Etienne (Battles 2)

Etienne iterations: BTD6 • Battles 2

Etienne Drone Operator
This high-tech hero can pursue the Bloons wherever they go with his remote controlled drones. Cost $650 XP curve ×1.06 (type 2) Roles Defender Supporter Difficulty 2/5 Hero Alts Beetienne Introduced Version 4.0

Etienne is a Hero in Bloons TD Battles 2, introduced in version 4.0. He costs  3,000 Monkey Money to unlock.

Etienne commands two drones that chase down and attack Bloons automatically. They operate similarly to Heli Pilots on Pursuit, being able to fly over line of sight blockers, but they can only target and pursue Bloons inside Etienne's range. Each drone shoots darts that deal 1 damage to up to 2 Bloons per shot, but cannot damage frozen Bloons or Lead Bloons and cannot target Camo Bloons. As he levels up, his drones' damage and pierce increase, he gains Camo detection, he controls more drones at a time, and he unlocks additional perks and ways to attack with drones.

• Starting at level 2, he allows the player to see the opponent's cash and Bloon send queue.
• Starting at level 5, he gains a UAV that passively grants all of the player's towers (including himself) a chance to ignore Bloon immunities with their attacks. At higher levels, it also grants all towers Camo detection and better odds of ignoring immunities.
• He has two Activated Abilities:
  • Drone Swarm (level 3) — Spawns four additional drones that last for a short time.
  • UCAV (level 10) — Converts the UAV into a UCAV that shoots volleys of homing missiles that target First. At level 20, it becomes a UCAV permanently and the ability instead increases its damage temporarily.

Mechanics

Drones

Etienne uses drone sub-towers to attack Bloons for him. Unlike other flying sub-towers, the drones can only target Bloons inside Etienne's range. He spawns two drones upon being placed, with a 1-second delay between each.

If there are any Bloons within Etienne's range, the drones will attempt to position themselves in front of their targets, similar to Pursuit. If there are no visible targets within his range, each drone will move around his range at random. Each drone attacks its target by shooting darts with 3 pierce every 0.9 seconds that deal 1 sharp-type damage. The drones' targeting ignores line of sight and their shots can travel over blockers. Which Bloons they target depends on Etienne's current targeting setting:

• First — all on First
• Divide And Conquer — Strong, First, Strong, First
• Zone Defense — First, Strong, Last, Close (unlocked at level 11)

Drones are assigned these targeting options in the order they are unlocked in, starting with the first two drones. The targeting of a drone is indicated by the color of its light:

• Blue: First
• Green: Last
• Purple: Close
• Yellow: Strong

Levels

Level	Effect
2	Etienne's range increases from 55 units to 60 units.
4	Gains improved stats when set to targeting options: First – +1 pierce Divide and Conquer – +25% attack speed (0.8× attack cooldown)
5	Attack cooldown reduces from 0.9 seconds to 0.65 seconds, effectively increasing attack speed by roughly 38.46%. Etienne gains Camo detection, allowing his drones to target and hit Camo Bloons and Advanced Intel to target Camo Bloons in his range.
6	Attack cooldown further reduces to 0.55s.
8	Damage increases to 2.
9	First targeting pierce bonus increased to +2
11	Etienne gains a third drone and unlocks Zone Defense targeting.
12	Pierce increases to 6. Flight speed increases from 40 units/s to 80 units/s.
14	Damage increases to 3.
16	Pierce increases to 9. Etienne's range increases to 80 units.
18	Damage increases to 4.
19	Etienne gains a fourth drone.

Drone spy

Drone spy icon

Starting at level 2, Etienne allows the player to see the opponent's current cash and Bloon send queue. If the opponent queues a MOAB-Class Bloon or any Bloon with a Bloon Mod, Etienne will warn the player by playing a voice line and displaying a triangular warning symbol above his head, which can be heard and seen by the opponent. There is a 10-second cooldown between voice lines if the opponent keeps triggering the warning.

UAV

UAV buff icon

UAV is unlocked at level 6. It is a special drone that flies around the map in a clockwise circle with a 100-unit radius. It grants all towers on the player's side (including Etienne's own drones) a 20% chance for each projectile to ignore all Bloon immunities. If an attack fires multiple projectiles at a time, each projectile has a separate chance to be affected. Activating the UCAV ability temporarily converts the UAV into a UCAV, but does not disable its buffs. At level 20, the UAV permanently becomes a UCAV.

Levels

Level	Effect
7	Grants all towers the ability to target and hit Camo Bloons.
9	Grants a 50% chance for attacks to ignore immunities instead of 20%.
15	Attacks now always ignore immunities.

