Strategy:Alternate Bloons Rounds

This article was last updated for: version 46.3

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 3-40
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 just some of these Monkey Knowledge upgrades, 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 grants the player 80-round experiences that are helpful 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 Alternate Bloons Rounds

Round #	Bloons spawned	Reasoning
10	Green ×40 Lead ×2 Blue ×22	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.
27	Camo Red ×100 Camo Blue ×60 Camo Green ×45 Camo Yellow ×45	The massive rush of Camos on this round can break through many defenses. One strong Camo popping power or a consistent de-camo is required.
30	Camo Lead ×9	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	Fortified MOAB ×1	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	Fortified MOAB ×2 Fortified Regrow Lead ×8 MOAB ×4	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	Fortified Ceramic ×30 Ceramic ×40 Camo Ceramic ×40 MOAB ×5	The Camo Ceramics make this round even more difficult than the regular Round 63. Obtain de-camo or dedicated grouped Camo popping powers.
75	BFB ×6 Lead ×50 Fortified Lead ×14 Fortified MOAB ×4 Fortified BFB ×2	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 or 50s, 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 crosspath 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.
Benjamin		Ben's money generation greatly simplifies the entire game by allowing more money to be spent on towers and creating a snowballing effect that allows for quicker farming. Biohack is useful in the early-game, and if placed without line-of-sight blockers, Trojan is very helpful against Round 40. Attempt to afford Ben as quickly as possible by getting the bare minimum defense for the first few rounds, and sell one tower for Ben if doing so affords him.
Sauda		Sauda's ability to pop all Bloon types (including Leads with Leaping Sword) greatly improves her value in ABR. She simplifies the early-game, allowing a quicker head-start into farming. Leaping Sword also comes in handy for Round 40, while Sword Charge wipes out dense mid-game and late-game rounds.
Corvus		Like Sauda, Corvus simplifies the early-game, with the benefit of his spirit and spellbook being more versatile (not falling off as much on multi-lane maps) at the cost of being more difficult to use. The spirit does well on its own, Spear performs well and can pop Leads, Vision pops and de-camos Camo Bloons, and Ancestral Might trivializes Round 40. If using him, make sure to save mana for the rounds to watch out for listed above, and save enough mana for Vision on every Camo round before a reliable de-camo or Camo popping power is obtained.
Geraldo		When placing Geraldo between Rounds 6-10, Rare Quincy Action Figure can be afforded on nearly all maps and sold in the 30s to obtain Monkey Bank, which would be sold in the 40s after it becomes full for Monkeyopolis to smooth-sail the rest of the game. In addition, See Invisibility Potion makes Camos much easier to deal with in the early-game, Gerry's Fire simplifies the 30s and 40s, and Jar of Pickles helps low-damage towers greatly. All of these grant Geraldo versatility in ABR and make him a great choice on nearly every map.
Airburst Darts		Airburst Darts covers all Bloon types of the early-game when given Berserker Brew and 0-0-2 darts for Camo Intel for the 2-0-2 crosspath. It can be upgraded into Triple Guns and then Armor Piercing DartsPiercing Darts to remain solid in the mid-game.
Bloonjitsu		Bloonjitsu, when given Berserker Brew, can likewise cover all Bloon types and does good overall damage in the early-game and mid-game. Double Shot is a decent stepping stone that transitions relatively well with Bloonjitsu, and it is recommended to purchase Berserker Brew after Double Shot and before Bloonjitsu.
Spectre		The 2-0-4 Spectre with a 2-2-0 Monkey Village guarantees victory on most maps and needs little extra to defeat the most difficult maps. On easier maps, selling everything except the Hero for this setup makes quick work of ABR. If going on this route, Monkeyopolis is not needed.

