Strategy:Alternate Bloons Rounds
Alternate Bloons Rounds (ABR) has many rounds with increased difficulty compared to those in Hard, making ABR considerably more difficult. Camos, Leads, Purples, and other challenging Bloon types all appear earlier, requiring faster preparation for each of them.
For purposes of clarity, the following definitions will be made for this article:
Early-game = Rounds 6-40
Mid-game = Rounds 41-60
Late-game = Rounds 61-80
General tips
Preparation
- When attempting ABR, it is recommended that many Monkey Knowledge upgrades have been acquired. Important Monkey Knowledge upgrades include Bonus Monkey!, More Cash, Mana Shield, Military Conscription, and Veteran Monkey Training. With Monkey Knowledge, following the tips given here becomes much easier.
- To obtain the Monkey Knowledge upgrades, it is recommended to beat Hard Standard on a good amount of maps before touching ABR. That game mode grants large amounts of Player XP for Monkey Knowledge points, is relatively simple to complete, and builds some experience needed for ABR.
- Remember the rounds in ABR that stand out in difficulty, which are listed below. There are many more rounds in ABR to watch out for, and all ABR rounds are shown here.
The most challenging rounds in Half Cash
| Round # | Bloons spawned | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | The early Lead Bloons can easily catch players off-guard, and them blocking projectiles from hitting the Blue Bloons lead to more losses of lives. | |
| 30 | If no towers able to pop Camo Leads have been purchased, selling-and-rebuying will be needed, as the Camo Leads cannot be tanked without losing. | |
| 40 | The fortified MOAB is the hardest challenge of the early game, having double the HP of a normal MOAB. Without a well-rounded defense with very strong single-target damage options and towers for the Ceramic insides, the fortified MOAB can end a run completely. | |
| 50 | The onslaught of 6 MOABs, including 2 fortified, requires a very well-rounded defense that excels at both single-target and grouped damage, The Leads may block projectiles from hitting the MOABs and their insides, further increasing this round's difficulty. | |
| 63 | The Camo Ceramics make this round even more difficult than the regular Round 63. Obtain de-camo or dedicated grouped Camo popping powers. | |
| 75 |
|
The clump of 5 BFBs on the second rush, the 2 fortified BFBs following them, and the Leads blocking projectiles make this round arguably the most challenging round in ABR before Freeplay. |
Gameplay
- The early appearance of all Bloon types make it imperative to obtain a defense that can deal with all Bloon types, including Lead, Purple, Camo, and Zebra.
- Due to the sheer difficulty of later rounds, proper farming is key. Once an adequate defense that covers all Bloon types has been obtained, focus on farming to take care of the later rounds. Tips for farming are listed the sections below.
- Cheap support options, such as Jungle Drums, Berserker Brew, and Stronger Stimulant, are very useful in ABR.
- Radar Scanner and de-camo towers such as Submerge and Support and Signal Flare gain great importance due to the increased amount of Camos.
Towers & heroes suited for most maps
| Name | Portrait | Reasoning & how to use |
|---|---|---|
| Monkeyopolis | 
|
Monkeyopolis is usually obtained in the 40s, and its Monkey Commerce discounts, Monkey Town granting more cash per pop, Monkey City buffs to surrounding money-makers, and production of $1200 per round by absorbing one 0-0-0 Banana Farm make it the most efficient money-maker and simplifies the rest of the game. Once Monkeyopolis is obtained, attempt to place all damaging towers and farms in its range, and the 2-0-5 cross-path is optimal to increase its range and grant Jungle Drums. The best way to obtain it is to first buy 3 0-0-2 Monkey Commerces close together, buy a Monkey City discounted by all 3, sell one Monkey Commerce, get a 0-0-0 Banana Farm discounted all 3 villages left, sell the other two Monkey Commerces, and finally upgrade the Monkey City into Monkeyopolis. |