Abilities

Drone Swarm

Drone Swarm ability icon

Drone Swarm is unlocked at level 3. It spawns four temporary drones that have a short delay before they start moving and attacking. These drones share the same behavior and stats as the permanent drones and are affected by the same changes at each level, but they have their own targeting settings that cannot be changed: one is on First, one is on Last, and two are on Strong. These drones last for 16.5 seconds at level 3, increasing by 0.5 seconds each time Etienne levels up after unlocking it (up to 25 seconds at level 20).

This ability has a cooldown of 60 seconds and an initial cooldown of 12 seconds. At level 16, its cooldown reduces to 45 seconds.

UCAV

UCAV ability icon

UCAV is unlocked at level 10. It converts the UAV into a combat vehicle that fires a volley of 10 seeking missiles every 0.6 seconds, with a 230° spread, for 12 seconds. It has infinite range, ignores line of sight, and always targets First. On contact, each missile's explosion deals 2 explosion-type damage to up to 25 Bloons in a radius of 20 units. It is affected by the UAV buffs. It has a 75-second cooldown and no initial cooldown.

Levels

Level	Effect
13	Cooldown reduces to 60 seconds.
15	Explosion damage increases to 4. Explosion pierce increases to 30. Ability duration increases to 18 seconds.
17	Explosion damage increases to 7.
20	The UCAV becomes permanent with the same properties as at levels 17–19. Activating the ability now increases its explosion damage by 7 for the duration.

Levels

Level	Description
1	Flies deadly little drones around to shoot at the Bloons.
2	Etienne's range increased and he sends a drone to spy on your opponent's bloon queue and cash.
3	Drone Swarm: Etienne launches 4 more temporary drones to wreak some Bloon popping havoc.
4	All drones have increased pierce.
5	Drones get increased attack speed and infra red cameras for camo detection.
6	Launches a UAV to gather additional intel, giving all monkeys a chance to bypass bloon damage immunities.
7	The UAV's advanced thermal cameras give all monkeys camo detection.
8	Drones pop an extra Bloon layer.
9	The UAV obtains greater intel, providing all monkeys with a higher chance of bypassing bloon damage immunities.
10	UCAV: high altitude surveillance drone becomes devastating combat drone for a short time.
11	Etienne gains a third drone to control.
12	Drone upgrades! Increased pierce and flight speed.
13	UCAV ability cooldown reduced.
14	Drones damage greatly increased.
15	UCAV damage output and duration increased. Superior intelligence allows all monkeys to pop all bloon types.
16	Etienne's range, drone pierce, and Drone Swarm cooldown are all improved.
17	UCAV damage output greatly increased again!
18	Drone damage increased.
19	Etienne now controls four drones!
20	Perma-UCAV: Surveillance drone becomes permanent UCAV. When activated becomes more powerful for a short time.

XP requirements

Level	XP required	Rounds to level up
		From round 1	From round 2
2	1,145 (1,145)	2 (start of round 3)	2 (start of round 4)
3	1,442 (2,587)	2 (start of round 5)	1 (start of round 5)
4	2,014 (4,601)	2 (start of round 7)	2 (start of round 7)
5	2,714 (7,315)	2 (start of round 9)	2 (start of round 9)
6	3,371 (10,686)	2 (start of round 11)	3 (start of round 12)
7	4,580 (15,266)	3 (start of round 14)	2 (start of round 14)
8	6,276 (21,542)	3 (start of round 17)	3 (start of round 17)
9	7,293 (28,835)	3 (start of round 20)	3 (start of round 20)
10	7,463 (36,298)	2 (start of round 22)	2 (start of round 22)
11	7,230 (43,528)	2 (start of round 24)	2 (start of round 24)
12	7,272 (50,800)	2 (start of round 26)	2 (start of round 26)
13	7,336 (58,136)	2 (start of round 28)	2 (start of round 28)
14	7,293 (65,429)	1 (start of round 29)	1 (start of round 29)
15	7,590 (73,019)	2 (start of round 31)	2 (start of round 31)
16	7,463 (80,482)	1 (start of round 32)	1 (start of round 32)
17	7,336 (87,818)	1 (start of round 33)	1 (start of round 33)
18	7,505 (95,323)	1 (start of round 34)	1 (start of round 34)
19	7,548 (102,871)	1 (start of round 35)	1 (start of round 35)
20	7,696 (110,567)	1 (start of round 36)	2 (start of round 37)

Strategy

For more in-depth strategies, see Strategy:Etienne (Battles 2).

