Strategy:Bloons Tower Defense 3

Bloons TD 3 features 3 difficulty modes and an array of maps, and also has three ports that have some major differences from the Flash version of Bloons Tower Defense 3, but are fairly similar between all three ports. Whenever possible, this article will try covering strategies as general as possible for all versions and maps, but strategy coverage will be primarily centered around pre-freeplay Hard difficulty, with some mention for strategies during Freeplay.

Important rounds

Round #	Bloons Spawned	Reasoning
3	Red x15 Blue x8	As the first round featuring Blue bloons, it is highly recommended that at least two towers are on the map by this point for having enough single-target damage against Blues.
6	Red x13 Green x7	This round is the first round featuring Green Bloons, which like round 3, can again check the player's single-target damage.
12	Rainbow x1	Unlike newer games, the Rainbow Bloon arrives very early on, but has lower RBE than future iterations. Even then, the Rainbow Bloon still contains a large amount of RBE and can easily end a game if the player lacks strong enough defense.
14	Rainbow x1 Yellow Bloon x14	Another Rainbow Bloon, but accompanied by Yellows this time around. Make sure that if any road items were used for the previous Rainbow that they are used again against the Rainbow in this round.
20	Lead x5	Without reliable Lead popping and enough money, this round can result in a game over. Pineapples can be used if the player cannot afford Lead popping towers.
26	Yellow x100 Black x15 Lead x14	The Lead Bloons are now accompanied by Yellows and Blacks and come in higher quantities, so it is highly recommended at this point that a Lead popping tower is purchased at this point if the player relied on pineapples in the first lead wave, as more lead bloons will arrive in later rounds.
31	Brown x2	Like Round 12, the two Brown/Ceramic Bloons pose a significant test of the player's single-target defense. Monkey Glue will slow it down, but the Ice Ball cannot freeze Browns.
33	Black x60 Brown x3	The Brown Bloons are preceded by Black Bloons this time, which can eat up a lot of pierce that may be necessary for the Browns.
37	MOAB x1	The MOAB is the strongest bloon in the game. Road Spikes are highly recommended for this MOAB, especially on harder maps where dealing enough damage otherwise is difficult.
44	Brown x5 Black MOAB x1	The second MOAB round, this time with a few Ceramics and swarms of Black Bloons.
50	Brown x13 Rainbow x38 Lead x16 MOAB x2	The final round, boasting large quantities of Rainbows and two MOABs. Make sure the defense can handle both densely packed bloons and dealing large single-target damage.

Gameplay recommendations

General

• Do not be afraid of using Road Items against difficult rounds. Using Monkey Glue against the first two Rainbow or Brown waves can let the player survive and save up for a stronger defense down the line.
• Save up for the most important upgrades and avoid unnecessary upgrades. For instance, Thermite on Boomerang is not necessary on all of them if the player opts for many Boomerangs, as only a few Boomerangs need lead-popping if the player has no alternate lead popping.
• Do not overrely on high pierce towers if they cannot handle tougher bloons. A few upgraded Dart Monkeys are more useful than a single Spike-o-pult against a Rainbow Bloon.
• As rounds often rely on swarms of bloons, cost efficient high pierce towers are highly recommended when possible. Higher pierce towers are more noticeably useful the higher the round is.

Flash

• Rush Tack Shooters as soon as possible. On harder maps, a base Dart Monkey may be necessary for saving up for tack shooters, while on easier maps a tack shooter start will do well enough.
• Pineapples are much more powerful in this version than Mobile as each pineapple explodes multiple times, making them useful for cleanup if the player can time their explosions.

iOS/PSP/DSi

• As Tack Shooters only have 1 pierce instead of the high amount of pierce of the Flash version, they are not recommended. Instead, starting out with Dart Monkeys with Razor Sharp Darts before placing some maxed Boomerangs, for their high cost-efficient pierce and lead popping, is recommended.
• Because the player can save a game, they can save and quit for optimizing bloon spawns, which is not possible in the Flash version.
• Four Road Spikes in this version can pop the outer layer of a MOAB.
• Jungle Drums has 0 effect on towers in this version, so it can be skipped.
• In Freeplay, unlike Flash, the player does not suffer a reduction in cash per pop in the Digital Goldfish ports. Even then, the lack of high pierce Tack Shooters can make defending difficult, so the player should prioritize setting up cost-efficient high pierce defenses before setting up Super Monkeys, and having Road Spikes and Monkey Storm ready for MOABs and everything else, respectively.

Placement tips

• Have long range towers cover as many distinct sections of the track as possible, so that they are in a spot where Bloons pass through their range on as many occasions as possible.
  • As Strong targeting does not exist in any version of BTD3, make sure that the placement of Cannon or Thermite Boomerangs will result in them always prioritizing leads. In the non-Flash versions of the game, Near targeting can be utilized if First or Last are not effective enough.
• Cram towers as densely as possible. It maximizes the effectiveness of optimal positions for maximizing pierce of towers.
• In general, place high-pierce towers so that they attack in straight lines while still having good coverage. The only exception for this is with the Boomerang, which should also keep in mind about the boomerang returning and popping more bloons.
• Place short range towers inside bends/loops. These towers include Tack Shooters and Ice Ball. Otherwise, place them as near the track as possible.

