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	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.

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.