Popular loadouts

Bomb-Spac-Farm

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Update history

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Version 4.1

“

We love the impact that Etienne has had on the game - it’s been great to see all the new strategies that he has made possible. With that being said, we would like to make one very small adjustment to his ability, which we don’t expect will have much of an impact on his viability. Etienne provides so much utility that he doesn’t need to have strong DPS, and it does feel like his level 3 ability stretches on for longer than necessary.
— Update notes

”

Levels	Changes
3+	Drone Swarm: overall duration reduced by 2 seconds

Version 4.1.1

• "Fixed Etienne not always spawning enough drones from his ability on Bloon Bot Factory"

Version 4.3

“

Etienne’s ability is extremely effective at clearing up early game rushes. We are increasing the cooldown to ensure that Etienne players cannot rely on it entirely and still need to spend on their early game defence.
— Update notes

”

Levels	Changes
3-15	Drone Swarm Ability cooldown increased ― 45s → 60s
16+	Drone Swarm Ability cooldown increased ― 40s → 45s

Version 4.3.1 (OTA update 1)

“

We are reducing Etienne’s very powerful UCAV ability’s duration to bring it more in line with what other heroes can do at that level.
— Update notes

”

Levels	Changes
10+	UCAV: duration reduced by 6s

Version 4.11

“

We thought it would be fun to add to Etienne's playstyle by incorporating his targeting options into his damage output.
— Update notes

”

Levels	Changes
1-3	Pierce increased ― 2 → 3 Note: Level 4–11 remains the same (3)
4+	Now unlocks Zone Defense at level 4  Targeting priorities now provide different stat bonuses for the main drones Divide and Conquer: +20 movement speed and +10% attack speed Zone Defense: +1 damage First: +1 pierce (+2 pierce at level 9+)

Version 4.12 (OTA update 1)

“

Etienne is proving to be too strong in the early game and the Divide and Conquer is being outclassed by his other buffs. We are slowing down his drone’s weapons to lower his overall damage output while improving the Divide and Conquer buff to bring it in line with the others.
— Update notes

”

Levels	Changes
1-4	Drone: Attack cooldown increased ― 0.7s → 0.9s
5	Drone: Attack cooldown increased ― 0.55s → 0.65s Note: Level 6+ unaffected
4+	Buff – Divide and Conquer: Attack cooldown reduction increased ― 10% → 20%

Cosmetic items

Hero Rewards

Icon	Text	Category	Cost
	Robotic Uprising Viva La Revolution!	Match Up Animation	150 12,000
	Covering Fire Distraction techniques	Taunt	200 15,000
	Delinquent Drone It's out of control!	Defeat Animation	100 9,000
	Stylish Specs They have a certain je ne sais quoi.	Bloon Decal	80 6,000
	Drone Delivery The only way to fly!	Placement Animation	150 12,000
	Careful Flying Easy does it!	Emote	80 6,000
	Aerial Stunts Flying with finesse.	Level Up Animation	400 24,000
	Fancy Flying I have you now!	Victory Animation	200 15,000
	Camo? What camo? Show the world your favorite hero with this title!	Player Title	160 12,000

Customization

Item	Category	Unlock method(s)	Introduced
Battery Low	Defeat Animation	Default Etienne item	Version 4.0
Delinquent Drone	Defeat Animation	Etienne Hero Rewards	Version 4.0
Aerial Stunts	Level Up Animation	Etienne Hero Rewards	Version 4.0
Drone Delivery	Placement Animation	Etienne Hero Rewards	Version 4.0
Covering Fire	Taunt	Etienne Hero Rewards	Version 4.0
Drone Driveby	Taunt	Default Etienne item	Version 4.0
Say Cheese!	Taunt	Season XXXV	Version 4.5
Pit Stop	Match Up Animation	Season Drone Racing Showcase, Season XXIII, Drone Racing Showcase, Daily Offers	Version 4.2
Robotic Uprising	Match Up Animation	Etienne Hero Rewards	Version 4.0
Ready to Fly	Match Up Animation	Default Etienne item	Version 4.0
Go Faster Stripes	Weapon Skin	Season Drone Racing Showcase, Season XXIII, Drone Racing Showcase, Daily Offers	Version 4.2
Flying Flags	Weapon Skin	4th July 2024 event	Version 4.0.3
Portable Party	Victory Animation	Default Etienne item	Version 4.0
First Place Finish	Victory Animation	Season Drone Racing Showcase, Season XXIII, Drone Racing Showcase, Daily Offers	Version 4.2
Fancy Flying	Victory Animation	Etienne Hero Rewards	Version 4.0
Sentimental Skywriting	Victory Animation	Valentines 2025 event	Version 4.5
Work It!	Victory Animation	Season XXXV	Version 4.8

Gallery

For more Etienne images, see Gallery:Etienne.

Screenshots

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Assets

• 
  Levels 1–2
• 
  Levels 3–6
• 
  Levels 7–9
• 
  Levels 10–19
• 
  Level 20
• 
  Hero Point icon
• 
  Background
• 
  Drone Swarm icon
• 
  UCAV icon
• 
  Spy icon
• 
  UAV buff icon

Voice lines

When selected in the Heroes menu

• ^ⓘ "Oui ?" ("Yes?")