Early game (rounds 1-20)

• Start with placing enough towers that they possess enough combined single-target damage against stronger bloons that appear in the next round. Round 3's Blues and round 6's Greens are the first main roadblock against running expensive, high pierce towers over having multiple towers.
• By round 12, be ready for the Rainbow Bloon, as it possesses large amounts of RBE. Road items like Road Spikes or Monkey Glue can be useful for dealing with it.
• Round 14 has another Rainbow, this time accompanied by Yellows. Use road items again if necessary, and place more towers as cash can afford it.
• Round 20 contains the first Lead bloons. Pineapples can be used if the player would rather not purchase lead popping towers or upgrades.

Mid-game (rounds 21-37)

• By this point, the player should be ready for stronger and stronger bloons. They should continue purchasing towers while using road items when appropriate.
• Large amounts of leads arrive on Round 26, so at this point, the player should purchase lead popping upgrades or towers, such as the Cannon or Thermite on existing Glaive Thrower Boomerangs.
• Round 31 has the first Brown bloons, which cannot be frozen in this game. They are still vulnerable against Monkey Glue, which is highly recommended against them as one use should give towers enough time for whittling down the outer layer and popping the child bloons.
• Round 33 contains more Brown bloons accompanied by other bloons. Like before, Monkey Glue is useful if they provide a significant issue for defense.
• Round 37 contains the first MOAB, and Road Spikes are highly recommended for it.

Late game (rounds 37-50)

• By this time, the bloon swarms will get denser and denser, so the player should prioritize either buying defense or rushing the Monkey Storm Beacon.
• If the player opts for Monkey Storm, they should make sure that their existing defense can save up for it by the early 40s. Note that Monkey Storm cannot pop the outer MOAB layer, so Road Spikes should still be prepared for incoming MOABs.
• If the player does not save up for Monkey Storm, they should make sure they purchase efficient defense. By this point, the player can purchase many Cannons without upgrades for cost-efficient ranged group popping, as there should have enough defense that pops Black bloons that the Bombs can maximize their 18 pierce without leaking.
  • As per usual, they should be ready with road items in the worst case scenario.
• Round 44 has one MOAB accompanied by many bloons, and round 50 has two MOABs accompanied by many bloons. As before, utilizing Road Spikes is recommended against them, especially for people relying on Monkey Storm.

Freeplay

• In Freeplay, the rounds keep going until Round 150. As the bloons get faster the higher the round and more MOABs can spawn than before, surviving even the first few rounds of Freeplay can be difficult.
• For the first few rounds, prioritize getting Monkey Storm up if the player has not done so, then if too many bloons arrive, they can use Monkey Storm, and use Road Spikes against any MOABs that spawn if their towers cannot pop MOABs fast enough.
• The player should optimally fill the entire screen with maxed out Super Monkeys, as they possess the highest DPS of all towers, but should prioritize cost-efficient defense first.

Towers suited for most game modes and maps

Name	Portrait	Reasoning & how to use
Tack Shooter (Flash only)		In the Flash version, Tack Shooters possess incredible amounts of pierce that easily defends against most rounds when massed. Even going into freeplay, they are still a staple that should be prioritized because of their cost-efficiency, as Flash freeplay makes a fraction of all bloons provide cash. Do not upgrade too many Tack Shooters too much, but all of them should have Faster Shooting and at least one other upgrade for maximizing their attack speed and pierce. This is not true in non-Flash versions of the game as the Tack Shooter only has 1 pierce in those versions, so it is not recommended outside the Flash version.
Dart Monkey		The base dart is a staple of the early-game in the hardest maps. Even in the Flash version, the 8th map lacks tack spots that won't end up leaking if the player goes for a tack start, so a dart is useful for defending leaking bloons before enough tack shooters are set up. In non-Flash versions of the game, darts are very useful for defending in general, and are only outclassed by Boomerangs when they can afford them more easily after round 10.
Boomerang		Boomerangs can reach up to 8 pierce with Glaive Thrower, have respectable range, and can even pop lead if they get Thermite. They are mostly utilized in non-Flash versions, where Tack Shooters lack high amounts of pierce.
Cannon		Base cannons have good range, 18 pierce, and can pop Lead. Upgraded bomb shooters do not increase pierce, but Frag Bombs is useful for providing single-target damage and popping Black bloons. In non-Flash versions of the game, they are very useful in the lategame for popping swarms of bloons after other towers pop the black layer, while in both versions, they are the most consistent way of popping lead.
Monkey Beacon		Monkey Storm can destroy swarms of non-MOAB bloons but cannot pop MOABs. Its main downside, especially in Flash, is that it requires cash, which can add up over time in Freeplay, so the Monkey Storm should only be used when absolutely necessary. In the Flash version, Jungle Drums can buff all towers except Super Monkeys, while it is completely useless in non-Flash versions as the upgrade will literally have 0 effect.
Super Monkey		Super Monkeys are not recommended before freeplay, but are a staple for freeplay games once the map is full of other towers because of their high attack speed and range. They are the end goal that should be sought after as soon as the player can afford them in freeplay, but should only be done after the player has a stable defense without them.