User:Bastion Horde/Sandbox

Now testing for Ninja Monkeys.

General

Ninjas are noted for their ability to bypass bloon immunities and hold out against most of the early game by themselves. However, they suffer late-game due to their low damage rate on their own and weakness to large numbers of blimps, mostly acting as support popping power when that time comes. With Ninja-focused defenses, buffs and cleanup are needed to support them late-game.

Base

The base tower has average pierce but good range and attack speed. It is twice as expensive as a Dart Monkey, but its attack speed makes it an excellent lone starting tower on easier maps, and can reliably start advanced maps with a Dart Monkey for support.

Path 1

Path 1 is DPS-focused, although it needs external buffs, such as from Alchemists, to be effective in the late-game. Path 3 is generally preferred, as the Seeking Shurikens maximize the Ninja’s attacks, whilst Caltrops provide extra damage. Path 2 is better left to the Shinobi Ninjas that are necessary for this path to be effective.

Ninja Discipline is a valuable crosspath and essential early-game upgrade, as the Ninja has very little other attack speed upgrades. Sharp Shurikens makes the shuriken attack much more effective, and is necessary to maximize the potential of Seeking Shuriken.

Double Shot acts as better cleanup, particularly when paired with Seeking Shuriken. Its cheap price makes spamming 3-0-1 Ninjas highly effective, particularly if paired with Acidic Mixture Dip Alchemists to let them handle the Leads and deal extra blimp damage.

Bloonjitsu provides much more cleanup and DPS, and its relatively slow fire rate and high projectile count make it a perfect match with Berserker Brew and above, getting even more effective with Deadly Tranquility. Their low price also allows them to be spammed, although external buffs, such as Alchemist buffs and Shinobi Tactics, are necessary to make this upgrade worthwhile. Without buffs, its popping power is pretty lackluster.

The Grandmaster Ninja buffs just about every aspect of the Ninja, but still heavily relies on Shinobi buffs to reach its true potential. As it attacks too fast for Berserker Brew to be effective anymore, Permanent Brew is recommended to buff it. 20 Shinobis allows the tower to become a DPS champion, and with enough buffs and bloon debuffs, it can outperform a Sun Temple.