If there was an upgrade on the Banana Farm that ever had an ability at any point in BTD5's development, it would be the Banana Research Facility. I can't really picture that upgrade having an ability, but nevertheless, when it was switched to the left path, whatever this ability was (if it ever existed) got scrapped and removed, leaving the Banana Farm an anomaly compared to every other tower.

There are other towers these rules work with, like the Dart Monkey and the Bomb Shooter. There are also towers where these rules don't work, like the Heli Pilot and Monkey Sub. These towers are from portable versions and were not from the team that made the earlier towers. The Ninja Monkey and Dartling Gun tower upgrades break these rules, maybe their upgrades were different at one point? We can only guess for now.

Hope you had as much fun reading as I did writing this entry. See you in the next one!

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