When placed

• ^ⓘ "Ready to fly!"
• ^ⓘ "Here we go!"

When selected

• ^ⓘ "Oui ?" ("Yes?")
• ^ⓘ "Hey!"
• ^ⓘ "Systems, check!"
• ^ⓘ "Objective?"
• ^ⓘ "Eyes up!"
• ^ⓘ "Oui ?"

When drone spy activates

• ^ⓘ "Attack incoming!"
• ^ⓘ "They're planning something!"

When activating Drone Swarm

• ^ⓘ "Swarm deployed!"

When activating UCAV

• ^ⓘ "Weapons hot!"

When leveling up

• ^ⓘ "Yeah!"
• ^ⓘ "Oui !" ("Yes!")
• ^ⓘ "Oui !"
• ^ⓘ "C'est beau !" ("That's beautiful!")
• ^ⓘ "C'est beau !"
• ^ⓘ "Upgrade time!"
• ^ⓘ "Drone power!"
• ^ⓘ "Yeah!"

When leveling up to level 20

• ^ⓘ "That's some serious damage!"

When a MOAB appears

• ^ⓘ "Tracking MOAB!"

When a BFB appears

• ^ⓘ "Tracking BFB!"

When a ZOMG appears

• ^ⓘ "Tracking ZOMG!"

When a DDT appears

• ^ⓘ "DDT! DDT!"

When a BAD appears

• ^ⓘ "Heads up! Tracking BAD!"

When a Bloon leaks

• ^ⓘ "Eyes on that exit!"
• ^ⓘ "C'est la guerre !" ("That's war!")

Cosmetic items

Taunts

• ^ⓘ "Out of the way!" — Drone Driveby
• ^ⓘ "How do you like this?" — Covering Fire

Match Up Animations

• ^ⓘ "Ready to fly." — Ready to Fly
• ^ⓘ "All drones attack!" — Robotic Uprising
• ^ⓘ "Go go go!" — Pit Stop

Victory Animations

• ^ⓘ "C'était facile !" ("It was easy!") — Portable Party
• ^ⓘ "Drone skills!" — Fancy Flying
• ^ⓘ "It seems I am the winner! Ha-hah!" — First Place Finish
• ^ⓘ "Hey! I can be romantic." — Sentimental Skywriting

In other languages

This section was last updated for: version 4.6.1

Name

Language	Text	Notes
Danish	Etienne	—
German	Etienne	—
Spanish	Etienne	—
Finnish	Etienne	—
French	Etienne	—
Italian	Etienne	—
Japanese	エチエンヌ	—
Korean	에티엔	—
Dutch	Etienne	—
Norwegian	Etienne	—
Portuguese (Brazil)	Etienne	—
Russian	Этьен	—
Swedish	Etienne	—
Turkish	Etienne	—
Chinese (traditional)	艾蒂安	—

Description

Language	Text	Notes
Danish	Denne højteknologiske helt kan forfølge bloons, uanset hvor de bevæger sig hen med sine fjernstyrede droner.	—
German	Dieser High-Tech-Held kann Bloons mit seinen ferngesteuerten Drohnen überallhin verfolgen.	—
Spanish	Este héroe de última tecnología puede perseguir a los bloons dondequiera que vayan con sus drones teledirigidos.	—
Finnish	Ce héros high-tech peut poursuivre les Bloons où qu'ils aillent grâce à ses drones télécommandés.	—
French	Ce héros high-tech peut poursuivre les Bloons où qu'ils aillent grâce à ses drones télécommandés.	—
Italian	Questo eroe super tecnologico può inseguire i bloon ovunque grazie ai suoi droni telecomandati.	—
Japanese	こちらのハイテクなヒーローは、遠隔操作のドローンでブルーンをどこまでも追跡することができる。	—
Korean	원격 조종 드론으로 풍선이 가는 곳이라면 어디로든 추적하는, 최첨단을 달리는 영웅입니다.	—
Dutch	Deze hightech held kan de Bloons overal achtervolgen met zijn op afstand bestuurbare drones.	—
Norwegian	Denne høyteknologiske helten kan forfølge bloonsene overalt med sine fjernstyrte droner.	—
Portuguese (Brazil)	Este herói tecnológico pode perseguir os Bloons onde quer que eles forem com seus drones de controle remoto.	—
Russian	Высокотехнологичный герой, способный преследовать шары где угодно с помощью дистанционно-управляемых дронов.	—
Swedish	Denna högteknologiska hjälte kan förfölja Bloons var de än tar vägen med sina fjärrstyrda drönare.	—
Turkish	Bu yüksek teknoloji uzmanı kahraman uzaktan kumandalı dronlarıyla Bloon'ları nereye giderlerse gitsinler takip eder.	—
Chinese (traditional)	這位高科技英雄可以利用他的遙控無人機追擊任何地方的氣球。	—