Early game (rounds 3-40)

• The first 8 rounds require at least 1 tower that pops Camo, and Round 10's Leads are tricky. The Monkey Knowledge upgrades Bonus Monkey! and More Cash greatly simplify these rounds.
  • Dart + Ninja works well, with the Ninja being able to take care of the Camos. This is optimal for saving up to heroes.
  • Dart + Sub is also a solid option. Upgrade the Dart to 0-0-2 for Camos, and then focus on obtaining the hero.
  • Dart + Sniper is optimal on multi-lane maps. Like with Sub, upgrade the Dart Monkey into 0-0-2 for Camos, then focus on the hero save-up. This is optimal for Round 10, as the Sniper can be upgraded to 1-0-0.
  • With Bonus Monkey! and More Cash, it is possible to afford Benjamin early on most maps. Get 2 0-0-0 Darts, sell one of them during Round 5/6 for Benjamin, and buy a new Dart/Sub/Sniper for the next round.
  • Round 4 often requires some leaks, which are more manageable with Mana Shield and Pre-game Prep.
  • Sauda can trivialize these rounds and take care of Round 10's Leads on most maps, making her a solid starting option.
  • If not using Sauda, save up for the hero as soon as possible, especially if using Geraldo (with the intention of obtaining Rare Quincy Action Figure) or Benjamin.
  • If using Geraldo, generally do not place him at the start of the game. Place him somewhere between Rounds 6 and 10, with earlier placements within these rounds recommended for easier maps and players with Bonus Monkey! and More Cash. This allows the purchase of Rare Quincy Action Figure without the loss of too many lives.
  • For Round 10, get one 1-0-0 Sniper if nothing on the screen can pop Leads. If there is not enough money for Round 10's Leads and plenty of lives are left, leaking them is fine, but set towers on Last so that they target the Blues instead and prevent even more leaks.
• If the hero has not been obtained (unless they are Captain Churchill) by Round 11, sell some towers to afford them.
• Rounds 11-30 feature all Bloon types, including Camo, Zebra, Lead, Purple, and Camo Lead Bloons. The defense should be able to cover all of them.
  • Utilize the hero's ability/inventory. For example, Sauda's Leaping Sword takes care of Leads, Geraldo's See Invisibility Potion grants Camo detection for a tower for 5 rounds, and Corvus's Vision spell allows him to pop and de-camo Camo Bloons.
  • 0-2-2 Wall of Fire pops all Bloons except for Purples, for which another tower that reliably breaks these Purples, such as a 1-0-1 Ninja, is needed.
  • 1-3-0 Druid of the Jungle takes care of all non-Camo Bloons, functioning especially well on single-lane maps.
  • Any Ninja Monkey with Acidic Mixture Dip can damage all Bloon types. The 3-0-1 Double Shot with Acidic Mixture Dip can deal with most rounds in this part of the game fairly well, but lacks good popping power before the purchase of Berserker Brew.
  • The 1-1-0 Sniper pops all Bloon types, and is the cheapest non-Hero counter to Rounds 24 and 30.
  • Round 27 is very difficult, with the clumped Camos. Make sure to have a grouped popping power with Camo detection coming into this round.
  • Light farming can be started around this time, especially with high Monkey Knowledge or on an easier map. Building one 2-0-0 farm before Round 30 is relatively safe.
• Rounds 31-40 are more difficult and continue to feature all Bloon types. The frequent appearance of Ceramics (on Rounds 32, 35, 36, and 38) can be troubling, and Round 40's Fortified MOAB poses a formidable challenge. The defense is required to have good overall popping power and be able to damage all Bloon types.
  • 2-0-2 Airburst Darts with Berserker Brew excels, especially with 0-0-2 Dart Monkeys for Camo Intel. It transitions well into its succeeding upgrades, Triple Guns and Armor Piercing Darts.
  • 4-0-1 Bloonjitsu + Berserker Brew can pop all Bloon types, does good overall damage, and remains useful in the 40s.
  • Due to there being no Camo purples until Round 45, Dragon's Breath + Druid of the Jungle clears the 30s on most maps. The setup remains useful later on.
  • 0-3-2 Bouncing Bullet or 0-2-3 Semi-Automatic with Berserker Brew can also pop all Bloon types. Bouncing Bullet is cheaper and functions better when it has to shoot with the grain, but Semi-Automatic Rifle does much better against Ceramics and blimps. They both remain useful into the 40s.
  • Attempt to get a Monkey Bank in the late 30s, which would allow for Monkeyopolis in the late 40s without additional farming in between. If playing on a harder map or without much Monkey Knowledge, doing so is risky and it is recommended to delay the bank to the 40s and Monkeyopolis to the 50s.
  • Save the hero's ability or inventory for Round 40.
  • MOAB Assassin one-shots the MOAB, making it a guaranteed win against Round 40 if the current defense does not hold up.
  • The base Super Monkey and 0-1-0 Druids do good single-target damage on the MOAB if needed, and the current defense should clean up the Fortified Ceramic insides.

Mid-game (rounds 41-60)

• Proper mid-game towers are needed to beat the 40s. From now on, the player should go into all rounds having a defense that can defeat every Bloon type.
  • 2-0-3 Neva-Miss Targeting + Berserker Brew + Camo support performs well in the mid-game against both Bloons and blimps.
  • 3-2-0 Destroyer + Berserker Brew + Camo support excels on most maps with water, especially when placed so that it is surrounded by tracks on 2 opposite sides, allowing both of its guns to trigger.
  • Upgrading Airburst Darts to Triple Guns and then Armor Piercing Darts enhances its power and makes it well-suited for general mid-game damage.
  • 0-2-4 Full Auto Rifle with 3-2-0 Berserker Brew can pop all Bloon types, including Lead with Acidic Mixture Dip. It does very solid overall damage when it shoots against the grain (that is, when Bloons it shoot at are traveling towards it).
  • 2-4-0 Artillery Battery with Camo support wipes out dense Bloons and can take down MOABs and hyper-clumped rounds with its Bombardment ability.
• Round 50 is particularly difficult, so save abilities for this round.
• If going for Monkeyopolis and having gotten the recommended Monkey Bank, sell the Bank when it is full to obtain the Monkeyopolis. The Monkeyopolis should be obtained by the mid-50s if going for this route. After getting Monkeyopolis, no extra farming needs to be done unless the player is venturing beyond Round 80.
• Rounds 51-60 are significantly more difficult than usual, featuring multiple early BFBs and a Fortified BFB on Round 60. The defense must be well-rounded and powerful.
  • 0-2-4 Bloon Area Denial System can pop all Bloon types with Berserker Brew and excels at general damage for its cost.
  • Aircraft Carrier likewise does both good Bloon and blimp damage. Use 4-2-0 if Camo support is already present or upgrading from Destroyer, or 4-0-2 if neither is true.
  • Summon Phoenix gains a powerful ability for the BFBs and improves on the main Dragon's Breath attack. Two of them give the ability effective full-uptime.
  • In the mid to late 50s (or earlier if light farming has been done), Spectre + 2-2-0 Village can be obtained by selling everything else (except the Hero) if no sells-and-rebuys have been performed. This guarantees victory on most maps.
  • Once the defense is set for the 50s, start saving up money for a powerful Tier 5 to defeat the last 20 rounds.

Late game (rounds 61+)

• Many blimps starting on Round 61 become fortified, making them twice as hard to break. Therefore, blimp popping powers gain more importance here than in other game modes.
• Even slight farming in the previous rounds can make this part of the game easier.
• Attempt to get at least one powerful tower equivalent to a win condition in CHIMPS by Round 63, which can pose severe challenges. Sell some farms (if they are present) if needed.
  • If Spectre has not been purchased, it is still a good option here and guarantees victory on the majority of maps.
  • Glaive Lord is very powerful and effectively guarantees victory on all maps where its range reaches all lanes.
  • The Bloon Solver cleans up dense Bloons with absolute ease and does solid blimp damage as well thanks to its puddles. However, another tower is needed to break Fortified BFBs to allow the puddles to trigger the chain effect.
  • Carrier Flagship is very powerful against both Bloons and blimps, and is helped by its previous 2 Tiers being good towers in their own right.
  • Spirit of the Forest easily cleans up Bloons and lower tier blimps and makes $1,000 at the end of every round, simplifying the rest of the game. Note that after version 45.0 nerfs, it needs help against higher tier blimps, such as Fortified BFBs, on harder maps.
• Spend the rest of the money on an additional tower listed among the 5 above or on Supporting options.
  • Giant Condor completely trivializes the large amount of otherwise problematic Fortified BFBs and ZOMG insides in the 70s and Round 80.
  • Symphonic Resonance fills the same role as Condor, trivializing BFBs and MOABs, including Fortified.
  • Bloon Sabotage simplifies giant Ceramic clumps by slowing them to half speed, and buys valuable time against blimps.
  • Relentless Glue's stun significantly assists the towers, and its built-in MOAB Glue aids greatly against blimps.
• If a Monkeyopolis has been obtained in the 50s, a very expensive but extremely powerful tower can be bought in the 70s to fully guarantee victory and speed up the rounds. Flying Fortress fills this role on all maps.